Best Glamping near Great Smoky Mountains National Park

Little Arrow Outdoor Resort is an upscale campground located just minutes from Great Smoky Mountain National Park. The campground has several different types of accommodations. We stayed in a large, pull-through buddy site, a space that accommodates two RVs. Buddy sites are paved and have hookups for both RVs. We loved the covered cabana with outdoor string lights, a cooking area with a sink, and a large table and chairs because it was the perfect place to hang out with our friends who shared the site with us. Our dogs' favorite part of the campground was our site's turf grass patch. Everything, from the facilities, decor, and signage to the pavilion, nature trail, and gift shop, has personalized touches, which add to the experience. 

I enjoyed Townsend and the campground so much that I won't ever stay close to the Gatlinburg side of the national park again.

it's a bbit claustrophobic, each site being quite close to the other. We were tent ccamping, and iit appears that most of the sites are a better desiggned for RV camping. Being as close as it is to great Smoky Mountains National Park, it was predictably absoolutely full the entire week we were there, so  one's enjoyment may have a lot to do with who your next-door neighbors are, especially when you are tent camping and don't have the advantage of your own personal sound dampening and air conditioning. But if you want to be close to the national park, this is a great pick, as you are just a couple miles from the beginning off the Townsend entrance to the park.

When we were there, they had also installed a couple of restored teardrop traailers from what appeared to be the 1960s. On our last night, we decided to switch from tent camping to   renting one of the teardrops, which was quite small but quite fun, quite kitschy, restored to match the era.  

In spite of the fact that the camp is located right along a busy highway, the noise level was not too big of a problem since the campsites are not dirrectly next to the highway but  rather back in further, with some of  the more coveted spots being right next to the river. Even  if your camp spot is not on the river, there are two or three places to access it, making it possible to cool down onn a hot muggy summer day by wading in the very cold stream, or even tubing down to your campsite by having someone drop you upstream. I don't think they rent tubes at the campground but there are several places within walking distance that do.

The restrooms were quite nice for campsite restrooms — three or four private showers in each restroom, sinks with mirrors, etc. They keep out non-guests by having the restrooms accessible with a key code lock.

The pool looks nice and is well maintained, but we did not use it. There is also a big pavilion used by some church group every Sunday morning, offering worship services to vacationers, and dooing Sunday school crafts with the little kids.

Camp Leconte Luxury Resort is located in Gatlinburg near the Greenbriar area of the Smokies. It’s a fairly small campground right on the Parkway. It’s close to town, but far enough away to avoid traffic. The campground has nice, paved spots for rv’s. It has glamping tent cabins, as well as vintage campers. There is a camp store, but the campground is not far from a grocery store and liquor store. There’s a trolley stop nearby also, so if you’d like To go to the strip, you can take the trolley and not worry about parking. There’s a nice pool and playground. Very clean campground.

As the most visited national park by far, it’s not always easy to find peace in Great Smoky Mountains National Park. And Elkmont Campground -- the park’s largest at 220 campsites -- may not seem like the ideal place to try to find that peace, but somehow, we did.

We visited the Smokies in November, after the fall colors had peaked and long after summer travelers had crowded the trails and campgrounds. Sometimes, visiting during the off-season is all it takes to have an ideal national park experience.

Our campsite at Elkmont was huge! We had ample space for our tent and shade tent, which we set up over the provided picnic table. Our site backed up to the Little River, providing idyllic camping backdrop noise. The campground provided basic amenities like running water and flush toilets.

The only downside to our time in the Smokies was the rain. During our five days there, it rained almost every day. We attempted a three-day hike along the AT, but decided to come back after two. We skipped the park’s highest point at Clingman’s Dome, because we never had a clear day.

But we managed to enjoy our time in plenty of other ways. We enjoyed our time in Cades Cove and Abrams Falls with almost no other visitors, and we loved hiking to Ramsay Cascades and Grotto Falls, two fine misty-day activities.

You can read much more about our five days in the park on our blog: Switchback Kids (Great Smoky Mountains)

I highly recommend this glamping spot. It could not be more perfect. This spot is new, and the set up is awesome. Perched on top of a hill, the site has great sunrise views. The glamping tent is very high quality, with a covered porch, two comfy beds, and a wood burning stove, so camping is possible year round. a fire pit is out front of the tent too.

The spot has great hammock trees, as well as spots for tents for extra room.

The property has a one mile hiking trail. There are restrooms and an outdoor shower justba short walk, or drive down the hill. The is a cabin, and event venue on site also. 

The area is close to The Great Smoky Mountains, and also Downtown Knoxville. A perfect spot for a nice glamping getaway.

I highly recommend this glamping spot. It could not be more perfect. This spot is new, and the set up is awesome. Perched on top of a hill, the site has great sunrise views. The glamping tent is very high quality, with a covered porch, two comfy beds, and a wood-burning stove, so camping is possible year-round. a fire pit is out front of the tent too. The spot has great hammock trees, as well as spots for tents for extra room. The property has a one-mile hiking trail. There are restrooms and an outdoor shower just a short walk or drive down the hill. The is a cabin, and event venue on-site also. The area is close to The Great Smoky Mountains, and also Downtown Knoxville. A perfect spot for a nice glamping getaway.

Elkmont is a huge campground in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park.

They have plenty of sites for tents and RVs. There is a camp store, showers, and restrooms. They provide potable water access. Some sites do have electric hookups for medical needs, which are also handicap accessible. Most site are primitive sites with no water or electric hookup available. Some loops do allow the use of generators during certain hours. Pets are allowed in the campground, but not on the trails.

This campground has great access to hiking and fishing, as well as wildlife viewing.

We spent our weekend trip hiking and enjoying the butterflies that fill the park in September.