Meriwether Lewis | Established Campground

December 28th, 2023 by meganabarbour

Second year in a row I’ve stayed here in my van and it’s perfect! Close to trails, quiet, pretty, bathrooms, water, FREE! My reception with T-Mobile is a little spotty but one working bar at the end of the camp loop. Spots seem to be about 50% full.

December 21st, 2023 by justhawk22

Super easy overnight just passing through. Came in at 11pm, out at 6. Wish we could have seen it in the daylight! 3 other sites occupied, very quiet this time of year.

December 3rd, 2023 by TheVamper

As others reported - great free campground. Mid week only 4 others here. For those with trailers they do have a couple of pull thru sites. Super quiet with nice trails nearby and the grave of Meriwether Lewis of Lewis and Clark fame to visit. Not far from Nashville.

November 24th, 2023 by Frank on the road

Vraiment un bel endroit sur la Nachez Trace. Beau camping et très tranquille : On a super bien dormi.

November 7th, 2023 by eric

Arrived on a Tuesday in November and 2 spots were open (van size).

Great cell reception on T-Mobile despite what the coverage maps indicated. Guess it’s due to the campground itself being a bit above the adjacent area

November 5th, 2023 by info

campground about 50% full on beautiful fall Sunday evening. I was tired, so took the first available spot.

May 3rd, 2023 by lemona1960

My drive down the Natchez Trace Parkway was a bit marred by worrying whether there would be any available sites at this free campground. Not to worry on a Wednesday! I’d say about a third of them are occupied. I picked a site and pulled in. I haven’t seen the camp host yet so not sure exactly how this works. There are picnic tables and fire rings at every site. Some sites are pull-through and some are pull in/back in. There are trash cans at various places not every site. I saw one restroom building but haven’t been in it yet. One tent-camping family had a barking dog so I moved to the other end of the campground. I have one tiny bar of ATT. EDIT: I stayed a week. Felt safe here. No camp host ever contacted me although I did see a “camp host” sign at one site. Per the Natchez Trace Pkwy website you can stay 14 days with a total of 30 per year at the 3 free campgrounds on the Trace. The cell service was bad but hey I was camping! There were 6 nearby dogs which barked at everyone who walked or biked past. Sheriffs department cars made regular rounds through the grounds. Not sure why. Saw one Park Ranger vehicle.

April 30th, 2023 by spamittall

As described. Very nice place and better than many pay campgrounds. Filled water tanks, multiple faucets in campground. One to two bars Verizon but no functioning internet. Could be the crowds—worked earlier. Arrived at two on a Sunday about 3/4 full. Filled up completely by evening. 😳

February 3rd, 2023 by bob

Meriwether Lewis Campground. Free, clean and quiet in February. Flush toilets

January 7th, 2023 by A sudden leap into boondocking

3rd time staying and still the best place in Tennessee. Bathrooms and water available even in the winter. Not many people here this time of year so you have many great spots to choose from.

October 11th, 2022 by jose

Camping spots are nicely spaced apart for a campground. Arrived here on a Tuesday afternoon, maybe three quarters of the spots were taken which surprised us but there was one large group with about 6 to 8 children all under 12 that was taking many of the spots in the back. The children were well behaved and everything is nice and clean. Good bathroom, no showers. I am getting 2 bars of Verizon without any booster of any kind.

October 10th, 2022 by A sudden leap into boondocking

still beautiful, still perfect, still free ! please limit your stay to 14 days or they will end of closing or charging for this campground like so many others. If you walk the old Trace watch out for poison ivy.. also the section across little Swan creek is very rough.

June 3rd, 2022 by A sudden leap into boondocking

Ended up staying the full 14 days. Two things I will never forget .. the beauty of Swan creek and the other creeks on the trails and the POISON IVY THAT WON'T GO AWAY. please take caution if you are allergic .. it really is bad.

May 25th, 2022 by A sudden leap into boondocking

a wonderful free campground in Central Tennessee. walking trails paved roads picnic tables fire rings and level spots. Also water and nice bathrooms

May 21st, 2022 by jurs.adam

Great spot. Stayed 3 nights. All water was off except the bathroom when i was there. Decent trails off beautiful Nachez Pkwy.

May 7th, 2022 by abc.123nomadroadschooling

FREE 14 day Boondocking campground. Hydrant available with potable water by restrooms with flush toilets. Paved roads and sites. Easy for our 32 foot 5th wheel to navigate. Very shady and NOT good for solar. Quiet and wooded.

February 28th, 2022 by howmuch4ribs

Great free camping with flush toilets and garbage service. Decent cell signal. Hiking all around. Would stay here again for sure.

December 14th, 2021 by TheSlowCaboose

Another of the Natchez Trace’s three free campgrounds. There are 32 spots available. As I’ve been traveling in the off season, hardly any spots taken. Spot 25 was lovely, closer to the restroom and afforded good light in the cold morning, making breakfast at the picnic table, which was very clean, and had the leaves blown off from under and around it.

December 3rd, 2021 by kylandia

Off-season, so there were only a couple RVs, bikers, and tent-campers. Easy off the Pkwy, nice trails and restrooms. Stayed 2 nights, sites are smaller, and not particularly level, but we had no trouble finding a spot for our 25' trailer.

October 19th, 2021 by loveshuttle

Very beautiful campground with lots of trees and shade. Free dry camping and you can stay up to 14 days. Such a peaceful place until that one guy has to fire up his generator and run it all night. lol

October 16th, 2021 by firemom

It’s open now and very pretty with the Fall colors.

September 8th, 2021 by jrc.collins

Campground has beautiful trees and little understory. I arrived late and left early but it was quiet and I would have enjoyed spending more time here. My visit was early fall, and there were a number of other campers there, but plenty of open spots too. I had a nice pull-through spot.

September 6th, 2021 by Michael

Nice place to camp. Lots of trees so shade will block solar. Has both back in and pull through spots

April 28th, 2021 by izawoodsman

Stayed on a Wednesday. Nice and quiet. Tent sites, Van or short RV sites and several pull through sights. Got here at 4pm and pretty much had my pick. Trails down to the monument and some of the original Natchez Trace can be walked. Best of the three Natchez Trace Parkway camping.

April 25th, 2021 by danielturner7

Nice camping along the Natchez trace parkway. Open as of 4/23/21. Multiple sites, dry camping, bathroom on site.

January 9th, 2021 by LSC1

Closed. Seasonal or COVID

November 24th, 2020 by info

I just wanted to add a note that the campground was closed when I arrived today due to “an emergency” the entrance had barricades and no other information was available. We had to drive another hour south to the ferry port.

November 21st, 2020 by The Olive Van

https://www.nps.gov/natr/planyourvisit/conditions.htm NPS site shows Merriweather is temporarily closed due to covid

October 22nd, 2020 by tracypjackson

Closed due to covid October 2020

March 31st, 2020 by Robert Leitzell

not too crowded, fire pits and tables. standard campground.

March 19th, 2020 by IfuDreamItDoIt

Superb, free campsite with clean toilets & potable water. No hookups. Lots of hikes & can stay upto 14 nights on a 1st come basis.
Actually spelt Meriwether Lewis !

December 21st, 2019 by marielouisecaissie

Wonderful place. Quiet and large lot at the level for any vehicle! Fireplace and picnic table at our disposal.

June 1st, 2019 by ally31289

Super clean, serene, and peaceful campsite. FREE. On old Natchez Trace. Beautiful trees surround the campsites. Each site has a table, covered trashcan, and fire ring/grill. Trees perfect for hanging a hammock. Very quiet with exception to some passerby’s looking for a site and the birds. I give it an A- just because there isn’t a river to jump in right close. It’s hot.

April 26th, 2019 by pwheaton8

Very nice campground for free. Established sites with tables, trash cans, and fire pits. Some pull through, some back in. Most not entirely level. Running water toilets and sink-very clean. Camp host with very sweet cat. Pretty busy on a Friday night in April but still several open spots in the morning. We walked down the road to the picnic area right on the creek at the end of the road. Very nice. Highly recommended.

March 27th, 2019 by croodstrotters.wordpress.com

Hello
so lovely free place to have a quiet night on the Natchez Trace.
There is a host campground if you need.
Enjoy...

February 18th, 2019 by ioverlander ben

Fantastic free campground with lots of room and access to hiking trails. Highly recommend!

November 19th, 2018 by mattcross9737

plenty of camping spots with an easy walk down to the creek

October 31st, 2018 by petersaylesadams

Natchez Trace campsite with many beautiful spots. No fee!

October 19th, 2018 by gypsyroserv1

Many spots to pick from with enough room between camp sites. Fire rings picnic tables and concrete pads. Host on site. Very well maintained.

July 22nd, 2018 by kaatriine

Beautiful free campground. Clean restrooms but no shower. Potable water available as well.
Sites are all far from one another which is great.
We stayed there one night and the campsite was pretty much empty.
Really good place to stay for free.

April 1st, 2018 by jp.malouin

On the Natchez Trace Parkway. No service on site but beautiful sites. Restrooms and portable water