Point Mallard Campground is run by the city of Decatur and is located less than a mile from the Tennessee River. It is a resort-style campground that features an 18-hole golf course, an ice skating rink, a water park and baseball batting cages. The campground itself features 217 different campsites. The campground offers sites with and without electrical hookups, discounts for senior citizens and rates for overnight, daily, weekly, monthly and group stays. Campers can take advantage of Point Mallard's camping amenities, which include restrooms and showers, a laundry room, grocery story, covered picnic areas, a dump station and a meeting facility. According to the state of Alabama's outdoors website, the Tennessee River features 176 different species of fish.
Point Mallard Campground
2600 Point Mallard Dr. Southeast
Decatur, AL 35601-6743
256-351-7772
pointmallardpark.com
The city of Florence, Alabama, runs two different campsites near the Tennessee River, with the larger being McFarland Park. McFarland has 60 different campsites and is open year-round. Campers can pitch their tents with or without the campground's amenities. RVs are welcome and there are pull-through sites on the grounds. City codes govern the use of the facility. Campers should expect to check out by noon the day they are leaving, and the park closes to visitors at 11 p.m. Campfires must be contained, and you can only use charcoal in barbecue grills. Dogs are welcome, but bicycles, skateboards and scooters are not. The other city-run campground in Florence is Veteran's Memorial Park, which has 22 sites. The south side of the McFarland Park campground borders the Tennessee River.
McFarland Park
Florence, AL 35630
256-760-6416
florenceal.org
The Tennessee River empties into Guntersville Lake, considered one of the river's four major impoundments. It serves as a dam in the Tennessee Valley Authority. This state park is more than 6,000 acres and has plenty of noncamping amenities, including an 18-hole golf course, beach and a resort inn that features a meeting area. In terms of camping, Lake Guntersville has more than 350 campsites, including sites large enough to handle RVs with hookups. You can camp with modern conveniences or in primitive fashion at Lake Guntersville. Either way, you can use the campground's bathhouses to stay clean, picnic tables to eat and a store to buy food and drinks. Lake Guntersville has a reputation for largemouth bass.
Lake Guntersville State Park
24 State Campground Rd.
Guntersville, AL 35976
256-571-5455
alapark.com
