camping in Gatlinburg or Pigeon Forge tn

I second Smokey Bear Campground. We had a little truck camper rally there last November and it was wonderful. The owners are incredible. I wouldn't hesitate to stay there again.

We did a lot of research before staying in the area. We stayed at Smokey Bear Campground just east of Gatlinburg, and only a few minutes from a full grocery store. Away from the hustle and bustle in Gatlinburg. Clean and neat as a pin, and quiet. Owners and staff are wonderful people. It's one of only 2 CGs in the Gatlinburg area that has an Excellent rating on RV Park Reviews.

Just stayed at Big Meadow Family Campground in Townsend and enjoyed that. It's an easy drive from Townsend to Pigeon Forge.

Bear cove and the Pigeon Forge KOA are just south of Dollywood and up the street from The Old Mill. Trolley stop is there and both are quite nice. Good luck getting a reservation. If you are familiar with Cosby (321) then you know there are a few parks with full hook ups out that way. A relatively new one is Smoky Mountain Premier CG. Very nice and big rig friendly, Good Sam and Passport America affiliated.

Pine Mountain is always busy, but you can't beat it.

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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.

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.

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.

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

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