Hi--we have a trip planned for the 1st week of August to the Smokies and are looking for a good campground to explore the area. We want something centrally located that we can use as a home base and explore from there. Smoky Mountain Premiere RV resort has been mentioned and I wanted to get your input. It advertises that it backs up to the National Park but how far is it to the entrance. Looking at a map it appears that there is only 1 highway through the park. Is that correct and does anyone know how long it would take to get from that campground to the park entrance? Any other suggestions would also be appreciated. We need full hookups for large rigs.

From Smoky Mountain Premiere RV resort to the Visitor's Center at the entrance on 441 is about 20 miles. Depending on traffic going thru Gatlinburg, it could take 30 minutes. Although the resort is in a nice location, you could get closer in Pigeon Forge or Townsend.

Your location depends on what you want. If you need a lot of activities outside the national park, I would recommend something close to Gatlinburg. There are many campgrounds there over a wide geographic area. If you like a quieter area look for a park in Townsend or in the park. Townsend is near popular Cades Cove area of the park. If you can dry camp, try Elkmont or Cades Cove campgrounds inside the park.

The two major entrances to the Natl Park is from Gatlingburg or Townsend. If you wanted to be in the middle the RIVEREDGE RV PARK just as you enter Pigeon Forge coming from Gatlinburg would be a good place... We have stayed there many times. There are camp grounds inside the NATL PARK but they have no hookups. ELKMONT is our choice. Traffic in Gatlingburg is very slow going. Always have to watch out for people running across the main road...Gatlinburg is walking the strip town with not many places to park your car on the side streets. Pigeon Forge is a drive to the stores and you can park at the store. Lots of shops in both towns and good eating places.If the tourist thing is not your cup of tea then Townsend is where you might want to stay. Several full hook-up camps there and close to the West Entrance of the Natl Park. One of the sigths to see inside the park is CADES COVE motor trail which is on the Townsend side of the Park. The Major road that goes thru the park and comes out at Cherokee NC is on the Gatlingburg side. The highest point of the park is a great place that lots of folks visit as well...Kinda what you guy want to do on where to stay...My wife loves the Gatlinburg shops on both sides of the road. She will walk there all day long.... I usually drop here off and make a run to the park and do some hiking on a few trails. Then come back and find her...All of our camping trips go through Gatlinburg both going and coming back haha...August will be a pretty hot time to go there. You will enjoy the mountain roads in the park which will be a good 10 degrees cooler. We definitely go there in the late SEP Early OCT time frame and usually stay at the ELKMONT camp inside the park in our off-road POPUP camper.I know you all will enjoy yourselves. We like to stop at TOWNSEND just before you get to the entrance and get a chicken picnic and then drive just inside the Natl Park and go sit on the banks of the Little River that goes through the park and watch the water and kids having fun in the water. Cades Cove is another great picnic outing along the motor trail. You want to time so you go thru the trail around dusk to see all of the deer and maybe a bear or two along the way. A whole bunch of horses will great you just as you enter the Cades Cove area. They like to be fed as well haha... Whenever you see a bunch of cars puled over to the side of the road it usually means a BEAR SPOTTING...Best breakfast place for us is in Gatlingburg at BENNETS BBQ. Greatest breakfast bar out there.Roy and Carolyn

For our 6 night stay in the area in 2014, we did not stay too close to Gatlinburg. We stayed 15-20 minutes outside, and we do not regret doing so!"Crazy Horse" now called "Adventure Bound", was the best decision we made while we had the TT in the area. That's IF...you have kids. No kids...then may be stay in/near town.

If you like tourists, stores, traffic, entertainment, theme parks (Dolly Land), traffic, stop lights, more traffic, etc....then Pidgeon Forge & Gatlinburg is it. The craziness is worth a day trip once to see what I mean. If you have kids then this is even more of a place to consider as they have tons of entertainment sites. We prefer Townsend. Quiet creek side RV sites, easy in to Smokies, much less traffic, and you are 30 min country road to Pidgeon Forge if ya want it. In fact we also like Wears Valley that is halfway between the two. There is a back road into the Smokies from Wears Valley that is little known and helps too. In Oct we stayed at Cove Creek Resort in Wears Valley. It was nice and peaceful, nothing creek side...though they have a stream past the park but it isn't anything. No shade there so it wouldn't be my August choice. Most of the campsites in Townsend are shady.

Smoky Mountain National Park Area Camping | Good Sam Community

15 Replies

huachuca
Explorer
Apr 17, 2015
j'sgypsybuggy wrote:
?....Anyway, it will be 4 adults (2 rigs) and we need some suggestions as what to see. We enjoy hiking, biking and like that.....:)

The NC Arboretum and Cradle of Forestry are both well worth a visit for these activities.
bodyshop_bob
Explorer
Apr 16, 2015
j'sgypsybuggy -- It's gonna be hot and sticky in August. If you plan to hike and everyone in the group is in good shape - Alum Cave trail is a great hike. It may be closed M-F for renovation. One of our favorite trails is Andrew's Bald which starts at Clingman's Dome parking lot. It will be cooler due to the elevation and is not as challenging. Walker Sister's trail in Metcalf Bottom is a great, easy stroll and the cabin is wonderful. I recommend reading up on the Walker sister's as their story is worth it.
If your group likes wildlife -- get up early Wednesday morning and drive to Cades Cove and rent bikes at the campground store and hit the Cades Cove 11 mile loop road on bike. In August the critters will only be active early and again after sunset. I've driven loop countless times and it was only after my son and I rented bikes during a camping trip did I see all the details.
There are actually several roads that lead to the Park. The main one is Hwy 441. There are very neat little roads that come into the Park from Wear's Valley and other locations that will lead you back into rarely-traveled areas.
A great day trip would be to travel from your CG over to the Cataloochee area in North Carolina. Cataloochee has a wonderful elk herd and seeing those massive creatures is incredible. The trout fishing is pretty good in Cataloochee, as well.
Plan to eat at "Best Italian" in the Elk's Plaza in G'burg and ask for a table outside. Go later in the evening and enjoy the little creek and you may be entertained by the Momma raccoon that has been known to beg for scraps. We enjoy the roof top dining of "Loco Burro" in G'burg. The food is okay and the frozen adult beverages sneak up on you. Very, very nice to sit outside in the late afternoon heat and drink frozen drinks.
There is much to do in the Park and it is always better to be out of the car exploring the "Quiet Walkways" and such. However, the "Roaring Fork Motor Trail" is an excellent drive. Great day trip and plenty of places to pull over and have a picnic and explore the cabins.
Writing all this is making me plan my next trip. Go have fun.
wbwood
Explorer
Apr 16, 2015
For what you mentioned you want to do, Smokybear is a good location to be in. You can be in Gatrlinburg and the park in 15-20 minutes. Yuo can cut across the back roads and be in Pigeon Forge in about the smae time, maybe a little longer. And then you will not be too far from I-40 to cut over to Asheville.
Bob_Shaw
Explorer
Apr 15, 2015
When you go, don't forget to go up the mountain to Clingman's Dome, then continue over the mountain to Cherokee. We like the Maggie Valley/Waynesville area. When you get to Cherokee, just before you get out of the park, go north on the Blue Ridge Parkway for some really nice views. In the north east part of the park is an area called Cataloochie Valley. It's sort of a smaller version of Cades Cove. A real interesting partially dirt mountain road into there, and there are elk in the meadows there, which also can sometimes be seen at the Smokemont park entrance.
michigansandzil
Explorer
Apr 15, 2015
j'sgypsybuggy wrote:
Anything else in the area we need to see? Thanks for all your help, it has been appreciated. :)

Be sure to walk up to Clingmans Dome in the park.
We enjoyed the Cherokee Indian museum on the North Carolina side. We liked the visitor center and buildings there too.
rbtglove
Explorer
Apr 15, 2015
We use Twin Creeks very nice campground centrally located on the Trolley route to town and the craft routes. Has all the a pool and dog park and has sites that accomodate large rigs with full service. Close to resturants and stores and only a short drive to the park visitor center and entrance.
j_sgypsybuggy
Explorer
Apr 15, 2015
OK--taking your advice we have made a reservation at SmokyBear Campground. It comes with high ratings--only hope it isn't too busy and doesn't take too long to get into the park from there. Sounds like that area is incredibly busy. We visited some 30 years ago when my husband was in the military and it was a quiet lazy wonderful town. Now???? Hope we're ready for this. Anyway, it will be 4 adults (2 rigs) and we need some suggestions as what to see. We enjoy hiking, biking and like that. Planning to headquarters in Gatlinburg but would like to explore the surrounding areas as well. Plan to go to the Biltmore Estate in Asheville too. Anything else in the area we need to see? Thanks for all your help, it has been appreciated. :)
washley1
Explorer
Mar 22, 2015
No one seemed to respond to your question about the roads into SMNP. Yes, there is only the one road that bisects the park north to south. There is a separate loop road in the north west part of the park that goes into Cades Cove. That's about it. And that stretch of 441 can get awful crowded and slow in the summer!!
sdianel_-acct_c
Explorer
Mar 22, 2015
We prefer Sevierville - River Plantation RV Park at the north end exit on I-40 exit 407 Hwy 66 and go south. River Plantation is 13 miles north of Gatlinburg and the park entrance.
Merrykalia
Explorer II
Mar 22, 2015
If you have kids, there are many, many options.

If it is just you and a spouse, and you don't like to be right in the middle of things, Smoky Bear in Cosby might be a good choice. It's about 20 minutes outside of Gatlinburg and during major tourist season (June - end of Oct), it might take longer. Getting to the entrance of the park is just outside of Gatlinburg.

Our favorite place is Pine Mtn RV Park in Pigeon Forge. It has a pool with an indoor pool and hottub. There is also a lazy river pool.