Backbone Rock Campground
October 2026
About
Overview
Backbone Rock Campground will open for the 2026 season on 4/27/26. The pavilion and vault toilets in the day-use area will open on 3/16/26. Backbone Rock is a small campground situated along the beautiful Beaverdam Creek at an elevation of 2,100 feet in northern Johnson County. This developed campground is popular with those visiting the nearby Backbone Rock, a tunnel originally blasted through the rock ridge for the railway. The creek side location with popular swim area and lush forest surroundings make Backbone Rock Campground particularly desirable during hot summer months. With 10 campsites and an adjacent large Civilian Conservation Corps- built reservable pavilion with lawn, Backbone Rock is a great option for a group to reserve the whole campground for retreats and other events.
Recreation
Along with camping, Beaverdam Creek is stocked with trout. The Appalachian National Scenic Trail is accessed via the Backbone Rock Trail (#53).
Facilities
There are 10 single campsites, including two double sites within Backbone Rock Campground. The campground has flush toilets. Each site contains a table, fire ring and lantern holder.
Natural Features
Backbone Rock Campground is located along the beautiful Beaverdam Creek nestled in the mountains of the Southern Appalachians.
Nearby Attractions
The trailhead for the Backbone Rock Trail (#53) is approximately a quarter mile South of the campground on TN Highway 133. This trail is 4 miles and at the end of the trail is where it joins into the Appalachian National Scenic Trail (#1) Damascus, VA is approximately 5 minutes North of the campground. The Backbone Falls Trail (#198) is approximately a third of a mile South of the campground. This 0.4 mile loop trail takes you to the top of Backbone Falls.
Amenities
Phone: 423-735-1500
Is BACKBONE ROCK CAMPGROUND 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 BACKBONE ROCK CAMPGROUND in Unicoi, 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.
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