Best RV Parks & Resorts near Fontana Dam, NC

Tent camped here in April while mountain biking at Tsali. Campground at Tsali had not opened and this was a great plan B. Camped along the creek, all the spots had a fire pit and table. Bath house was clean and in good shape. There is also a separate section with RV hook ups and small cabins / huts for rent. Helpful and friendly host, also have a good selection of basic sundries in the office. And free WiFi near the office. Would stay here again for sure.

Pool, playground, grounds are nice and nicely shaded. The kids love the pool and even the 1 foot kiddie pool. Office is also a store with lots of necessities. Only negative comment is the long term side of the park and then that the RV spaces are narrow in between the trees and other spots. Spots have full hookups, or you can select the water/electric only.

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.

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.

Raccoon Valley RV park is literally just an RV park. The park was very clean and well maintained, and would be a nice place to park for a night as part of a longer trip. The RV park is just right off 1-75, just north of Knoxville, so it would be easy to hop on and off the interstate. The property is just a large gravel parking lot, with a few trees scattered throughout. Not really my kind of camping, but nearly all the spots were full.

The park has a large laundry facility, and a dog park for people traveling/camping with pets. I did see some benches located in the perimeter of the property in shady spots for relaxing.

I assume some of the guests are long term residents, but the sites were all so neat and clean, without built on structures and such that I’ve seen at most places. This RV park will be perfect for some!

This a an RV park, not a resort. It has everything you need: full hook ups, dog park, laundry. Clean, well kept and friendly. Sites are small and close, but work even for the larger rigs.

A safe and reasonably priced place to spend a night while traveling, or a couple while exploring the area.

Volunteer RV park is right off I-75, on the outskirts of Knoxville. There’s not much around this area, but I think this would be a good place to stay a night or two on a longer trip. The campground is right off the road, but it is very large, and surprisingly wooded, so you could avoid road noise with an interior site, and it could be relaxing for a night. There are several long term residents, but there were a good number of open sites.

The park has a playground with a wooden pirate ship for kids, and a really nice pool. It was crystal clear. The office has essentials, ice, and firewood. There is a laundry facility on the property too.

I can’t say this would be an ideal camping spot for me personally, but for someone looking to stop somewhere off I-75 for a night or two, this place would be a great choice.

We stayed 2 nights here. There were several long term tenants. We had water, electric, sewer, and cable. Since we had sewer hook up I did not use their bathrooms. They had 2 bath houses. There was a pool and store on site. It’s easy enough to get to, it’s less a mile off 75. The sites were level, the park was clean, and the owners were nice.

Awesome RV resort. Had a river stream right out the front door. Clean, quiet, heated pool, and close to downtown and Sugarland gate. Definitely recommend.

I spent three days hiking from Fontana Dam to Newfound Gap. I spent two nights in shelters on the AT (Mollies Ridge and Silers Bald). Well worth the effort. My only complaint was that some of the younger guys packed beer in on the 1st night and the shelter felt a bit like a frat party. The second night was not so bad as it was further from the road. I would still recommend this to anyone who enjoys hiking. It may be on the east coast but the peaks are high and the trail is challenging.

Small Creek runs behind Rv but road noise from highway is louder than the sounds from the creek All sites back in.
Some long term resident Some park models

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.

I was a little taken back when we first arrived at this campground because of how many people lived here long-term. There were clearly people who had been here for a very long time, even having pole barns put up over there rigs. I was slightly turned off by it because it felt like we were pulling in to a trailer park to camp (nothing wrong with trailer parks at all, just didn’t want to camp at one). We were only there for one night, but my views of the place quickly changed. Everyone here was so friendly and nice, and there is really good community here. The ground are decently taken care of aside from the long-term residents. The pool seems to be clean and the playground was fun for the little ones.

This campground is easy access from I-75.