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I shared some of the hikes we’ve done in Great Smoky Mountains NP, and now it’s time to talk about where we’ve stayed. We’ve rented a cabin and we’ve stayed in campgrounds inside the park and outside the park. Both of our visits have been the weekend after Labor Day in September, so we’ve missed the summer crowds. There’s plenty other campgrounds in the area, but these are the ones we’ve stayed at and our thoughts on them.
Our First Visit
Our first visit was after we’d sold our travel trailer and before we bought our RV, so we rented a cabin from Dogwood Cabins. There was plenty of room for us and my sister and there was a hot tub on the back porch.
The biggest drawback was the drive from the cabin to the race staging area, which was about 25-30 minutes, if I remember correctly. We had to load the kiddos in the car at 0 dark thirty so Jeremy could drop my sister and I off at the race. The cabin was on the other side of Townsend from the entrance to GSM NP, so we also had a longer drive to get into the park.
Our Second Visit
Our second visit was with the RV, which allowed us to hang out in campgrounds.
Ye Olde Mill RV Park & Campground
Townsend, Tennessee, $25-40/night + tax
We only stayed one night because of our schedule. We should have stayed another night since the campground was on the river and it would’ve been fun to play in the water. It’s not a large campground, but it was affordable and the location was perfect for the race (right across the street from the finish line and staging area). They have a website, but you can’t make reservations online and they never responded to the webform I filled out. I ended up calling to make the reservation and we paid when we arrived.
They have 25 full hookup (30 amp electric, water, and sewer) sites on the river and off, plus some tent sites with no hookups. There is a bathhouse, but I never visited it, so I’m not sure of its condition or amenities. I thought the campground was a little crowded, but I like my privacy and we’ve definitely been in much more crowded campgrounds. Our back-in site had room for our 27′ RV, our car, and the tow dolly (though look at the picture below to see how we managed it).
Cades Cove Campground
Cades Cove, GSM NP, $21-25/night
We stayed in this campground two nights. There was a trailer next to us on the driver’s side, but there was a line of trees on the passenger side and at the back of the site. The trees screened us from the RVs on those sides. It felt quite private and we didn’t feel cramped.
Like many NP campgrounds, there were no hookups, but we were on a loop that allowed generator use. Our back-in site was paved, but the pavement was not level and it was in very poor condition. We had a hard time getting the RV level enough to put the slides out. Other sites would have been fine, I’m sure. Maps and reservation info can be found here.
Smokemont Campground
near Oconaluftee Visitor Center, GSM NP, $21-25/night
We were supposed to spend two nights at this campground. We really liked this one as well, but I suspect a lot of that had to do with the fact that there was no one around us. There were some RVs and trailers at the park, but none nearby. The sites were large. There was room for a tent or two on the tent pad, plus quite a bit of room surrounding the tent pad.
Like many NP campgrounds, there were no hookups, but we were on a loop that allowed generator use. We had a pull through site that was long enough for the RV and the car on the dolly. The whole campground was fairly flat and the roads and sites were nicely paved. Maps and reservation info can be found here.
We left the afternoon before we’d planned to, so we only stayed one night. We would have liked to spend some time exploring the campground and the river running next to it, but it wasn’t in the cards for that trip. It rained a lot, I was hobbling around on crutches with my leg in a splint, and a hurricane was heading our way. So we left early and headed home.
We’d originally planned to drive from the southern end of the Blue Ridge Parkway to the northern end. We were going to stop at a couple campgrounds along the way ($20/night for National Park Service campgrounds), but with all that was going on, we decided to just get home as quick as we could. As we drove, we received notices that the campgrounds were shut down and our reservations were canceled because of the weather. So we wouldn’t have been able to take the scenic route home anyway.
Have you stayed in or near Great Smoky Mountain NP? Which campgrounds are your favorite? How about the Blue Ridge Parkway? We still want to drive the whole length, so if you have campground suggestions along the Parkway, I’d love to hear them!
