Spring in the Smoky Mountains

alot of Wildlife and Bikers also use the parkway. Some are hard to see at times so keep an eye out for them...

Like others have said there is no hookups at the camp grounds on the Parkway. There is a camp site abut every 50 miles down the parkway which were originally designed for tent camping. You do see small trailers at them now. There is also limited gasoline facilities. Maybe just three for the whole 450 miles of it... Speed limits is max at 45MPH but alot of 15MPH and 20MPH curves. There are some tunnels and they are built with the high point in the middle so sometimes you may want to hog the center line to keep from dragging the sides. The tunnels are short length for the most part...

Access except at the main highways that cross over the parkway can be real steep and winding roads just before you get on the parkway. Always plan to get on and off at the major road exits...

We have driven the whole 450 miles from VA to NC a couple of times mainly TENT CAMPING. I have gone to several of the camp grounds and camped with my OFF-ROAD POPUP of late... We will camp in Pigeon Forge TN with hookups sometimes and drive up and down the Smoky Mtn park roads and then maybe run the parkway back to Ashville and bring I40 back to Pigeon Forge. Seems like most of our trips all go Gatlinburg and Pigeon Forge... This is magic place for us since back in the 70s...

One of my favorite camp ground is on SKYLINE DRIVE at LOFT MTN that connects to the Blue Ridge Parkway at I64/Afton Mtn. We usually go there two or three times a year. Another very great camping site is Serando Lake just off the parkway near Afton Mtn.

Some camp grounds have a close by way-station with a restaurant and some supplies. Most camp grounds will have a central toilet house and water to haul to your trailer - maybe some camping supplies. Some places get crowded at times as well... Generators are allowed in certain sections of course have generator run time restrictions. We can re-charge our battery banks in a short three hour generator run time during the day using smart mode charging techniques with no problems.

enjoy the parkway...
Roy Ken

Townsend,TN is a great area. Nice and quiet and very convenient to Cades Cove.

GSMNP is a great place to visit. Lots of stuff to do, and previous posters already gave you nice tips. Just a few more:
- The National Park campgrounds are strictly dry camping (no W/E or sewage). They are in beautiful settings, next to the road, but no services at all. Except for the summer months (June through August) reservations are not a must.
- If you are comfortable towing in mountainous, narrow, curvy roads, tunnels and bridges should not be a big concern for towing your trailers. Just take it easy and slow. There are plenty of lookouts to stop and enjoy along the way
- If you need cell phone reception, it will be iffy in a lot of places, so plan accordingly
- Lots of nice trails to hike right of the campgrounds at Elkmont, Julian Price, Linville Falls
- Morning fog can be expected in the Spring. Again, just plan for it and it will be fine.
Enjoy your trip !

Thanks for initial replies, great info. We are ok with pulling the trailer along narrow roads, was just concerned if there were some low bridges or tunnels that would limit the trailer. We are planning on going in late spring, mid to end of May so hopefully winter will be long gone by then with lots of spring flowers. Are there lots of RV's of various types travelling along the parkway? I had read that there was camping along the parkway, campgrounds without services. How do these work, first come first served? If so would they fill up quickly in May?
We were thinking it would be nice to spend the first part of our week travelling the parkway and in the national park, then spend the last few days in the more touristy area around Pigeon Forge & Gatlinburg.

Spring time along the Blue Ridge Parkway is a beautiful time of year with many flowers in bloom bringing spring time colors to everything but get there too early and it's just another winter scene. If often takes a few weeks after winter is over to get the parkway cleaned up and fog is often an issue in early spring making all of those wonderful views only a rumor. Check local forecases and conditions before committing to spending a lot of time there. When you hit it right it's fantastic. My favorite way to see the parkway is to take the trailer along and stay at the great "campgrounds" not rv parks, along the parkway. We traveled from end to end on three occasions (Front Royal to GSMNP) and really found the slower paced parkway a very relaxing and enjoyable drive. For the most part the road is kept in very good condition which also adds to the relaxation factor. Another very nice thing about early spring is the availability of spots in campgrounds but do some checking because some of them have a rather late opening date.
Good luck and have a great trip / Skip

We are a little over 2 hours from both Asheville and Pigeon Forge/Gatlinburg areas. We enjoy them both.

Asheville should be good for 2-3 days. Biltmore is there and that can take up a full day. It has a large art and crafts population and you should be able to take in a few shops that offer handicrafts. We have never camped in Asheville, but friends of ours like Mama Gertie's.

I would NOT pull my TT across the Blueridge Parkway. Park at a campground and use your truck to see the sites. If you aren't used to pulling on small two-lane, curving roads, you should definitely NOT use this time to try it.

Pigeon Forge/Gatlinburg can be a great place or can be living H#*L! There are lots of shopping in the PF area. Gatlinburg has lots of really nice small shops in town along with OberGatlinburg (ski area). There are also some not so nice shops that sell, well,junk! Really good restaurants abound in both towns.

We really like Pine Mountain RV Park in Pigeon Forge. It is a "resort" and sites are smaller, but so are most of them in the area. It has a couple of pools, indoor and outdoor, so you can use them in May. It is a couple of blocks off the parkway, so you don't get the noise that you do in many of the ones ON the parkway. It is in main area, so you don't have to spend lots of time driving in the PF area. Sometimes (weekends and holidays, especially), traffic can be horrendous and it will take you hours to be a few miles. During the week, it's not usually as bad. On the Pine Mtn end of PF, there is not as much traffic. It is closer to Gatlinburg. It, along with the rest of the campgrounds in Pigeon Forge, has a trolley stop so you don't have to drive. Dollywood is good if you have kids and May is usually a great time to go. It is kinda $$$, but it's an amusement park.

Elkmont Campground, in the GSMNP, is a really good campground, but it is dry camping. The fireflies are there the 2nd week of June (give or take) and they are magnificent. Google them.

If you are looking for another place to check out, try Natural Tunnel State Park in Virginia. It's about 3 hours from the PF/Gatlinburg area, heading back north. We will be camphosting there in May and would love to meet you and show you the park. Views and the "natural" tunnel are magnificent and it's a great state park and campground.

If you have any specific questions, PM me.