Prentice Cooper State Forest Trailhead parking

May 2026: The Hunter's Check Station camping area is seriously a diamond in the rough. We're making our way out west in our 25 ft. Class C and really wanted to spend some time in Chattanooga. This state forest is less than 30 minutes from downtown and one of the only free dispersed camping areas north of Georgia within 100 miles. As usual there is a 14 day stay maximum, but there's no explicit rule about how frequently you can return. There seems to be quite a few semi-locals that come through every weekend. The whole camping area is first come first serve, and everybody we encountered was respectful of space and didn't pile on top of each other. We were there partly during a managed hunt when the ohv trails were closed, and practically had the place to ourselves. The campground was quite a bit busier when the whole forest is open to the public. The camping area is a decent size and rigs up to 30 ft. can probably navigate around it easily. Some trees do hang low, and depending on how you want a squeeze in you'll need to be mindful of how compact some foliage is, so I'd recommend planning to get in when there is still light out. There is a parking area for folks trailering in bikes and atvs though, so you have space to come through, get turned around, park, and walk through the camping area to map out a plan of attack. Overall, this place treated us well and gave us access to all the fun things there are to do in Chattanooga. Clean up after yourself, stay respectful, and maybe they'll keep the place open for us to come back to.

We had a great time riding the trails with our atv all the trails were managed very well and has a good variety of trails to ride with some that are harder and some were easy! We were able to drive from trail to trail and they were only a few minutes apart! We will definitely be back

Amazing place and the trails are very easy to read while being well kept. The views are absolutely beautiful. Well worth the effort take a snack it's a longer trail. I'd say it's on the moderate scale. Enjoy

I went to the trail cause a family member told me about it. You have to drive down a good long ways on a dirt road to get to the trail which is also snoopers trail. The lookout point is gorgeous. The trail is not difficult at all. But I do enjoy more trails with water. It’s also some of the same views that are really close to other trails nearby in signal mountain that I already seen

Loved it here. We hiked via the Cumberland Trail. I would definitely consider it a moderate hike. By the time we got to Snoopers, it was almost noon and the weather was AMAZING. It also wasn't crowded, which was a plus. Very little if any trash so that was a nice change of pace from all the trash you find on trails in GA. I think next time my boyfriend and I go back, we will hike the Hallow trail that leads to Snoopers.