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Tent Camping near Mountain City, TN

9 campgrounds with availability this weekend

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    Tent camping near Mountain City, Tennessee offers a blend of high-elevation and forested campsites with mountain views. The region features several tent-focused options like Blue Bear Mountain Camp, which provides walk-in tent sites and primitive camping opportunities. Washington & Jefferson National Forest's dispersed sites offer free tent camping with access to hiking trails on public land approximately 15 miles from Mountain City.

    Most tent sites in the area require preparation for primitive conditions. Blue Bear Mountain Camp has clean bathrooms with private bathing areas and outdoor washing stations for dishes, but many dispersed camping areas have no facilities whatsoever. Sites are typically set on uneven terrain with minimal grading, requiring careful tent placement. Free dispersed camping in Washington & Jefferson National Forest requires campers to bring all necessary supplies, including water and waste disposal equipment. Little Stony Creek Road Dispersed Area provides drive-in access to primitive tent sites but lacks amenities like picnic tables or toilets.

    The tent camping experience around Mountain City varies with elevation and season. "The elevation is high so weather is nice for those trying to escape the summer heat," one camper mentioned about Blue Bear Mountain Camp. Sites farther from town typically offer deeper seclusion and darker night skies for stargazing. Tent campers in Elk Knob State Park, which sits at 5,520 feet and is just over the North Carolina border, experience cooler temperatures year-round compared to lower elevations. Several reviews note the spaced-out nature of tent sites in the region, providing privacy not often found at more developed campgrounds. Fall brings brilliant leaf colors to tent sites throughout the area, making September and October particularly popular for primitive tent camping experiences.

    Best Tent Campgrounds near Mountain City (61)

      1. Blue Bear Mountain Camp

      4.8(27)14mi from Mountain City4 sitesTents, Cabins, Glamping

      "It offers RV, drive in and hike in tent sites and also teepee camping."

      "We had a neighbor nice enough to give us his site because he was leaving early and I would have stayed another night there. It was C3 backed into the woods on level ground. It made for a cozy morning."

      from $25 - $136 / night

      Check Availability

      2. Washington & Jefferson National Forest Dispersed Sites

      4.1(9)14mi from Mountain CityTents

      "The Appalachian Trail and Virginia Creeper Trail are just minutes away, as well as some easy whitewater paddling fun on the White Top Laurel Creek."

      "Only downside was the spot I set up camp was very close to the road and headlights from passing cars would light up the spot. However the road was quiet most of the night."

      3. Elk Knob State Park Campground

      5.0(3)11mi from Mountain City7 sitesTents

      "Primitive camping and a perfect uphill 1.9 mile hike to the top of the world! If you're going in the winter I recommend hiking poles for hiking in the snow."

      "This park is just north of Boone, NC near the Tennessee state line. Great primitive sites at the bottom of the 5,520 ft mountain."

      Campground full this weekend

      Get a text when available

      from $17 - $47 / night

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      4. Dark Ridge HideOut (Adults Only)

      5.0(6)18mi from Mountain City14 sitesTents

      "Excellent parking spot with plenty of room to set up a 3-person tent. Also, delivery of homemade pizza. I recommend the Jalapeno & Cheese."

      "Very attentive and has some great stories to share. The property is well kept and the provided toilet & shower were a very welcome after a couple days in the tent."

      from $20 - $45 / night

      Check Availability

      5. Royal Oak Campground — Hungry Mother State Park

      4.7(42)34mi from Mountain City11 sitesTents, Glamping

      "Most cabins also have covered porches, exterior picnic tables, and exterior fire rings. The Creekside Campground loop has water and electric hookups, picnic tables, and fire rings."

      "It has 11 car camping platforms for tent only camping . There is no electric or water at each site. There is a bath house for the 11 sites."

      Campground full this weekend

      Get a text when available

      from $27 / night

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      6. River Livin'

      5.0(1)17mi from Mountain City1 siteTents

      "We're happy to have this property on our platform. Check them out and come back here to leave your review!"

      from $65 / night

      Check Availability

      7. Little Stony Creek Road Dispersed Area

      3.3(3)18mi from Mountain CityTents

      "Stayed a night out here while traveling, scary narrow rocky trails, but beautiful streams and mountains"

      8. Mountaineer Campground

      4.0(1)17mi from Mountain CityTents

      "Lansing, NC is located in Ashe County and has some very good fly fishing nearby. The campground is run by the city of Lansing and is located 1 mile north of Lansing, just off highway 1353."

      from $20 - $25 / night

      Check Availability

      9. Iron Mountains

      Be the first to review5mi from Mountain CityTents

      10. Watauga Point Recreation Area

      3.0(1)18mi from Mountain CityTents

      from $30 / night

      Check Availability

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    Tent Camping Reviews near Mountain City, TN

    1043 Reviews of 61 Mountain City Campgrounds

    • Windy W.
      Oct. 23, 2026

      Doe River Landing

      Beautiful Place, Ugly host, Oct 2026

      Let me first start by saying that this campground is absolutely beautiful. I have lived in this area my entire life and the Doe is one of my favorites. I am a avid camper and have camped all over this area. I decided to give this place a try, I own a small pop-up camper and knew it was going to get cold 10/20/2026-10/22/2026, so me and my sister rented the RV at Doe River. #1 check in is not until 3pm, I always order a load of wood from a local guy who delivers to camp sites, I do all my cooking in a Dutch oven over the fire or burgers and dogs in the fire, what is a camping trip without a nice warm fire. The owner came over to my campsite and asked if I had ordered this wood and I replied yes, she then asked what I was going to do with it all, I replied I am going to burn it. So, I told Carl (the wood guy) where to stack it, the owner then said that I need to leave it in my truck bc if I didn't use it all I would have to put it back on my truck and take it home with me, I said really? It's just a unspoken rule that if you don't use all your wood that you pay it forward and leave it for the next camper?? She said absolutely not, So we moved the wood from his truck and into mine. She then asked again why I needed so much wood and that most ppl just buy small bundles from her. And just like that I understood! Carl the wood man and his wife also made a comment about how rude she was about the wood. It does not end there, Not only does she have camaras on some of the out blds which I get, but I don't get why they are pointing directly at camp sites, We felt like we were in a fish bowl the entire time. Every single time we went to the bathroom she showed up abt 5 mins later, There is a camara right above the bathroom door, One on the pavilion, and one on each side of the bathhouse, at the entrances and who know where else. So much for privacy in the great outdoors. I didn't even feel comfortable hiking, we felt like we were being watched constantly. She was constantly there, walking her dog which was not friendly and so big she could hardly control him on the leash which was really scary, she also was driving through several times throughout the day. Then came the kicker, about 1 o'clock in the morning we were freezing, I had turned the heat on in the camper before going to bed and heard it come on, Well the propane ran out between 11pm and 1am, I called her at least 10 times we had every blanket and was still freezing, We decided we would go to the bath house bc it had a mini split hanging on the wall, Out of luck there, it was set on air conditioning with no way to change it, so we found a blow dryer trying to get warm, still the entire time trying to call the owners, We finally ended up in our car until the husband arrived. He acted so annoyed at us and said all u have to do is fip the switch on the propane tanks outside! We had never stayed in a travel trailer before and according to them all we had to do was show up and start glamping!! So, I was supposed to know to go outside at 1 am and switch over propane tanks?? No, It should have been FULL when I got there!!! With attitude he said,"Its Basic Camping" No sir it's not, what I do is basic camping, I was told on the phone that I was glamping, She, the owner also said we should have called 911 when we could not get hold of them so that Carter County police officers could come and wake them up!!! Not sure if that is putting our tax dollars to good use?? Like I said it is truly a beautiful place and has great potential, we left that second night at 11pm because again the heat was not working, we have not asked for any refund we just took the loss. it would be to much of a hassle. We just know better next time.   With owners like that they can keep it. Windy Wells/Debra Price

    • Bonnie H.
      Oct. 21, 2026

      Doe River Landing

      Kylie T & Andrew W. Review not accurate

      My husband and I arrived at Doe River Landing for 3 nights and enjoyed everything the resort offered. While there we read the 2 reviews posted by Kylie T, and by Andrew W, who gave the resort a 1 star rating. Not knowing the facts that caused the rating by them, and occurred prior to us, we approach the owner and asked.

      The owner showed us videos from their security cameras. These adults has stated in Kylie T review and confirm by Andrew W review that they were a group of 20 adults and "every single one of us is over 21 and family". So why are these adults playing "hide and seek" under the pavilion as they stated? Andrew W stated, "It was not blocked off", yet they had to crawl on the ground and around bushes to get under the pavilion. When the owner yelled at them approximately 10 adults that were under the pavilion crawled out which was captured on the security cameras. Andrew W stated in his review the owner called them hooligans, which is rowdy, destructive persons and from the security cameras, that description is correct. There was no mention of damages in their reviews such as the Adirondack chair they broke or possible damage to the water pipes and electric wires under the pavilion, which the owner was currently checking.

      Once we read these two reviews by Kylie T and Andrew W and saw the owners security videos, we felt future customers deserved to know another opinion based on our findings.

      These entitled adults justified their review of a 1 star by stating they paid money to use the campground.

      I would ask these adults "why do you think it is OK to treat someone else's property in this destructive way?"

    • SThe Dyrt Pro User
      Oct. 21, 2026

      Spacious Skies Bear Den

      Seems to be a well established campground in an off the beaten path location. Roads alternately paved and gravel. The campsite is gravel in a wooded setting. Fair amount of space between sites. The bathhouse is clean but dated.

    • Kyle T.
      Oct. 20, 2026

      Doe River Landing

      Unprofessional hosts that ruins a place with good potential

      We brought our whole family out and rented almost every cabin on the property, plus the event center, for the weekend— we gave this place a lot of business. And honestly, the stay itself was great— nice place, no complaints about the cabins. The owner is the problem. He came flying in in his blue F-150 doing 20–30 mph where the posted speed limit is 5, and started screaming at us over something that could've been handled with a simple conversation. His exact words:"Where are your parents? This is a family establishment. I will not have hooligans running around here." Every single one of us is over 21 and family. All we were doing was playing hide and seek— which isn't against any of the property's rules— and there were no other guests to disturb, since we had the entire area rented. He still threatened to call the police, even though it wasn't even quiet hours. Before anyone could get a word in, he peeled out so fast the gravel sprayed up at us and our cars. Then on his way out he drove the wrong way down the property's one-way road, so apparently the rules only apply to guests. It's sad, because the property itself is great, and we were never anything but nice to the owners the whole weekend. To be treated in such an unprofessional manner— screamed at, threatened, and never given so much as an apology afterward— put a real dent in the weekend. We won't be back

    • A
      Oct. 20, 2026

      Doe River Landing

      Beautiful place ruined by unprofessional ownership

      Our group of about 20 rented nearly every cabin at Doe River Landing for my friend's wedding weekend, with the reception held on site. The cabins were nice and well-equipped, and the only other guests were in a cabin half a mile away through the woods. Unfortunately, the hosts ruined the stay. One night, some of us were playing hide and seek in an area that wasn't blocked off or against any rule. The host's husband came speeding in at roughly 30 mph(the posted limit is 5), jumped out of his truck screaming that he"will not have child hooligans running around the campground," told us to"go back to the motel we crawled out of," and demanded to see our parents— despite all of us being adults in our twenties. He then peeled out so aggressively he sprayed gravel at us and our cars. It wasn't even quiet hours, and we weren't disturbing anyone. Afterward, the host called us again, passive-aggressive, and questioned our ages— even though you have to be 21 just to rent a cabin there. The property is lovely, but the hosts' behavior put a real damper on what should have been a joyful wedding celebration. It's a shame they treat people paying good money this way. We won't be back.

    • Juliana J.The Dyrt Pro User
      Oct. 14, 2026

      Washington & Jefferson National Forest Dispersed Sites

      Epic Spot Near Iron Mountain and Rush Trails

      I wandered a bit and took a left up a gravel road near where the sites indicated were located and just drove for a few miles. Found an awesome spot with a fire pit and lush surroundings. The road was unpaved (but as are all to the best spots) and there were definitely some large rocks and potholes to navigate. Would suggest higher raised vehicle. Saw nobody else and felt like I had my own slice of paradise.

    • April V.
      Oct. 11, 2026

      Lakeview RV Resort

      Nice little campground

      Clean nice little campground for the weekend.

    • CThe Dyrt Pro User
      Sep. 27, 2026

      Raccoon Branch Campground

      Great Off-Grid Camping

      This is a small campground but the sites are very spacious. Our site (6) backed up to the creek and trail. There is no power or water on this side of the campground, but there is a water spigot by the bathrooms. There is also a water hose for filling tanks by the dump station and trash dumpster. *Word of caution, bring your own water because it was yellow/brown while we were there. The bathrooms were clean, but on our last day there one of the toilets and the sink was clogged in the ladies room. There are two bathroom buildings at this site.

    • CThe Dyrt Pro User
      Sep. 20, 2026

      Boone KOA

      Nice overnight stay at Boone KOA

      The campground was full but very quiet. The campers are stacked into the hillside and are very close to each other, but it was still a peaceful overnight experience. The office staff were friendly and the restrooms and showers were clean and always stocked. It’s nice that it feels like it’s out in the mountain countryside, but is just right outside of downtown. A great place to stay if you’re coming in for an ASU home game.

    Guide to Mountain City

    Tent camping near Mountain City, Tennessee provides campers with access to multiple dispersed sites across Virginia, Tennessee, and North Carolina state borders. The region sits at the edge of Cherokee National Forest with several free camping options located on forestry roads. Most primitive camping spots in this area are situated between 2,500-5,500 feet elevation, with temperatures typically 10-15 degrees cooler than surrounding lowlands.

    What to do

    Creek fishing opportunities: Multiple dispersed camping areas along Bear Creek offer fishing access. One camper at Washington & Jefferson National Forest Dispersed Sites shared, "Opportunities for hiking, cycling, fishing, and paddling are abundant. The Appalachian Trail and Virginia Creeper Trail are just minutes away, as well as some easy whitewater paddling fun on the White Top Laurel Creek."

    Summit hiking trails: Several nearby campgrounds provide direct trail access to mountain views. At Elk Knob State Park Campground, a reviewer mentioned, "Take Summit Trail to the top and enjoy great views of the surrounding area 2 miles one way. This trip was in fall and the leaves were beautiful, but this park stays open year round and I would love to go back in the winter."

    Tent site considerations: Most tent camping sites around Mountain City have uneven terrain that requires careful placement. A camper at Little Stony Creek Road Dispersed Area noted, "This is a park outside the gate and walk your gear in type of place, some bring your IKEA bags or a wagon. Most of campsites are large, very shaded, and have at least one fire ring."

    What campers like

    Cell service disconnection: Many tent camping areas near Mountain City offer true disconnection. One visitor at Washington & Jefferson National Forest Dispersed Sites commented, "There is absolutely no cell service at this camp, you have to go into town or hike a local mountain to get service up high."

    Private, spaced-out campsites: Campers appreciate the spacing between tent sites in this region. A visitor at Blue Bear Mountain Camp noted, "The camper spots are very spacious and C1-C3 are completely shaded. C3 is the best by far! But you have to book early because C3 is very popular!"

    Low ambient light for stargazing: The rural nature of Mountain City camping provides darker skies. According to a visitor at Dark Ridge HideOut, "Beautiful night sky with an opening view to the mountains. Excellent parking spot with plenty of room to set up a 3-person tent."

    What you should know

    No services at dispersed sites: Most free camping areas require complete self-sufficiency. A reviewer at Washington & Jefferson National Forest Dispersed Sites advised, "There is no drinking water, picnic tables, or even pit toilet, so come prepared. The only major problem is that folks tend to leave a ton of trash around, so we often spend about 20-30 minutes cleaning these sites upon arrival."

    Road noise can impact some sites: Several camping areas near Mountain City are affected by highway sounds. One camper at Little Stony Creek Road Dispersed Area warned, "Lots of road noise-- you're sitting in a valley bordered by highway on 3 sides, and the echo is serious. Trash everywhere making some sites unusable."

    Weather fluctuations: The mountain elevation brings variable conditions. A reviewer at Blue Bear Mountain Camp shared, "The constant light breeze and lack of mosquitoes is a treat. You're literally on a mountain, so there's not much for hiking."

    Tips for camping with families

    Choose established campgrounds with facilities: Families should consider campgrounds with basic amenities. A camper at Blue Bear Mountain Camp mentioned, "The bathhouse is nice and clean. The hike to the pond was a little more strenuous than we anticipated but once you get there, there is a nice creek and we caught a trout in the pond right away."

    Pack for temperature swings: Mountain City's elevation creates significant day-to-night temperature differences. A camper at Mountaineer Campground advised, "Overall, a decent and inexpensive place to stay for a night or two. This place is remote and the locals love their loud engines. Especially at night."

    Monitor weather forecasts: Mountain storms can develop quickly in the region. A tent camper at Elk Knob State Park Campground warned, "This is a recent park and it still coming along. It is out of the way and relatively unknown compared to others in the area. This is in bear country so be sure to bring the proper equipment!"

    Tips from RVers

    Limited hookup options: Few RV spots near Mountain City offer full hookups. At Blue Bear Mountain Camp, a camper explained, "They do not have water hookups- you fill your camper tank with water at the office area. They have spots with electric hookups. They have a dump station where you can empty your tanks on your way out."

    Challenging access roads: Some campgrounds have difficult approach roads for larger vehicles. A visitor to Blue Bear Mountain Camp warned, "The state maintained gravel road used to access campground was narrow and would be difficult to get a large camper up there, although there were lots of large ones there."

    Prepare for off-grid capability: Most RV sites near Mountain City require self-contained capability. For tent campers wanting slightly more comfort, a visitor at Dark Ridge HideOut shared, "The campground is absolutely beautiful and provides a serene mountain experience. Curtis is the most gracious of hosts and is genuinely dedicated to providing a relaxing and enjoyable experience."

    Frequently Asked Questions

    Which is the most popular tent campsite near Mountain City, TN?

    According to TheDyrt.com, the most popular tent campground near Mountain City, TN is Blue Bear Mountain Camp with a 4.8-star rating from 27 reviews.

    What is the best site to find tent camping near Mountain City, TN?

    TheDyrt.com has all 61 tent camping locations near Mountain City, TN, with real photos and reviews from campers.