Best RV Parks & Resorts near Croatan National Forest

Husband and I wanted to get away and found this campground- it is such a gem! You can't see it well from the road, but there is a huge sign out by the road. Trust it! You're in the right place. You drive across a small bridge across the Little River when you get to the campground, but it can handle big rigs. We saw many massive Class A campers while we were here for 6 nights. We pull a 30 ft travel trailer and used a pull through site- very large spot as far as rv sites go. They have back in spots for campers and tents literally on the bank of the river and you're allowed to swim, play, tube, etc in the river at your own risk. Camp store has firewood and a few essentials, but they don't sell propane. We got ours filled at the Tractor Supply in Alcoa, TN nearby. They had crafts and hayrides while we were here. Wifi is free but not great. Verizon cell service was good enough at 3 bars the whole time. No on-site laundry services, so we had to go into town to use laundromat (nearby town of Townsend is adorable but no laundromat). The grounds offer tent, cabin, and rv sites with various levels of electric, water, cable and sewer access. Our site had 30amp, water, sewer and cable. Nice and level site, large fire pit, sturdy plastic and metal picnic table and large beautiful mature trees. The bathhouse is seriously impressive and is, by far, the nicest campground bathhouse I've ever used! One of my favorite features was random and I never knew I was missing it in my life until now.. the bathrooms have strong AC pumping right into each bathroom, making everything nice and cool when you come in from the hot campsite.. wonderful! Good view of the mountains in the distance and minutes away from Great Smoky Mountain National Park entrance. This is a wonderful find!

Husband and I wanted to get away and found this campground- it is such a gem! You can't see it well from the road, but there is a huge sign out by the road. Trust it! You're in the right place. You drive across a small bridge across the Little River when you get to the campground, but it can handle big rigs. We saw many massive Class A campers while we were here for 6 nights. We pull a 30 ft travel trailer and used a pull through site- very large spot as far as rv sites go. They have back in spots for campers and tents literally on the bank of the river and you're allowed to swim, play, tube, etc in the river at your own risk. Camp store has firewood and a few essentials, but they don't sell propane. We got ours filled at the Tractor Supply in Alcoa, TN nearby. They had crafts and hayrides while we were here. Wifi is free but not great. Verizon cell service was good enough at 3 bars the whole time. No on-site laundry services, so we had to go into town to use laundromat (nearby town of Townsend is adorable but no laundromat). The grounds offer tent, cabin, and rv sites with various levels of electric, water, cable and sewer access. Our site had 30amp, water, sewer and cable. Nice and level site, large fire pit, sturdy plastic and metal picnic table and large beautiful mature trees. The bathhouse is seriously impressive and is, by far, the nicest campground bathhouse I've ever used! One of my favorite features was random and I never knew I was missing it in my life until now.. the bathrooms have strong AC pumping right into each bathroom, making everything nice and cool when you come in from the hot campsite.. wonderful! Good view of the mountains in the distance and minutes away from Great Smoky Mountain National Park entrance. This is a wonderful find!

Amazingly clean campgrounds 10 minutes from the entrance of the National Park and 20 minutes from the Visitor's Center.

You have a choice of "rustic" tent sites, tent sites with water/electric/cable hook-ups, RV, or Cabins. All sites are pet-friendly including cabins. All camp sites include fire pit and picnic table.

Lots of amenities are included in your stay. 2 bathroom areas, 1 shower area, pool, wi-fi, etc.

There's a general store in front of the campgrounds with gas station and small cafe attached. The general store will even deliver your purchased firewood to your site.

This Koa is near a lot recreational places and some restaurants. Also near towns like Gatlinburg, Pidgeon Forge and Knoxville.

A nice vacation spot.

This is not exactly the camping in the woods without hookups atmosphere. This is more of a every want/need met glamping RV Resort. And it’s awesome!

The RV sites are large and level, full hookup. There are gorgeous cabins that look more like tiny homes, and the atmosphere at this park is a great way to retreat. 100 ft max for RVs.

Very kid friendly, pet friendly (Kamp K9), lots in the area to go do and see. Pools, hot tub, kitchen, firewood for sale, fishing access, snack bar, cable tv, and WiFi.

The staff here is awesome, very helpful and knowledgeable. The park is very clean and well kept.

Cellular service for TMobile was not very strong but AT&T provided plenty for streaming and working.

Let me start out by saying this was our first campground for our travel trailer.  I don't have a huge point of reference, but I can give you details on everything that was smooth

• Location - Just off a 4 lane highway.  Convenient with easy access to your site.  Plenty of room to back in to your spot.  There were limited "pull-through" sites.  During the day you can hear highway traffic, but at night that road gets little traffic so it is quiet.
• The owners are great!  This is a mom & pop operation but you can tell they put their heart into this place.  Both are friendly and accomodating
• Sites are very spacious.  Our spot was freshly mowed, had a picnic table, fire pit, electric & water hookups.  We had a small stream behind and a pond in front of us.   The site we occupied had trees between our neighbors.  Just enough privacy to not worry if someone was looking in your windows.
• While I didn't use their public restrooms, my wife said they were VERY VERY clean.  She worked in a hospital for a long time, so if she says they are clean, they are clean.  There were showers available but we did not use them.
• They have firewood for $5 a bundle.  They encourage you to not bring firewood from other places in order to help prevent bug/disease spread (very common nowadays)
• Two ponds for fishing.  One was closed till the weather is cooler.  I'm guessing they stock it with trout.
• LOTS of hiking trails within a short drive.  We visited the Ocoee River and Copper Basin TN.  Easy day trip for hiking, biking, rafting, breweries, restaurants, etc.

We will definitely visit this spot again.  It's about an hour and 15 minutes from our house but feels like we are further.  Very convenient and worth it for $30 per night. $30 was the RV rate, check their website for the most up to date pricing.

The Amenities - Bath House, restrooms and laundry are the finest I have ever encountered. Shower areas are large enough for families with young ones to be together with wet, dry, sink and commode area all in one room - some shower heads are adjustable for height and become hand held. Cleanliness was amazing. All campsites had concrete pad, fire pit or gorgeous fireplace, metal picnic table and they deliver a bucket of firewood for $5. Was surprised the only bug we encountered were flies - not one mosquito. Pet friendly - pick up stations and off leash area with activities for active breeds.

The Pros: 

• Location: This campground is located in a perfect spot, in my opinion. 10 minutes from the Metcalf Bottom entrance to Smoky Mtn NP. 15 minutes to the Townsend entrance. 30 minutes to Cades Cove. 15 minutes to Pigeon Forge. And 30 minutes to Gatlinburg. Close, but away from the madness. For a few shops and restaurants you have Wears Valley right next door (I recommend Mountain Chick for a light breakfast - awesome biscuits and coffee).
• Amenities: full hook-ups and a VERY nice pool/deli (see picture). The pool has karaoke on Friday nights. There is also a stocked fishing pond with dock though we didn't use it. 
• The view: Okay, not all campsites have great views. But the lower sites do, and that's where we were. Awesome backdrop of the mountains while you sit by your campfire. 
• The price: All the other campgrounds this close to the park charge $50+. Honeysuckle charges $35 a night.
• The sites: Sites are typically long, wide, gravel, mostly level, and with plenty of space in between. Our site even had a brand new deck with solar LED lights! Every site has a metal fire pit and a plastic-topped picnic table. 

The Cons: 

•  This is a mix of long-term RV park and campground. The lower sites are mostly campers while the upper sites are a mix of campers and long-term lots. This isn't necessarily bad. Most of the long-term units are nice looking, but it does impact the camping feel a bit. And along the lead-in from the road to the sites there are a lot of campers in storage. Some of these don't look so nice. 

• Dumpster: This is bear country so you can't leave your trash outside in cans. The only dumpster is all the way down the road to the office, and it is frequently full.

• Reservations: The process of making reservations was easy enough. I was assigned a site in the confirmation email I received. But when we arrived I was given a different site. When I asked about it, they didn't have record of the first site I was given. When I drove by that site, there was an RV in it that looked like it was being stored there. We went to site 50, the one they gave us, and it was okay. The one just down the hill, Site 49, was a little shorter but it had a deck. We called the office and asked to switch. They agreed. It worked out, but it was a little frustrating. 

• Amenities: Because it is more RV park than a campground, there wasn't a bathroom or laundry facility. 

Overall, we were quite happy with the experience. We would stay here again and recommend it to others.