Cordell Hull Lake · Tennessee
Overview Defeated Creek Park Campground sits along the banks of Cordell Hull Lake on the Cumberland River System, just seven miles from Carthage, Tennessee. The lake was named after Cordell Hull, a politician that was born in the foothills of the Cumberland Mountains. Hull is best known for being the longest running secretary of state in American history, serving for 11 years.
Sites at Defeated Creek Park 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 | 158 |
|---|---|
| Site types | Standard, Group, Shelter |
| Hookups | Electric hookups at some sites |
| Location | Carthage, 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 Defeated Creek Park 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.
| Salt Lick Creek | Cancellation alerts available |
|---|---|
| Roaring River Park | Cancellation alerts available |
| Tailwater Rec Area | Cancellation alerts available |
| Wartrace Ck Rec Area | Cancellation alerts available |
Page data refreshed 2026-10-29. Site facts come from the official directory listing for Defeated Creek Park; cancellation statistics come from our own scanning logs.