Cedars of Lebanon State Park

The Great (Soggy) Debut of Gary at Cedars of Lebanon State Park

If you’re looking for a place where nature meets nostalgia—and your tent meets unexpected rainfall—Cedars of Lebanon State Park in Lebanon, Tennessee is the spot. Located on State Route 231 and tucked inside a beautiful stretch of forest, this park became official back in 1955. It covers 1,139 acres of Tennessee wilderness and boasts 117 campsites with electric and water hookups, picnic tables, and grills. Translation: everything you need to camp in comfort, until the weather decides otherwise.

The park gets its name from the eastern red cedar trees that dominate the landscape. Early settlers apparently looked around and said, “You know what this reminds me of? Those famous cedar forests of the Mediterranean!” Honestly, I’m impressed they had time to compare trees while trying to survive the 1800s.

Our site—lucky number 49—was a cozy little back-in spot. By “cozy,” I mean barely enough space for our 10×10 pop-up tent and our 8-foot awning. It was a bit like playing a game of Tetris, if Tetris were soggy and involved hammering tent stakes into damp clay.

And speaking of damp—yes, it rained for most of the weekend. But that didn’t stop us. This was Gary’s maiden voyage, and we weren’t about to let a little water (okay, a lot of water) ruin our mission to break in the new camper and reorganize the chaos leftover from “The Marshmallow,” our dearly departed previous RV.

Despite the soggy start, I did manage to whip up a hot breakfast outdoors on Saturday morning, like a true camping champion. There’s just something magical about flipping bacon while wearing a rain poncho and dodging drips from your awning. Call it “wilderness resilience” or “wet stubbornness”, but we made it work.

Beyond our site, the park itself is a gem. There are miles of hiking trails, beautiful limestone glades, and even a cave system (which, sadly, we didn’t explore this time due to the weather—and maybe because we were still mourning the space our camper could have had). There’s also a visitor center, group lodges, and horseback riding trails if you’re feeling especially adventurous—or if your horse handles rain better than you do.

Despite the less-than-perfect weather, Cedars of Lebanon is absolutely worth a visit. Just maybe bring a canoe… or at least an extra tarp.

I did manage to install a 36″ Roku TV with an RV television wall mount from Amazon.

https://amzn.to/3FAvgUi

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