Tripadvisor gives a Travelers’ Choice award to accommodations, attractions and restaurants that consistently earn great reviews from travelers and are ranked within the top 10% of properties on Tripadvisor.
Tripadvisor gives a Travelers’ Choice award to accommodations, attractions and restaurants that consistently earn great reviews from travelers and are ranked within the top 10% of properties on Tripadvisor.
True West is THE Premier Campground of Big South Fork. An award winning campground, named the BEST Small Campground in the US and Green Campground of the Year by the National ARVC Association as well as Best Campground in the US by Horsetraildirectory.com. We are #1 in Horsepitality® and know how to treat our guests to the best in customer service. We have sites, lodging, stalls, a gift store and more. If you want to visit Big South Fork and have the best vacation, then you need to stay with us! We look forward to seeing you. You won't be disappointed!
True West treats the camper like NO OTHER campground I’ve visited. Heather helped us unload our trailer AND cleaned out our trailer. Free mulch and clean, matted stalls were ready for us. Campground had nice and well maintained spots. Heather checked on us daily, making sure we made it back to camp safely and checking if we needed any items. The BSF trailheads are just across the street. They are mostly 2 horse wide, well maintained with sand or gravel, where needed, well marked with trail mileage listed and nicely shaded. We give the campground 5 stars in every category!
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Date of stay: August 2024
Value
Location
Cleanliness
Service
Trip type: Traveled with family
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Response from Heather Sutton, General Manager at True West Campground, Stables and Mercantile
Responded Aug 23, 2024
Thank you so much for your super awesome review!!! We truly appreciate you guys and we are so glad you had a wonderful stay :-) -Happy Trails!!!
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They made you feel like part of the family. They can give you any information you need about the Big South Fork area. The camping was great, the bathhouse was warm and clean.
I camped solo. Heather conducted a Christmas craft. They had food and drinks set up for the event. Had several people helping you with your craft. It was a lovely time. Met new people and made new friends.
You can bring your horse or camp without a horse. If you want to ride, there are several riding outfits that will take you out for a beautiful ride.
Thank you for having me, Heather. I’lI Be Back….Betty
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Date of stay: November 2023
Location
Cleanliness
Service
Room Tip:Â They have a variety of accommodations..
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Response from Heather Sutton, General Manager at True West Campground, Stables and Mercantile
Responded Dec 18, 2023
Thank you Betty for your sweet words!! I am so glad you joined us for the Christmas Horse Wreath! It was soo much fun! We look forward to having you back soon!!
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We had our first visit to True West over the Labor Day weekend with our friends; our second stay was 2 weeks later with just my husband and me. The campground has both electric/water hook ups (Labor Day stay) and some full hook up sites (second stay). The sites are spacious and pretty level. The barns have nice big stalls and bucket hooks, as well as a saddle rack outside each stall. Heather and Tim were awesome! Upon arrival, your horses are unloaded for you and your trailer cleaned out. If you have stuff at your campsite that you need moved to the barn, all you have to do is make a phone call and they will come haul it up for you. On our second stay, there was a problem with our electric breaker. My husband notified Tim and it was changed out within minutes. We will definitely be visiting this campground again!!
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Date of stay: September 2023
Value
Location
Service
Trip type: Traveled with friends
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Response from Heather Sutton, General Manager at True West Campground, Stables and Mercantile
Responded Sep 29, 2023
Thank you for your review!! We absolutely love having you and your husband out here! Always a fun time with you guys! We both look forward to your next visit, see you soon!!!
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This was a great campground especially if you plan on a horseback ride as we did. The trails were very good well kept. We saw deer very close to us everyday. All the people were very respectful to the horses riders on the trails. Heather was so helpful at the campground . She helped us get all of our saddles unloaded even cleaned the horse trailers and when it came to explaining the trails she knew all about them. Thanks for all the help and hospitality! Can’t wait to return!
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Date of stay: July 2024
Value
Location
Cleanliness
Service
Trip type: Traveled with family
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
At arrival at True West, new owners welcomed us and immediately started helping us with our horses, showing us where our stalls were then we see one of the owners cleaning out our horse trailers.. They helped us carry things to our place of staying there for the weekend.. Barns , apartment (where we stayed) all very clean.. A very pleasant experience staying with them!! Look for to it again..
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Date of stay: April 2023
Value
Location
Service
Trip type: Traveled with friends
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Response from Heather Sutton, General Manager at True West Campground, Stables and Mercantile
Responded Apr 28, 2023
Thank you Ladies!! It was such a blast having ya'll here and we truly can't WAIT to have you back!!! Happy Trails and see you next time!!!
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I have stayed here on 4 separate occasions in the past 6 months. I usually stay about a week, riding trails daily. There are so many other places to stay in the area, but I choose True West each time due to the fabulously friendly hospitality, the sensible rules, the fastidiously clean campgrounds, the beauty of the setting, the fishing ponds, the access to trails, and the availability of hay, ice, horse equipment, and propane if needed. Even in the midst of extremely heartbreaking circumstances for the Martin family this trip, they maintained professionalism, warmth and the excellent service for which they are known. They are horse people who understand the needs of equestrians and successfully provide a safe, friendly environment for all who visit. They also have wonderful conflict resolution skills, and what could have been an uncomfortable situation for me created by another camper was resolved with their support and assistance. Truly they go above and beyond what is expected at most facilities and this is why they have my loyalty each time I come to the area.
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Date of stay: September 2021
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Response from Donna Martin, Owner at True West Campground, Stables and Mercantile
Responded Nov 5, 2021
Thank you for making us your #1 choice when staying in Big South Fork. We're glad you enjoyed your stay even through the difficulties. Yes - Shawn will be greatly missed and was a HUGE part of who we are but we will continue to put our customers first and offer the best in customer service and Horsepitality ® that this industry has to offer. We look forward to seeing you again in your next visit! Donna & Brittany
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We stayed in spot 32 which was just behind the horse barn and next to the owners barn. None of the sites looked bad from what I could see. I do wonder if the sites by the pond had more bugs. The flies were bad at our site but prob nothing they can do about that. The horse stalls we a good size and they provided complimentary shavings. One issue I didn't like was the looooong trip through the second barn to empty the wheel barrow but it wasn't horrible. We did a day trip to Nashville and the staff took care of our horses while we were gone and even let our dogs out while we were gone. They could not have been nicer or more accommodating. Wonderful and friendly people. The store has come souvenirs and tack though their supply was extremely low and was disappointed I left without a T-shirt because they were sold out. Big bummer! Regarding the trails, it is a mile to the Cumberland Gap trailhead with a lot of fresh gravel that was hard on my horse's feet. Once we wewre past that, all was good. I did a trip to Muddy Pond which is well worth the trip for the leather shops. Lots of horse tack and belts. The Sawbriar Brewing Company close by was great too. One warning...take the alternate route! Do not go into the gorge with a trailer! If you are turning left out of True West you are headed for the gorge. I mistakenly did this when we left and it was a nightmare with my 3 horse Lakota. VERY sharp turns with oncoming traffic. I highly recommend True West.
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Date of stay: July 2023
Value
Location
Service
Trip type: Traveled as a couple
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Response from Heather Sutton, General Manager at True West Campground, Stables and Mercantile
Responded Jul 20, 2023
Thank you for your kind words and for the great review!! You two were wonderful to have and your pups were the absolute CUTEST!! Hope to have you back so that you can get that T-Shirt!! Take care and safe travels!!
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We stayed in the Miner's Shack and we really liked it. It has a nice shady porch and the ponds are very close. it is so serene to wake up in the morning with the fish jumping, a heron settling in a tree, and a rooster up the hill saying time to get up! Although it is a one room miner's shack there is a divider so you can sit at the table and not disturb those sleeping. The store is nice and so is the family. The cabin doesn't have hot water or a stove, but it does have a nice toilet, kitchen sink and microwave plus a box type grill next to the porch and a real propane grill at the main camp deck. The camp showers were nice and the whole camp bathroom setup was clean. Don't forget to plug in the air conditioner before you take a shower if it isn't plugged in already, The dog park area is nice, If you have a flatlander dog be sure to take them to the bottom of the fenced in area and let them gradually get used to running on a Tennessee Hill before they run on the steep part. It's nice to have a place for the dogs to run, they really got excited.
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Date of stay: August 2021
Location
Cleanliness
Service
Room Tip:Â If you have bad knees do your strengthening exercises so that you are ready for Tennessee.
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Response from Donna Martin, Owner at True West Campground, Stables and Mercantile
Responded Sep 21, 2021
So glad you enjoyed your stay in the Miner's Shack! We appreciate you taking the time to leave us such a nice review. The great thing about the hilly dog park is that your pooch gets tired and works of all their energy - LOL. We're happy you got to take advantage of it as it was one of our newly added amenities this year. We hope you'll come back and stay with us again in the future. Shawn, Donna & Brittany
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As soon as we pulled in, we were greeted by Heather and her family. They proceeded to clean out our trailer and load hay, saddles, etc. and took them to our stalls. Heather showed us how to download the map of Big South Fork. The trails were wonderful. True West is a first class operation. We had been there once before this but plan on going back many more times.
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Date of stay: June 2024
Value
Location
Cleanliness
Service
Trip type: Traveled with family
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
We have stayed at True West multiple times and have always had a great experience! Lots of good, flat campsites for large trailers with room to maneuver. Stalls are good and horses are checked on each night by the owners to make sure all stall doors are locked and secured. Nice courtesy! Multiple horse trails are available from the campground or you can trailer out to other trailheads. Highly recommend True West!
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Date of stay: October 2021
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Response from Donna Martin, Owner at True West Campground, Stables and Mercantile
Responded Nov 5, 2021
Thank you for your review and we're so glad you had a good time! We check the barns every night because your horses are a guest of ours just as much as you are - and we want to make sure they are comfortable too! We hope you'll be back to see us again soon! Sincerely, Donna & Brittany.
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Hello Banchansk - your review was entered in as a question. Was there something else you needed? Or did you just put your review in the wrong place by accident?
Sincerely,
Donna
There are more places to choose from in the Jamestown area.
LOCATION
United StatesTennesseeJamestown
NUMBER OF ROOMS
4
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Frequently Asked Questions about True West Campground, Stables and Mercantile
Which popular attractions are close to True West Campground, Stables and Mercantile?
Nearby attractions include Big South Fork National River & Recreation Area (4.9 miles), Pickett CCC Memorial State Park (4.7 miles), and Twin Arches (4.9 miles).
