Best Equestrian Camping near Knoxville, TN

This great park for hiking is less than an hour from Knoxville. It’s always nice to escape the city and this was an ideal place to go. The hiking trails ranged from difficult to short and easy. The ’Trout’ hiking trail was very nice. One of the longer hikes was the Knob trail and it was very nice as well. They even allowed mountain biking on a good amount of trails- bringing a bike next time! This park doesn’t have a huge campground (which is a positive in my book). A drawback is the lack of seclusion,-there really is none. The sites are essentially all in a flat grassy area with some trees around the outside, but they don’t help with privacy much. I would probably make this park a day trip destination or just stay a night because it is not a campground I would enjoy just hanging out around.

Amazingly clean campgrounds 10 minutes from the entrance of the National Park and 20 minutes from the Visitor's Center.

You have a choice of "rustic" tent sites, tent sites with water/electric/cable hook-ups, RV, or Cabins. All sites are pet-friendly including cabins. All camp sites include fire pit and picnic table.

Lots of amenities are included in your stay. 2 bathroom areas, 1 shower area, pool, wi-fi, etc.

There's a general store in front of the campgrounds with gas station and small cafe attached. The general store will even deliver your purchased firewood to your site.

This Koa is near a lot recreational places and some restaurants. Also near towns like Gatlinburg, Pidgeon Forge and Knoxville.

A nice vacation spot.

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.

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.

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.

We have camped here in our tent and my only complaint is that the tent pads are slightly elevated and we have a huge two room tent that would not fit on any of the tent pads. We found a site that didn't have a tent pads and that's where we set up. So of you have a large or abnormally shaped tent you'll need to do some research first to find a tent site that will accommodate your tent. We love how wooded and shaded the sites are. We camped in the middle of a hot sticky Tennessee summer and felt just fine in all of the shade. Right around the corner from the loop of historic Cade's Cove, we were able to explore the loop and all that it offers. We were also close to the gift shop and camp store so the kids could go grab an ice cream cone in the afternoon. We had a a great time here.

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.

Convenient to highway 66 that runs from Interstate 40 to Sevierville. Not particularly charming, but seems to be clean and well run. Worked well for a one night stay.

If you're going to go to Smokie Mountain National Park, the is the side to stay on. Gatlinburg is absolutely nuts while Townsend is about 1000% calmer. The KOA is exactly what you'd expect. Knowledgeable staff and clean facilities. 

Pros: 

-Fantastic bathrooms and showers. Laundry was on point as well.

-The river is beautiful 

-Immediate access to the national park

Cons:

-Like most KOAs, it's packed.

-Children run the night like Westside Story.

-The playground was the center hub of a swarm of bees. 

Long story short, stay here. It's great.

We stayed here during Thanksgiving break 2020. We had a great spot on the river. The staff is very helpful and accommodating. We needed to work and do school while there and the Verizon cell service was limited and the WiFi signal was not great at our rig. The Lizard Lounge has a separate WiFi but you have to be inside or just outside to use it. Amazing river views and very close to the entrance of the National park. After walking around the river front patios are amazing followed by the river front decks.