Elkmont Campground

If you are an avid camper, then you absolutely must visit Elkmont, TN Try to reserve a waterfront site so you can relax to the sound of the flowing water. Do your research before you go. There are so many things to see. Be sure to google these things...Wonderland Hotel Elkmont, TN; Milionaires Row Elkmont, TN; Society Hill Elkmont, TN;Avent Cabin Elkmont, TN; and go here http://home.earthlink.net/~firepink/id27.html

We went here to see the ghost town which was neat. Wished we could of seen the clubhouse but there was a private event.

We loved Elkmont. Tall trees, quite forest, amazing bike and hiking trails. Streams throughout and wonderful scenic drives. No internet whatsoever, however, if you go to the overlooks, you can get cell service/data. Campground is well kept, no showers, but clean-ish restrooms. Leaf blower woke us up almost every morning though. They want to keep the leaves in check, understandable, but maybe could happen in the afternoon??
Dampness in the air, so if you don't stay on the generator side, like we did, with windows open, it was a little stuffy overnight.
Lots of campers/tents around so usually quite busy with families and such. During the week was pretty quiet though.
TIPS: When driving up make sure to look at your driving options. With our 27' Airstream, we went to windy way through Little River Road and almost didn't make it over the bridge. Make sure to take the highway through Pigeon Forge, not Townsend.
Also, Pigeon Forge and Gatlinburg are very touristy. Spend a few hours there, but overall those towns are shops and restaurants like Disney or Six Flags. And don't waste your time with Ober Gatlinburg.

We stayed 3 nights at site A13, the perfect site - large level site, maximum tree privacy, right next to a branch of the creek which provides the soothing water sounds. It does lie adjacent to the tent section, but we were there in the off season with no tenters. The campground itself is great - a couple basic flush toilets and a sheltered dishwashing station. Firewood is available for purchase. Vending machines offer snacks, basic toiletries & first aid, and coffee/cappuccinos, a nice touch if you left your coffee pot at home. Conveniently located to the main attractions on the west side of the park and to Gatlinburg which has anything you might need. Only problem would be zero cell reception, but that depends on your perspective as to whether that is a "problem."

Our visit in April 2018 coincided with some great weather and also a forecast for rain and snow, so we were able to see just how quickly the campground fills up in good weather and vacates in bad weather. We loved the mostly-empty campground but found the site separation and privacy to be acceptable even when the campground was busier. The restrooms were clean and it was nice to have a dish washing station available for the many tent campers that use the campground, though it would have been nice to have showers as well. The dump station is several miles down the road at the Sugarland visitor center but we did not use it. Access worked fine for us; we came in via 441 and used the Gatlinburg bypass to avoid the nightmare of downtown Gatlinburg. I personally would not enjoy pulling our trailer all the way over the Newfound Gap Road from the east side of the park; it can certainly be done but would require very attentive driving for an hour or more. There are lots of outstanding hiking trails accessible directly from the campground. Of the trails we explored, the Little River Trail is very easy, while Cucumber Gap and Huskey Gap are more challenging. This is also a popular spot for anglers, with the Little River filled with fishermen during our visit. Some of the campsites are on the small side, and quite unlevel, so if you are in a larger rig pay attention to the information on Reserve America or be sure to get the campground map at the office when you arrive; the sites suitable for larger rigs are highlighted in orange. The camp hosts were quite vigilant about enforcing the rule that all motorized vehicle wheels must be on pavement, so you must select an appropriately sized site. The campground is heavily treed and our site (A17) was one of the few that offered a good chance for solar generation. Sites F3 and F5 also had some clear overhead views. Cell service on AT&T was nonexistent but we had several bars at the parking area for the Laurel Falls trailhead, a few miles down the road.

We spent 2 nights camping in site A3. This is a handicap site. Very wide and level concrete pad. I rely on a mobility scooter to get around and found Elkmont to be a great place to visit thanks to the paved trail that follow the Little River. Our visit was in peak season so the campground was very busy, but it did not feel over crowded. I have posted a video of our visit under the blogs tab.

GSMNP is so huge, it is difficult to decide where in the park to stay. Elkmont is sort of centrally located and has trails from the campground (although we drove to other trailheads). This busy campground is huge with loops A-N. We stayed in Loop A and although our site did not back up to the creek, we could easily hear it. Good spacing between sites. Clean bathrooms with cold running water and a utility sink. No internet, showers or hookups but for $12.50/night (with 50% senior discount), you can’t beat the price! Firewood is available for purchase in the park and it was the best wood we’ve ever bought. Our two bundles had our fire going for well over four hours. Although the campground is huge and full, it was very quiet. I appreciated that some loops were generator free as they can be very annoying when we are camping.

We visited over Labor Day weekend 2019 with our kids and my parents. My dad used to camp here as a kid with his parents so that’s why we chose Elkmont. I was not disappointed! Beautiful old growth forest, an amazing creek running through the middle of the campground, and nice spacious sites. We were up against a mountainside that seemed to go straight up when you looked up at it. The restrooms were clean. No cell service.

So we did tent camping here for two nights, and it was pretty nice (Although we're not super experienced campers yet so I don't have much to compare it to). There were definitely a lot of people there (on a tuesday/wednesday night a week or so after labor day), but I felt like the sites were spaced out enough in our area that it didn't feel too claustrophobic.

The cons: (1) The bathrooms in the K loop were really nasty, but not unusable. There's a dish washing sink outside of the restrooms, which was nice to have, but it was also gross, wet, and not well lit (the silver lining to this point: we went to the bathrooms near the front, area A, and they were sooooo much nicer and cleaner compared to area K. Not too terribly far to walk to, if you have the time). (2) When we explored the property, some areas felt a lot more crowded and claustrophobic than area K was. Areas A and B (where they're closer to the river) felt pretty tight. (3) If you rely on solar power, this area is going to be tough (I'm assuming). It was very, very shaded.

The pros: (1) Definitely a beautiful, old growth forested area. (2) Our site wasn't by the water, but we could still hear it, which was lovely. (3) Our site (K13) backed up to a hillside, so we only had other campers across from us, which was definitely nice and felt pretty secluded, all things considered. (4) The little store near the entrance was really nice to have. $7 bags of firewood, plus lots of other necessities (including ice cream). (5) SUPER kind and helpful park rangers at the front desk that helped us figure out what trails and spots in the park to prioritize. (6) From what I remember, the south end of the campgrounds is on a hill. So area J was pretty close to the water level, but sites like K16, L14, M6, M4, and N7 were on more of a cliff that overlooked the creek.

This is a wonderful camp with some great sites along the river. The sites along the river are highly recommended -- seek those out. C2, and others in that area are really nice. It's really nice to set your chairs up and have a beer and just watch the river run. We also stayed in J12 which is right on the river, but a little further away, which means 10' farther to carry your chairs. The sewer system was being worked on, so there were no working facilities. The NPS set up Porta-potties........ we did not use them. Trails in the area are delightful. There is no cell service here, at least for AT&T, but if you need it you can get if a few miles down the road towards the visitor center.