Sweetwater Valley KOA

Went on a spur of the moment camping trip this weekend with friends to the Sweetwater Valley KOA. I hadnt camped in a KOA in years and years, so I wasnt sure what to expect. I had looked up the webiste online www.sweetwaterkoa.com and it looked nice enough.
Upon arriving we went into the office to register and I must say we were treated very friendly, and were given a map of the campground along with a sheet of paper with activities for the weekend which were : sat morn pancake breakfast at the pool, all you can eat,coffe or juice for 3 dollars ,sat afternoon home made pulled pork sammiches with chips and a drink 5 dollars and saturday evening a free hayride.
The KOA had a really nice pool that was clean and had nice lounge chairs and tables which i really enjoyed.The laundry room had new washers and dryers, folding table and was very clean. The restrooms were big with several toilets and showers and I must say the cleanest ive ever come across at a campground. There were two recreational rooms, one with a pool table,acade games (rather old and the pool table could use new felt) the other rec room was a table , tv and i think some computer games/movies.
The office also had a little store where you could buy odds and ends, ice cream, soda,camping supplies and gifts.
Outside there was a small basketball court, swimming pool (with free to use floaties,beach balls ect) two playgrounds with swings,climbing structures,merrygoround,ect. They also had a huge blow up jump pillow for kids and adults to use..you just had to sign a waiver to use it..They had a volleyball and horseshoe area also.
Campground sites were located on two different tiers, our spot was up behind the office facing the pool and playground area, they were all pull through sites on asphalt each with a firering. barbque and table, with grass inbtw each site.Each site had trees but depending on which site as to more of less shade mornnig or evening sun.
The second tier of campsites were located below the office and looked much more shady but closer together and seemed like some of them were allocated to monthlies with big 5'ers. They also sold propane, and had little cabins you could rent.
Fees I thought were resonable , we opted for just water and electricity but full hookups were available, along with cable ( we got all the channels I get on attenna at home) and wi fi was free and data port. Kids seemed to really enjoy the pool along with the giant jumping pillow. I think for a private campground this was a pretty nice place to camp...it not being just one big paved parking lot. You could barely hear the hwy noise from I75 but you could hear it. I didnt see any campground gestapo running around yelling at kids, the staff seemed very attentive and wanted to make sure you were having a great time;.I also forgot they had a K9 camp for dogs! Sam loved playing where she could safely run around off a leash with other dogs. Anyways we had a great time and hope to go back there again soon.

Kim

Sounds like a great campground Kim. What was the pricing?

Yes, how much did it cost?

according to ther website.. rates are from $29 to $47.. depending on if you want full hookup w/ cable or not. Some sites ($47) are called "deluxe". They also offer a buy 3 nights.. get one free deal.

Thanks Chuck for the pricing info, it wasnt on the brochure just the website. I usually dont pay over 20 dollars a nite to camp with water and electricity (im on the cheap side) but I guess compared to places ive heard about in seiverville,gatlinburg and the like its about the same or less? At cove lake you can go into the pool for what? 3 dollars if your a camper? seems like thats a pretty good deal for $23.00 but thats a state park and not a private campground. I dont do alot of private campground camping, but I did enjoy this campground, however I dont know how it compares to like a yogi bear jellystone place or something like that. If I wasnt so thrifty I think I could get used to all the amenties a park like this offers, to me it was a bit of a luxury having the pool , laundry and store right at my fingertips, it was a nice change of pace and well worth the extra money to me this time ..$29.50 water/electric 30amp/wifi. I did notice all sites were pull throughs...boy was that a nice !! I think that was one of my favorite things, easy breezy set up!

Kim

did all the sites have sewer hookup? or just the deluxe sites?

That really is reasonable.

Plus, the McDonalds in sweetwater, just off the interstate, has icecream for $0.69 and they really load up the cone!

I found the water at the McDonalds in Sweetwater to be just water, not really sweet.

Thanks for the great review!!! sound like a place we may go to sometime. The KOA's that we have visited have usually not been worth the $$$. Mostly because they have let them get run down (typically speaking..."the meal rarely looks like the picture on the commercial"). I know that there are a few we have seen (not camped in yet) that are really nice...

Kim, we are like you in that we usually stay in State Parks for the open feel of the campgrounds and the price is more in our range, so we usually don't go to private campground a lot.

Richard wrote:That really is reasonable.

Plus, the McDonalds in sweetwater, just off the interstate, has icecream for $0.69 and they really load up the cone!

I found the water at the McDonalds in Sweetwater to be just water, not really sweet.

That is what those packets of sugar are for.

chuck wrote:did all the sites have sewer hookup? or just the deluxe sites?

No not all sites had sewer, there were some with water elect wifi only (like the site I had).

The deluxe sites that have 30/50 amp service come with a wrought iron patio table set with chairs and cushions..umbrella...log hewn swing, flower bed, and cement patio area, electric, water, cable, wifi. $47.OO a nite

Pull-thru, Full hookups, 30 amp, Cable, WiFi
These DELUXE sites features end of the road privacy with a large deck and shade tree on the driver side of your rig. electric/water,cable, wifi $47.00 a nite

Pull-thru, Full hookups, 30 amp, Cable, WiFi
Long, wide pull thrus with plenty of space to spread out set in our scenic country atmosphere. Easy access with almost all sites paved. $39.00 a nite

Pull-thru, Full hookups, 30 amp, WiFi
Enjoy shade trees on these long,wide pull thru sites. Set in ourscenic country atmosphere, these sites are all near our facilities and all have easy access.$37.00 a nite

Pull-thru, Water/Electric, 30 amp, WiFi
Long, paved pull thrus near all of the facilites and set in our scenic country atmosphere. Enjoy the shade trees and these easy access sites.$29.50 a nite

They also have tent sites for 25.50 a nite with electricity..im not sure but the website comes up tent site with electricity if you type in tent trailer too...not so sure about water, it just says tent with electricity...??

anyways forgot to mention they have a pond for fishing too..although i neglected to go see it or inquire how the fishing works..next time I guess.

Hope this helps..P.S. the sweetwater KOA website has nice pictures of each kind of site along with pictures of the facilities there.

Kim

Now that's thorough. Thanks Kim. I think I'll get the $29 site when I give them a try.

this CG is about an hour from my home.. Actually closer than going to GBurg or Pigeon Forge. I thin k because its interstate 95% of the way.

Richard wrote:Now that's thorough. Thanks Kim. I think I'll get the $29 site when I give them a try.

That $29 dollar site sounds like a good deal

chuck wrote:this CG is about an hour from my home.. Actually closer than going to GBurg or Pigeon Forge. I thin k because its interstate 95% of the way.

Are you thinking of going Chuck? It is close to you

who knows.. maybe someday. maybe not.