Little River Campground & RV Resort, near Townsend, Tennessee, is a fantastic spot for those looking to enjoy the great outdoors while still having access to modern conveniences. With 104 sites, this campground offers a mix of tent, RV, and cabin accommodations, making it suitable for various camping styles.

The campground is known for its beautiful, shady spots along the Little River, perfect for relaxing by the water or enjoying a campfire. Visitors have praised the friendly management and clean facilities, including impressive bathhouses that provide a welcome respite after a day of exploring. One camper noted, “The bathrooms have strong AC pumping right into each bathroom, making everything nice and cool when you come in from the hot campsite.”

For those eager to explore, the campground serves as a great base for day trips into the Great Smoky Mountains National Park, where hiking and breathtaking views await. Plus, you're just a short drive from Townsend, where you can find local shops and restaurants to grab supplies or a bite to eat.

While some campers mentioned that sites can be close together, the overall atmosphere is peaceful, with plenty of trees providing shade and a sense of privacy. Whether you're here for a weekend or an extended stay, Little River Campground & RV Resort offers a welcoming environment for all types of campers.

vacation Rv park with some tent camping on the Little River 5 miles from the Great Smoky Mountain National park. Located on the Little River, fishing and tubing available. 30 mins to Gatlinburg or 25 to Pigeon Forge, shopping and attractions are an easy day trip.

Little River Campground & RV Resort

The Dyrt is here to help plan your best camping near Townsend. Discover secluded campsites where you can reconnect with nature. Or maybe you like to bring your family and friends along. Either way, there are Townsend campgrounds just for you. You're sure to find the perfect campground for your Townsend camping trip.

Townsend

The Best Camping Near Townsend, Tennessee

Beautiful campground right on the Little River. It’s tucked away off the main road but only minutes from Smoky Mountain NP. The owners were very friendly and the price was very fair, especially during “leaf season” 

Great campground

The scenery is nice, but get ready to be woken up by the campgrounds roosters at 5 AM every day. Won’t be back. 

Roosters crowing at 5 AM

We arrived late because of a blowout, so they left us a map and instructions at the front door of the office. The campground was clean, there was plenty of room, the sites were level, the hookups worked like they were supposed to, and we had zero problems. We went there to escape the crowds and enjoy the Smokies. We got exactly what we wanted. There are some good restaurants and stores in Townsend, plus there is easy access to the park. 

Great Little Campground

Easy check in.  Neighbors will be close but pull through was easy.  Peaceful “little river” and lots of shade.  Great location for day tripping to several great hikes in the Smokies. 




Great Smokies Basecamp

I came here to do some simple car camping before getting photos of the sunrise at Foothills Parkway in the morning. Reserving my site was very easy, but the website doesn't make it particularly clear how big the sites are. My Premium Tent site was surprisingly small. My car took up half the site (not sure where I would have parked otherwise) and I had just enough room to set up a chair by the fire pit. The site was very close to the river and included a picnic table. Each site around me was shoulder to shoulder. Fortunately no one else was near me, otherwise it would have taken away from the point of camping: to get away.

  
The main road was viewable from my site but I couldn't hear the cars, so that was good. Overall, the experience was simple and I had no major qualms. May have dropped a star if I had neighbors during my visit though. lol

Lots of site options, but not too far from civilization

Husband and I wanted to get away and found this campground- it is such a gem! You can't see it well from the road, but there is a huge sign out by the road. Trust it! You're in the right place.  You drive across a small bridge across the Little River when you get to  the campground, but it can handle big rigs.  We saw many massive Class A campers while we were here for 6 nights. We pull a 30 ft travel trailer and used a pull through site- very large spot as far as rv sites go. They have back in spots for campers and tents literally on the bank of the river and you're allowed to swim, play, tube, etc in the river at your own risk. Camp store has firewood and a few essentials, but they don't sell propane. We got ours filled at the Tractor Supply in Alcoa, TN nearby. They had crafts and hayrides while we were here. Wifi is free but not great. Verizon cell service was good enough at 3 bars the whole time. No on-site laundry services, so we had to go into town to use laundromat (nearby town of Townsend is adorable but no laundromat). The grounds offer tent, cabin, and rv sites with various levels of electric, water, cable and sewer access. Our site had 30amp, water, sewer and cable. Nice and level site, large fire pit, sturdy plastic and metal picnic table and large beautiful mature trees. The bathhouse is seriously impressive and is, by far, the nicest campground bathhouse I've ever used! One of my favorite features was random and I never knew I was missing it in my life until now.. the bathrooms have strong AC pumping right into each bathroom, making everything nice and cool when you come in from the hot campsite.. wonderful! Good view of the mountains in the distance and minutes away from Great Smoky Mountain National Park entrance. This is a wonderful find!

Such a gem!

enjoyed out stay quite a bit! Had a fire two nights. Cooked outside and enjoyed the nice weather for this time of year. The hosts were especially nice.
Starlink had obstructions with the
trees but we put it 20 feet up on a pole to help and it worked well enough for work and Netflix.

The area was beautiful and a short drive for propane, gas, food, and firewood. We spent two days exploring this part of the smokies and this campground made for a great little Basecamp.

Enjoyed the shady river

Great management and customer service. Gravel pads; may require some levelling.

Quiet and a little rustic

Not in a bad way there were plenty of trees providing shade. We were there for the Bigfoot festival it's close enough to Gatlinburg and pigeon forge to go do things there far enough away you don't have to deal with the commercialism if you don't want to
Full video review on YouTube
https://youtu.be/HKIFIes9rE4

Very shady

Great spot in a beautiful area. Good sized lots. Really cool coffee shop right outside the campground for people that like that kind of thing.

Photos of Little River Campground & RV Resort

Real photos from real campers