Best Tent Camping near Pigeon Forge, TN

This is one of favorite camping spots. We have stayed here multiple times. It’s about 15 minutes from pigeon forge. Great prices and nice clean spots with lot of room.

Polite campers in rvs watched over my tent camp site while I enjoyed a couple of the trails. All in all a wonderful place to stay. Plus you're right by the river.

I come here every May and October.  Reservations can be made online site specific.   All sites are good.   The ones towards the back in the 30s are always snatched up first as prime river spots.  Sites are adequate with full hookups.  Tent sites are interior.  Nice shower facility if needed.  Small store on site with essentials.  Easy access to Gatlinburg or Pigeon Forge.  Surrounded by hiking galore in the Great Smoky Mountains.   Nice swimming hole for summer fun.   Ping pong and other games.

Me, wife, 19 year old daughter and her best friend stayed at Elkmont May 1st through the 5th, primitive tent camping. Quiet, bathrooms are clean, small state run upply store on sight. Historically significant due to resort that used to be there, with ruins to see, and was a logging community returned to nature when S.M.N.P. was formed. Close proximity to Gatlinburg and Pigeon Forge. Hiking trails, waterfalls, and Cades Cove. Well run and staffed camp. Lots of spaces available for RV or tents. Cheap. Saw one very young bear less than a mile from camp. Only gripe, it has lighted bathrooms with power, the park could have hot showers, there are no showers.

The positive: Great and friendly staff, clean facilities. There was an otter living near our site. Close to park entrance.

The negative: Photos of tent sites along the Little Pigeon River are misleading as can be. Being in Pigeon Forge I knew not to expect complete solitude but this was over the top nonsense. When the noise of the amusement parks and traffic dies down you get about an hour of peace before the food warehouse on the other side (about 50 yds) starts loading trucks non stop through the night. We were awakened every night at 1 am or later to the sounds of tractor trailers backing up. The came the loud bangs of the trucks actually being loaded. We left a night early and drove halfway home because we couldn’t tolerate it any more. Do not stay here ever if you actually like real camping.

Cherokee Dam campground is literally one of the most beautiful campgrounds in the area! The grounds are so well-kept, and the lake is just breathtaking. The campground is near town, so you can grab some bbq or hit the local hardware store for anything you need. The campground also had a camp store for essentials. They even delivered firewood to our site.

The people running the campground were just amazing. So nice and helpful. Most of the sites have lake views. We were in site #36, and we were in our camper. Lots of space, no shade at all in this one. Most of the sites had some shade though. Picnic tables and fire rings at all.

I’ve noticed the TVA campgrounds don’t have many showers, so I was glad to have that in our camper, just be aware, you might have to wait for one if you are tent camping. The tent sites were awesome, right on the water, and a short walk from the parking lot. If you have a rooftop tent, you won’t be able to park at your site, so you’ll be sleeping in the parking lot, but you could make it work.

There’s a swimming area, boat launch, and walking trails. This is a great spot to have a great time on the lake!

If you are looking to dabble in the Smoky Mountains without losing all cell service, camping at this location is perfect for you! I found that while traveling when you want to be removed from civilization but still able to touch base you can't beat a good KOA. This one is a great example of just that, offering amenities for you to enjoy but proximity to easily drive to an adventure just ahead.

This place was pretty nice to say the least, it had that rustic mountain feel but with modern amenities. You could stay here in a cabin or RV or take it down to the tent camp, like I usually enjoy doing. The cabins here though were a little touch of magic and I would recommend these for a holiday away or a Christmas cabin, they were just so cute.

Unlike a lot of KOA camps this one has year round access to pool and hot tub as well as sauna room. But the list of perks doesn't stop there, this is more of a resort feel than campground. They offer bike rentals, shuttle tours to the mountains, fishing, giant checkers and game boards, a clubhouse area, children's activities and both wifi and cable.

So what is the catch to this near perfect sounding place? The only one I could find is that tent sites are limited. Yep, only thing I could find!

There are 4 different cabin options, tons of rv spaces but less than a dozen tent sites in this HUGE mega park. They even offer a grill at this location... you can't beat all that!!

So back to the tent sites.... there are two types available in very limited quantities and they vary vastly despite being placed in the same section of the park only feet from one another. Deluxe sites are $52.99 a night a little to much for me, and while they looked nice with a sandy tent pad and bear boxes along with electricity and water, I was content with my grassy pad and no water or electric at a $30 savings. Sorry KOA you can't have $30 just so I can sleep on sand instead of grass that is what a sleeping pad is for.

So as you can see by my rating even though there was that sharp gouge in price from one site to the next I still gave them a 5 stars. Why you might ask? Well because this campground literally was a resort on a paupers budget staying in my grassy tent site. I had access to every amenity there was to offer, staff was friendly, nothing was left a mess by other campers (or if it had been staff cleaned it up before I knew it) and facilities were very nice.

This KOA set the bar high for others of the same brand and made me realize sometimes why I just enjoy doing the commercial camping thing... sometimes you want rugged... then sometimes you want to have a nice comfortable night that reminds you of home or a hotel...lol

For tent campers, I would rate this campground with five stars. For RV campers, I would rate it with one star. There are no hookups for RV campers, but there is a place to park a small RV camper that is self-contained. I loved this campground. It is everything you need for tent camping. It is remote in the mountains of western North Carolina and has lots of shade. It has a small pond, it is quiet, and the owners are very nice. One of the owners apologized for the grass being so high, but I assured him it was all right(and it wasn’t really that high). 

There are several tent sites back in the woods, but they are spacious and not on top of each other. Some of them have access to running water, and at least one has electricity.  There is also a small cottage by the pond, and a camper that can be rented.   At night, all you will hear are crickets, the wind through the trees, birds, and frogs—just the way I like it. This campground truly is off the beaten path. 

As far as facilities, it has a shower. There is a portable toilet across the path. Although it sounds primitive, which it is, the quaintness of the shower house and the fact that it has both a shower and a portable toilet is good enough unless you are looking for luxury accommodations. This campground may be remote, but it is not far from many hiking trails and sites, including but not limited to Purchase Knob, Hemphill Bald, the old Ferguson Cabin, Cataloochee Valley, the Great Smoky Mountains, and much more. 

An additional feature is the old barn owned by the same people, which can accommodate special events, such as weddings and other venues in a beautiful rural setting. Would I recommend this campground? Absolutely!!!!… especially for tent campers.

I had wanted to stay at this campground for several years, and I finally got the opportunity to do so. It looked inviting every time I passed by it. When I looked on the website, it showed tent sites, but most of the sites are for RVs. I was surprised to see that the best sites are along Jonathan Creek. These do not have water or electricity, but that didn’t matter to me. There are tent sites that have water and electricity, but they are behind the office, which is part of the main building. I am guessing that there are well over 100 RV sites. Most sites(if not all) have water, electricity, and sewer hookups. There are not many tangible amenities; there is no pool or playground, basketball court, etc. However, this campground is all about location. Not too far from the campground is Cataloochee Valley in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park, Hemphill Bald(mountain and trail), the Cataloochee Divide Trail, and the natural beauty of the mountains. There is also Jonathan Creek, which is known for trout fishing. The tent sites along the creek are beautifully arranged in a line with enough space not to be crowded. Unfortunately, most of them do not have fire rings, but I found one at T5 that did have. I am guessing that the picnic tables at the entrance to the tent sites are for the tents since only one or two tent sites had picnic tables and it is close to the end of the season. My favorite part about the tent sites is that you can sit facing the creek and look at the mountains in the background, although you will see a few houses in the mountains. Another advantage of the tent sites by the creek is that you hear the creek all night long, which drowns out any road noise. This campground is privately owned and not part of a franchise. It is good to see that they still welcome tent campers.

As the owner of this rv park, I will not be tooting my own horn but will instead give you a little info that can be followed up by visiting our website or facebook page. Our little park was started to accommodate our bluegrass patrons and then we opened our doors to the public during the rest of the year. Most of our travelers find us by word of mouth or through mobile apps such as thedyrt.com. We offer a different kind of camping experience here. We are very laid back in our approach to camping as you will notice first thing upon arrival when you will probably find the office unoccupied. If that is the case, you can utilize self-registration and chose your own campsite. On the days that we have reservations, they will be posted on a board in front of our office. If we are able to greet you when you arrive, we will happily do so as we live just a few yards from the camping area and office. If you are looking for bells & whistles, you might want to keep traveling as we do not offer many of those. We have picnic tables & chairs in our pavilion but not on individual sites. We do offer a unique setting with lovely views along with peace & quiet (most of the time). We have restrooms with showers for your convenience. Currently, we do not allow tent camping except during festivals and special events. Our sites are large with a gravel base through which we have allowed the grass to grow. We can be flexible with parking situations for those of you traveling with larger rigs pulling trailers, etc. Our location is just over 20 miles from Knoxville's acclaimed Urban Wilderness to the west and just under that amount to Pigeon Forge to our south. We are 10 minutes from Douglas Lake, 30 minutes from the Great Smoky Mountains National Park and a short drive to Sevierville. There are restaurants and gas stations 1 1/2 miles from us at exit 407 on I-40. Check out our website for more info. Thank you.

great tent sites. clean and big bathrooms.

Went on a stag tent camping trip. Decent facility for state park. Sites are small wouldn’t recommend large rigs.