Tennessee-Tombigbee Waterway
RV Guide

Introduction

The Tennessee-Tombigbee Waterway, sometimes called the “Tenn-Tom” joins the Tennessee River and the Tombigbee River in Mississippi and is part of the Mobile District of the U.S Army Corps of Engineers. This waterway is 234 miles in length and stretches from Demopolis, Alabama, to Yellow Creek on Pickwick Lake. The system contains ten locks and dams, and ten lakes, and provides a navigable route to the Gulf of Mexico.
The Tennessee-Tombigbee Waterway fulfills three functions, providing navigation of the river, facilitating wildlife migration, and providing recreational areas to the public.
The waterway provides a shorter route to the gulf coast by more than 800 miles with its system of locks allowing commercial and recreational watercraft to pass through the dams along the river.
The wilderness areas along the system create more than 70000 acres of land in the program with another 100 000 acres of associated areas for wildlife to use as a migration passage and to provide feed and nesting sites to migrating birds and local wildlife.
Recreational areas support many activities including, swimming, hiking, fishing, hunting, wildlife spotting, camping, and day-use areas with playgrounds, picnic shelters, and sports facilities. Three million people visit the recreational areas annually. Boat launches, docks, and beaches allow access to the waterway.
While in the region on yourRV vacation, check out the nearby state parks, Legion State Park, and Tombigbee State Park, or visit the nearby City of Columbus, Mississippi which has amenities and services and numerous historical attractions.

RV Rentals in Tennessee-Tombigbee Waterway

Transportation

Driving

The Tennessee-Tombigbee waterway stretches for 234 miles, and there are 10 Corps of Engineers locks and dams along this section of the waterway. Highways and access roads to the dam sites and recreation areas are well paved and easy to navigate for RVs and tow vehicles.
The Tom Beveill Visitor center can be reached from Pickensville, Alabama, by taking Highway 14 south for 1 mile.
To reach the Jamie L Whitten Visitor Center, exit north from route 178 at Fulton onto N Cummings Street and proceed to the John Rankin Highway. The center is on the left at 100 Campground Road.
Overnight RV camping is available at several area campgrounds along the waterway. To get to the Dewayne Hayes Campground, take Highway 45 north from Columbus, Mississippi to US HIghway 373/50 West and turn left. Go 1.5 miles to Sinson Creek Road, then travel two miles to Barton Ferry Road and turn left. The park entrance is another 1.2 miles.
Town Creek Campground can be reached by taking Highway 45 north from Columbus to Highway 50 then turning left. Continue past the Tenn-Tom Waterway bridge for two miles, then turn north on Town Creek Road and follow signage to the campground.
Blue Bluff Campground can be accessed by taking Highway 45 in Aberdeen, Mississippi to the Commerce and Meridian intersection. From Commerce, turn north on Meridian, cross the railway track and bridge, the recreation area is the first right after the bridge.
To get to Pickensville Campground, take Highway 82 west from Tuscaloosa, Alabama to Highway 86 and turn left to reach Pickensville. The access road to the campground is 2.5 miles past the yellow caution light.
Use Intestate 22 to reach Whitten Campground. Take highway 25/Exit 104 from the intestate. Turn left at the first light, then go left again onto the access road at the next traffic light, proceed 4 miles the campground is on the left.
Piney Grove Campground can be accessed by taking Highway 45 to Highway 30 then heading east for 15 miles to Burton. Head right on route 3501 for three miles, then turn left at Route 3550, where there is a sign directing you to the campground three miles down the road.

Parking

Public Transportation

Campgrounds and parking in Tennessee-Tombigbee Waterway

Campsites in Tennessee-Tombigbee Waterway

Reservations camping

Dewayne Hayes

The Dewayne Hayes campground provides access to the Tennessee-Tombigbee waterway on Columbus Lake, in Mississippi. Fishing, hunting, boating, and hiking are popular pastimes at this campground, and interpretive programs are also available. There are 100 campsites that have electric and water hookups, and there are ten tent-only, primitive, walk-in sites. Pets are permitted and some sites can accommodate RVs up to 85 feet in length.
The campground is partially shaded with trees and open areas. Individual campsites are paved and have picnic tables and fire rings with grills, pedestal grills, and lantern posts. Amenities at the campground include hot showers, a boat ramp, a dump station, flush toilets, laundry facilities, a playground, hiking trails, multi-use athletic courts, and a fish cleaning station. The campground is reservable during the peak season and first-come first-served in the off-peak season. Columbus, Mississippi is situated nearby and has many historic sites and services and amenities for RV campers to access.

Town Creek Campground

Town Creek is a thickly forested campground with a sloping shoreline overlooking the Tombigbee River at Kennedy Lake. Town Creek Campground has 100 serviced sites with electric and water hookups and 14 that also have sewer hookups. Most of the campsites are well shaded with picnic tables, fire rings with grills, and lantern posts.
There are 39 waterfront campsites, and ten primitive tent-only sites along the Kennedy Lake shore. Sites are paved, and you will find five sites are pull-through with four ADA accessible sites also available. The campground has access to the waterway with boat launches and a fishing dock and is a popular spot for fishing and other boating activities. Amenities include hot showers, flush toilets, laundry facilities, a dump station, and a multi-use court. There are three playgrounds, hiking and biking trails, and a nature trail that circles Kennedy Lake and crosses the water via wooden footbridges. Pets are permitted but should remain on a leash.

Blue Bluff Campground

Blue Bluff Campground is located on the Aberdeen section of the Tennessee-Tombigbee Waterway in Mississippi. This is an especially scenic area of the waterway, situated on clay and limestone cliffs rising 80 feet above the water and providing views or Aberdeen Lake and the adjacent lock and dam. The campground has a day-use area, and 92 overnight campsites, 78 of which provide water and electric hookups for RV campers and four sites with sewer hookups.

There are four pull-through sites, 26 waterfront sites, and three ADA accessible sites. Campsites are paved with picnic tables, fire rings and grills, pedestal grills, and lantern posts. Most sites are shaded and private. The day-use area has a picnic area and a swimming beach. Amenities at the Blue Bluff Campground include an accessible fishing dock, amphitheater, basketball courts, boat ramp, dump station, and trash disposal facilities. Pets are permitted but should remain on a leash.

Pickensville Campground

The Pickensville Campground is located just west of Pickensville, Alabama, on Aliceville Lake, along the Tennessee-Tombigbee waterway. There is an overnight campground accommodating RVs and a day-use area. The campground provides 176 campsites with electric and water hookups and 29 sites with sewer hookups. Nine sites are pull through, and six are ADA accessible. Book early to get one of the 31 waterfront sites.
Amenities for anglers and sport fishing enthusiasts in the campground include a fishing dock, fish cleaning station, and a boat ramp. The day-use area has a swim beach, playground for little ones, and picnic shelters. A multi-use court is great for groups looking for fun activities and games, and a walkway along the wooded waterfront provides a peaceful nature walk. Amenities include an amphitheater, flush toilets, and laundry facilities. Campsites are paved and have fire rings, grills, and picnic tables, that allow pets and can accommodate large RVs.

Whitten Park

Whiten Park, also called Fulton Campground because of its proximity to Fulton, Mississippi, has three boat docks to accommodate fishing and watersport watercraft, as well as peaceful nature trails and a great sandy swimming beach in the day-use area that attracts thousands of visitors to the park. A beautifully situated gazebo overlooks the waterway and provides excellent views of the water.
62 RV sites have electric and water hookups, and there are also two accessible sites, three pull-through sites, and 16 waterfront sites. Campsites are paved and have fire rings with grills. Amenities at the campground include laundry facilities, showers, flush toilets, and an RV dump station. There is also a visitor center providing services to campers and a disc golf course. Families enjoy the swimming beach and playground and you can get together a group of friends to play a round of disc golf for a fun, relaxing, inclusive activity. Pets are permitted in the campground but must remain leashed.

Piney Grove

The Piney Grove Campground is located on Bay Springs Lake, in northeastern Mississippi on the Tennessee-Tombigbee Waterway. The campground has overnight camping and a day-use area with a swim beach.

There are 137 RV sites with electric and water hookups that accommodate large units. Campsites are paved with lantern posts, impact pads, campfire rings, and picnic tables. If you book early you can snag one of the 43 waterfront sites, or the 2 accessible sites if required. For fun, check out the playground with your little ones, or the two multi-use courts for a game with family and friends. Amenities at Piney Creek Campground include an ice machine, laundry facilities, amphitheater, dump station, and flush toilets. If you are here to fish, you will find a boat launch to get your fishing boat out on the water, as well as a fish cleaning station to process your catch, and a fishing pier allowing you to fish from the shore.

Seasonal activities in Tennessee-Tombigbee Waterway

Off-Season

Fishing

The waterway and ten lakes along the Tenn-Tom waterway comprise 44000 acres of water surface. In addition to the lake, there are ponds, old river runs, tributary streams, oxbows, pools, and channels that make an excellent habitat for a variety of fish species. Sport fishers and anglers will find largemouth bass, spotted bass, hybrid striped bass, walleye, sauger and crappie along the waterway. Catfish, pickerel, and a variety of other species are also inhabitants of the fishing grounds in the region.
Fishing from boats on the water or the shoreline is permitted. Ensure you have the appropriate state fishing license for the area you are fishing in. Early spring and late fall may be better times to fish when the water is cooler, fish are more active, and recreational boat traffic is less disturbing to fish populations.

Hunting

There are 180000 acres of land and shallow water habitat in Alabama and Mississippi along the Tennessee-Tombigbee Waterway with 126000 acres of wildlife mitigation land, managed by the states of Alabama and Mississippi, as wildlife management areas. These areas are subject to special hunting restrictions and seasons. Annual hunting permits are available at the Corps of Engineers offices and at some campground locations, or you can download permits online. Permits must be completed and displayed on vehicles. Hunting maps of the area are also available online.

Wildlife Viewing

When the COE navigation project was developed, provision for wildlife habitat along the waterway was made, with thousands of acres of wildlife habitat set aside for local flora and fauna to thrive. Take a camera and head out on trails in the region to spot the wide variety of creatures that make the area their home or pass through during annual migrations.

During migration seasons the area is packed with waterfowl heading north in the spring or south in the fall. Neotropical songbirds also use the corridor as part of their annual migration and endangered species such as tortoise, southern bald eagle, red hills salamander, and Yellow-blotched map turtle also have habitat provided here.

In-Season

Boating

Miles of waterway and ten lakes provide ample opportunities for recreational boaters to get out on the water and enjoy watersports, fishing, or sightseeing. There are boat launches at COE managed sites that are subject to a $5 launch fee, and annual passes are also available. Private marinas along the waterway also provide fuel, rentals, repairs, and supplies to recreational boaters. The lock and dam system allows navigation through the dam and pool sections along the waterway. Be sure to follow rules and regulations, and have life preservers on board for all passengers.

Picnicking

Day use recreational and picnic areas along the Tenn-Tom project are perfect for outings with family and friends. Day use areas have facilities like restrooms and pavilions and recreational amenities such as swimming beaches, playgrounds, and sports facilities such as basketball, tennis, and volleyball courts, boat ramps, and nature trails.

Group picnic shelters can be reserved and when not reserved are available on a first-come-first-served basis. Pack a meal and head out to a recreation area for some fun and activity on a leisurely summer day! Day use areas are open from 8 AM to 10 PM and there is no alcohol permitted. Some day-use areas have restrictions on loud music and pets, so check local regulations.

Lock And Dam Observation

There are 10 Lock and Dams along the Tennessee-Tombigbee Waterway. These locks measure 600 feet in length by 110 feet in width with a total lift of 341 feet and operate 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. They allow tow barges, commercial, and recreational watercraft to navigate the waterway to the Gulf Coast. Observation decks and sites available at the locks allow visitors to watch the operation of these locks as they allow boats to move up and down the riverway between the dams.