Gatlinburg Campgrounds??

The campground I mentioned, Imagination Mountain, has hiking trails from the campground right into the Smoky's, the property backs up to the NP.

G'burg is as busy as it ever was. New Years will be jam packed the news is saying. Any campground you consider call before you book because some may shut off the water for the winter. Better to check directly with the place you choose to stay. Come and enjoy or if you are inclined to want to volunteer they still need help with lots of things and there are opportunities for everyone to pitch in. There is a coordination center in PF you can stop in and see what is needed.

We stayed at Pine Mountain RV park in Pigeon Forge, nice sites, clean and quiet. There is a trolley stop just across the street.

Anchor Down - - Beautiful sites, overlooking the water and mountains in the background. Stayed there this past summer, will be going back.

Ryanjb01 wrote:
Anchor Down - - Beautiful sites, overlooking the water and mountains in the background. Stayed there this past summer, will be going back.

I think Anchor Down is closed for the winter. They were going to close starting Dec. 1, but when the RV parks in Gatlinburg & Pigeon Forge evacuated due to the fires, Anchor Down stayed open for a while to accommodate these folks (for free I think). Great folks to have done this. They will re-open March 3.

We were planning on staying at Anchor Down this summer, but weren't sure after the fires. We've never been to the Gatinburg/Pigeon Forge area before. How badly damaged was the Gatlinburg entrance of the National Park? This would probably be our only trip to the Smokeys. For those of you familiar with the damage, should we just wait for a year or two?

It was not touched at all on the Pigeon Forge/Gatlinburg side. The entrance is at the Sugarland Welcome Center and Elkmont Campground was spared. The fire was on the other side of the mountain.

No, don't wait. Gatlinburg and Pigeon Forge are as busy as ever and the area needs the $$.

It was not touched at all on the Pigeon Forge/Gatlinburg side. The entrance is at the Sugarland Welcome Center and Elkmont Campground was spared. The fire was on the other side of the mountain.

No, don't wait. Gatlinburg and Pigeon Forge are as busy as ever and the area needs the $$.

Yes it was touched by the fire, just not seriously. There is burned ground all the way up to Sugarlands visitor center, they almost lost it. Up Ski Mountain rd. almost every structure burnt to ashes. It came too close for comfort to the downtown area but the greater downtown area was spared. There was just 50,000 people there for newyears. Gatlinburg is fine and so is Pigeon Forge.

As for Anchor Down, its a fantastic park. One of the nicest I have ever seen. Beautiful setting, concrete pads, stacked stone fireplaces in some sites and clean facilities. I live not too far from it and go by it often. The area is more than just tourist traps. The dinner shows are great really and Dollywood is a great park. I can't stand Disney but I do enjoy Dollywood. Lots of stuff to do, good food is not hard to find and campgrounds are plentiful. Come and enjoy yourselves, you might find you want to come back.

There are so many choices it really all depends on what exactly you want to be doing in the area and what amenities in a park you want.

Me personally, I just got back from a week in the area and stayed at the pigeon forge koa. It was nice and had everything i wanted in a park, But after exploring the area for a few days I decided Townsend is definitely where I want to be next time i go. Considerably less hustle and bustle and still close enough to everything you might want to do without being too far