Best Dispersed Camping near Great Smoky Mountains National Park

When you want to camp away from the crowds and do not mind being without running water, electricity, toilets, showers, or any other amenities that you find at developed campgrounds, this one is for you ... maybe. I say maybe because when I stayed there, I heard and saw pickup trucks until the wee hours of the morning. Since the campsites are along a dirt road in a national forest, miles away from civilization, it can be intimidating if not scary at times. I camped by myself and felt isolated (which is a good thing), and the scenery is great. You will be beside a rushing creek, and the sound of the creek is relaxing. If you want a little more security, you can camp a tenth of a mile away at Sunburst Campground, which is a developed national forest campground. The pros of these campsites are that they are peaceful (most times), they are in the heart of the mountains, they are only a few miles from the Blue Ridge Parkway, they are between Shining Rock and Middle Prong Wilderness, and there are plenty of trails. The cons are that previous campers have left a lot of trash and since it is dispersed camping, it is not picked up on a regular basis. Other cons are the late night cars and/or trucks, the lack of amenities, and that you have to cross a spillway to get to it. Despite all the cons, I got through it okay and really did enjoy my time there.

The national forest service website says there are dispersed camping site throughout the corridor; however, I was only able to locate one and luckily it was vacant. There are several spots along the road that may have been for dispersed camping as some point but are now clearly marked with no camping signs. I did enjoy my stay here but I’m a little disappointed in the website saying there were multiple sites … i has to drive almost 4 hours to get there and would have been super disappointed if I arrived to no spots. Also a lot of trash in the area of the site sadly.

Siler Bald is not to be confused with Silers Bald, which borders the NC/TN state line in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park. Siler Bald is actually in the Nantahala National Forest and is close to Wayah Bald along the Appalachian Trail. The shelter is aptly named after the adjacent mountain bald. I first went to Siler Bald many years ago but did not go to the trail shelter. This second time, I did go to the trail shelter, which is about nine-tenths of a mile past the Siler Bald summit if you are hiking north on the Appalachian Trail. If you are hiking from Wayah Bald, it is a little over three and a half miles. Since this is a trail shelter, it does not have electrical hookups. You will need to take a water filtration system for fresh water. Instead of searching for firewood, we used my old Coleman stove for dinner. Surprisingly, there were no other groups in the shelter the night we stayed there. The best things about this trail shelter are its proximity to the Appalachian Trail, the quietness you’ll experience since it is away from major highways, and its proximity to the Siler Bald summit. The summit provides a fantastic 360 degree view since it is a grassy bald, but it is a steep climb from the base to the summit. This is not an RV campground, and you do have to pack everything in(and out). You cannot go to the store to get supplies without hiking a long way, so be prepared. Overall, I loved it because of its peace and solitude.

*this is just for the free campsites- there appears to be paid campsites and maybe RV hook ups very close by.

Pros:

1. Gorgeous lush forest
2. ice-cold flowing stream (in May) immediately off most camp spots
3. well maintained and leveled places to pitch a tent.
4. except for occasional cars, very very peaceful and far from any urban life or freeway.

Cons:

1. No cell service (Verizon) without driving 10 minutes, and then patchy for another 10-15
2. camp spots are mostly immediately off the road. It’s a very isolated place, so you have inconsistent privacy and peace and quiet.
3. several cars drove by and woke me up after 11pm.
4. the dirt road to get there as well as the pull off for the campsite are rough and a bit dangerous for low/regular cars. It’s doable but you should go very slow and watch out for giant holes and ridges. I bottomed out going into the parking space, and I lifted my Prius 1.5in

TO NOTE: Google maps incorrectly told me to take a right once I was on the dirt road that doesn’t exist. Just ignore it and keep going forward.

Explored up to campsite 4 the next day. Campsite 3 is a larger group site and a bit further off the road.

It’s not true “dispersed” camping because they have designated site you are supposed to stay at. Im not sure how many there are, but I only got up to #4, driving about 5-10 min down the dirt road.

First site(L1)was open so I took it. I spent two nights there. First time dispersed camping in National Forest and truck camping. Even though I've been camping my whole life, all my equipment was new so it was a learning experience. 😁 Parking was pretty level, but behind my rear wheels it declined toward the lake. The tent pad, picnic table and fire ring was on level ground. It was really quiet during the day, but there were some very loud frogs(?) during the night, enough to wake you up. 2nd night I played music and I slept good. Lol If your GPS says that you have reached your destination, you probably have passed the gravel road. Once on gravel road, veer to the right and you will pass the cemetery on your left, then you'll see kiosk. Sign shows you have to register there at the kiosk. I enjoyed my time there and hopefully can go back again this year. Hope y'all are enjoying the great outdoors. LIV'N!

Campground Review:

The Nantahala National Forest, due south of the Great Smoky Mountains National Park, is chock full of free semi-developed campsites – some are drive-up, some are boat-up, and are there are even a few large enough for sizable RV’s. J8 is one of those larger sites.

Our site has been very well-kept and is right next to the boat launch on Lake Santeetlah, at Avey Creek. This is a beautiful reservoir for fishing, canoeing, SUPing, or sea kayaking, and very close to some great hiking in the Joyce Kilmer Memorial Forest. The famous Tail of the Dragon (Highway 129) between here and Tennessee, with twists and turns and beautiful views…very popular among both cyclists and motorcyclists. The closest town is Robbinsville, NC which is about 30 minutes away and has all the basics you need. Nothing fancy or special, though the people are extremely nice.

Each of the free sites we’ve seen appear to be well-maintained with nice flat, well-drained tent pads, a fire pit, a picnic table, and 2 poles to hang lanterns, shower bags, etc. Lots of trees around for hanging hammocks, too. There are no toilets or drinking water available, so just come prepared! And, please Leave No Trace!

No reservations necessary, or even possible. These are free first-come, first-served campsites which probably fill quickly during the main season. Given that we are here in early March, the skies the limit! Check out our blog on The Dyrt's Online Magazine about our experience in the Blue Ridge Mountains.

Product Review:

As Rangers with The Dyrt, we’ve been taking this solar panel out on a test drive as we’ve camped in various places throughout the southeast this winter. It plugged right into our existing system, and after some retrofitting needed to attach it to the tonneau cover on our truck, we were good to go! So far, we love it!

We’ve been traveling across the country with one 80-watt solar panel mounted on the back of our Nissan Frontier for the past 5.5 years. This panel charged a deep cycle marine battery, and we used an inverter to convert the power to AC to run some of our lights, charge our laptops, charge batteries; or we simply used DC power directly from the battery to charge our cell phone, run our 12-volt fan and lights. We like having it on our truck (and removable) so that we can park our camper in the shade during the warmer months, but put the panel in the sun with an extension cord. Whether we are parked at a campground or driving down the road, if the panel is illuminated, we are gathering solar power.

The amount of power is a simple equation between how much you can collect (with your panel) and store (with your battery), and then how much you use. If you need to convert the type of electricity to AC to charge up something with a standard 3-prong plug, you lose a bit in the conversion from DC to AC. If you just need DC power to run a 12-volt fan, lights, or charge your cell phone with a USB, you get more bang for your power buck.

What we like about this product:

· It has a larger capacity than our previous panel, but with a slimmer profile and just a slightly larger footprint.

· It’s easier to manage because it folds in half for storage, if that is what you plan to do when you are not using it, and it comes with its own carrying case.

· It comes with its own kickstand! Previously, we used Hutch’s guitar stand and bungee cords to put the panel in the right orientation to the sun. Now, we just pull out the stand, set it up, and start charging.

· The carrying handle is firmly integrated into the side, making for an easy place to loop a cable through to lock it down when we leave for the day.

What could be improved:

Honestly, so far…nothing that we’ve found. It’s easy to use, robust, and does the job of collecting power from the sun.

Product Link: https://www.renogy.com/renogy-100-watt-12-volt-monocrystalline-foldable-solar-suitcase-w-o-controller/

Product Video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8udSRefnwmQ&t=78s

I went to Highlands and found this site listed and really was looking forward to staying here. Said to be near Glenn Falls I found the falls but no turn off to be found and cell signal unless you are right in town is pretty spotty. I returned to town screen shot some directions and headed out toward the unknown.

When I arrived the pavement ended and continued onward a very primitive gravel road. Pretty rough in some places and very narrow, let’s just say I wouldn’t want to end up encountering another car.

After winding around the mountain roads finally I saw the “experimental forest” sign followed by the National Forest sign. Not far ahead was the campground kiosk.

it seemed pretty quiet there and I was happy to settle in only to discover as a solo female traveler it appeared there was a beer bust by some local hunters or good ol boys. They were getting pretty rowdy and while I could have simply moved to a further campsite ani was a little in fear that this wasn’t gonna be a really restful evening if they were going to be up drinking all night.

I opted to use this facility for a few moments as a day use area and really enjoyed the large forest around me but didn’t stay overnight because of the circumstances.

Sites were tree-filled and nice. Picnic tables and fire rings were at each site and sites were pretty well spread out. Very much so a dispersed site, I would be a bit concerned with larger rigs on the small road but small RVs or tents are great.