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GravelRider's avatar
GravelRider
Explorer II
Jun 08, 2020

Smoky Mountains camping

My family and I are planning to go down to the Smoky Mountain area in late July/early August this year for ten days, which will be three days travel there and three back, and then six there. We're brand new to RVing (but not to tent camping). We're trying to do a mix of hookups and dry camping. For the dry camping, we'll be exclusively staying in the national forest campgrounds. However, for the days we'll be taking advantage of hookups, I'm in need of some advice.

I'm looking for out of the way, state/national forest type camping, but with hookups, well at least electrical. In other words, I like secluded forested type camping, not large open fields with RVs on top of one another. I've never cared for the KOA type camping experience. I've always looked for ma and pa type small establishments with more privacy (if I'm not doing state/national parks or dispersed camping). When tent camping, it's much easier to just show up and look for open sites. Now that we're giving RVIng a try, we want to have reservations first for our maiden voyage. So, I'm hoping some of you guys can give me some recommendations given what I'm looking for down in the Smoky Mountains.

Thanks!
  • Unless you plan to grab some really out of the way site, you won't find much and most of the sites within a 45 minute drive are large RV parks with FHU and neighbors about 15' away.

    You might want to look at some of the Corp of Engineers places on the lake. The Douglas Dam Headwater campground is located about 30 minutes away. It's $25 per night and has water/electric only. It is right on Douglas Lake and you MIGHT be able to catch an opening. The DD Tailwater Campground is also just down the road and is also right on the water.
  • SMNP is the most visited national park in the country. Most sites are reserved 6 months in advance. There are some first come sites. Sites with services are nearly nonexistent. With tat in mind you should now be aware of your chances for a string of 6 days open.
  • Check out Indian Boundary Campground. It is definitely off of the beaten path.

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