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Old 07-14-2015, 09:43 AM   #1
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RV Parks around Great Smoky NP

Anyone ever camped at Great Smoky Jellystone RV Resort? We are new to camping as we just bought our TT last weekend. We aren't ready to try camping without hookups quite yet! We are currently planning a 4 day trip to the Great Smoky NP. From there 2 days in & around Asheville. Day trip over to Concord, NC to visit some high school friends then headed back home. Any insight would be greatly appreciated!

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Old 07-14-2015, 10:15 AM   #2
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Never been there but Trip Advisor gives it good reviews.

We usually stay at the KOA which you pass to get to Jellystone. It's a nice family friendly campground. There is also Deep Creek Tubing Center campground just out of Bryson City and a mile from another entrance to Smokey Mountains National Park. It's family owned and has a play area and a goat petting area your two year old would like. Also has some nice creek front sites.
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Old 07-14-2015, 10:45 AM   #3
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Never been there but Trip Advisor gives it good reviews.

We usually stay at the KOA which you pass to get to Jellystone. It's a nice family friendly campground. There is also Deep Creek Tubing Center campground just out of Bryson City and a mile from another entrance to Smokey Mountains National Park. It's family owned and has a play area and a goat petting area your two year old would like. Also has some nice creek front sites.
Thanks very much for the input. I'm going to look into Deep Creek!

Have you ever made the drive from Gatlinburg over to Asheville? I'm curious as to what is the best route when towing.
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Old 07-14-2015, 10:47 AM   #4
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We will be at Creekside RV campground in Pigeon Forge last week in October....looking forward to Smokies trip.
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Old 07-14-2015, 12:08 PM   #5
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Just got back from their Sunday. Stayed at river plantation in seiberville. Awesome time and a very nice park. I will stay them again. It was the nicest of the parks in town.
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Old 07-14-2015, 12:33 PM   #6
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Just got back from their Sunday. Stayed at river plantation in seiberville. Awesome time and a very nice park. I will stay them again. It was the nicest of the parks in town.
Did you guys go to the National Park while you were there?
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Old 07-14-2015, 12:55 PM   #7
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Yes we did. It was beautiful. A lot to do in pigeon forge and gatlinburg.
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Old 07-14-2015, 01:00 PM   #8
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Yes we did. It was beautiful. A lot to do in pigeon forge and gatlinburg.
Thanks. We have been to Pigeon Forge and Gatlinburg several times, but this time we're going to focus on the NP. Looking forward to it!

I'm just a little concerned on the drive the Gatlinburg area over to Asheville. I would imagine it has some steep grades, but have never made that drive before so not sure.
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Old 07-14-2015, 01:04 PM   #9
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We came in from Knoxville side. but seen plenty of RV's coming thru the park. just take it slow and easy and use your exhaust brake if you have one.
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Old 07-14-2015, 01:26 PM   #10
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We would highly recommend Big Meadows on the "quiet side" of the Smoky Mountain NP in Townsend. Great owners. We stayed there a month. A little expensive but worth it.
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Old 07-14-2015, 01:39 PM   #11
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We would highly recommend Big Meadows on the "quiet side" of the Smoky Mountain NP in Townsend. Great owners. We stayed there a month. A little expensive but worth it.
Thanks for the input. We will check into that one as well!
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Old 07-14-2015, 01:52 PM   #12
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We would highly recommend Big Meadows on the "quiet side" of the Smoky Mountain NP in Townsend. Great owners. We stayed there a month. A little expensive but worth it.
X5 - I was just about to post the same thing until I saw robsshots.

Townsend is just SUCH a better experience than the madness of Pigeon Forge/Sevierville/Gatlinburg. The RV sites are bigger in Townsend, and you are closer to the part of SMNP everyone wants to visit (Cades Cove for example). In Townsend, it is no problem to get up early or drive over to Cades in the evening to see all the wildlife (Try that from Pigeon Forge!)

Then, when you DO want to do the Dollywood / Dixie Stampede / Gatlinburg sightseeing, you are 30 min away. When you are done, back to Townsend and peace and quiet! Ahhhhh!

Oh yeah, got kids (or are you a kid at heart? Head over to little river and go to one of the two tubing companies (we like River Rage) and spend the day floating down the river. Life is *good*
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Old 07-14-2015, 01:52 PM   #13
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I am not sure I would pull my TT thru the NP. I would probably go up to I-40 and cut across it. It is pretty curvy but you miss all the steep mountains thru the park. I have never pulled a camper up that way. The thought of going thru the park scares me to death LOL. I always try to avoid as many steep hills and mountains as possible.
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Old 07-14-2015, 02:27 PM   #14
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I am not sure I would pull my TT thru the NP. I would probably go up to I-40 and cut across it. It is pretty curvy but you miss all the steep mountains thru the park. I have never pulled a camper up that way. The thought of going thru the park scares me to death LOL. I always try to avoid as many steep hills and mountains as possible.
X2 on these mentioned. There are some rock faces that overhang the roads on bends that would of definitely taken out the sides of our 5'er. I saw a small class C passing by and the driver looked terrified!
There are a bunch of pull off areas for mountain views and river access. Here's a shot of my 7 y.o. overlooking Gatlinburg below.
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Old 07-14-2015, 02:48 PM   #15
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If you're concerned about trailering through the national park, you can take US 321 north out of Gatlinburg to I-40, then go east to Asheville. It's a beautiful drive over the mountains and, because it's an interstate, the grades are much more forgiving.
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Old 07-14-2015, 03:23 PM   #16
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I highly recommend Tremont Outdoor Resort, very clean, very friendly, very quiet and as close as you can get to the park without being in it. Get a river front site and you won't be sorry. If you are going to be there on a Saturday go to smokin Joes BBQ and get the smoked prime rib.....I am drooling just thinking about it.
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Old 07-14-2015, 03:38 PM   #17
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We're at the Pigeon Forge KOA right now! We're here for 11 days so we're mixing-in the better commercial attractions, like Dollywood & Dixie Stampede, with sightseeing. We go to the indoor stuff when its raining (now) or peak heat of the day so being in busy Pigeon Forge doesn't bug us...
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Old 07-14-2015, 04:02 PM   #18
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Just got back from their Sunday. Stayed at river plantation in seiberville. Awesome time and a very nice park. I will stay them again. It was the nicest of the parks in town.
We stayed at River Plantation in May and loved it. I definitely word not pull my trailer over the the the park from Gatlinburg to Cherokee.
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Old 07-14-2015, 04:18 PM   #19
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We love staying in Townsend. We have stayed at Tremont Hills for our honeymoon in one of their cabins and last year we took the XLR to the KOA there. Spots are a little tight for a big toyhauler but it is a nice campground right next to the river. Do not take the road between Townsend and Pigeon Forge with the camper. There is one hairpin curve that would be scary. It was bad enough on our motorcycles. There is also a campground at the entrance to Cades Cove. I don't have any info on that, just drove past it on the bikes.
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Old 07-14-2015, 04:34 PM   #20
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The campground in Cades Cove is a Smoky Mountain NP campground. If you plan to stay there reservations are recommended.
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