We had booked our trip here planning for it to be our first of the year. If you follow our blog then you know we got a wild hair and have camped the whole month of March so far.
Sasquatch Farm is a campground in progress. It’s located in South Pittsburgh, TN. You may ask what does that mean? Well, it’s still under construction but it’s camp-able. The camp store is finished and very nice. The campground gates, complete with super cool Sasquatch logo are in place and working for security. They have really cool mobile bathhouses in place which have heat and air and are super clean.
The roads are cut in and covered in very large gravel. I’ll be honest I was concerned about tires on this gravel. Power and water is complete on all sites and they are in progress of installing sewer hookups. We actually received a call while on our way to the campground that our site was under construction and we could pick a new one when we arrived.
Adding the sewer hookups has many sites in a muddy state. There are piles of gravel waiting to be put down as they complete this work and this will greatly improve the sites. The few sites that are already graveled look pretty good.
The sites here are mostly large. Some are deeper than others and some are wide. There is a lake under construction and they have kayaks available. We ended up on Site 45
The Good
The good starts with the staff. They are super helpful. It’s obvious that they love the campground and they are anxious and excited to see it completed.
The camp store is very nice and they are full on pushing the Sasquatch Farm brand. From bagging your purchases in logo’s bags to shirts, magnets and more. I used to do some logo design and I think this one is very well done. The store has basic groceries, beer and speciality offerings. There’s firewood and ice of course. I would say the line of camper accessories could probably be larger but the basics are there like pressure regulators and sewage hose kits. I’m sure this will improve as the campground get busier.
There are a good number of trails in the campground. They offer bluff views and 3 different waterfalls. I will have to get pictures of these on our next trip as we did not get to hike this time.
The bathhouses are the mobile kind that are built in trailers but they are super clean, Heated and cooled. I know they have plans for a permanent building but this was a genius way to get the campground open and it’s more than sufficient for the purpose. They have full size showers and quite roomy overall.
If you needed to leave the campground. South Pittsburgh is just nine miles or so at the foot of the mountain. It a nice town with everything you would need. If you time it right you could enjoy the annual Cornbread Festival. Also less than 30 minutes away is Top of The Rock Restaurant and Brewery, which I highly recommend. Well the food and atmosphere. The beer is good but not standout. I should also mention that the Lodge Store is in South Pittsburgh so if you have been planning to get some cast iron cookware you will be in luck. Grab that dutch oven for the campfire.
You are also not far from Chattanooga, TN and could easily day trip from here. There are plenty of outdoor opportunities nearby and the campground materials promote some of those.
The Bad
Well it really starts with the fact that this campground is not “Prime Time” ready. Because it make no sense to finish a site just to dig it up. They haven’t gotten the sites in a finished state and mud if it rains is an issue. We had a hard time finding a decent site because of the this. We expect this to be remedied once the sewer work is complete. Again, I wouldn’t not camp here, we have enjoyed our site but it will be better in the near future.
The choice of the large gravel for the main road. I don’t mind an unpaved road but these gravel are hard on tires in my opinion. Not sure what their plans are moving forward. I forgot to ask to be fair
Our Experience
We had planned to do some hiking once we arrived. However it just didn’t work out. We have both had a touch of a cold, well Cathy has had a pretty good cold for a few weeks and it was super windy yesterday. The wind was gusting up to 26 mph. Yes, it was shaking the camper. This is from the big storm that went across the country and we just decided it was best not spend 4 or 5 hours in the wind. The temps were in the high 50’s the wind chill was much lower.
One of the trails literally started right behind our camper so I was a little bummed every time I looked that way. The trail was just whispering to me to amble down it.
We did get out and walk a little bit and met some neighbors. Our favorite part of camping is meeting nice people. Everyone has a camping story and tips that can make your camping experiences better. We met a nice couple from Chattanooga and had some fun exchanging insights on campgrounds, camping, craft beer and breweries. I knew I was going to like them when he offered me a beer and asked what style I preferred. We also did try to sit by the campfire for a bit
We were also camped next to a nice couple. She actually worked at the camp store. They moved south and had a super energetic dog name Tiberius. Yes after Captain Kirk, again my kind of people. I’m a Trekkie.
The good part of our trip was some much needed chill time. We hated to miss our outdoor adventures but we have been in need of some recoup time.
Wrap up and what’s next
In summary, I have high expectations for this campground. I don’t think they intend to be a resort level destination like Margaritaville but they appear to have plans to be a well groomed, well marketed and clean mountain destination. I like that they are security minded and the staff is down home friendly. I would say that by mid-Summer or Fall this will be a very nice place to camp and by next year you may have trouble booking a site here. I would recommend you add it to your list. If your coming down I-24 headed to Chattanooga and beyond. Stay few nights here.
Well as is our usual we did some planning while we were cooped up in the camper this weekend. We have friends in two different parts of Florida and we’ve decided to go visit in our camper this time. We aren’t doing beach front this trip and during our research we found quite a few campgrounds we want to try. But we will have at least two Florida campgrounds in April. We hope to add a couple of Harvest Host stays on this trip as well. So follow us to get notified of the next post.