Anchor Down RV Park

Sign Anchor Downs

Written By Dale Libby

I was bitten by the RV bug at a very early age. The day my dad brought home that 12′ pull behind camper my world changed. Tent camping was fine but this rig had running water, toilet, shower, beds and a small stovetop. Times have changed but my love for RVing never dieded. 

June 29, 2022

Anchor Down RV Park – Dandbridge, TN

Link To RV Park: Anchor Down RV Resort

Link to MAP: Directions

Full Hook-Up Signature Site – $79

Site 45 Back InHow I managed to stumble onto an available site at this popular resort was pure luck. This might be the toughest reservation, besides Fort Wilderness I have ever experienced. The Signature sites I was interested in were booked solid through next year and beyond.

I guess there was a cancelation that I just happened to catch while surfing their site. I can honestly say now, that I can understand why this place is always booked. This resort has amazing views of the Smokies and Douglas Lake. The facilities are all first-rate and the site that we were in was perfect

 

A) Site Quality: ⛺️⛺️⛺️⛺️⛺️ 5 of 5  

At this point, I am only going to focus on the Signature sites at this resort. I will have some comments about the standard back-ins and pull-through sites in the insights. Many of the Signature sites have the fireplace you see in the photo above. In the fall and early spring, I could see us using them nightly. They are well-positioned on the sites and offer a great gathering place at night.

You will find fire rings of stones on all of the signature sites that do not have a fireplace. Well-dried split wood is available from the resort and is delivered to your site when you call. Again the fire pits are well-positioned toward the rear of the sites. The Signature sites are well laid out, angled properly with plenty of apron and road to make your back in a breeze.  The roads to access these sites are wide enough to handle the largest of rigs and are in perfect shape.

The pads are spacious and level with a slight dip toward the south in our case or the lake. We had no problem leveling our rig.

Insights

  • Frankly, folks, if you can book anyone one of the Signature sites, do it. They are just booked solid for weeks and months. I will give you my choice of sites if they are available.
  • We were located in site 45 which was on the east side of the property. I’ll call this the middle point of the park. The back-in gave us tail to the southeast and nose to the west. Our door was facing northeast with a great view of the sunrise in the am. We had a great breeze every day from the east that cooled the site down a bit.
  • I will give you a list of the signature sites I liked the best. These are based on size, space between rigs, back in ease, and view. I would recommend in the mid section sites 45 – 55 with emphasis on sites 45, 50, and 53. Moving to the west side of the middle section, I thought 79 and 72 were perfect for what we like.
  • Moving the top of the hill or sites 1 – 29 here are the sites I like. Site 29 with a great view of the resort and lake or site 20. It is nicely tucked away toward the back of the property.
  • If you want to be near the pool and beach the lower level is for you. Sites 158 and 157 were my choices.
  • Now for the Back-in and pull-thru sites. The back-in sites located in the middle of the property are shorter and tightly packed in. The roads are about as wide as the outer loops. However, with trucks parked in front of every rig, it makes it challenging for a novice to back in. These sites are not my favorites. The pull-thru sites at the top of the hill would be my second choice if I could not get a signature site. Any one of them would be nice, site 19 offers some great views.
  • Final thought, if you do not have your electric bike or personal golf cart, you might want to rent one if you are going to be at the resort for any length of time. More on this in the facilitates review.

 

B) Facilities: ⛺️⛺️⛺️⛺️⛺️/5  This is truly waterfront camping. You have direct access to Douglas Lake via a boat launch, waterpark, and lakefront beach. The check-in is quick and easy, the staff is friendly and welcoming.  I would highly recommend you fill out the advance check-in forms. Upon doing so you will be greeted in the drive, handed your package, and off to the site you go.

As you make your way up the hill to the resort you will find the main office and store. The park is well maintained, clean, and nicely landscaped. This is a very large spread-out park. As I mentioned above, if you plan to stay for a week or longer let’s say, I would rent a golf cart to get around. The Beach, waterpark, pool, pickleball courts, and such, are a bit of a hike from the mid and upper sites.

You will need to place pads under all of your jacks and stabilizers. This is a requirement of the resort.

C) Amenities: ⛺️⛺️⛺️⛺️⛺️/5 

I would suggest you head to the website for a complete list of amenities for this resort. Here are a few highlights. The sites are concrete with full hookups and 30/50 amp service. All of the aforementioned are in great shape. If I had one complaint it would be about the sewer hookups. They are a bit tall and require you to use a bridge at min. for your sewer line. I had to prop mine up to get it to flow properly.

The fire pits and outdoor fireplaces in the signature sites are just ideal. We did not use the beach area but it had plenty of lounge chairs and umbrellas for an enjoyable day at the lake. If you have children, they will love the waterpark and waterslides. Have a boat or want to rent one, it’s all right there for you.

The bathhouses are located toward the front entrance of the property. The largest of the two is located on your way to the various play courts and dog park. They are very clean and well maintained. You will also find the only laundry there as well.

D) Location: ⛺️⛺️⛺️⛺️⛺️/5 

This is based on our preference. We are not big fans of heavy traffic, crowds, and the amusement park atmosphere of Pigeon Forge or Gatlinburg. This resort offers views of the Smokie Mountains, lakefront camping, and less light pollution from the area attractions. You are a short 30 min drive to Pigeon Forge and Dollywood. It will take you a bit longer to get to Gatlinburg, I’d say 60 – 80 mins.

This was just fine with us. We could head to our favorite hikes and sites early in the am such as Cades Cove and be back to our campsite by lunch. Fine dining or just local favorite dining is as mentioned above a short drive away.  If you were looking for an all-inclusive resort, honestly there is no need to leave.

E) Paw – Friendliness – 🐾🐾🐾🐾/5

I had to take away one paw based on Zoey’s recommendation. The dog park is a hike from most RV sites. I will admit that it is large with artificial grass throughout. There are at least 5 – 6 areas around the park with natural grass, poop bags, and bins to dispose of waste. Taking the dog for a walk was not an issue. The distance to the dog park was to use worth one ding against them. 

Wanderers Overall Rating:  ⛺️⛺️⛺️⛺️.8/5 

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