Cherry Hill Campground

The sites this time of year are amazing in the smokies.  Hiking the entire trail is a definite must do.

The first time I went, I did not have reservations, but there is a camp host. I went to the camp host site to get a site, but s/he was not there. I looked around the campground and there were only three or four campsites taken. After driving and sightseeing, I came back about an hour later. Nobody was still at the host site. I did some more sightseeing and came back about another hour later. No success. The only way I was able to get a site was by reservation. Eventually, I got a site, but the process of having to reserve online ahead of time is frustrating, especially since I was told by a park ranger at another South Carolina State Park that even if you don’t have reservations you can show up if sites are available. 

The campsite I was at had a level tent pad, which was gravel. There was a picnic table and a freeze hydrant for water. I checked the hydrant before deciding since the freeze hydrant on my last camping trip did not work. Parking was about fifty feet away since I stayed at the tent site area. Another option would have been to stay at one of the regular tent/RV sites closer to the bath room. The tent/RV sites are level and have fire pits, but I wanted a little more scenic view than having to see the bath house from my campsite. 

There were very few campers this time, so it was quiet at the campground. However, I did hear some road noise until late evening since the tent sites are closer to the road. Since it is pretty far from any major town or city, it got really dark at night, so this was really nice for watching stars. '

The bath house had the basic needs—toilet, wash basin, and shower. The floor was concrete, and the toilet was stainless steel with no removable lid. I thought that was strange for a men’s bathroom. 

Overall, it was a pleasant stay once I was able to actually get a site.

Fairly nice campsite set up with nice concrete table and tent pad. Some sites more spacious and laid out better then others. (We had three families camping in sites 17 & 18... would have been better in 16 & 17 or for the price book all 3, 16-18) 1 bath house centrally located with 4 rooms each having toilet, sink, hand dryer and small camp shower with seat and hand held shower head. (Prison style toilets, lol) Water spigots places through out campsites (1 for sites 15-19 in loop). With them opening late this season was surprised of condition of campground. Very clean however could have used a little TLC, small landscaping in sites and several fire pits not level and full of old ashes and whatnot (causing nice wet layer for fire starting) just figured with this being the first weekend open this season due to COVID-19 that they would have taken down time to spruce up area. Camp Host and camp ranger on site were super friendly and helpful though (Camped June 26-28, 2020)

I've camped here three times and never seen it full. Sites are spacious and there are flush toilets and hot showers. Winding Stairs trail connects to the campground and offers good hiking. Just across the street is the Big Bend trail which takes you to Big Bend falls on the Chattooga River. There's a creek that runs through the campground with many sites along it's bank. My favorite site is #2.

Decent. No electric hookups. Bath houses aren’t well maintained. Campsites are fairly private

The campground is pretty old. That said the showers are warm and there’s a flush toilets, so it beats a straddle trench in Afghan, but not a penthouse master bath in Asheville.

There’s numerous sites, and they are now available online to reserve through recreation.gov.

We stayed on campsite # 11 which abuts against a small creek. Each site has its own grill pit and a grate that swings out over the the Pitt as well.

The campground was probably 80% occupied and seemed like it could be a possible base camp for some hunters. The only bad thing was, there were some loud kids screaming at six in the morning, I came to get solitude so this and the prison style all metal toilet are the only reason I gave it 4 stars.

There was one trail that myself and my better half went down. It was about 3 miles. We just wanted to take it easy, so we didn’t go on the foothills trail about 1 mile or so away on the same road the campground is on. It’s hard to see, but it it has one or two parking spots on a turn off for it. On the way out we saw hikers going in from there so it is probably a popular headway.

All in all we had a great time, the ranger/ host had firewood available for sale (20pieces and some kindling for 10$)would definitely go back, and keep exploring the area for overnights and stay here as a base camp.

Very clean and well taken care of. Gorgeous area. Ground is slightly rocky to sleep directly on.