we usually camp at Elkmont or Cosby which we dearly love but we are planning on going around thanksgiving and want to stay closer in and have power and water. I looked at pine mountain which looks a little upscale and pricey. what would you recommend? also we have a pooch

Townsend KOA. Beautiful, clean, and friendly folks. It's expensive but it's worth it. We are here now and don't want to leave

If we don't stay at Elkmont inside the Natl park that doesn't have hookups then we want to stay in the Townsend area. Much less people and traffic to deal with but yet close enough to drive to any of those places.. Our love for this area is the Natl Park more than all of the shops and stores and all of that... Of course there is times you may want to stay closer to those two towns and we found the Riveredge RV Park had everything we wanted. It is expensive however but close to everthing in both towns...Roy Ken

We recently stayed at Riverside RV Park in Sevierville. Great FHU's, good fishing, QUIET and very reasonable. The pool is closed for the season. But, the place is really nice.

Don't discount Pine Mlountain. Is has all the amenities, cable, wifi, full hookups, paved sites. There is a tram stop right across the street. And don't forget about being able to use the hotel pool and hot tub acros the street. It is off the road enough that you don't hear the traffic out on the mail road but at light 6 it is close to all the activities. We camp there every Christmas into New Years and love it. On a side note if you like camping at Thanksgiving give River Bend Rv Park in Hiawassee a try one year. The campground owners put on a thanksgiving feast. They cook the turkeys several ways and provide the hams and all the campers bring sides and desserts. We sit under big tents and have a great time. Being doing this for almost 8 years now.

All of them are pricey....especially at holiday time. Pine Mountain is usually booked solid for T'giving weekend, so if you plan to stay there, get your reservation now, if you can.We have stayed at 80% of the campgrounds in the area and Pine Mtn. is by far, our favorite. River Plantation is great, but it is on the Sevierville side of PF and traffic is horrendous around it. Riverside is okay, but also in Sevierville, so to get to PF or Gatlinburg, you have to hit all the traffic.Most of the campgrounds within the immediate area has trolley service and that is nice if you don't want to drive, but you still have to be in all the traffic. If you want to do the night trolley to see the lights, make your reservations now. It fills up quick but is really nice.

camping in Gatlinburg or Pigeon Forge tn | Good Sam Community

20 Replies

NC_Roamer
Explorer
Nov 06, 2015
Heir Max wrote:
River Bend CG at redlight #2 Pigeon Forge, end of Henderson Rd. Open all year.

We spent one night here in May while passing through. Had a nice site on the river. Park was very clean and quiet.
Stars101
Explorer
Nov 06, 2015
X3 on Smoky Bear. Quiet and they also do a Thanksgiving pot luck. CG cooks turkeys and campers bring sides. It's awesome! Plus owners are amazingly nice people. I always go to Gatlinburg, not Pigeon Forge, but I believe there is a short-cut that takes away some of the traffic and gets you into PF pretty quickly. Call and ask Smoky Bear they will tell you honestly what to expect.
tsetsaf
Explorer III
Nov 05, 2015
pick your choice
gapeachy
Explorer
Nov 05, 2015
thanks for all your input. Im kinda leaning toward smokey bear. we plan to hike so getting to the NF might be easier. we go into pigeon forge to eat and shot at night. it will be good to have water for showers and tv . of course I love roughing it. my husband likes a little more amenities
BillofPA
Explorer
Nov 04, 2015
We have stayed at Twin Creek just outside of Gatlinburg. A little pricey and sites a little close together but we spent most of our time not at the campground. It's very close to Gatlinburg, just a few minutes drive, and the trolley stops at campground entrance. Pigeon Forge is about an 8 mile drive with LOTS of traffic.
bodyshop_bob
Explorer
Nov 02, 2015
Well -- if you just want big sites, with good privacy, free wifi and full hook-ups and can live without a bathhouse or a campground store then Up the Creek RV park outside of Pigeon Forge is a great choice. The pooch will like the dog run and the open green spaces at the front of the campground.
Heir_Max
Explorer
Nov 01, 2015
River Bend CG at redlight #2 Pigeon Forge, end of Henderson Rd. Open all year.
randallb
Explorer
Nov 01, 2015
If you do not mind a short drive to get back to Sevierville/Pigeon Forge the Point RV Resort or the Anchor Down in Dandridge might be worth looking at. The AD is about one year old and sits on the North side of Douglas Lake along Hwy 139. The Point recently expanded their CG and the new portion sits on a back cove across the lake from Dandridge. Both are on the web for you to peruse.
Randy
dblr
Explorer
Oct 30, 2015
I will add Creekside, small but clean and well kept, we did get noise from the road we backed up to but sites near the creek would be quieter. Close to town and a trolley stop also. I thought one of the lesser cost campgrounds in the area without any discounts but holiday time might be different, good luck & enjoy.
Merrykalia
Explorer II
Oct 29, 2015
I agree that Smoky Bear is a great campground, and we really like it, but it will take you at least 35 minutes to get into Pigeon Forge and that is without any traffic. With Thanksgiving traffic, your looking at over an hour to just get INTO Pigeon Forge, and to get to the outlets (which seem to be a popular destination), you are looking at doubling that time.

That's why we suggested Pine Mtn. The same with any campground outside of Pigeon Forge, they are quiet and your sites are probably larger, but the commute time to/from PF is doubled during that time of year. We go every year on Tuesday evening of Thanksgiving week and stay until Sunday.