Best Equestrian Camping near Alcoa, TN

Equestrian Camping Reviews near Alcoa, TN

260 Reviews of 24 Alcoa Campgrounds

• B

  Becca S.

  Scout

  May. 30, 2019

  Cades Cove Campground

  Family friendly and beautiful

  This campground is so convenient to Cades Cove. You can easily bike through the loop, or drive. Nice spot to see wildlife as well. Cades Cove is well known for spotting bears, deer and turkey. Make sure to take the necessary steps to store your food. Great spot to go explore the beauty and history of East Tennessee!

• 

  Gail C.

  Guide

  Jul. 3, 2018

  Cades Cove Campground

  Our Favorite

  This campground is off the beaten path but found by LOTS so have a reservation. There is an 11 mile loop with historic structures and lots of wildlife. Watch for BEARS! Bears and deer may be just across the road from your campsite. There are bikes and firewood available as well as a small campstore (with ice cream). Lots of trails, a waterfall, rivers and creeks to fish and wade. Horses and wagons to ride. Activities for campers young and old. Night walks and ranger talks. The most beatiful views this side of heaven. Take special note of the view walking back from the John Oliver cabin (the first one).

• 

  Shelly S.

  Legend

  Oct. 11, 2022

  Panther Creek State Park Campground

  Going up

  Panther Creek SP

  Panther Creek State Park was an unexpected find outside of Knoxville, TN , in Morristown. I’ve driven by the sign but no need to camp so close to home. I ended up sharing a site with a friend who lives even closer, lol This is a small State Park but it offers a lot to do recreation wise. The weekend we stayed there was a youth mountain bike event and cross country running going on. There’s also horseback trails. My only complaint about the trails is they are not marked well. A Boy Scout troop needs to do some merit badge work and improve them . The campground is small, a little tight in the sides and limited on full service sites. It’s a gradual uphill drive through the camp , you curve to the left and then back down the hill. The sites in the upper curve are bigger then the ones on the hill. There are several that offer tent pads and small vehicle pads. Check your lengths and bring your leveling boards. The two showerhouses are next to pavilions. All well maintained. The upper pavilion has a very cool fire pit area. And can accommodate a small gathering. There is a trailhead in the campground and several other trailheads in easy walking, pedaling distance , plus an awesome overlook and more strenuous hike up the road. The boat ramp is in an adjacent area and the lake is beautiful.

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• 

  Ashley A.

  Traveler

  Aug. 15, 2018

  Cades Cove Campground

  Beautiful place to visit!

  Loved visiting Cades Cove! We drove around the entire loop. Saw many horses, deer, and even a coyote! Would love to go back soon!

• A

  Ashley B.

  Traveler

  Oct. 20, 2023

  Tsali Campground

  Tsali

  This is one of our favorite local campgrounds. Sites are first come, first serve, most sites are in the open with a few more private sites around the edge. A great spot for mountain biking on the Tsali trail system, close to the Appalachian Trail, close to the Nantahalad river for kayaking and rafting. Good access to Lake Fontana for kayaking, SUPing and swimming.

• 

  Dan N.

  Ranger

  Aug. 31, 2016

  Cades Cove Campground

  Best in spring or fall

  Never been in summer when it’s busy but it’s great with wildflowers/leaf peeping along the wildlife drive. You can also bike the wildlife drive certain days and times. Camping options are simple rustic campground (though large with 150+ sites), horse camping, and backcountry backpacking sites. We’ve done the latter but drove through the campground, which was wooded and clean though fairly busy.

• 

  Myron C.

  Legend

  Jun. 8, 2019

  Big Creek Campground — Great Smoky Mountains National Park

  Campground near Rafting Excursions on the Pigeon River

  Even though the sites are walk-in sites, when I was there it was pretty crowded since the sites are close together.  At night, you can hear the distant sounds of the creek … if the other campers can stop talking.  This is not a campground for RVs.  There are no hookups and there are no places for RVs to park.  The thing I like best about this campground is its proximity to the Appalachian Trail and several other trails, including the Benton MacKaye Trail.  Midnight Hole, which is a 1.5 mile hike, is a great place to cool off.  Once you get there, you can swim to a big rock and jump off into a natural pool.  I believe this is the same place I took Boy Scouts many, many years ago and they loved it.  You just have to be careful because it is deep and COLD.  The trail to Mount Cammerer is quite strenuous, but the view is worth it.  Other than the great trails, the other attraction is the whitewater rafting.  There are a few outfitters just over the state line, and they shuttle rafters to the starting point beside the power station.  The one I used was NOC.  When I first came here years ago, I thought the river looked low, but by the time we put our raft in, the river was raging.  I think the most fun, besides the rafting, at this campground is playing on the rocks in the creek.  There is also a group camping area, which is separate from the family campground.  That is because they release the water just for rafting.  This campground is conveniently located off of Interstate 40 near the Tennessee and North Carolina state line. Once you get to the national park road leading to it, it is a 1.2 mile drive on a gravel road.

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• 

  Katrin M.

  Legend

  Aug. 30, 2022

  Big Creek Campground — Great Smoky Mountains National Park

  Small campground in the woods

  I camped here for one night with a friend and our dogs.

  The campground is very small with only 12 campsites. Each one has a firepit, picnic table, lantern pole, and a very large tent pad. There are no RV's allowed. Nearby is group camping and horse camping.

  You cannot park your car right on the campsite. There is a parking lot and you need to carry your gear in. It's about 100 feet to the sites.

  The campground has several trailheads for hiking in the Smokies. A very nice feature is how close the campsites are to the creek. It was great for the dogs to cool off. There are also swimming holes nearby.

  The bathrooms are fairly well kept. There are no showers. For running water you can use water spigots that are around the campground.

  Due to the dogs we just walked the gravel road but it was definitely a very nice quiet getaway. I would camp here again.

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• K

  Kevin G.

  Guide

  Jul. 14, 2020

  Tricorner Knob Shelter — Great Smoky Mountains National Park

  No Room at the Inn

  So my title is a little odd...I’ll explain. Normally thru-hikers get first dibs on shelters...also they stink really bad and shelters are tight. However, in the Smokies you can get a permit backcountry permit and camp outside (very clear on the reservation website) the shelter. They sell 10 permits to do this. Problem is, there isn’t a space for even a two person tent outside this shelter. I had to go 500 feet back up the hill to the horse hitching post to find a good spot. There are a few locations that a one person tent could fit, but certainly not ten.

  It’s a tough hike in to this shelter as it sits just below Mt Guyot, one of the highest peaks east of the Mississippi. The privy was clean and the water source was running well. Always fun to hang out with the thru-hikers and hear their stories for a while. No views despite the elevation.

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