Smokemont Campground — Great Smoky Mountains National Park

I tent camped at Smokemont campground in May 2023. It was nice but I give it 4 stars because the sites were cramped with little privacy and the gatehouse was closed the afternoon I arrived and the next day. There are some nice trails around the campground and I went for an evening hike and saw some elk that reluctantly budged from the trail. I also saw turkeys and a family of wild hogs. Overall a nice place.

Smokemont is awesome I love all the elk and other wildlife.

Really liked Smokemont, our favorite between Cades Cove and Elkmont as far as camping sites. The sites are a little bigger and more room between sites. About 10 miles from Cherokee, NC. A good Elk viewing area between Smokemont and Cherokee, NC. One camper saw a bear one morning but was not a problem.

No cell or TV service here. 2 bay dump station which was nice and clean with water for the RV.

We stayed one night at Smokemont on a Saturday in September, and I was surprised how empty the campground was. It was rainy so maybe that deterred some campers, but we had a great time. We stayed in site D31, and it was perfect for the rooftop tent. None of the sites have electric, so you will hear some generators, that was really my only complaint. Other than that, the sound of the flowing River is wonderful. Was hoping to see some elk around, as they are plentiful in this area of the Smokies. Definitely will stay here again.

My son and I went to this camp ground over memorial day.  It's a very big campground with a horse stables area separate from the camping area.  The horse stable offers horse rides starting at $40 bucks for an hour through the forest.  I asked if experience was needed and the worker said, no experience necessary.  I thought it sounded great, but my traveling partner did not (9 year old son).  haha

The campground is big, with a lot of  sites, but they seem closer together than some campgrounds, some are further out than others, our site was really close to our neigbhors and the creek was just across the road so we really drowned the majority of there noise.  I feel like the NPS campground are typcially close together so this was what I expected.

No running water at campsite, but plenty of water spouts around.  

No showers in bathrooms.

Most of the sites are really shaded, but some do have full sun.  There was one near us that had no trees and I am thinking they wished they had some.    It seemed "dark" early as you are in a valley, which was a unique experience for my son.  

temperatures were cool in the evenings, so we didn't need any A/C which was nice sicne there is no power hook ups.  We didn't notice many generators running during the day.  I did imagine the people will only running to top off the batteries, but who knows.

We woke up and went to clingmans dome one morning and it really cold and really windy.  If you plan for sunrise, pack a warm jacket.  I wore a fleece vest and fleece jacket and was cold till we walked to the observation tower.  It's a short paved walk, but it is straight uphill, so be aware of it.   the experience is one that should be had if you are in the area.  When we arrived around 530 am the parking lot was about 1/3 full. but I've heard stories that this parking lot is always very full, which is why we went sunrise instead of sunset.  

There was a lot of people fishing the nearby bradley fork and lots of reports of trout caught.  I did fish one pool for about 30 minutes, and did not have any fish to hand, but I saw quite a few fish in the pool over the weekend.  the water temperture was 54 degress, but my son and some other boys swam in the creek everyday.  It was not hot, but kids have a different threshold for cold I guess, and the excitement of the moving water in teh creek is hard to resist.  I got in to my knees.   I would like to return without my son and do some adequate walking away from the campground upstream to get into some less pressured water.  It's on my list.

We went to cherokee but not the casino area.  It was the section right outside the park.  Which is a mixure of old stuff, new stuff, and things that are closed or being revamped, or who knows.  We ate lunch one day at a pizza resturant right there called wize guys and it was good pizza.   

My 9 year old son rated this campground as 10 out of 10.

We stayed here for Fall Leaves in the Smoky Mountains in our van. It’s a basic campground. It has bathrooms with running water. No showers. No cell signal whatsoever. The sites aren’t private, which didn’t bother us. There’s a dump and fill station for RVs. Like I said, basic. But well situated. It has a stream running through the campground and there’s hiking trails too.

My site was the closest to the entrance so there was a lot of traffic throughout the night. However, on the other side there was a beautiful creek which was wonderful to hear in the morning as I drove out. I have the annual parks pass & unfortunately didn’t get the discount when I checked in with the ranger. Everyone was friendly and helpful. Had bathrooms & water & bear safe trash and food containers. Go NPS!

Large campground with paved roads and drives. Rocks line the driveway of each site, close enough to require careful placement to leave room for stairs and slides.

This is my third time visiting Smokemont campground, and while I love it for a multitude of reasons I highly recommend watching the weather. Our first night was amazing, clear blue skies, but when a front moved in we promptly had a river running through our campsite. The facilities are clean and well stocked, the camp sites are kept tidy with regular leaf blowing to clear the drive-ways. Approved firewood, ice, and s'mores materials can be found down the road at the stables. The campsite was very busy through the weekend with only two open slots left on Friday and Saturday, so be sure to make a reservation, and watch the weather.

We only stayed for 1 night but really enjoyed the campgrounds proximity to activities on the North Carolina side of the park. The bathrooms were nice and there is a little stream that runs by the park. From our site you could hear a busier road but I’m sure that’s not the case at other sites.

By the time I got around booking my trip, it was pretty slim pickings within the national park boundaries.

I was fortunately able to snag a few nights here in Smokemont, but was unfortunately placed RIGHT next to the bathroom. While the bathroom is highly trafficked, it actually wasn’t that bad and I quickly realized that there is no privacy anywhere within this campground.

The campsites are really crammed with in there, so if you’re looking for an idyllic experience, this ain’t it. But if you’re looking for something relatively close to a lot of cool exploration points, this is perfect!

It’s about a 45 minute drive to Cades Cove and maybe a 30 minute drive to the town of Cherokee. There are also several trailheads at the campground.

Smokemont isn't nearly as good a Campground as Elkmont, but not to say it isn't a really good place to stay. It's clean and well kept. Sites are close together with little to no privacy. The river running through the campground makes up for it. We always see a lot of wildlife in the fields near the Oconaluftee visitor center. Bears this time around. There was a reported bear attack up near the Cosby Campground while we were staying at Smokemont

We stayed in an RV in site F32, which was super private and just amazing.  The F loop can be a little loud with generators if you are not using one but in 32 it was not so bad.  Gorgeous campground, River, so convenient to Cherokee and everything on the quieter end of the Smokies.  Water and dump station, very nice staff gave us great trail recommendations.  We will be back!!!

the trail are incredible but you can't bring your dog with you on the trail.

Nice camp- stayed in the C loop- all sites are very close to bathrooms (toilets and sink, no showers). Spots are not private but still nice and roomy. Tent pad and picnic table for each. We arrived too late to pick up firewood but you’re allowed to collect dead fallen wood in the park. 20 min drive to a doggie day care so that we could drop our dog for the day while we hiked!

We stayed 2 nights (Monday and Tuesday) during a somewhat crowded weekend. Rain the 2nd day/night spoiled our hiking plans so we took a Smoky Mtns driving tour instead using the Gypsy Guide app. Fine campground, no services in B002 but we were reasonably close to clean bathroom with flush toilets and a wash-up sink on the side of the bathroom. We never saw any campground staff during our stay but things seemed to run smoothly just the same.

Smokemont is a great campground in the North Carolina side of the Smoky Mountains. It is a perfect base camp to enjoy this amazing national park. About 1 hour away from Gatlinburg, but this side is less crowded. The sites are plenty big, a little tight to back into, but not a big deal. There is no cell service but this is also a great opportunity to disconnect. Right next to the campground there are horse stables, really recommend an early morning horseback ride around the trails Mountains of the campground. Definitely looking forward to visiting again!

Spent three nights tent camping here and it was absolutely stunning. Most trails in the smokies aren’t dog friendly so we didn’t do any hiking but just driving around there were so many scenic stops! Campsite and rangers were amazing. If I had to complain it’s just that there are no showers.

Has stream running through it and had a nice walking trail. You can go on a horseback ride through the trails here.

Non generator site. Beautiful

Pretty clean bathrooms. Easy to find sites. PLENTY of rangers. Heads up: if you have a cooler or water jug it needs to be in your car while you’re sleeping or away from the CG. Nothing food or prep related can be left unattended. I have a large Pelican bear resistant cooler that lives on my hitch rack. It’s locked to my car frame, ratcheted down to both sides of the rack and locked shut. Upon telling the ranger it did not fit in my car, he inspected it, said “mm it seems rugged enough” and let us be. Would stay again for sure.

The campground itself is nice. Great location off of newfound gap road, with tent sites along a rushing creek. Large sites, although not very private. Flush toilets and running water, but no showers. The office staff was friendly. A few trails start from the campground with plenty more a quick drive away.

My arrival left a bad taste in my mouth. Long story short, my reserved site had equipment set up when I arrived after hours (8pm) and a call to the ranger gave me three options: move that person’s tent, take someone else’s reserved spot (campground was full) or leave and go to another campground. I was told there was no ranger or camp host to assist. I grabbed a reserved spot and luckily no one showed up. The next morning, I asked the office if I could just keep my new spot, rather than set up everything again and was told that I could not. However, the office told me that the person on my spot should not be there, but they did nothing to move him. I had to wait until he left on his own so I could move my stuff, wasting a lot of the morning.

This was my fifth trip to the Smokies this year, and it is obvious that the most visited national park is also the most understaffed. Very little ranger presence and consequently plenty of disregard for the rules, especially after 5pm.

Super spot. See my title above! ^

Busy campground in the Smoky Mtns, minutes from Cherokee. Can’t beat the location. The pros are that there’s a creek running through the campground which drowned out any road noise and was lots of fun for kids to splash in, fish in, etc; the sites are decent size; and there’s a really good loop hike right from the campground—very scenic. Cons are that the bathrooms were dirty and smelly—two different bath houses were just as bad; no showers; many sites are pretty close together and not very private.
As far as finding a cheap place to camp in the Smokies, this is a good choice —just don’t expect 4 star.

Pad

We camped 3 nights at Smokemont in July 2020. Our site was C9, which is a tent only area. We loved our site because we were at the end of the tent rows and had plenty of room, and we were close to the creek! The campsite in general was quiet and most campfires were out by 10:30. The creek was great because it helped drown out any noise from other sites! We even had a big family with lots of little kids next to us and didn't hear a thing.

Campground was very clean. Bathrooms very clean. You cannot bathe in the creek nor dump any water at the sites - all has to be done at the Dishwashing station or in the bathroom sinks. Make sure you read all the campsite rules, they are very strict (for good reason, you're in bear country!) We saw 2 sites get violations.

Wood was $7/bundle, ice $3, we needed fuel which was $7/can. Also have horseback riding available for booking, $35/hour or $80 for 2.5 hours.

Campsite has multiple trails but we didn't do any of them. We hiked Alum Cave to LeConte (strenuous), Ramsey Cascades (strenuous), and Mingo falls (easy). The Mingus gristmill was an interesting place to visit too, and we saw lots of elk on the way!

Maybe it was the time of the year, but this campground was merely adequate for our stay. Sites here are super small and very crowed, yet they were clean. Restrooms were cleaned once a day in the AM. Yet even when they were cleaned, they had a super strong urine smell. The campground itself was very loud. No cell service (which was to be expected on the location). Not super close to town, about 20 minutes to Cherokee.

There are several camping options in the Great Smoky Mountains NP. I loved the Smokemont Campground. It's located next to a river, and is very peaceful. The sites are decent size. Great location to get to the trails.

The kids had a lot of fun playing in the area. A very quiet and pleasant place to spend a few days and enjoy nature.

Great campsite. Clean bathrooms. Right down the road from good hiking spots.