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prichardson's avatar
prichardson
Explorer
Jun 15, 2018

Cataloochee campground Smokey Mountains NP

For those that have been there; how accessible is this campground with a 28' TT? Some of my research seems to indicate there is a section of road that might be questionable.
  • Dang. After reading these comments, I'm deflated. We booked a site at Cataloochee for this coming weekend (even said it was ~60 feet long, perfect for our TV/TT). I had been reading about the road in and am bummed out now... I don't want to risk damage to our 27' TT but I really want to check this campground out.
  • We've camped there several times in our 19' Scamp and have seen larger rigs in the campground. The primary access is by the eleven mile Cove Creek Road of which roughly three miles is unpaved. Its a winding, narrow. mountain road and some of the dirt sections are wide enough for only a single vehicle.

    My suggestion would be to make alternate camping arrangements for this trip but take your car or truck without the camper and visit the Valley. Then make your own decision as to whether or not you'd feel comfortable towing a rig the size of yours to the campground. If you make the trip in, you may notice most of the 'veterans' will toot their horn a couple of times as they approach each blind curve. Enjoy your visit, its a beautiful area.
  • JoeH's avatar
    JoeH
    Explorer III
    We've been there a few times in the toad.... I agree with the above posts, I would not take an RV on those roads... bad enough in the toad.
  • kyhawk wrote:
    We were there in March on a day trip from Maggie Valley NC and my wife and I neither one could believe anyone would take a camper over that road. It has a gravel section with sharp curves and no shoulders, very steep grades, and is too narrow in places for two cars to pass each other. My DW was scared even though we were in an SUV. You can get there from the Tennessee side, but I don't remember that road being much better.The CG is nice enough and the Valley was fun, especially seeing the elk herd, but I wouldn't want to take a camper there.


    I agree. I was there in late April. The road from the Blue Ridge Parkway is very narrow and winding, dirt and very little gravel, one lane only in many places. NOT the place for a trailer. The road over from Cosby is not much better, and much longer, according to some friends who recently came through.
  • I've been there a few times over the years. I would not take my 28' camper in there. Maggie Valley has several nice campgrounds which would be a good base for the area. It's about 20 miles over the mountain to Cataloochee.
  • We were there in March on a day trip from Maggie Valley NC and my wife and I neither one could believe anyone would take a camper over that road. It has a gravel section with sharp curves and no shoulders, very steep grades, and is too narrow in places for two cars to pass each other. My DW was scared even though we were in an SUV. You can get there from the Tennessee side, but I don't remember that road being much better.The CG is nice enough and the Valley was fun, especially seeing the elk herd, but I wouldn't want to take a camper there.

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