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)