The campground at Cove Lake State Park (tn.gov) is in the northern section of the park and has 106 campsites for tents, trailers and larger RVs, as some sites are more than 50 feet in length. Each site includes water and electrical hookups, and most have barbecue grills and picnic tables. The campground also has a dump station, two community bathhouses with hot showers and restroom facilities, a playground and a picnic shelter.
You can reserve your campsite at Cove Lake State Park online through a link on the park's website or by calling 423-566-9701. Reservations may be made up to a year in advance, and camping discounts are given to seniors and veterans. The maximum stay at Cove Park's campground is two weeks, and up to five campsites can be reserved under one reservation. Pets are allowed in the campground as long as they are kept on a leash.
Cove Lake State Park has a number of recreational activities for campers to take part in during their trip. Anglers can drop their lines for bass, bluegill and crappie on Cove Lake, where guests can also rent a flat-bottom fishing boat or paddleboat. The 673-acre park has several hiking and nature trails, including a three-and-a-half-mile multiuse trail that's available to hikers, joggers and bikers. Cove Lake also has an outdoor swimming pool, shuffleboard, horseshoes, a softball field, and tennis, basketball and volleyball courts. Other amenities include a restaurant, nature center, 112 picnic tables and six picnic shelters.
Cove Lake State Park provides access to the Cumberland Trail State Scenic Trail and the Devil's Racetrack, a sandstone formation that resembles a set of jagged teeth protruding from Cumberland Mountain and provides a panoramic vista of the surrounding valleys and mountain range. The Devil's Race Track is about a three-mile one-way hike along the Cumberland Trail from the Cove Lake trailhead. Another nearby attraction is the Museum of Appalachia in Clinton, less than 15 miles southeast of Cove Lake State Park. The museum is home to a mountain village with approximately three dozen log structures, farm animals, the Appalachian Hall of Fame and collections of artifacts that tell the story of the Appalachian people.
