Smokey Mountains: Cades Cove vs Smokemont

We like the KOA in Townsend. The river runs right along the campground.

Drew A. wrote:
Thanks everyone, this is great information.

I initially discounted Elkmont because on the NPS web site it listed trailers to 32 feet. I'll look at that a bit closer. We usually can do fine without AC, but we we might want power for air conditioning this trip. I told my sister-in-law we wouldn't need AC, but she runs pretty hot!

If we don't stay in the park, does anyone have a favorite private campground in the Townsend area? We don't need lots of activities, but a pool would be nice.

Thanks!

We really like Big Meadows Family Campground in Townsend. Basic but nice campground and nice people. It is also very convenient to the entrance of the park and not too far from Cades Cove.

X2 on "Up the Creek". We haven't stayed there but have scouted it after staying at Cove Creek and Cove Mountain parks. Call early as possible. I think for the hook ups I would stay there in the summer.

Also check out Elvira's Cafe. Country Corner cafe is on the corner of 321 and Line Spring Rd. Great breakfast. There's an Italian place right in there too, can't remember the name.

Up The Creek campground toward the north end of Wears Valley is the closest thing to a park campground with full hookups that I know of. There is no store, no bathrooms, no pool, away from most of the traffic, and most of the creekfront sites are large and shaded. Near to Pigeon Forge and Sevierville and a pretty 25-30 minute drive to Townsend, Cades Cove area of the Natl Park. Kids that have never had the fun of playing in a creek love it. It is a private cg not a Natl Park cg. Greenbrier cg up 321 north of Gatlinburg a few miles also is more like a park cg but has the store, creek,playground, bathrooms,etc. of a more developed commercial cg. I like Smokemont in October (cooler weather) but I'm spoiled to needing AC in the hot times.

We love https://www.camplittlearrow.com/. It borders the national park and is the closest campground to Cades Cove without actually staying there. I think it’s about 7 miles away. The campground has just undergone an extensive renovation and is top notch!! Try to get a waterfront site. Book soon as they seem to be very popular now.

From the responses here, the 'best' campground is obviously a matter of personal preference so I'll throw out my two cents. Smokemont would be my choice IF I could pick my site. Most spots in loop "F" have plenty of room for larger RVs and I don't recall any problems getting in or out (but our camper is only 19'). The pictures below are of site F38 which is one of eleven sites directly on the water.





For us, Smokemont is more centrally located for other things we like to do in western NC - rafting on the Nantahala River, backroad drives in Cherokee and Nantahala National Forests hikes (several), Great Smoky Mountain Railroad, the Blue Ridge Parkway, Cherohala Skyway and mountain music in many of the small towns. Having said this, we almost always visit Cades Cove when in that area. Elkmont has its pluses as well. And don't forget the National Forest campgrounds - Horse Cove is actually our favorite CG but probably too small for a rig the size of yours.

Edited to add shot of creek running just behind the site


EDIT: Resized images to fit the page.

Thanks everyone, this is great information.

I initially discounted Elkmont because on the NPS web site it listed trailers to 32 feet. I'll look at that a bit closer. We usually can do fine without AC, but we we might want power for air conditioning this trip. I told my sister-in-law we wouldn't need AC, but she runs pretty hot!

If we don't stay in the park, does anyone have a favorite private campground in the Townsend area? We don't need lots of activities, but a pool would be nice.

Thanks!

I live here and have camped at both and for a larger rig Elkmont is a better choice in my opinion because they have more larger sites. They have larger sites than Cades Cove plus you are a lot closer to town if you need something. As far as temps it is quite bearable in August. Run a fan as needed but cool enough at night to sleep with the windows open and a fan on. Also on water sites are beautiful!

We were there in Oct. 2016 and stayed in Townsend at the last rv park before entering the park(can't remember the name right now). It gave us very good access to Cades Cove and we had full hookups. The days were very warm but, the nights were comfortable for sleeping. When we drove thru the Cades Cove campground you could have cut the wood smoke with a knife. I love a good campfire but, as thick as the smoke was I think I would have had trouble breathing at times. The campground we stayed at had 3-4 campfires but, smoke wasn't a problem. There is a scenic drive on the west side of the park that has some extremely beautiful pull overs that provide miles of view. The next time we go we are going to stay on the North Carolina side to see the eastside of the park. Inside the park we stopped at every point of interest and walked thru all the buildings that were open. Great place to spend some time with a lot of history.

We like Elkmont. We were there just this past July 4th week. We have been in June, July, and August. It can be nice or it can be hot. Luckily Elkmont has tons of shade to that helps. However, as someone else posted that means the rain drips for days, and getting anything to dry out is nearly impossible. The past trip I think we ran our 12v fans only one or two nights the entire week. My wife and girls work sweatshirts at night and in the morning..our site had a very cool breeze when it blew down the river under the bridge and right onto our site.