Eagle Creek WMA - Primitive Camping Area

public land records

Likely — The record is good enough to put a pin on, but thin in places. Treat the details as a starting point, not gospel.

Primitive camping area on the 22,000-acre Eagle Creek WMA, Wayne County, which TWRA leases rather than owns. The coordinate is TWRA's own, printed in the body of its WMA page: "In designated campground only, primitive camping at 35.344943, 87.815234." NOTE: TWRA omits the minus sign on the longitude; -87.815234 is the only reading that lands in Tennessee, and it plots on Eagle Creek WMA, so I supplied the sign. TWRA describes the site elsewhere on the same page: "Across Copelan Rd from the cabin is the primitive camping area for hunters, which is first come, first served, no sign-in required." The camping regulation is hunter-only: "Camping - Open during deer and turkey seasons to any hunters who are actively hunting the WMA." No water, toilet or table is claimed by TWRA and none is asserted here. Sources: https://www.tn.gov/twra/wildlife-management-areas/middle-tennessee-r2/eagle-creek-wma.html (read 2026-08-16). FEE BASIS: TWRA's own licence price list (https://www.tn.gov/twra/license-sales.html, read 2026-08-16) lists no camping fee for any Tennessee WMA or state forest. The only camping line on the whole price list sits under the heading "Land Between the Lakes" - "Annual Hunt/Camp Permit (Age 18 and over) ... $50.00" - which is the federal LBL permit, not a state charge. Rule 1660-01-14-.13 sets WMA camping rules and prescribes no fee. This is an absence-of-fee finding, not a published "free" statement. STATEWIDE WMA RULE, Tenn. Comp. R. & Regs. 1660-01-14-.13 (https://publications.tnsosfiles.com/rules/1660/1660-01/1660-01-14.20240415.pdf, read 2026-08-16), verbatim: "Overnight camping may be permitted on designated areas by permission from the Area Manager"; "Camping shall not exceed 3 weeks in length from the beginning to the end of the camping stay"; "Owner's contact information (name, phone number, address) or TWRA ID number and date of arrival must be displayed on camper, tent, vehicle, etc."; "No warming, camping or any type fire shall be allowed except at designated camping areas." HUNTER RESTRICTION - READ BEFORE PUBLISHING: TWRA's camping line for this area restricts camping to hunters and/or to hunt dates (quoted per row above). This is NOT unrestricted public camping. A reviewer should decide whether it belongs on a general free-camping map at all, or belongs there only with the restriction shown on the pin. | auto:agency-trust 2026-08-18: state agency GIS record with a source URL and coordinates, confidence not low. Fee value is the agency's own, not field-checked. Not field-verified -- confirm access, road conditions and fire rules before you go.

US DOE Alternative Fuels Data Center station locator, snapshot 2026-09-16. Straight-line miles to the nearest public, open, unrestricted station; restricted and planned units are shown but never counted.

On the agency's books. The land manager inventoried this site, so its existence is not in question — current conditions are. Nobody from here has camped it recently.