Best Dog-Friendly Camping near Tellico Plains, TN

Cherokee National Forest KOA Holiday permits pets in all camping areas with no breed restrictions. Located in Tellico Plains, this campground provides full hookups for RVs alongside clean bathrooms with excellent water pressure. Dogs must remain leashed throughout the property, including at campsites and in common areas. Several visitors note the campground's proximity to pet-friendly trails and scenic mountain drives. The family-friendly environment includes a playground for children and a pool where pets are not permitted. Local campgrounds are searchable through The Dyrt's listings.

Cherohala Mountain Trails Campground maintains well-kept grounds where dogs can accompany campers at tent sites, RV spaces with electric hookups, and basic cabins. Campers can pitch tents wherever they choose or select from designated RV sites with electricity. The $12 nightly tent camping fee makes this an affordable option for pet owners exploring the Cherohala Skyway. Bathrooms remain consistently clean with hot showers available for all guests. The campground's hosts provide free firewood and occasional complimentary meals depending on the day of the week. Nearby hiking trails include paths around Bald River Falls, approximately 30 minutes from the campground, where dogs can enjoy water access when properly leashed.

Best Dog-Friendly Sites Near Tellico Plains, Tennessee (285)

    1. Indian Boundary

    28 Reviews
    Tallassee, TN
    11 miles
    Website
    +1 (423) 253-8400

    $20 / night

    "The 3.5 mile trail around the lake is a good little walk for the dogs. Highly recommend this campground."

    "The lake is great for kayaking and swimming, with an easy trail around the perimeter. The gorgeous Cherohala Skyway is very close by (highly recommend!)."

    2. Gee Creek Campground — Hiwassee/Ocoee Scenic River State Park

    29 Reviews
    Delano, TN
    17 miles
    Website
    +1 (423) 263-0050

    $35 - $85 / night

    "Bath house is relatively nice for a state park campground. 1 mile walking path surrounding the grounds is nice. Safe area for bicycle riding. Great proximity to many outdoor activities."

    "This sweet state park campground is tucked into a spot along Gee Creek, which is great for boating, fishing, and swimming in the summertime heat of Tennessee. "

    3. Top of the World RV

    8 Reviews
    Coker Creek, TN
    5 miles
    Website
    +1 (423) 519-2967

    $45 / night

    "New construction but very nice and the makings of a well maintained location. Not much area for pets or stuff for kiddos yet."

    "Great spot to wander a little with a pet & great WiFi. Bring your computer so you can stream whatever TV or movies you want. Close to grocery stores & TONS of mountain goodness."

    4. Cherohala Mountain Trails Campground

    5 Reviews
    Tellico Plains, TN
    4 miles
    Website
    +1 (423) 253-6061

    "Vanlife and dog friendly! Clean bathrooms, showers, trash, firewood, there are hookups/water or you can do a no hookup site for less. Coffee and pastries in the morning."

    "Great location and great food! This is my go to spot when out riding."

    5. Tellico Plains/Cherokee National Forest KOA Holiday

    5 Reviews
    Tellico Plains, TN
    4 miles
    Website
    +1 (423) 253-3513

    $40 - $60 / night

    "Close to fun things in Tellico , not too far from Athens , Etowah , Madisonville , and many near by attractions in the mountains. We drove to Cleveland quite a bit too, about 45 min."

    6. Cades Cove Campground

    98 Reviews
    Townsend, TN
    33 miles
    Website
    +1 (865) 448-4103

    $30 / night

    "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."

    "Pros:

    • beautiful and scenic
    • Near great trails
    • lots of wildlife - saw a bear!"

    7. Chilhowee Recreation Area

    30 Reviews
    Benton, TN
    23 miles
    Website
    +1 (423) 338-3300

    $12 - $30 / night

    "Best thing to us was the hiking trail that we walked with fresh blueberry bushes on our side. Fairly easy trail to see beautiful waterfall. Pet friendly"

    "Well-maintained, pet-friendly, and close access to lots of great trails. There is a nearby lake, perfect for swimming."

    8. Citico Creek Area

    6 Reviews
    Tallassee, TN
    12 miles
    Website

    "This campground is great for being right next to great day hikes and easy access to Citico Creek, which was just across the gravel road from our site."

    "My only complaint was there were cars frequently driving by throughout the night on the dirt road. Other than that, really enjoyed this place."

    9. Sourwood Campground

    4 Reviews
    Coker Creek, TN
    12 miles
    Website

    "Bathrooms are relatively clean nice fishing close by. Twra fish hatchery just a short drive away. Lots to do for hiking fishing and just exploring the outdoors."

    "The closeness to the river is the main attraction here. It’s ever-present sounds make it easy to forget everything."

    10. Holly Flats

    3 Reviews
    Coker Creek, TN
    9 miles
    Website

    $6 / night

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Dog-Friendly Camping Reviews near Tellico Plains, TN

1893 Reviews of 285 Tellico Plains Campgrounds


  • vickie V.The Dyrt PRO User
    Aug. 13, 2018

    Horse Cove

    Great Little Hideaway Haven

    If you drive the Cherohala Skyway from Tellico plains, make a left onto Joyce Kilmer Road. You'll come to an intersection; Left gets you Joyce Kilmer Memorial Forest, Straight ahead will garner you a fabulous view from Maple Springs Overlook, and Right, will take you by Hose Cove Campground. Go Right first and secure a spot at this first-come first-served campground, nestled among the trees of the Nantahala Forest, beside the rushing waters of the Little Santeetlah Creek ...and then go back for hiking and views:)

    This campground has 13 sites on the opposite side of the road from the lake, and several spots flanking Santeetlah. If you are a tent camper, my suggestion is go for the opposite side of the lake. I don't think you can even fit a camper into one of these spaces. The campground is a dead end with #13 at the very end, and no turn around past #10. 

    We arrived at the perfect hour of the day and had our pick of any site. We chose #12, for its privacy and the beautiful rushing water to sleep by and watch while sitting beside the fire and enjoying morning coffee. If you like camping with friends in adjoining campsites, it looked like #8 and #9 would be good to grab as they are closer together and have a little path that runs between them.

    There are flushing toilets and sinks with cold running water, but no hot water and no showers. Just don't even think about using the bathroom facilities until you've selected your spot and paid for it. Elizabeth and John are the camp hosts and NOTHING gets by Elizabeth. Dogs are welcome, but should be leashed. There is a boat ramp with plenty of parking, maybe a mile past the campground, perfect for putting in kayaks and canoes. Bear proof trashcans are on site at Horse Cove, and usual Bear Precautions apply.

    This is a great little tucked away haven and totally worth the $10 a night!

  • Timothy T.
    Jun. 3, 2021

    Smitty's Lodge Motorcycle Campground

    This campground is in tellico plains

    I went to visit this campground today. So I called the number and this campground is actually in tellico plains Tennessee. There is no campground at this location. So please please do not make the trip out there.

  • BThe Dyrt PRO User
    Apr. 17, 2024

    Smitty's Lodge Motorcycle Campground

    Motorcycle tent camping and cabins

    The name has changed to Smitty's Lodge & CG. I found this awesome campground close to the beginning of the Cherohala skyway in Tellico Plains. Includes picnic table, fire pit and some chairs (they also sell firewood), clean restrooms and showers, use of refrigerator, microwave, coffee maker, and super nice hosts. I highly recommend visiting this campground. I stayed in a tent, but they do have cabins for rent also. Campsites are level and spacious.

  • D
    Sep. 11, 2021

    Chattanooga North-Cleveland KOA

    Clean, Quiet, Friendly

    Friendly Staff, Clean Bathrooms, Convenient Location. No honeywagon for water and electric only sites, but dump station in campground. Some very nice private sites and none of the sites except maybe a few look very small or tight- pretty spread out. Lots of tent sites. You definitely hear the highway here, but not a big concern for us. Pet friendly with a very nice dog park. Pool for the kids. Playground is little more than a residential style wood swingset, but it kept the kids entertained.

  • Mary D.
    Sep. 18, 2019

    Sweetwater KOA

    Great owners make all the difference!

    Convenient location just off Interstate 75. Quiet wooded area with plenty of activities for the kids. Swimming pool, fishing pond, playground, jump pad. We don't have pets, but there is a small dog park area. Lots of planned weekend activities. Bathrooms are very clean and well-maintained. My husband is disabled and we are very appreciative of the separate handicap facilities. You don't have that in a lot of campgrounds. We like the sites best towards the front of the park close to the pool. The owners are very hands-on and involved and you can tell. We have camped all over the country but this is our favorite local getaway when we have a free weekend.

  • s
    Nov. 18, 2021

    Birch Branch Campground

    More than just fishing,,,

    This is one of a series of seven campgrounds located within a mile or so of each other on River Road. While the fishing is the foremost attraction, there is seasonal kayaking, numerous world class hiking trails, MTB trails and this is a super place to base camp or overnight if you are on an ADV or duel sport motorcycle adventure. The campground(s) are impeccably clean with well maintained pit toilets. The area can be pretty busy on nice weekends and you are essentially right next to the road but generally there is little to no traffic after dark. Weekdays you could very well have an entire campground to yourself as was the case on our early November visit. The area is pretty remote, there is no water or services at any of the campgrounds but there is a small outfitter/store at Green Cove about two miles north on River Rd. The people at the store are very nice but stock is limited. Pack and plan ahead. Tellico Plains and Murphy are each about an hours drive away but the drive to Murphy is over the mountain range via a dirt road

    Our group overnighted here as part of a week long duel sport motorcycle trip and this was our favorite spot for the week. We managed to assemble the basics from the store to provide a hearty dinner and breakfast (hot dogs and beans, sausage, eggs, milk for coffee). The riding in this area provided some of the longest stretches of dirt on our trip. We would definitely return to this area for a repeat

  • Maethea R.
    Jul. 29, 2018

    Vogel State Park Campground

    Beautiful views

    This campground has a beautiful mountain view behind the lake. There is also a beautiful waterfall to hike to. They offer paddle boards, kayaks, peddleboats, and aqua cycles to rent for the lake. They also offer bike rentals and putt putt course. There is a general store in the visitor center. There are hiking trails for the extreme hikers too that go into the mountains on the Appalachian trail. The campsites are pretty close together, but we had a premier spot that was larger and a pull-through. The bathrooms were clean, but old and dated. This is one of the oldest campgrounds in the state. They offer cottages and cabins for rent. There was a dog parking loud constantly that was so annoying. We have dogs and many people camping there did, but our dogs don’t bark constantly. I would say this isn’t the campgrounds fault, but this irresponsible pet owner was literally between two campground hosts. Had it continued late at night past 10pm we would have had to call someone. It’s hard to relax by the fire with a dog barking constantly. The campground needs to add more signage. People are driving around looking lost. Here’s the problem ... if you have an RV or camper and park in the RV spaces when you pull out on the far end to the right you cannot see the directional signs. We pulled to the right and it was a dead end at the cottages. It was very stressful trying to the turn around hauling a camper. People in the cottages told us we weren’t the only ones to pull down there and have to turn around. Lots of cars were turning around down there, but with a camper it’s a nightmare. I paid extra for a pullthrough only to deal with that nonsense at the start. I suggest adding a sign at the far right exit of parking lot that has directions. Add another sign that says “Cabins only - Dead End”. If our camper had been an inch longer we couldn’t have turned around. Not impressed by the swimming area at the beach.

  • Michael L.
    Sep. 6, 2019

    Murphy/Peace Valley KOA

    Good Location and Friendly Staff

    Campground was well maintained and easy to find. The owner was around all weekend working on the place and being generally friendly. Facilities were clean and in good shape. Massive dog park.

  • Jeremy C.
    Oct. 24, 2021

    Chattanooga North-Cleveland KOA

    $35 primitive camping

    I should have gotten one of their little cabins...they look cozy and they are right next to the primitive camping.

    I checked in after hours and its a little confusing as to where I can park my car back here. I am next to a sign that says cars aren't allowed beyond this point, but I see another group who have their car... beyond said point. There's a water spigot behind the sign, so perhaps its just meant as a warning so drivers don't crash into it.

    The sound of people's wood cracking in their fire is stressing my retired greyhound dog out, but he's never been around camp fires before.

    Place seems nice enough in general.

    They have a little dog park... that's cool.

    And I have two bars of 5G service through T-Mobile.


Guide to Tellico Plains

If you're looking for a great spot to camp with your furry friends near Tellico Plains, Tennessee, there are several pet-friendly campgrounds that offer a variety of amenities and activities for both you and your pets.

Dog owners appreciate the spacious sites and natural surroundings

Tips for camping with dogs near Tellico Plains

  • Always keep your dog on a leash while at Thunder Rock Campground to ensure their safety and the comfort of other campers.
  • Bring plenty of water and snacks for your pet, especially when hiking the trails around Chilhowee Recreation Area, where you can enjoy beautiful views and fresh air.
  • Make sure to clean up after your pet to maintain the natural beauty of places like Parksville Lake RV Campground, which is known for its serene environment.

Pet-friendly campgrounds include a variety of activities

  • At Sweetwater KOA, families can enjoy organized social gatherings while their pets explore the spacious grounds.
  • Citico Creek Area offers a peaceful setting along the creek, perfect for fishing and relaxing with your dog.
  • Horse Cove provides access to beautiful hiking trails, allowing you and your pet to explore the stunning natural surroundings together.

Frequently Asked Questions

Which is the most popular dog-friendly campsite near Tellico Plains, TN?

According to TheDyrt.com, the most popular dog-friendly campground near Tellico Plains, TN is Indian Boundary with a 4.8-star rating from 28 reviews.

What is the best site to find dog-friendly camping near Tellico Plains, TN?

TheDyrt.com has all 285 dog-friendly camping locations near Tellico Plains, TN, with real photos and reviews from campers.