Tellico River Road Campground Update

June 23, 2006

Message from Keith Lannom, Tellico District Ranger in the Cherokee National Forest:

The construction work on the Tellico River Corridor campgrounds is progressing well. The contractor has completed his work at Holder Cove (formerly known as #7) and the campground is open for use. We've installed temporary fire rings in each of the seven sites and the porta john is still on-site. We are waiting for the picnic tables, lantern posts, and vault toilet to be delivered (probably will be September). The "5 person & 2 vehicle" rule applies at Holder Cove. Right now there is not a user fee at Holder Cove, but starting Jan. 1, 2007 there will be $10/site user fee.

Photos of Holder Cove camp sites:

Rough Ridge (#8) is open for use also. The original plans called for 4 sites at Rough Ridge, but we were able to fit a 5th campsite into the site plan. We've installed temporary fire rings in each of the seven sites and the porta john is still on-site. We are waiting for the picnic tables, lantern posts, and vault toilet to be delivered (probably will be September). Rough Ridge is considered a "small group" campground, therefore the "5 person & 2 vehicle" rule will NOT apply. However all vehicles, trailers, tents, etc have to be within the site timbers. The sites at Rough Ridge are much wider than the typical campsites (see the photos below). Right now there is not a user fee at Rough Ridge, but starting Jan. 1, 2007 there will be a $20/site user fee.

Photos of Rough Ridge camp sites:

Our contractor is moving to Stateline campground next. We plan to work on one side of the road at a time so that we can leave some sites at Stateline open during construction. The contractor is working at Davis Branch also.