Lord Alfred the Airstream Update No. 017

 

 Melton Hill Campground

near Lenoir City, TN

From the Vista Recreation website: Melton Hill Dam Campground is located at TVA’s Melton Hill Dam in Loudoun County, TN. The campground is upstream of Melton Hill Dam on the south bank and has a 10-15% slope with three roads tiered up the hillside. Immediately adjacent to the campground is a public boat ramp, day use, picnic and swim area. An overlook is located on the outskirts with picnic tables and benches. 

 

For the past few years, this has been a favorite stop-over place for us when we can get one of our favorite spots below the hill...

From Wikipedia: Melton Hill Dam is a hydroelectric dam on the Clinch River just south of Oak Ridge, Tennessee, United States. The dam is operated by the Tennessee Valley Authority, which built the dam in the early 1960s to extend the Tennessee Valley's continuous navigation channel up the Clinch as far as Clinton and to increase TVA's overall power-generating capacity. The dam impounds the 5,470-acre (2,210 ha) Melton Hill Lake, and is the only TVA tributary dam serviced by a navigation lock. The dam and associated infrastructure were listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2017.

 

My dad worked for TVA as a hydro-electric engineer so I always enjoy being around the dams along the river. Melton Hill has steps going into the lake which always brings back some of my earliest lake memories from when we lived in Chattanooga when I was two years old...

 

Melton Hill campground is a pretty place, clean and neat, located just off the interstates [actually between the I-75 and I-40.]

It's easy in and out [if you're on the lowest area] 

and we've always enjoyed being there until this month - 

It's lost it's luster for us as we had 4-5 teenage boys driving back and forth on the lake road [between us and the tent campers] revving their motors and stopping and starting over and over again. We asked the camp hosts if there was a gate to keep them out - and no, they are not allowed to close the gate [?] There are signs that say campers only... They told us to call the sheriff if we had any issues.

I videoed them as they went by and they finally left.

Needless to say - we were not comfortable staying there knowing anyone could come into the campground and cause trouble...

We had booked a two night stay this time, 

but as we left to go see the cows we decided to not go back.

It makes me sad, because other Vista Rec campgrounds 

have gates and enforce the campers only rule...

My take:

Great campground, except for the safety issues...

Bathrooms were clean enough - However, during this visit there was no door / curtain on the shower in the ladies room...  Internet is good -