Cataloochee is hit or miss. This year’s trip was awesome. Last year, we were run out of our site by pushy elk that had been emboldened by the Memorial Weekend campers of the previous weekend. It’s a crap shoot, but you can improve your chances of a nice experience by booking midweek and not within a few weeks following the holiday weekend. 

The drive up to the campground is super fun with its twisty, turny, dirt roads and pretty views that peek through the leaves. I can be a bit rutted and washboarded at times, but this year it was in decent shape. 

Sites are level, spacious, and easy to drive onto. Tent pads are well-maintained. Water is available throughout the grounds, as are trash bins and grey water dumps for dish water.

Bathrooms (women’s) were pretty nasty this time, and I don’t expect much. Smelled of urine. Floors were wet even though it was neither humid nor raining. Not pleasant. 

Fellow campers were chill and respectful.

The river that flows near several of the sites is a highlight. It’s beautiful, frigid, and crystal clear. Takes a bit of a scramble to get down to the shore, in some places, but it’s worth it.

Plenty of great little trails within a stones throw. Lots of mildly technical things that ambitious young (mine are 9 and 11) hikers will enjoy. Creek crossings and little scrambles and whatnot.