The Best Campgrounds in (and Near) Great Smoky Mountains National Park

Looking for the best campgrounds in Great Smoky Mountains National Park?

There are a whopping 10 campgrounds in Great Smoky Mountains National Park. Since the park has so many campgrounds, it can be overwhelming to wade through the details of every single campground to find the best campground for you.

Plus, Great Smoky Mountains National Park is the most visited national park in the entire country. It’s important to know which campground you want to reserve so you can secure your reservation as quickly as possible ahead of all the competition.

After doing the research for my own trip to Great Smoky Mountains, I’ve put together this list of the best campgrounds in and around the park to make trip planning even easier for you.

In this guide, I’ve shared a list of the best campgrounds in Great Smoky Mountains followed by descriptions of the rest of the park’s campgrounds so you can understand the pros and cons of each one. I’ve included descriptions of campgrounds outside of the national park as well in case all of the park’s campgrounds are full during the dates you’d like to visit.

Ready to pick your campground? Here are the best campgrounds in Great Smoky Mountains National Park.

The Best Campgrounds in Great Smoky Mountains National Park

Here are descriptions of the best campgrounds in Great Smoky Mountains National Park to explain why each campground is an ideal choice for most visitors.

Elkmont Campground

Elkmont Campground is the best campground for most visitors coming to see the top sights in Great Smoky Mountains National Park.

This campground is perfect for most visitors based on its location, amenities, and ability to  accommodate all campers.

Elkmont Campground is the nearest campground to the main entrance on the Tennessee side of the national park. This puts it near many of the popular trails, waterfalls, and main roads in the park, so it’s easier to beat the crowds to these busy destinations.

Elkmont Campground is the largest campground in Great Smoky Mountains National Park with 220 campsites. These sites are suitable for tents and RVs up to 35 feet long. The campground also has 10 ADA-compliant campsites, more than any other campground in the park.

There are more amenities at Elkmont Campground than at most other campgrounds in Great Smoky Mountains National Park. Elkmont Campground has a camp store, a dump station, and an amphitheater for educational programs. These amenities make it even easier for campers to have an enjoyable, comfortable, and enriching visit to the national park.

No matter your preferred style of camping, Elkmont Campground is an excellent choice for any visitor who wants to explore the main attractions in Great Smoky Mountains National Park.

Campsites can be reserved up to 6 months in advance. Click here to reserve a campsite at Elkmont Campground.

Smokemont Campground

Smokemont Campground is the best campground for campers coming to Great Smoky Mountains National Park from the North Carolina side of the park.

Like Elkmont Campground, Smokemont Campground is in a great location and can accommodate all campers staying in the park.

This campground is situated along Newfound Gap Road beyond the park’s main entrance in North Carolina. Newfound Gap Road is the major road that connects the North Carolina and Tennessee sides of the park, so it’s easy to access all the developed parts of the park with Smokemont Campground as your home base.

Smokemont Campground has 142 campsites, including 6 ADA-compliant campsites. Both tents and RVs up to 40 feet long can be used at the campground.

There is a dump station at Smokemont Campground for campers who need it. While there’s no camp store here, essentials like ice and firewood are available nearby at the Smokemont RIding Stables.

Smokemont Campground is one of only two campgrounds that are open year-round. This makes it a go-to campground for any style of camping, any time of year.

Campsites can be reserved up to 6 months in advance. Click here to reserve a campsite at Smokemont Campground.

Cades Cove Campground

Cades Cove Campground is another top campground for most visitors coming to see the highlights in Great Smoky Mountains National Park.

This campground is located in Cades Cove, one of the most popular sections of Great Smoky Mountains National Park. Cades Cove has an 11-mile, one-way road that takes visitors through a loop to see wildlife and historic buildings. This road regularly has notoriously long lines of cars, so camping at Cades Cove Campground puts visitors in an ideal position to beat the crowds to this busy section of the park.

Not only is Cades Cove Campground in an ideal location, but it also has all of the amenities that any visitor could need. It has a camp store, a dump station, and an amphitheater. Elkmont Campground is the only other campground that has all of these amenities.

Cades Cove Campground has about 160 campsites, including one ADA-accessible campsite. These campsites can accommodate tents and RVs up to 40 feet in length.

Cades Cove Campground is the only other campground besides Smokemont Campground that is open all year long. So no matter what time of year you plan to visit Great Smoky Mountains National Park or how you plan to camp, Cades Cove is a great campground to choose.

Campsites can be reserved up to 6 months in advance. Click here to reserve a campsite at Cades Cove Campground.

Can’t find a campsite in one of the best Great Smoky Mountains campgrounds? Try a service like Campnab which sends you alerts when a reservation is canceled and a campsite becomes available.

More Campgrounds in Great Smoky Mountains National Park

Here are descriptions of the rest of the campgrounds in Great Smoky Mountains National Park so you can determine if they’re the best campground for you.

Deep Creek Campground

Deep Creek Campground is located in North Carolina in the south central area of Great Smoky Mountains National Park.

While most of the remaining national park campgrounds are on the outer edges of the park, Deep Creek Campground is only half an hour away from the park’s main entrance in North Carolina. It’s not a terribly long drive if you want to head into the main areas of the park each day but aren’t able to secure one of the more conveniently located campgrounds listed above.

If you don’t plan to drive to the national park’s main attractions, there are things to do near Deep Creek Campground too. The Deep Creek Waterfall Loop is a trail that starts near the campground and takes hikers to three waterfalls. The namesake Deep Creek runs through the campground too, but note that the National Park Service advises against swimming and tubing in the creek since drowning and serious injuries are common occurrences.

There are 92 campsites for tents and RVs at Deep Creek Campground. However, the campsites are only suitable for RVs up to 25 feet long, so campers coming in larger RVs will want to choose a different campground.

Deep Creek Campground has a dump station in addition to the amenities like drinking water and restrooms that are available at all campgrounds.

Campsites can be reserved up to 6 months in advance. Click here to reserve a campsite at Deep Creek Campground.

Cosby Campground

Cosby Campground is near the northeast corner of Great Smoky Mountains National Park on the Tennessee side of the park.

Although fewer visitors make it to this area of the park, this campground is still large with almost 160 campsites for tents and RVs up to 25 feet in length.

Cosby Campground is located near a number of hiking trails for both beginner and more experienced hikers to enjoy. Shorter hikes include the trails to Hen Wallow Falls and the Sutton Ridge Overlook. Other trails can be taken for day hikes of 10 miles or more or even overnight backpacking trips.

Both an amphitheater and a dump station are available at Cosby Campground.

Campsites can be reserved up to 6 months in advance. Click here to reserve a campsite at Cosby Campground.

Balsam Mountain Campground

Balsam Mountain Campground is on the eastern side of Great Smoky Mountains National Park in North Carolina.

It is up in the mountains at an elevation over 5,000 feet above sea level, making it the highest elevation campground in the park by far. This makes it a nice place to escape the heat on hot summer trips to the park.

Balsam Mountain Campground is located 20 minutes off of the scenic Blue Ridge Parkway and 40 minutes from the national park’s Oconaluftee Visitor Center. Both the national park and the parkway can readily be explored by campers starting their days at this campground.

Balsam Mountain Campground is a mid-size campground with 42 campsites. These campsites can accommodate tents and RVs up to 30 feet long.

As for amenities, Balsam Mountain Campground has an amphitheater and a short nature trail that leads to a picnic area with a pretty overlook.

Campsites can be reserved up to 6 months in advance. Click here to reserve a campsite at Balsam Mountain Campground.

Cataloochee Campground

Cataloochee Campground is in the southeast corner of Great Smoky Mountains National Park.

This area of the park is full of historic buildings and wildlife (particularly elk). Campers who want to see the main highlights of the park will have quite a long drive since it takes more than an hour just to drive from the Cataloochee Campground to the Oconaluftee Visitor Center.

Cataloochee Campground is one of the smaller campgrounds in Great Smoky Mountains National Park with only 27 campsites. This includes 3 group sites and 7 campsites for campers with horses. RVs up to 30 feet are permitted here, but note that the road leading to Cataloochee Campground is a winding gravel road with no guard rails.

Campsites can be reserved up to 6 months in advance. Click here to reserve a campsite at Cataloochee Campground.

Big Creek Campground

Big Creek Campground is on the eastern edge of Great Smoky Mountains National Park near the border between North Carolina and Tennessee.

It’s the smallest campground in the national park with only 12 campsites. Tents are the only camping equipment allowed at this campground.

The size and location of Big Creek Campground make it ideal for campers who want to camp in a secluded area of the mountains rather than visit the park’s top sights. The campground is also convenient for anyone interested in hiking sections of the Appalachian Trail, the Benton MacKaye Trail, or other trails in the network that begin near the campground.

Campsites can be reserved up to 6 months in advance. Click here to reserve a campsite at Big Creek Campground.

Abrams Creek Campground

Abrams Creek Campground is on the western edge of Great Smoky Mountains National Park in Tennessee.

It’s 30 minutes from Townsend, TN and about an hour from the park’s main entrance near Gatlinburg, TN.

Like Big Creek Campground, Abrams Creek Campground is a small campground in a more isolated area of the national park. There are 16 campsites here, and while small RVs are technically allowed, they are not recommended.

So if you’re interested in tent camp in a more secluded campground without having to hike into a backcountry site, Abrams Creek Campground could be a good choice for you.

Campsites can be reserved up to 6 months in advance. Click here to reserve a campsite at Abrams Creek Campground.

Look Rock Campground

Look Rock Campground is near the western edge of Great Smoky Mountains National Park.

This campground is situated along the scenic Foothills Parkway. This road is outside of the borders of the main section of the park. It’s a great campground if you want to be isolated from the crowds, but not so great if you plan to do anything else within the park boundaries.

Look Rock Campground is one of the park’s mid-size campgrounds with nearly 70 campsites.  This is the only campground in Great Smoky Mountains National Park with hookups for electric and water at some of the campsites.

This campground has a dump station in addition to the amenities like drinking water and restrooms that are available at all campgrounds.

Campsites can be reserved up to 6 months in advance. Click here to reserve a campsite at Look Rock Campground.

The Best Campgrounds Near Great Smoky Mountains National Park

If you didn’t reserve a campsite in one of the campgrounds listed above, don’t worry. There are plenty of places to camp in the area around Great Smoky Mountains National Park. Here are three of the best campgrounds near Great Smoky Mountains National Park to consider exploring.

Mile High Campground 

Campers who enjoy the primitive nature of national park campgrounds will love Mile High Campground as an alternative to camping within Great Smoky Mountains National Park.

Mile High Campground is located on the Cherokee Indian Reservation about half an hour from the park’s main entrance in North Carolina. This serene campground is worth the extra drive time to reach the national park.

Mile High Campground is a far cry from the touristy, resort-style campgrounds that can be found throughout the Smoky Mountains. This small, no-frills campground is nestled among breathtaking scenery. It offers the perfect environment for a tranquil escape into nature.

This campground can accommodate all types of camping equipment from tents to RVs. However, none of the campsites have hookups or electricity.

Many of the campsites at Mile High Campground offer pretty views of the surrounding mountains. The campground’s website includes photos of every campsite as well as information on what size RV can fit in the site so you can choose your preferred campsite with confidence.

Mile High Campground includes all the basic necessities on site including hot showers and a camp store with firewood.

If you’re looking for a more rustic campground that offers reasonable access to Great Smoky Mountains National Park, Mile High Campground is one of the best places to camp.

Campsites can be reserved up to one year in advance. Call the campground at 828-269-2945 to reserve a campsite at Mile High Campground.

Timberlake Campground

Timberlake Campground is a great choice for campers seeking a simple yet quality place to stay near Great Smoky Mountains National Park.

Timberlake Campground is about half an hour south of Great Smoky Mountains National Park in Whittier, NC.

This mid-size campground is suitable for both tents and RVs up to 42 feet long. Unlike Mile High Campground, campsites do have electric hookups so this campground is even more accommodating to camping of all styles. Best of all, the campsites are more spacious than many campgrounds in the area.

One major perk of Timberlake Campground is the availability of free firewood and ice for campers. Showers are also available.

If you leave any time to relax at the campground between your adventures in the national park, Timberlake Campground has a pond for fishing and swimming – complete with boats that campers can use for free!

Keep in mind that the campground does not offer refunds in the event you choose to cancel your reservation. You’ll want to be confident that Timberlake Campground is right for you and that you’ll be able to take your trip before locking in a reservation.

Click here to reserve a campsite at Timberlake Campground.

Mountaineer Campground

There are plenty of campgrounds near the Tennessee side of Great Smoky Mountains National Park. However, it is difficult to recommend many of these campgrounds as “best” since they are incredibly cramped and ridiculously overpriced just because of their prime location near the national park.

As of this writing, Mountaineer Campground is one of the more reasonably priced campgrounds that is right outside Great Smoky Mountains National Park. Good Sam members can save even more money on their reservation.

Mountaineer Campground is in an excellent location in Townsend, TN. Townsend is called “the peaceful side of the Smokies” since it’s away from the more bustling towns like Gatlinburg and Pigeon Forge.

The campground itself is along the Little River just a minute’s drive outside the Townsend park entrance. This puts it in a scenic spot that’s incredibly convenient for campers entering Great Smoky Mountains National Park each day.

Mountaineer Campground has ten campsites for tents and about 35 full-hookup campsites for RVs. The sites are shaded and some are along the Little River.

Note that the campsites may be too tight for larger RVs (consider the Townsend KOA next door if you have a large RV). However, if you’re just looking for a nearby place to rest your head at night after a full day of exploring the national park, these small campsites will do the trick.

Mountaineer Campground has several amenities that are common to family campgrounds in the area including a swimming pool, a playground, and laundry facilities.

If you need to camp on the Tennessee side of Great Smoky Mountains National Park, start your campground search at Mountaineer Campground.

Campsites at Mountaineer Campground can be reserved on Campspot.

Related Articles

• 10 Fantastic Family Hikes In Great Smoky Mountains National Park
• How To Plan A National Park Trip: 7 Tips For A Perfect Visit
• 15 Spectacular Campgrounds In North Carolina’s Mountains

As always, enjoy the outdoors responsibly. Leave no trace on all of your adventures.