Piney Campground - Best Campground Ever - #rvlife

Hey guys, we're going to share with you today a place that is near and dear to my heart. This is the campground that my girls grew up in. Yep, and what we want to do is use our 10 category system, and each each category is going to be worth 10 points each. So that way you can learn, learn so much about a campground. We hopefully, we think we go over the items that you're going to want to know. But let's get started on Piney Campground in Dover, Tennessee. It's part of the National Recreational Area of Land Between the Lakes. Let's go. So let's talk about the sites. How are they? Well, we've been real happy with it. We've stayed at several different sites here at Piney. The one we're on now is very level. It's wide. You can see how wide this thing is. They're underneath the trees. If you've been to a recreational area, it's similar to a state park. They're spread out, and they, the sites do come for different size, so you have to check to make sure it fits your rig. Ours being 35 feet, we had no problem at all. So what do we grade the sites? First of all, before we do that, you're going to see so many beautiful sites here. We're right on Lake Kentucky, the land between the lakes, and it is a beautiful area. And so many sites are backed up to that lake, and you can have some beautiful sites. The ones we've been in have been level and in great shape, so we're going to give the sites a nine. The only reason we didn't get a ten is we reserve tens for sites that are paved, but we have no complaints about these sites. So let's talk about the ease of backing in. We have had no trouble backing into these sites. We do realize that there are some sites that are tighter than others, but for the most part, these sites are just large because that's what you get in a national recreation area. And the back end is big, and there's no trouble at all, so we're going to give the ease of backing in a nine. They do not have pull-through sites here, or if they do, we are not aware of them. So if they had a couple of pull-through sites, it'd be a ten, but we're going to give them a nine, which is really good. So the next category we want to talk about are hookups. Now this is a recreational campground, a national recreational campground, and the way it's set up, and I haven't done the math, but approximately about a third are full hookups, and a third are water and electric, and a third of them are just electric. And I think Lani pointed out, so my math's way off, but she said there's some even just primitive campsites. So the point is, is that you have just about anything you want and at different price points that will help you save money if you don't need full hookups. But we stayed at this campground many times with full hookups, and at the moment we're on just electric only, and we'll talk more about that in a minute. But the sites are here, whatever you want. So we didn't count off for not having a sewer at some of the sites, because you know what you're getting when you make your reservation or when you come in. So as far as hookups, we're giving that a nine. Okay, so our next category is the showers and the laundry. We love that there's laundry, there's washer and dryers at every single one of these buildings. The bathhouses could use a little updating. It's a national park, a national recreation area, and it's very, very busy all summer long. So I don't know exactly when they do that type stuff. So we're gonna give the bathhouse and the laundry a seven, just because it needs a little bit of updating. They're clean, they're usable, they're good as far as that goes. Just needs a little updating, so give it a seven. The next category are the roads. How are they? You know, we hate going through some park and have bumps and dips everywhere. These roads are paved and in fairly good shape. I only think I saw one pothole. So overall, we're gonna give this a nine. So the next category is connectivity. How was the cell service? How was the TV service? And how was our Wi-Fi? Well, you are out in the middle of nowhere, in between the land, between the lakes, so some things are tough. Our AT&T worked at one campsite, but when we moved to another, we had zero service. Our TV, you're not near any major cities, so you're not getting any TV stations. Now the great news is our T-Mobile Wi-Fi worked great throughout the park, and we were able to use it for Wi-Fi calling, so we were always able to get on the internet, and we were always able to check on our family, so it did well. We can say that Verizon and T-Mobile's cell service worked pretty good throughout the park, according to what we were told. So overall, we're gonna give connectivity a five. So let's talk about the activities and amenities. Look behind me. This sunset is amazing. Right there is Kentucky Lake. That is one of the biggest assets and one of the biggest things to do around here. You have boating, fishing, swimming, skiing, whatever you want to do, you can do it in Kentucky Lake. The campground has two separate boat launches. They have a swimming area. They do not have a pool. You got the lake. You don't need a pool here. Also, there is a playground for the kids to play on. Right now, they're about to close. November 30th is the last day they're open, and then they close for the season. So right now, there's not a lot of things going on as far as activities. A couple of weeks ago, Halloween week, they had two separate weekends where they had huge things here for the kids. One weekend, they even had blow-ups and everything come in, and lots of kids were here. We were not here that weekend. We came in as everyone is leaving. So as far as activities and amenities go, we give it a 10. Oh, and you're also right next to the Land Between the Lakes National Recreational Area, and we have a full video on that. If you want to go look at it, Danny will put it somewhere, show you where the buffalo and the home place is. There's just so much to see and do, and another thing that we had a lot of fun doing around here, any of the gravel roads or dirt roads or whatever that come off the main roads, you're allowed to drive down as long as it has a number on it, and we've been jeeping. What fun! So the next category is cost per value. How are the costs? That's what everybody usually wants to know is how expensive it is, because you know campgrounds have really raised and raised the rates. Piney has raised the rates a little bit, but in 2024 we're told no rate increases from the previous year, so that's the great news. You can get into Piney as low as $26 for 30 amp, $28 for 50 amp. Now if you want sewer, there are very few sewer sites, and that's where it goes up. It goes up to $42 for full hookups. Now I do want to point out it is a National Recreational Area, so if you have the Senior Annual Pass or Senior Lifetime Pass, the Golden Pass as some people might call it, is you can get half price off, and that's where it's really a great, great value. So make sure you check that out, and that's why we give it a 9. So let's talk about the staff. We happen to think the staff here is amazing. This is my new job. I'm part of the staff. I'll give the staff a 10, although I now will say I've met a lot of people that work here, and they're all very nice and very friendly, and they hired us. They can't be all that bad, right Danny? So we give the staff a 10. And our final category is things to do in the area, and there is a ton. There is a ton. We're going to give that a 10. Yep, there's a lot to do, especially if you love outdoors. It's definitely an outdoor type of adventure campground. The campground is right on Kentucky Lake, Barkley Lake, two huge lakes. It's within driving just minutes away. The National Recreational Area has so many things to do, including the National Battlefield, if you like that kind of history. There's lots of small towns around that if you want to go exploring or do like antiquing or something like that. But let's talk about Kentucky Lake. They have lots of great fishing, swimming, boating, skiing, jet boats, all the stuff to do. In the fall and winter, a lot of people come here because they hunt in the National Recreational Area. I don't know anything about those permits or anything like that. You have to check with someone else about that, but there's just so much to do here. Now, Land Between the Lakes National Park, we have a full video on that with all the things there are to do. So Danny will link that here somewhere. Yep, check that out because you'll see Buffalo. You'll see so many more things. There's so much to do there. We're not going to take the time to mention all of them. We want to give you the grand total. I need to get some new drums. Especially with the zip. Yeah, the zip. I don't think drums zip very well. So for Piney Campground here in the Land Between the Lakes, we give it an 87. Yay! So that is one of the high scores we gave because we love the feel and the vibe to this campground. Yes, it's a great place to stay. It's a great place for families to hang out. Even if you're not into the water and the outside, you'll meet a lot of great people when you come here. Yep. And one of the most amazing things about Piney Campground is the sunsets. Catch this. Until next time, God bless and many safe travels. And go RV America!