Magazine Branch Lake Access

Showed up just after 4:30pm on 10/26/23 and was luckily able to grab the end spot to setup with other sites right off the road still available after finding Lake Santeetlah full. Great location next to the water, would highly recommend and stay again. And coming down Tail of the Dragon isn’t terrible, just drive your speed and pull off when someone comes up on you.

I'll start with the good first.
First off, amazing, beautiful, and the best camp site I've been to yet. We had no issue with our 25' camper. It had leveled ground, picnic tables, clean porta-potties, boat landing, clean water to swim in with stunning views, and amazing stars. There were 5 other people camping there, including a skoolie, and some local people came with their boats but it was still quiet. I would 100% stay again.

WARNING:
If you're driving from the south, you should be fine but big rigs may find it to be a little difficult. BUT if you're driving from the north, through Tennessee, NO RVS 30' OR MORE, ARE ALLOWED! The road is called "Tail of the Dragon" and it goes, up, down, and through the mountain on the tightest turns I've ever been on. We were going north and drove on this road and we were terrified while driving it with our 25' camper and honestly I don't even recommend driving it unless you have a van set up or something way smaller than 25' long. It's very popular for motorcyclist, which made each turn even scarier. That's my only take back.

If heading south down the dragons tail, this is located not too far from the end of it. Located next to a dam, it is a an area owned by a local company. Not a lot of spots but a great place to stop by. There is a boat launch, dumpster, ports johns and that is it. Water was not stagnate, but not a lot of current due to damn. We tent camped, there were stone fire rings, we kayaked the river up to the damn, up against a mountain side and river. Able to find plenty of firewood by climbing the steep hill. Picnic tables available at some spots. Had a bald Eagle keeping us company at our site in the morning. Did hear some fish jumping.

Probably the most beautiful site I’ve been able to park my van at. Very little traffic when i went, so very quiet. The lake is so peaceful. There’s a boat launch here, as well as a dock, very clean river water and multiple porta potties. very accessible for my van, but sites don’t look like they could fit something bigger than a van. fire rings and picnic tables are there. No service, but theres a tavern literally 3 minutes up the road with wifi and drinks ;) only 20 minutes from the nearest town as well. Definitely a gem of a site & great location for spending some time in the smokies

My wife and I stayed there for a week and a day to do some hiking in the area, you are able to stay for 14 days. Our spot was beautiful right now to the little Tennessee river.

The location has absolutely no service for miles around. The only place to get any connection is through the Tapoco historic lodge/tavern where they have guest Wi-Fi to use and a water spigot up there as well.

There are really only 2-3 rig spots that accommodate “bigger” rigs. We have a 30ft travel trailer and made it in okay but I wouldn’t recommend a fifth wheel in down on that road. Many more spots for a van if that’s your setup.

It was slightly trashy throughout the spot, my wife and I cleaned up the best we could while we stayed but animals also drag trash out of the open dumpsters at night lol so kind of an uphill battle.

Last but not least I’d like to add is there are port-o-potty’s down there to use throughout the spot. Can help if you want to limit black tank usage. The only dump station we found in the area is at Fontana Dam at the campground, it is free and has a water spigot there as well.

Best of luck!

Have camped and fished here since boyhood in the early 70s. Used to be a best kept secret. But tourists are the ones to blame for the negative reviews. This spot isn't set up to handle big RV's. Worry not about The Dragon, as it has been named by outsiders. Locals rightly think negative of US129, since the bikers and fast cars have little to no respect for anyone. My mother was raised in logging camps from Rabbit Creek to Slick Rock. But if you like copperhead and rattlesnakes, this might be a fun place for you. Don't judge the Locals. We have as much right as anyone to camp here. Mind your own business, and you'll get along. I'm sure eventually it will be totally ruined by tourists.

I've camped here many times over the past forty years. The site is owned by the local paper company who also own the dams on the Little Tennessee River above and below this site. It's right off US Hwy 129 just a couple of miles south of the Dragons Tail at Deal's Gap. The site has slowly evolved during that time and lights, a dumpster, a port-a-potty, a boat ramp and floating dock have been added. Across the highway is the dam where Harrison Ford took a dive in an effort to escape Tommy Lee Jones in The Fugitive. While a stuntman may have performed the dive it was Ford himself who braved the always cold water of Lake Calderwood in winter to crawl ashore after the jump scene. Sylvester Stallone and James Woods also blew up a South American general's SUV here in The Specialist. The lake itself is small being about six miles long and less than a mile wide and situated between the mountains that drop straight down on either side. About a mile upstream on the opposite side is Slickrock Creek that flows down from the Joyce Kilmer Wilderness and forms the NC - TN state boundary. If you paddle don't miss a quick trip to the creek as it is absolutely beautiful. More paddling opportunities are available on the Cheoha River that flows into the Little Tennessee at this spot as well. The only negative thing for me is the lack of cellular service, other than that it's just about perfect.

Love this spot! There is plenty of room for several RVs and tent camping. Dumpster on site, boat ramp, porty johns, fire rings, beautiful location, secluded. Easy access down a short paved road.
*WARNING:
Route 129 just a few miles north of this location is "The Tail of the Dragon". There are 318 curves in 11 miles of road with no turn offs. It is very popular for motorcycles and sports cars and not very friendly to large RV rigs.*

Most of the campgrounds in the area are closed during the winter and we stumbled upon this one for the night. There are several dry camping spots on the river. A few had fire ring, grill, and picnic table. There were also several porta potties on the other side of the access road and a couple trash dumpsters. Brookfield Smokey Mountain Hydropower operates these sites and they are free. We stayed in our van overnight and nobody else came into the area until the early morning locals arrive for fishing. There are several dusk to dawn lights down the road so it’s not completely pitch black at night. The entrance is located on the east side of Highway 129 south just south of Deals Gap “Tail of the Dragon”.

The was just a stretch of a gravel road with tents and campers set up right on the road. No more than 5-10 feet from the road. The water was stagnant and dirty. This may be good for fishing I heard but the picture posted here do not paint an accurate picture. Also don’t try taking a camper down highway 129. We have never heard of the tail of the dragon but if you follow GPS, it will take you down this road and it is not safe for campers. It’s basically a big racetrack for sports cars and motorcycles.