Smokemont Campground

Very nice, beautiful creek, excellent trails

Last time I stayed at Smokemont was about 20 years ago and my experience was in complete contrast to my latest visit in July 2015. The facilities where in bad shape, unclean and neglected. No showers here, not that I would have used them if they had them based on the condition of the facilities they did have. The staff was overzealous in their interpretation of the park rules (we had park rangers over-ride them on two occasions).

There is no privacy and the campground layout is odd and makes little sense. Areas that where set aside for campers did not allow tents, but allowed huge portable gazebos. The no-generator section was next to the generator section so you could not run a generator if you had one, but the campers just 50 feet away could run theirs making your experience less than pleasant.

Will not be going back.

I really enjoyed camping here. I wish I could have stayed longer. The weather in mid August was very pleasant, and I was amazed that the only bugs that were a minor nuisance were gnats. I did not see one fly nor mosquito! There were not any campers on either side of me so I did have some privacy. On the early week nights that I stayed the park was not very full.

The restroom that was near my campsite was very clean and it had a sink for dish washing on an outside wall. I found the ranger staff to be very friendly. The trail head at the end of section D offered many miles of hiking.

The town of Cherokee, North Carolina, is not that far away for supplies or if you need to get connected to your data plan. I did not have any AT&T cell or data service in the campground, which was fine by me.

We loved this campground – it is just beautiful. The sites are large and well-spaced, with lots of mature trees (don’t count on solar here). In some areas there is vegetation between sites for privacy. We stayed in the RV-only F-Loop, but there were many large pull throughs in the D-Loop that would have accommodated any sized rig. Our site backed up to the creek and we fell asleep to the sound of rushing water.

This is one of the nicest National Park campgrounds we’ve seen. That said, there are no hook ups and sadly no showers either. There is a dump station and potable water on site. Each site has a fire ring and picnic table and there is ice and firewood for sale at the nearby Smokemont Stables or you can gather downed wood. Generator hours are 8am to 8pm. No generators in Loops A, B, and C from May 15 – October 31.

There are several hiking trails that leave right from the campground, or you can find the old Bradley cemetery and explore a reconstructed Baptist church from the late 1800’s. The campground is situated around the middle of the Great Smokey Mountains National Park and easy driving distance to the Oconaluftee Visitors Center, Newfound Gap, Clingman’s Dome, and more hiking than you could wish for including access to the Appalachian Trail. You are also just a few miles from the town of Cherokee with shopping, gas, and the Cherokee Museum.

There was absolutely no cell service in the campground although the park service maintains a land line for emergencies.

Smokemont is a large campground located within the Smoky Mountain NP which makes it pretty and convenient for sightseeing in the park and surrounding areas. We stayed in the camper loop where sites have a little more space in between but there isn’t much undergrowth so privacy is still lacking. Other sections and creekside spots are even more exposed. Sites were level gravel surfaces but recent big rain (hurricane Nate) left some large puddles and muddy areas. Doubt that’s the norm. No hook ups, all dry camping, but bathrooms are clean and have flush toilets, sinks with hot and cold water (bring your own soap), hand dryer’s, and an outdoor sink for washing dishes. No showers. Various hiking trails right from the campground. There is a dump station making longer stays possible. No electric hook-ups and we’re OK with that, but our main complaint was generator noise 7am-7pm every day from multiple parties. That made it impossible to relax around the campsite when we weren’t out hiking or sightseeing. We were there mid October 2017. Fall colors were out in full force and were beautiful. Campground was full so maybe noise levels were at peak too...(?)

Well maintained and a great campground. Easy access and level sites. Great hiking trails leave from the campground as well.

If you visit in the off season with a bigger rig you may have challenges with having a big enough site in the only section open though.

We were only here one night while traveling to Maine, arrived on a Saturday afternoon and the "D" loop only had a few campers so it was very peaceful. Older park with narrow roads but layout and access to sites is easy, bigger rigs would have difficulty, website says 40' max. Our site was a small drive-thru which was level and had a picnic table, fire ring and large tent pad. Lush forest and a beautiful stream runs through the park, access to numerous trails, bathrooms are large stone buildings with flush toilets and cold running water that were clean. Volunteer that checked us in was friendly and helpful. There is a loop designated for RVs that was much busier than the loop we stayed in. We did not have hookups, potable water was available and the dump station was very nice! A great $ value when combined with a Senior Pass.

This is a great campground. Large sites, good shade and a wonderful river running through the campground. Tempature was bearable at night even in July.

Great location in the National Park to base yourself out of.

We only spent one night here and loved the campground. We ended up in 3 different sites due to the confusion imparted upon us by the staff.
Our first site was right on the river and was truly stunning. It rained a ton up in the mountains and thus the river started rising.
One ranger told us we could move and after we moved another came along and jumped our case and said that was not allowed and sent us packing into another site a 10 PM. It was raining most of our time here. I have posted video reviews in the Blog section here.

This is an absolutely beautiful campground that is easily accessible on the southern end of Newfound Gap Road. The sites are well taken care of and a stream comes right through it. I love this campground so much and my only regret is that I only spent one night here. I cannot recommend this campground enough.