David Crockett State Park

State Park Tennessee

Visited March 2016

Entrance sign for David Crockett State Park

David Crockett State Park is located in Lawrenceburg, TN, about 70 miles SSW of Nashville. The park is home to two campgrounds, a restaurant, and cottages. The park was dedicated in 1959 to honor one of Tennessee's most famous native sons, who lived in the Lawrenceburg area where he began his political career.

Tel: 931-762-9408

We called the morning of the day of our arrival to inquire about site availability - not a problem, we were told. When we arrived, we were assigned to site 70, and told that if we weren't happy with it to pick another site and call back to the office to let them know. We were quite pleased with 70.

Greetings from

David Crockett State Park

We called the morning of the day of our arrival to inquire about site availability - not a problem, we were told. When we arrived, we were assigned to site 70, and told that if we weren't happy with it to pick another site and call back to the office to let them know. We were quite pleased with 70.

Ribbit! The WxToad

Around the campground

There are two campgrounds in the park - Campground #1 is located near the park entrance and is open seasonally. Before we went on our way to Campground #2, I took a walk through #1 to see what it was like. Sites here are generally quite small and some are suitable for tenters with cars only. These are sites 6-8, situated on a slight hill back from the stream.

Sites 15-21, along the bank of Shoal Creek, could handle small RV's.

Sites 24-30 are also along the stream, but are strictly tent sites.

Sites 36-40 are really best suited to vans and pick-up truck campers.

Sites 43-54 are about the longest ones, but even at that they're really not suited to big rigs.

A modern bathhouse with hot showers is located in the middle of Campground #1.

Right beside Campground #1 is a small day-use area with several pavilions and a nice play area for the kids.

Campground #2 is a little over a mile further into the park. It's up on a hill and has no nice stream-side sites like Campground #1.Sites 59-61. Once the leaves are fully out, all these sites will be nicely shaded.

Site 76, like most of the sites, slopes quite a bit toward the back.

Site 94 is located in the center of a small loop of sites.

Sites 97 and 98 are located on a bit of a hill and really slope down at the rear.

Site 107 is a designated handicapped-accessible site near one of the two bathhouses. We were very impressed with them - well-designed, very clean, excellent showerheads and lots of hot water.

If you have young children, site 102 might be a good pick since it is right beside the play area and a pavilion with... — If you have young children, site 102 might be a good pick since it is right beside the play area and a pavilion with a fireplace.

About a mile past Campground #2 is an area with the park restaurant and swimming pool. Nearby is this small fall on Shoal Creek with a drop of about two feet.

The David Crockett Museum is here as well.

The museum is home to several injured birds of prey, including this red-tailed hawk sitting proudly on his perch. It brought tears to my eyes, though, as I thought about how much happier he would be soaring over the countryside.

A small dam in Shoal Creek holds back the waters of David Crockett Lake. Small boats can be rented here.

Across the lake from the docks is an active eagle's nest. To help locate it, the park has set up this post with tubes aimed right at the nest.

There are seven modern cottages up on a hillside overlooking the lake.

Passing through the park is the infamous Trail of Tears - more than two miles of the original (1838-39) Bell Route... — Passing through the park is the infamous Trail of Tears - more than two miles of the original (1838-39) Bell Route of the Trail of Tears is located in the park. In 1838, the United States government forcibly removed more than 16,000 Cherokee Indian people from their homelands in Tennessee, Alabama, North Carolina, and Georgia, and sent them to Indian Territory (today known as Oklahoma). All those plodding feet wore down the trail in many places. The impact to the Cherokee was devastating. Hundreds of Cherokee died during their trip west, and thousands more perished from the consequences of relocation. This tragic chapter in American and Cherokee history became known as the Trail of Tears, and culminated the implementation of the Indian Removal Act of 1830, which mandated the removal of most American Indian tribes east of the Mississippi River to lands in the West. (Courtesy National Park Service)

Nearby campgrounds

Mallard Creek TVAAL · 40 miles away

J. P. Coleman State ParkMS · 51 miles away

Pickwick Dam TVATN · 53 miles away

Redstone ArsenalAL · 55 miles away

Back on the roadSee all 402 campgrounds