Dale Hollow Lake, Tennessee, is known for its wildlife, hiking, camping, fishing and other aquatic sports. With campgrounds and lodging venues that offer cabin rentals, marinas, fishing, restaurants, dams, parks, rivers, creeks, vineyards, stables, hiking and museums, the region is an ideal area for families and the nature-enthusiast. For the brave and outdoorsy, eight campgrounds surround the area.
Located in Celina, Donaldson Park offers a boat launch, hiking trails, volleyball and basketball courts, wildlife, boating, picnicking and other outdoor recreational activities. Campers will find flush toilets in the bathrooms, potable water and pit grills near the picnic areas. You must make reservations at Donaldson Park at least two days before your intended arrival, and you must keep your pet on a leash. Fireworks and alcoholic beverages are prohibited. Every year the area holds a lakeshore cleanup on the last Saturday in September. Contact the campground directly for information about campsite sizes and water or electric hookups for tents and RVs.
Dale Hollow Damsite, Celina, Tennessee, boasts 62 standard campsites with electric and water hook-ups, 16 paved RV sites with electric and water hook-ups, and one standard site with no electric or water. Visitors will find it below the Dale Hollow Dam on the Obey River Tailwater. The only access to Dale Hollow Lake is three miles from the campground at the Pleasant Grove Day Use Area. Near the campground you can visit the Dale Hollow National Fish Hatchery, which is run by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and hatches an average of 1.5 million trout each year. Dale Hollow Dam Campground boasts an amphitheater, basketball and volleyball courts, a bike trail, a fish-cleaning station, hiking and picnicking, playgrounds, fire-rings, restrooms with flush toilets and showers, potable water and laundry facilities. Alcoholic beverages, firearms or other weapons, ATVS and fireworks are prohibited, and quiet hours are from 10 p.m. to 6 a.m. Domestic pets are allowed.
Located on a peninsula of Dale Hollow Lake, Pleasant Grove Recreation Area is two miles north of Celina, Tennessee, and is the Dale Hollow Lake access point for many recreational boaters and fishermen in the Dale Hollow Lake area. No camping is allowed here, but the site offers picnic shelters, trails, a delineated area for swimming, grilling areas, comfort stations and restrooms with flush toilets, a bridge and the boat launch ramp. Pets on leashes are welcome, but alcoholic beverages are prohibited. Parking space is limited.
Willow Grove Campground, on the midpoint of Dale Hollow Lake about 20 miles from Livingston, Tennessee, boasts an elevated view of Dale Hollow Lake. Scuba-divers set off from the nearby shoreline to explore a sunken schoolhouse, the Willow Grove School House. Campers will find 21 tent-only, no-electric and water hook-up sites at the park, 61 standard sites with electric and water hook-ups, and one paved RV site with electric and water hook-ups. It is a pet-friendly campground and features an amphitheater, boat launch ramp, scuba diving, showers and flush toilets, swimming at the beach, volleyball courts, water skiing and fishing, a marina, picnicking and a playground. Alcoholic beverages are prohibited.
Winner of the 2005 National NRRS "Top 10 Most Scenic Campgrounds," Lillydale Campground and Day Use Area boasts more waterfront camping sites on Dale Hollow Lake than any other campground surrounding the lake. It is located near the Tennessee-Kentucky border, 20 miles from Livingston, Tennessee. You will find 79 standard sites with electric and water hook-ups, five standard sites with no electric or water hook-ups, four tent-only sites with electric and water, 10 tent-only with no water or electric, one paved RV site with electric and water and 15 island walk-to tent-only sites with no electric or water hook-ups. The campground has basketball and volleyball courts, picnic areas, a playground, swimming along the beach, water skiing and boating and restrooms with showers and flush toilets. Alcoholic beverages are prohibited along with firearms and fireworks. Domestic pets are permitted. Gates lock at 10 p.m.
Located three miles south of Byrdstown, Tennessee, the Obey River Campground and Day Use Area has the largest sand swimming beach and campground on Dale Hollow Lake. Campers will find 131 sites on the grounds, including 63 standard sites with electric and water hook-ups, 30 standard sites with no electric and water, four standard sites with water hook-ups, nine paved RV sites with electric and water hook-ups, one tent-only site with electric and water and 24 tent-only sites with no electric or water. The campground offers ball courts, boating and a boat launch ramp, bathrooms with showers and flush toilets, laundry facilities, a public marina, swimming on the beach and a playground. Alcoholic beverages, firearms and fireworks are prohibited, but pets on a 6-foot leash are allowed.
A state park located on the Cumberland Plateau and bordering Dale Hollow Lake, Standing Stone State Park spans 11,000 acres and has expansive wildlife, scenery and fossils. Standing Stone is protected by the Resettlement Administration and was built by the Civilian Conservation Corps, the Works Projects Administration and the U.S. Forest Service. Several camping sites exist for tents or trailers with water and electric hook-ups, all of which are open on a first-come, first-served basis. The campground has two bathhouses, hiking trails, four group lodges, cabins, boating, fishing, picnic facilities, swimming in an Olympic-sized pool (with a kiddie pool and one low dive), a meeting room, a gift shop and an amphitheater. Domestic pets on leashes are allowed. The park hosts the annual National Rolley Hole Marbles Championship & Festival, a historic event that has been featured on ESPN.
Dale Hollow Lake State Resort Park on the Kentucky side of Dale Hollow Lake has a variety of lodging options, including campsites, a lodge and cottages. Campers can choose from 145 campsites that vary in utility hook-up combinations. Twenty-four campsites are horse-and-trailer accessible. Visitors can find air-conditioned cabins with bunks, a pool, a golf trail, showers and flush toilets and attractions in the area. The State Resort Park is also home to a restaurant that offers Kentucky country cooking.
