Gatlinburg/Pigon Forge

[hockeytownmom]

We'd like to go camping in the Smokey Mountains, but having a hard time narrowing down to a campground. For those that have been, where have you stayed and would you stay there again?

[mg0427]

We stayed at the Pigeon Forge KOA, and would never spend a dime there again, it's a Long story. We have stayed at lots of KOA's and will stay at them anytime, but not this one, KOA's main office even refunded our money over our stay at that place. Stay away.

Michael

[gartonhl]

Twin Creek Resort in Gatlinburg is very nice. Family owned and operated. They stay very much to their policies on pets, trailer (ie motorcycle parking), etc. We'd definitely go back.

Twin Creek RV Resort | RV Camping Tennessee | Recreational Vehicle Camping Tennessee | Gatlinburg RV Camping | Smoky Mountains Recreational Vehicle Camping |

Here's a video that another camper made. Shows alot of the park from his perspective.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k61qOxo87A0

[hockeytownmom]

That is very nice and the first place that popped up on my bing search.

[kalik282]

It's been a number of years since I camped here, but it really is "camping in the Smokys!"

Great Smoky Mountains National Park - Cades Cove (U.S. National Park Service)

Camped here twice, once in my tent and once in my pop-up. Of course, this is/was dry camping/boondocking...(again...it's been a while!)



John

[slides]

Check out Pine Mountian. It is right in the heart of Piegon Forge. Don't get alarmed it was so quiet there other than knowing you are in town, you would think you were really in the country. Its just one block off the main drag and pretty much centrally located. Very nice and actually has a trolly stop so you don't even have to use your TV to get around. When we go back we'll be staying there. We have stayed a River Plantation and it is also very nice.

[kscr4]

River Plantation in Sevierville. Check the map on website. We stayed at site 402 next to river. The north end of cg is not too shady but the south end is. The wifi leaves much to be desired. You can always go up on the hill next to motel and connect.
Spent a week there and it was great. We checked several cg's and RP has the most roomiest sites.

[bob7794]

Dry camping in the park...Elkmont. With hookups....Townsend Great Smokies KOA in Townsend TN...that says it all.

[tommyowen]

Stayed at several, but last Nov we stayed at (up the creek ), A new place just opened. GREAT !!!!!
www.upthecreekrvcamp.com

[Smokyroo]

Hockeytown
I live in the Smokies and I can not suggest any private campgrounds because I have never camped at one. I have several suggestions, but I also have a few questions which if you answer for yourself it will give you a better idea on where you want to stay.

The Smokies cover 2 states, NC ( The better state of the two,) and TN. Are you wanting to camp in the woods (boondocking it) and be in the woods and so forth or are you coming the Gatlinburg and just want to be near the strip? These are two different goals completely.

If you are wanting to be in the woods, any of the National Park Campgrounds that accept trailers would work...Cosby and Cataloochee are a bit more remote, but they are peaceful. Cataloochee is in the northeast section of the park and the valley is very pretty. The Park Service reintroduced elk to the Smokies a few years ago and Cataloochee has a nice herd of them now which you can see in the morning and evening hours grazing in the fields.

Big Creek and Abrams Creek are very remote and tent only, but Big Creek has the best darn swimming hole around at Midnight Hole Falls..absolutely gorgeous there.

The NC side of the park you have Smokemont and Deep Creek which offer creeks that are frequented by tubers, especially Deep Creek

At Balsam Mountain the park's highest campground, you are camping at nearly 6,000 feet! In the summer it is cool, no need for AC there at all and is access off of the Blue Ridge Parkway.

Now if you are going to the Smokies to be in the mountains but really dont need to be near Gatlinburg, I must say there are two really nice gem of campgrounds in the area, Davidson River is in the Pisgah National Forest outside of Brevard and I think US Forest Service campgrounds are boondocking in style as they offer hot showers. Davidson River is a great tubing river and just peaceful there. Then down near Franklin is Standing Indian. It is located along the headwaters of the Nantahala River. Standing Indian is in the Nantahala National Forest. It too is gorgeous, not sure any GSMNP campground can compare to it, even Cades Cove.

On the TN side of the park, Cades Cove is very nice, the cove is a great place to explore and better bring your mountain bikes to ride the loop road there. Elkmont is also very nice and the Little River is a nice tubing river for the kids too.

Private, I have seen many of them, but the one closest to the park near Townsend seems nice from the road. I dont know the name of it, sorry.

We grew up camping in national parks in Jayco pup and summer camping in the Smokies is nice even without AC and power and so forth. I highly recommend it. If you are in need of showers many of the private campgrounds around the park will allow you to pay a small fee to shower.

Gatlinburg is nice, but very crowded and Pigeon Forge, well that is another story all together there.

[MtnGuy]

We stayed at River Edge campground last spring. I would recommend that if you are just looking for a destination campground. But stay away from the river (creek, really), as the main road is right on the other side.

[kvtaylor]

Eagles Nest is a good campground and its a passport America discount campground.

[jimh]

It's been years but I stayed at a yogi bear on the east side of gatlinburg. Was told to come in frm the east side then drive into gatlinbug (without trailer) park at the post office and take the frilly towhee I wanted to visit . It avoids the traffic.

[Woods Wise]

We go to Dollywood every Oct. with the woodcarvers showcase. We stay at Foothills Rv Park. It is small, privately owned, close to everything but is quiet. Bath house has allways been very clean, it is up a hill with one loop around it and I think just under 30 sites, for that area that is small. We will be staying there every year in Oct. for as many years as they will have us, that is how well it suits us. Course we really don't spend a whole lot of time at the campground because we have to keep a schedule with the park so we are mainly only there at night, and again we like it cause it is small so that also means less traffic through there.

[hockeytownmom]

I can't boondock, I require electric (I'm such a snob! lol), we have property in the family but I don't camp there because there's no electric. Also, we have 5 children, 9 and under so we really need an attraction nearby just in case they get antsy. I've never been to the mountains or seen them in daylight. We go to FL on I 75, but it's usually getting dark by the time we get to TN. Last time we came back through NC and it was dark. lol

Really the goal is to go somewhere for our 10th Anniversary that we've never been too, with kids in tow. We'll be going Wednesday-Sunday in August.

[On the road again]

We like to stay at Claboughs in Pigeon forge because it is off of the main traffic road in Pigeon Forge, yet only a little ways. We like to stay in B section sites # 1 thru #14 on Sequa Road. I think we usually get #13 or #14 in the summer because its close to the pool in the middle of campground. I think number #15 is smaller site and harder to get into. There is a bathhouse on this road that you may want to be next to or not. This side of the road faces your camper door towards the office. There are other good sites in the B area but don't remember which ones, but some are smaller than others. We have looked at some sites down in the A section that would be good, especially for a big TT. If you have children there is alot to do at this campground, probably more than the other campgrounds in this area. It is a good place for small children and teenagers, and we stay here when just by ourselves. Its not as loud and busy as the beach campgrounds but kind of reminds me of that family atmosphere, only in the mountains. Clabough Campground

[Smokyroo]

Hocky:
You would be surprised how much a mountain stream will keep a 9 year old happy, more so than any tourist trap attraction or even a go kart course. I am not down playing those things as sometimes we take our kids to go there and do that, but camping in the woods, even boondocking is what makes a child's imagination light up.

I am one of 6 kids and my dad was a middle manager/engineer in the aerospace industry in the 60s through the 80s. My mom stayed at home and while we grew up in Orlando, we did not have the money to go to the theme parks and so forth. So, my dad bought a brand new 1971 Jayco popup and the rest is history. Because we were "poor" I was blessed to visit every national park in the eastern US and eastern Canada as well as travel outwest and into the Canadian Rockies. We boondocked it all the way and those were some of the best memories of my life.

I have 3 kids ages 9 to 14. My middle child had meningitis at about 14 days olds and he is severely disabled. Kyle's favorite things are to be on the water, thus our boat, and to be outside. We tent camp for weekends with all of our kids on nearby mountain lakes and we car camp too. I encourage you guys to reach out and explore the world, visit our national parks and national forests with your kids and do so without all the amenities of home in that new Roo of yours. You and your kids will be blessed by it in ways you can not even imagine.

This winter my brother and I lead our kids on our annual winter backpack trip in the Smokies. We left a few days after Christmas and there was snow in the park. Our hike was planned for 3 days. In a much abbreviated version, our hike was cut short because on day 1 which started at 8AM with a temp of 7 degrees F, we were on our way on a 10 mile trek to a shelter on the AT out of Smokemont and were turned back by waist to chest deep snow at 10:30 at night. We made it back safely to Smokemont to sleep in the bathrooms at 3:30 in the morning. My 9 year old son's character was revealed in those wee hours in the morning on a snow covered trail. I was very proud of him and my 14 year old daughter for being calm, positive and energetic about the experience.

Kids are awesome and showing them the wilderness, God's creation and the majesty of it is way better than theme park or tourists strip anywhere in the world ever could be. Use these times when they are young and build something in them that camping brings out or boondocking in our national parks brings out. Those things we did and saw as kids shaped me into who I am today. The Smokies are a great place to learn how to boondock because the car camping in the park is often near creeks and in Cades Cove there are tons of flat walks and hikes you can do, experience some Appalachain history of the Cove and so forth.

If we can do it (boondock it) with our kids and my son Kyle who is blind, has cerebral palsy, epilepsy and mental retardation and enjoy it, then I encourage you and your family to try it. Your kids will someday thank you for it.

If my post nudges you in this way, contact me and I will be more than happy to be your boondock camping coach for the first time out.

[dgg2002]

You may want to take a look at Smokey Bear campground outside of Gatlinburg. It is a ways outside of town, but not too far to make daily trips in. The campground is very nice and the owners could not be more hospitable and accomodating.

[jcts43]

do you have a link to the SmokeyBear campgound.

I found it. It is a Good Sam Park

[On the road again]

No matter what you choose you will have fun in the Smokies. Since we live so close we sometimes go for just the day to the National Park with a picnic and cooler or we may go just to Pigeon Forge or Gatlingburg and then eat at Hard Rock Cafe. Tubing down the creeks is fun! Sometimes we drive over into Cherokee and explore that area. Sometimes we go to Clingmans Dome! No matter what direction we go we enjoy all of it and I'm sure you and your family will , too. Not that I haven't been camping without electricity and water, and cooked over a fire, but for the most part I just personally like to stay somewhere in the Pigeon Forge area. Then we go from there to the creeks, Cades Cove, tubing, shopping, Dollywood or what ever and then we can come back to our comforts. It just works for us.

Places we like to eat other than a Craker Barrell , Shoneys, Hard Rock Cafe , etc.,

Old Mill Restaurant (cheaper at lunch)
http://www.old-mill.com/
Mels Diner (great Hamburger place and fries)
http://melsdinerpf.com/

Theres a place we have ate breakfast a couple of times when we stayed at James Manor hotel in Pigeon Forge. I can't thnk of name of it. But it was next to hotel and really good. Last November we tried the Woodgrill that took the place of Great American Steak house. It was pretty good but I liked the Great American Steakhouse better. Seems like it didn't offer as many choices but that may be because of winter and it was during the week.

Here is information on Campgrounds in the mountains and a website for additional information of Smokies, Pigeon Forge and Gatlingburg area.

Visit Pigeon Forge! The Official Tourism & Travel Guide to Pigeon Forge TN: Find Cabins, Hotels, Theaters & Things to Do

The Great Smoky Mountains National Park Service maintains developed campgrounds at ten locations in the park. This kind of camping is termed "Frontcountry Camping." Frontcountry campsites can be found at Abrams Creek, Balsam Mountain, Big Creek, Cades Cove, Cataloochee, Cosby, Deep Creek, Elkmont, Look Rock, and Smokemont campgrounds. Each campground has restrooms with cold running water and flush toilets, but there are no showers or electrical for water hookups in the park. Each individual campsite has a fire grate and picnic table.

From May 15th - October 31st Elkmont, Smokemont, and Cades Cove campsites may be reserved up to five months in advance. All other campgrounds are first come, first serve and up to six people may occupy a campsite. Two tents or one RV and one tent are allowed per site. Maximum stay during the summer and fall is seven days, but in the off-season, the stay can be fourteen days. Pets are allowed in the campgrounds as long as they are restrained on a leash or otherwise confined at all times. Quiet hours are from 10 p.m. until 6 a.m. Call 1-800-365-CAMP or visit the National Park Service Reservation Center online to make reservations for Smoky Mountain camping!

Park campgrounds are frequented by bears and other wildlife. All food, coolers, utensils, stoves, etc. must be stored out of sight in a closed vehicle when not in use. Always remember not to throw food scraps or packaging in fire rings or to feed any wildlife. This is for both the safety of visitors and the health of the park's wildlife.

There are seven areas for group camping in the park and you must have reservations to stay in these areas. The group camping areas are for tents only. Trailers, campers, or other wheeled units are not permitted. The minimum party size is eight, and the maximum length of stay is seven nights.

Consider backcountry camping only if you are prepared to carry in all necessities! Backcountry campsites are for the avid backpacker. All backcountry campers are required to obtain a free backcountry permit. These are available at most ranger stations and visitor centers along with free backcountry maps showing all the hiking trails, camping areas, and a list of rules, regulations, and safety concerns. Remember to camp only in a designated site or shelter. Campers need reservations to stay in any of the shelters. To make a reservation, call 865-436-1231 during regular business hours. For backcountry information call (865) 436-1297 and for backcountry shelter reservations, call (865) 436-1231.

Always prepare before heading into the backcountry by getting a local weather forecast and be aware of the local climate. Proper clothing, food, water, and equipment are all musts. Food storage regulations are in place and should be followed for your safety.


FRONTCOUNTRY CAMPSITES:

Abrams Creek Campground: 16 campsites, $14.00 fee, maximum RV length 12 feet, and elevation of 1,125 ft.

Balsam Mountain Campground: 46 campsites, $14.00 fee, maximum RV length 30 feet, and elevation of 5,310 ft.

Big Creek Campground: 12 campsites, $14.00 fee, no RVs allowed, and elevation of 1,700 ft.

Cades Cove Campground: 161 campsites, $17.00 - $20.00 fee, RV length 35 feet, and elevation of 1,807 ft.

Cataloochee Campground: 27 campsites, $17.00 fee, RV length 31 feet, and elevation of 2,610 ft.

Cosby Campground: 157 campsites, $14.00 fee, RV length 25 feet, and elevation of 2,459 ft.

Deep Creek Campground: 108 campsites, $17.00 fee, RV length 26 feet, and elevation of 1,800 ft.

Elkmont Campground: 220 campsites, $17.00 - $23.00 fee, RV length 32 feet, and elevation of 2,150 ft.

Look Rock Campground: 92 campsites, $14.00 fee, RV length 35 feet, and elevation 2,600 ft.

Smokemont Campground: 140 campsites, $17.00 - $20.00 fee, RV length 27 feet, and elevation of 2,198 ft.

GROUP CAMPSITES

Big Creek Campground: 1 campsite, 25 person maximum, and $44.00 per night.

Cades Cove Campground: 4 campsites, 20 - 30 person maximum, and $35.00 - $65.00 per night.

Cataloochee Campground: 3 campsites, 25 person maximum, and $35.00 per night.

Cosby Campground: 3 campsites, 20 person maximum, and $26.00 per night.

Deep Creek Campground: 3 campsites, 20 person maximum, and $35.00 per night.

Elkmont Campground: 1 campsite, 12 person maximum, and $26.00 - $53.00 per night.

Smokemont Campground: 3 campsites, 15 - 20 person maximum, and $26.00 - $35.00 per night.