Lock a
October 2026
About
Overview
The relaxing yet activity-rich Lock A Campground has something to offer everyone from horseshoe pits to volleyball courts and hiking opportunities, plus a plethora of lake activities as well.
Keep in mind, staff will hold a campsite until the check-out time (2:00 pm) on the day following the arrival date. However, if you're arrving late, we highly recommend you call the campground to notify the Park Attendant. If arrival does not occur before check-out time on the day following the arrival date, the reservation will be canceled.
Recreation
The temperate climate here allows for a lengthy recreation season including boating, swimming, canoeing and fishing.
For hikers, the Cumberland River Bicentennial Trail is a rails-to-trails project, which runs 6.5 miles long and crosses Sycamore Creek on a historic abandoned railroad trestle.
Facilities
Both RV and tent sites have 50 amp electric hookups. Additional amenities include hot showers, a dump station, boat launch, playground, picnic shelter and swimming area.
A beach and additional playgrounds are available in the adjacent Cheatham Dam Right Bank Recreation Area.
Natural Features
Lock A is on the north bank of the lake, just upstream from Cheatham Lock and Dam along the Cumberland River in north-central Tennessee.
Nearby Attractions
The Pardue Pond and Dyson Ditch Wildlife Refuges are on the other side of Cheatham lake. Both are excellent places for bird watching and exploring.
Amenities
Phone: 615-792-3715
Is LOCK A fully booked?
A campground showing no availability is almost never full for good. People cancel — plans change, weather turns, someone books three weekends and keeps one — and the site goes straight back into the booking system, usually without warning and often at odd hours. The reason sold-out campgrounds feel impossible is not that sites never free up; it is that nobody is watching at the moment they do.
CampHawk watches LOCK A in Ashland City, TN for you. We recheck it every 15 seconds, around the clock, and the moment a site opens we send a text, an email and a push notification — and on Recreation.gov we can put the site straight into your cart, so it is held while you get to your phone.
Searching is free and needs no account — the calendar above is live right now. Watching LOCK A for cancellations is the paid part.