Smoky Mountains Campgrounds?

[wowens79]

We are wanting to head up to the Smokys, but would like at least to have power. We have a residential fridge in out TT, and no generator so he need power for the fridge.

Any suggestions for a campground? We typically like state parks, and COE campgrounds. We would rather be close to hiking/biking trails than to touristy things.

Any suggestions??

[Golfcart]

Im thinking about going to SMNP on the week between christmas and new years. Any winter view recommendations?

[Veebyes]

To get into the best CGs you will need to upgrade your battery bank & add a pure sine wave inverter for the fridge & other sensitive A/C equipment.

Smokemont CG is a really nice one however, no power. Another really nice one is Davidson River CG near Brevard. There are a couple of power loops in that one.

[Camsmom]

We stayed at Riveredge. It was during the week so we had our pick of spots. We liked the location, on the edge of town in PF. Nice campground, great washrooms.

[huachuca]

Cheoah Point is a National Forest campground in Nantahala NF with a few reservable sites with electrical hookups. It just outside Robbinsville NC which is around forty five minutes from the Cherokee entrance to GSMNP.

http://www.recreation.gov/camping/cheoah-point-campground/r/campgroundDetails.do?contractCode=NRSO&parkId=75477

Joyce Kilmer Memorial Forest is just down the road and has some decent trails. Also suggest driving the Cherohala Skyway into Tennessee and taking the FS road to Bald River Falls.

[TxGearhead]

I just stayed at Smokemont a couple weeks ago in my truck camper. I had no reservations. You should be able to get a spot during the week. Probably not during weekends. There is a separate loop in Smokemont for larger RV's. Depending on when you want to go...you may consider going in cooler weather and using an ice chest.
I've stayed at Cove Creek, and Cove Mountain RV Parks in the Townsend area. Also "Camping in the Smokies" at Gatlinburg. All in our 5th. I didn't like any of them.
I would say of the CG's I've seen inside the park, Smokemont may be the best bet for a larger RV. Cades Cove and Elkmont have just a few larger spots.

[flyfishing48]

X2 on Big Meadows. It's on the quite side of the smokies.
There is a paved bike trail in this area. Not sure about mountain biking.

[GeoBoy]

Pine Mountain RV Park.

[gapeachy]

we have stayed at Elkmont, Smokemont and cosby. all great campgrounds close to the national park with a lot of hiking trails some right in the campgrounds. no power or water but do allow generators during the day. fill your water tank up at sugarlands visitor center. we love to camp in the national forest. you wont miss the power

[ncscz]

If hiking & mountain biking are your preferences, there are good locations with smaller crowds in the NC & Tenn National Forests. Pisgah National Forest has hundreds of miles of trails (most are open to bikes but check). Campgrounds in the Brevard/Hendersonville area are about 3 hours drive from NE Atlanta.

The Nanatahala National Forest is even closer than that. Most of the NF campgrounds will have limited sites with electricity but there are many private campgrounds with services.

[djsamuel]

We enjoy the Big Meadows Family Campground in Townsend. Very close to the Cades Cove area and still convenient to Pigeon Forge. Townsend is nice and quiet.

[wowens79]

Thanks for the info, we have not really been up in that area, we live in the ATL area, and normally just go to a Georgia State Park in the mountains, but we are wanting to explore some more. We like to hike and mountain bike.

Any one ever stay on the other side of the park in the Townsend, Cherokee area? That would be closer for us, and would avoid the Gatlinburg/Pigeon Forge traffic.

[Merrykalia]

We also had a residential fridge in our TT when we went to Elkmont in the GSMNP a few years ago. It was NOT a good trip. We arrived on Friday about noon and left on Sunday. It was 6-8 days too long!!! (hahaha)

We are only a 2 1/2 hours away, so we do go to the area a few times each year, but we stay in Pigeon Forge at Pine Mtn. RV Park and then travel on the Gatlinburg Bypass into the GSMNP. From Pine Mtn, it's about a 20 minute drive into the park and you avoid most of the traffic in both Pigeon Forge and in Gatlinburg. It's pricey, but most of them are in the area. It's quiet since it's behind a knoll and you don't get the noise from the parkway, but you are only a block and a half away from it. It's on the Gatlinburg end of PF, so you don't have to deal with the "outlet" traffic. It's definitely our fave.

[ken56]

What do you want to be close to? The closest thing to COE is our TVA campgrounds at Douglas dam. They are W/E and have fairly nice facilities as far as showers/restrooms go. Douglas dam is about 10 miles or so outside of Pigeon Forge. They are first come first served so you may or may not get in. Having driven past the lower CG recently I saw sites open. The upper one, the nicer one, you cant see from the road. The sites will accommodate most size trailers and class A's. I suggest you google Douglas dam campgrounds to get the info you need.

[RoyB]

None of the NATL PARK campgrounds have hookups... No Power... They all have central rest room bldgs with a water spigot outside...

Its not uncommon to see a deep cycle battery sitting on the sink area plugged into a small charger haha...

We always stay at ELKMONT Camp inside the Natl Park. Elkmont has Trolley service to Gatlinburg... Have also stayed at TREMONT just out side the Townsend Entrance to the Natl Park. There are two or three nice campground just out the Townsend Entrance. Townsend has a couple of places for groceries and camping things you will need...

If we end up having to go to Gatlinburg or Pigeon Forge we usually stay at the RIVEREDGE RV Park just inside Pigeon Forge coming in from Gatlinburg. There is several RV places between Pigeon Forge and Townsend that gets great reviews...

Don't care for the tourists things as well. It never stops there - day and night... Lots of big events always going on over the weekends. Antique Cars weekends will close down both towns. Gatlinburg is a walking town. No place to park up and down the one street. You have to pay to park in a couple of parking lots and walk all day long haha... Pigeon Forge not so bad in this respect. You can park outside the stores there. Pigeon Forge also has a real COLEMAN STORE which I always want to visit when down that way to see what is new in the Camping World.

We keep going back to the area there - been doing this since the mid 60s... People even go there to get married haha... I go there to get in touch with my Cherokee Indian heritage... It draws me big time to the Smoky Mountains...

Roy Ken