Cherokee National Forest · Tennessee
Overview Backbone Rock Campground is closed for the season. Backbone Rock Pavilion is open to reservations until the first Monday in November, and the vault toilet in the day-use area is open until the third Monday in November. Backbone Rock is a small campground situated along the beautiful Beaverdam Creek at an elevation of 2,100 feet in northern Johnson County.
Sites at Backbone Rock Campground are reserved through Recreation.gov. Sites here can be reserved in advance through the official system, and they are claimed fast — cancellations then trickle back all season, unannounced, at any hour of the day or night.
| Total sites | 11 |
|---|---|
| Site types | Standard |
| Location | Shady Valley, TN |
| Book through | Recreation.gov |
| Official listing | Recreation.gov |
Because sites are booked months ahead, a steady share of reservations get cancelled as trips fall through. Each cancellation instantly returns that site and those nights to the official calendar — first-come, first-served, no waitlist, no announcement. Refreshing the booking page yourself, every few minutes for weeks, works in theory. In practice, the people who get these sites are the ones who hear about the opening first.
ItOpened scans the Recreation.gov calendar for Backbone Rock Campground around the clock. When a site matching your dates and your vehicle opens, you get a text with a direct link to it. You book it yourself, in your own account, at the normal price. We never book, hold, or resell — your fee pays for monitoring, and openings are first-come, so speed is the whole game.
| Indian Boundary | Cancellation alerts available |
|---|---|
| Little Oak Campground | Cancellation alerts available |
| Chilhowee Campground | Cancellation alerts available |
| Cardens Bluff Campground | Cancellation alerts available |
| Thunder Rock Campground | Cancellation alerts available |
| Rock Creek Recreation Area (Cherokee National Forest, TN) | Cancellation alerts available |
| Jacobs Creek Campground (TN) | Cancellation alerts available |
| Paint Creek Campground | Cancellation alerts available |
| Horse Creek Recreation Area | Cancellation alerts available |
| Parksville Lake Rv Campground | Cancellation alerts available |
| Dennis Cove Campground | Cancellation alerts available |
| Big Oak Cove Campground | Cancellation alerts available |
| Birch Branch Campground | Cancellation alerts available |
| Davis Branch Campground | Cancellation alerts available |
| Holder Cove Campground | Cancellation alerts available |
| Holly Flats Campground | Cancellation alerts available |
| Jake Best Campground | Cancellation alerts available |
| Lost Corral Horse Camp | Cancellation alerts available |
| North River Campground | Cancellation alerts available |
| Old Forge Campground | Cancellation alerts available |
| Rough Ridge Campground | Cancellation alerts available |
| Round Mountain Campground | Cancellation alerts available |
| Spivey Cove Campground | Cancellation alerts available |
| State Line Campground | Cancellation alerts available |
| The Laurels Picnic Area Pavilions | Cancellation alerts available |
| Watauga Point Recreation Area | Cancellation alerts available |
| Backbone Rock Recreation Area Pavilions | Cancellation alerts available |
| Chilhowee Group Camp | Cancellation alerts available |
| Donley Cabin | Cancellation alerts available |
| Horse Creek Pavilion DAY USE | Cancellation alerts available |
| Houston Valley | Cancellation alerts available |
| Katy Branch | Cancellation alerts available |
| Mcnabb Creek Group | Cancellation alerts available |
| Quinn Springs Pavilion | Cancellation alerts available |
Page data refreshed 2026-10-29. Site facts come from the official directory listing for Backbone Rock Campground; cancellation statistics come from our own scanning logs.