Nashville East/ Lebanon TN KOA: Review and Photos
Conveniently located near Nashville, Tennessee, the Nashville East/Lebanon KOA campground is an easy stop off of I-40 or a great home base for exploring the Music City.
This campground is nicely spaced out, and it is arranged in a way so that your camper doesn’t feel squished in the campsites.
In the review below, you’ll find everything you need to know about this campground from site photos to an overview of the property’s amenities.
We camped here on our multi-week road trip from South Carolina to Utah, and it was a great place as a short stop as we headed west.
The incredible location directly off of I-40 is what initially drew me to book this campground for that portion of our trip, but, now that I’ve stayed here, I wouldn’t hesitate to return for a longer stay while visiting Nashville.
If you’re looking for a campground with convenient interstate access, kid-friendly amenities, and beautiful landscaping, consider adding Nashville East/Lebanon KOA to your next Tennessee road trip.
Our camper and truck in site 30
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Camping in East Nashville: What to Consider
The Camping Kiddos at the Nashville East KOA
This campground is located on the western outskirts of Lebanon, Tennessee, and that’s where you’ll find the closest grocery stores and gas stations.
If you need something at the exit that the campground’s at, you’ll find a few fast food places, including Wendy’s and McDonald’s, as well as a couple of hotels.
There’s also a Blue Compass RV dealership right down the frontage road, which is great if you need to grab a last minute RV tool or accessory.
However, downtown Nashville is only 35 minutes away on I-40, so you’ve got the convenience of the big city sights with the lower cost of a town campground.
Because Nashville is such a big place, there’s a lot of urban sprawl, and the East Nashville KOA is just on the edge of that.
When I was deciding where to stay on this leg of our road trip, I didn’t want to fight Nashville traffic after a long drive all day, so the positioning of this campground was a big factor why we stayed here.
Other Camping Options Nearby
Because you’re fairly close to Nashville here, there aren’t too many other campground options, but you do have a couple to choose from.
TN40 RV Park and Shady Acres RV Park are both on Murfreesboro Road south of Lebanon, but I didn’t want to stay at either of these for a couple of reasons. First and foremost, both were a little too far off of the interstate for us at that time.
When we’re doing this cross country trips, I want to spend as little time as possible off of the interstate, so I look for places very close to the road. Every minute counts when you’ve already been driving all day!
Secondly, I couldn’t get over the reviews on RV Life, which I check before booking any of my reservations. The general consensus on those reviews seemed to be that both parks needed more upkeep than they were getting and that the main focus was on long-term residents and not vacationers.
Cedars of Lebanon State Park is located even further down Murfreesboro Road, and it would’ve been a great option if it weren’t also so far off of the interstate.
I also considered Nashville Shores Lakeside Resort, which is slightly closer to Nashville’s city center on I-40, but it was more expensive during the time we were booking, so I stuck with the KOA.
Ultimately, I chose the Nashville East KOA for its convenient location, pool, pull-through site option, and many amenities.
Nashville East/Lebanon KOA Campground Review
The main campground sign on the frontage road
We stayed here from one night in May as part of our long road trip from South Carolina to Colorado, Utah, Idaho, Montana, and South Dakota.
Because of that itinerary, we were doing everything we could to just get out west, and, so, we were putting in 8-10 hour days pulling my Winnebago Micro Minnie 1800BH.
You should note that the interstate in front of the campground is large (4 lanes in each direction), so you’ll be able to hear road noise from the front of the campground.
However, the pool and main office go a long way in blocking the majority of that noise, and the campsites behind the office are quiet.
The sites on either side of the store (2-10 and 13-19) do have a bit of road noise, but not as much as you’d think.
If you’re looking for the absolute quietest spots, book sites 79-101, which are at the loop at the very back of the park.
Overall, it’s a pretty typical KOA with multiple amenities, including a pool and playground, making it great for families.
Check-in Process
The entrance to the main office
When we pulled off of the interstate, we were trying to beat a bad storm that had been following us for a few miles.
The clouds back over Lebanon were very dark, and I mentioned it to the lady at the front desk. She didn’t seem like she wanted to talk about the weather or anything, really, as she seemed a little annoyed at me being there.
In fact, when I walked in, she barely looked up, and I had to say, “Hi! I’m here to check in” to get her to acknowledge me.
I don’t know what that’s all about. I’ve worked retail before and had bad days, so I get it, but it still wasn’t a great start.
This would’ve also been a good time for her to mention what to do if that storm turned into something really severe, as Nashville is no stranger to tornado-spawning storms during late spring (the time we were visiting).
Later on this same trip, we were given helpful information on storm shelters while staying at the Goodland KOA in Kansas, which I really appreciated.
In any case, her short approach to the welcome process meant that I was in and out of the office in just a few minutes and parked in our site as the storm finally broke.
The KOA employee who helped us into our site after check-in was wonderful, and he even tried to stay and help us set up in the rain.
We didn’t want him to get soaking wet at our expense, so we sent him on his way and then took shelter in our camper to wait out the storm.
Individual Campsite Review
At site 30
During our stay, we were placed in site 30, which was at the end of the second long row behind the office and roughly paralleling the frontage road and I-40.
I’d wanted a pull-through spot to keep us from having to spend time hooking and unhooking the trailer just for a single night’s stay, and site 30 met all of my requirements. It was long enough so that I could park my truck and camper all together, and we had a beautiful old oak tree sheltering us.
The tree’s positioning meant that we had a good bit of green space to our camper’s left side, making our lot feel larger than the others on our row.
Site 30 is a full hook-up site, which made it even more convenient for us.
There is a dumpster, laundry room, and shower room in a cinder block building 2 rows behind our site, away from the office.
I’m guessing this is also what would serve as a storm shelter if you had to leave your RV during inclement weather.
The reason why I’ve been so focused on the whole tornado thing is that 1) you should always be aware of your surroundings when traveling in a camper in peak tornado season through Tornado Alley and Dixie Alley, and 2) we ended up having a truly horrific storm the one night we stayed here that spawned tornadic activity a few miles north of us.
That was a scary experience, and having to figure out where we would need to go in the middle of the night in the middle of a hail storm wasn’t fun.
I should’ve gone back to the front office to ask one of the employees about their storm shelter options after the afternoon storm blew through, but it would’ve also been nice to have the information volunteered to me, especially after I’d already brought up the weather.
Luckily, our camper and others weren’t damaged from the intense storm, but the campground did have some fallen branches the next morning as we left.
On another positive note, site 30 is across the street from a wide field that, in turn, borders a lush forest. We had the most incredible showing of fireflies after our afternoon storm was over, and my kids and I stayed out past their bedtime to watch them.
We’d gone to the synchronous firefly display at Congaree National Park just before staying here, and it was such a treat to see another large group of fireflies!
I’d also like to note that the entire campground was incredibly clean, and we saw different employees going out of their way to pick up the few bits of trash that were around.
Campground Layout
The campground has 4 areas with a variety of campground sites and cabins.
One of the cabins at the Nashville East KOA
At the entrance to the campground, and the closest to the pool and the main office are cabins 1, 11, and 12, as well as campsite 2-10 and 13-19.
There is a bathroom and shower in the same building as the office, which is convenient for these front sites and the pool.
In this area, you’ll also find the playground, basketball court, and the picnic pavilion.
The biggest area of campsites sits in the middle of the campground, and this is where you can find sites 20-52 as well as tent sites 1 and 2. All of the sites in this area are pull through; most are full hook-ups, though 25-29 have only water and electric.
As you head towards the back of the campground, you’ll find 18 back-in sites on either side of the road. There are another 3 tent sites here, as well as the shower room and laundry that we used.
At the very back of the campground is a smaller loop with 23 sites. Of these, 80-101 are metered sites, and this is where you’ll find campers who are staying for longer periods of time.
Near this section, you’ll find the cute hammock tent camping sites. These have enough room for those car or tent campers who’d like to set up a sleeping camper under the provided wooden platforms.
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Campground Amenities
Camp store
In the main building at the front of the campground, you’ll find a camp store near the check-in area.
It has drinks and snacks, ice, pool toys, and small souvenirs. This is also where you’ll buy your propane, which is then filled up right across the street near the pool.
While you’d need to go into Lebanon to do a full grocery shop or get something specific, there are some basics and snacks to help you make it through to the next stop.
Dog Park
If you’re traveling with your pet, you’ll find a gated Kamp K9 dog park near the largest area of the campground near sites 48 and 49.
We didn’t have our pets with us for this trip, but we saw several other campers playing here with their dogs.
Pool
When we’re driving cross country, my kids always ask for a campground with a pool as a treat for sitting still in the backseat for hours on end.
That’s a request I’m happy to fulfill for them, and that’s a big reason why we booked at the Nashville East KOA.
The pool had closed for the afternoon storm, but when my kids and I walked down after the bad weather had passed, one of the KOA employees was quick to reopen the gate for us.
The pool area was clean and comfortable with plenty of room for the kids to splash around in and comfortable chairs for everyone to use.
There is even a small covered section of the pool deck if you wanted to escape some of the mid-day heat.
Playground
There is also a playground in the front area of the campground, and, while it wasn’t huge, it provided enough entertainment for my kids after they were done with the pool.
Final Thoughts on Nashville East/Lebanon KOA
While I think I arrived on a day when the front desk employee wasn’t in top form, I still wouldn’t hesitate to come back to the Nashville East KOA.
For one thing, the location cannot be beat as it’s a super easy on and off from I-40. When every minute counts on a long road trip, that convenience is worth every penny.
We enjoy the KOA brand as a whole, and this campground’s amenities, landscaping, and sites were very much what we’ve come to expect from the brand.
If we’d had more time to explore around Lebanon and Nashville, the KOA is very close to the Hermitage if you want to learn more about President Andrew Jackson, and the Percy Priest Lake if you want a day by the water.
For campers looking for a quick night’s stay or for families looking for a week-long base near Nashville, the Nashville East/Lebanon KOA offers a clean, comfortable, and safe experience.
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