Cherokee-Great Smokies KOA

Chosen by the in-laws for family reunion weekend. More built up/RV resort style than my preference, but a nice location nonetheless. On-site camp store and pool with splash zone. Oversize lawn games and several playgrounds for the kids. There are well stocked trout ponds on-site, and the surrounding rivers and streams are one of the largest managed private fisheries in the Eastern US. Tribal fishing license and you’re set to angle for rainbow, golden, and brown trout. Note restrictions on a defined local section for fly fishing/catch and release. One hour 20 minutes to Asheville & Biltmore Estate. Local day trips also include Mingo falls, Harrah’s casino, river tubing, Mountain Farm museum, Museum of the Cherokee Indian, Oconaluftee Indian Village, Blue Ridge Parkway, Mountains to Sea Trail, Bryson City model train museum & Great Smoky Mountains Railroad.

As others have noted, there were some communication gaps between staff members regarding events and services. During our stay they were repaving sections of the access road with some interruption to water and power. My understanding is that renovations are now complete. Three stars based on these service interruptions

Easily accessible RV pull through and back in sites with enough room to park your towed daily driver. 50/30A full hookups.

Tent sites had sand or grass pads. Mix of primitive sites and those built up with 50A hookups and water. Bear boxes and fire pits.

My brother’s family of four felt a bit cramped in the smaller cabins available on site, but there are larger options. Overall the buildings are in good repair, spread between the water and the camp store/pool area.

We had a great time even though the water was frozen for the first 3 nights. We stayed in a deluxe cabin and I felt it was well worth it for the price. The heat did struggle to keep it warm but they had just gone through a pretty severe winter storm. They did provide us with extra linens which helped. The manager on duty, Tonya, was great. She was extremely accommodating given the circumstances. The bathhouses were working so we were able to bathe and use the restrooms throughout the trip. The campground has many amenities including an indoor pool and hot tub (unfortunately not open while we were there), a playground, a dog park, laundry facilities, a nice general store, on-site bike and golf cart rentals and a stocked trout pond out front for fishing. Our unit was a riverfront unit which was awesome. There were many River and creek front cabins present. We are planning to return in the summer to take advantage of all the amenities available including the new outdoor pool and hot tub area.

Years ago, my wife and I stayed at this campground in a cabin beside Raven Fork River.  If I’m not mistaken, the one we were at this time was either the same cabin or one close to it.  It is perfectly situated beside the river.  There are several types of cabins (Kamping Kabins) with various furnishings.  We had to take our own linens for the basic cabin.   There are so many things to do at this KOA, in addition to its proximity to the national park.  The swimming pool is a large indoor facility, there is an oversized checker board, there is a playground, and there are several fishing opportunities.  In the front, there are several trout ponds which are stocked.  On the backside, there is Raven Fork River.   There are separate sections for the type of camping you want to do.  Many of the tent sites, especially the ones next to the trout ponds are fairly level but very rocky.  Although there is shade, I’m not sure I would want to set up a tent on one of the rocky sites.  Another disadvantage of some of the tent sites is that they are beside the road, which has quite a bit of traffic. The bath house close to our cabin was undergoing construction for improvement.  There is a temporary one, and there are portable toilets as well.   However, there are two more bath houses. Overall, the Cherokee KOA is a great destination for all ages.  There are things for everybody to do, and I do recommend it.

This is a great RV resort with many amenities. Staff are friendly and helpful. But if you’re a tent camper, be aware that the tent sites are located near the road (I will never understand why campsites do this, since we are the ones with no soundproofing). I had the misfortune of having site T37, which is squeezed in a small corner next to an RV site. The first few nights my neighbor was courteous and pitched his tent far from the border, but the next few nights the neighbor’s tent was inches from my picnic table. The road noise was terrible, the site is tiny, and it backs to a local fishing area so there are people just on the other side of the fence, three feet from your tent, from early morning till late evening hours. No privacy at all. That being said, if you’re looking for an RV site with lots to do, this is a great place. They easily accommodated my date changes, the pool is nice, the restrooms are clean, the showers are hot, and the camp store is well-stocked. The location is central to many recreational opportunities. Just not really tent friendly.

First of all, I had been loyal to this location for over twenty years. Dozens of trips there over the years with various friends and family. I have also been loyal to KOA in general and have been to dozens of KOA around the country. This time we arrived for our reservation on October 25th and I had reserved the month prior. I was directed to a cabin that was nothing like what I had booked or paid for. It was extremely inferior with no view, but I had paid a premium for a view. I asked if they were at least refunding part of my payment for the inferior cabin and extreme inconvenience, but the night guard would not let me talk to a manager. He would talk to the manager on the radio but she refused to address the situation. She was extremely rude and refused to adjust me to a lower price for the far inferior cabin and inconvenience. At the time, I felt they should have offered me some discount or adjustment for neglecting to honor my original reservation--especially since they didn't warn me ahead of time. If they had, I would have never wasted my time and money getting there. When I felt uncomfortable paying my original premium price for the the far inferior substitute they offered, she threatened that I had to leave or she'd call the police. I had been a long time customer of over twenty years and was stunned at this terrible customer service and aggressive rudeness. They refused to treat me with any decency and would not take care of the situation. They left me with no place to stay for two very young children after an eight hour drive, and the company still refuses to answer calls or messages. They have been irresponsible and unethical. To be denied my reservation, treated like trash, and refused any adequate adjustment of the price was just stunning. The corporate office does not reply to messages either. They simply have no interest in customer service.

If you are looking to dabble in the Smoky Mountains without losing all cell service, camping at this location is perfect for you! I found that while traveling when you want to be removed from civilization but still able to touch base you can't beat a good KOA. This one is a great example of just that, offering amenities for you to enjoy but proximity to easily drive to an adventure just ahead.

This place was pretty nice to say the least, it had that rustic mountain feel but with modern amenities. You could stay here in a cabin or RV or take it down to the tent camp, like I usually enjoy doing. The cabins here though were a little touch of magic and I would recommend these for a holiday away or a Christmas cabin, they were just so cute.

Unlike a lot of KOA camps this one has year round access to pool and hot tub as well as sauna room. But the list of perks doesn't stop there, this is more of a resort feel than campground. They offer bike rentals, shuttle tours to the mountains, fishing, giant checkers and game boards, a clubhouse area, children's activities and both wifi and cable.

So what is the catch to this near perfect sounding place? The only one I could find is that tent sites are limited. Yep, only thing I could find!

There are 4 different cabin options, tons of rv spaces but less than a dozen tent sites in this HUGE mega park. They even offer a grill at this location... you can't beat all that!!

So back to the tent sites.... there are two types available in very limited quantities and they vary vastly despite being placed in the same section of the park only feet from one another. Deluxe sites are $52.99 a night a little to much for me, and while they looked nice with a sandy tent pad and bear boxes along with electricity and water, I was content with my grassy pad and no water or electric at a $30 savings. Sorry KOA you can't have $30 just so I can sleep on sand instead of grass that is what a sleeping pad is for.

So as you can see by my rating even though there was that sharp gouge in price from one site to the next I still gave them a 5 stars. Why you might ask? Well because this campground literally was a resort on a paupers budget staying in my grassy tent site. I had access to every amenity there was to offer, staff was friendly, nothing was left a mess by other campers (or if it had been staff cleaned it up before I knew it) and facilities were very nice.

This KOA set the bar high for others of the same brand and made me realize sometimes why I just enjoy doing the commercial camping thing... sometimes you want rugged... then sometimes you want to have a nice comfortable night that reminds you of home or a hotel...lol