Best Tent Camping near Rutledge, TN

Campground Review

On a visit to the Great Smoky Mountains National Park, you quickly learn that you’ll enjoy your visit a lot more if you are located close to what you want to see and do. This means you may find it worth your while to move from one campground to another during your stay, as I did. My final night in the park found me setting up camp at Elkmont Campground, < 5 miles from the Sugarlands entrance, so I would have a shorter drive to view sunset and sunrise from overlooks along the beautiful Newfound Gap Rd. This is also the viewing area for the synchronous fireflies in late May/early June (dates vary; parking passes by lottery in April) if you don’t have a campsite reservation).

Elkmont is open early March – October and reservations are required. If you arrive without a reservation, there is a phone line there that you can call to make them, or you can return to town where you have cell service and make reservations online. This early in the season (mid-April) the campground wasn’t full, some of the loops were closed. I was in site A14, beside a branch of the Little River with a large tent pad, fire ring, picnic table, and paved, slightly sloped, parking pad. It was a compact site;  the location of the picnic table between the tent and fire ring made it a challenge to set up a screen house over the picnic table and maintain sufficient distance from the fire. I was pleased with my site and the privacy, though I liked the looks of A13 even better. It was somewhat larger and more secluded. Many of the sites, particularly those on the western side of A - F loops, are along the river. Most of the sites are shaded. A few of the B-loop sites are walk-in. It’s bear country, so your food and toiletries need to be locked in a vehicle or hard-side camping unit; there are some food storage lockers provided for the walk-in sites. There’s a small camp store with limited supplies and hours (open late afternoon); Cades Cove has a much larger one, though it tends more toward souvenirs.

There’s cold running water, flush toilets, and a dishwashing station available, but no showers or hookups (a couple of accessible sites do have electricity for medical equipment). Bathrooms are basic, no frills, but clean; The one in the A loop didn’t even have an outlet or hand dryer. If you ask at the visitor’s center, they’ll provide you with a list of area campgrounds that allow you to take a shower for $3-7. The nearest dump station is a seasonal one at the Sugarlands Visitor Center (doesn’t open until late May); the one at Cades Cove is open year round. Buy firewood in the park or, better yet, pick up deadwood around the park.

One of the more intriguing areas to explore at Elkmont is the Daisy Town ghost town. Once you’ve set up camp, walk or drive down the road toward the Little River and Jakes Creek trails (leaves the camp road to the left before the ranger station on your way into the campground). Follow the signs for additional parking and you’ll find yourself at the end of a road lined with assorted cottages and cabins that used to be vacation homes. Some are open for exploration, others are cordoned off, and some are undergoing renovation. Another nearby, popular highlight is the hike to Laurel Falls.

Product Review

As a Ranger for The Dyrt, I sometimes I get to test and evaluate products. This is a review of a Wenzel Sun Valley 12’ x 12’ Screen House As a camper with a teardrop, I’m always looking to maximize my outdoor living space in subpar conditions, so I was excited to try this out at Elkmont.

I set this up alone the first time in 14 minutes without reading the instructions. The instructions are attached to the inside of the bag and recommend 2 people for set-up, but if you’ve pitched a dome tent in the past, you’ll find this inituitive. Continuous sleeves for 4 of the fiberglass poles and the “Fast Feet” made set- up easy. I did wish the sleeves for the cross-poles were continuous as well, but the gap allows for a hook to hold the ceiling up and it didn’t take much extra effort to slide the poles in. The hardest part was getting the 4th end of the cross poles for the roof into place. I couldn’t bend them enough to slide it in while on the ground, so waited until everything else was up…should have figured it out while it was at ground level rather than over my head! This part would definitely be easier if there were two people pitching it.

The zippers on the two doors close tightly and easily without extreme tension, though it was definitely easier to open and close with 2 hands rather than one. There was no gap at the junction of the 3 zippers. Once you are inside, you have a crystal clear view of the outside! It’s quite tall, I couldn’t touch the ceiling in the middle with a raised hand. It doesn’t have a floor, just a wide border around the perimeter, so you can place it over a picnic table. The picnic table (about 6’) fit inside it easily with plenty of room to walk around and even add a chair in a corner. I had to be careful about making sure the bottom of the walls lay flat on the ground, otherwise there were gaps.

It comes with 10 thin metal stakes for the feet and 4 plastic ones for the guy lines. A word of advice: USE THEM.  The first time I set this up, this experienced camper made a rookie mistake. The weather was nice, but it was getting dark, and I wanted to move it over the picnic table in the morning…so I didn’t stake it down. That night a wind storm blew through and blew it away! Found it at 4am in the next campsite,  astonished to discover it was still intact! No broken poles, just a slight abrasion on one sleeve and a tiny tear in one part of the screen that will be easily repaired. A couple of the poles slid out of the Fast Feet during its overnight adventure, allowing the screen house to collapse and preventing damage to the poles themselves (I’ve seen MANY other screen houses/canopies with bent and broken poles from wind). Truly impressed.

Pitched it again the next afternoon with the wind still blowing and as you can see in my video, the screen house was like a kite until I staked it down. Once staked, it stood up well to the wind, though it did cause the bottom edge of the screen house to lift a bit. If bugs are out in that weather (there were wind advisories), they probably deserve a chance for some shelter, too.

Taking it down, it easily fit back in the storage bag, with the zipper extending down one end to open the bag a bit more. Oh, and it weighs so much less than many of the canopies do, coming in around 20# and not requiring a wheeled case to lug it around. If you’re looking for a  screen house, this one has a lot going for it!

Black fly season is coming and with the Wenzel Sun Valley Screen House packed, I’m ready! MY fuller video review is here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ealCyAi02HA

We reserved our site online, this can be done a month in advance. We were impressed with the paved parking space, picnic table, fire pit and level tent pad. It looks like these are very new. Proximity to cades cove loop was great. The souvineer shop has great gifts and a good selection of snacks and some supplies. Prices are reasonable, better than we expected. Bathroom was not the best, not very clean. The dish washing sink behind the bathroom was handy. No showers, but this is true for any camp sites in the park. Ranger station nearby is helpful to get advice and current weather reports (no phone reception in the park). Bike rentals available near the gift/snack shop too, to bike the loop. Lots of trees on our site that we used to setup a tarp to stay dry.

Highs- Very friendly ( in the South we say “neighborly”) folks in the office, playground for the little ones, crystal clear swimming pool as well as kiddie pool, basketball court, laundry facility, clean bath and showers, vending machines and camp store with just about anything you would need including handmade soap in case you forgot yours. Newly cemented sites that require little to no leveling, firewood, fire starters, parts for your rig, full hookups with cable, fire ring and grill, quiet and peaceful but just 1 mile from the parkway. Lows- No trash can at your site. Don’t let a little thing like no trash can at your driveway keep you from enjoying this RV Park. Highly recommended. Just go already!

A no-frills campground inside GSMNP. Cosby is a small town about a 45 minute easy drive from Gatlinburg. Heavily wooded, lends itself nicely to hammock camping. Campsites are clean and bath houses are interspersed nicely throughout the campground. Bath houses are very basic: flush toilet (paper provided) and stainless steel sinks- no soap or dryers and are very clean. Campground is quiet and one can listen to the sounds of the creek from your tent.

No cell service.

Several hiking trails are accessible within the campground.

No store, though several small stores/gas stations outside the campground sell approved firewood and ice. One or two small sandwich shops are open in the small town.

Parking for tent camping really is limited to one car per campsite. Small parking spaces.

Many sites are on an incline and accessed by stairs. Tent pads, picnic tables and fire rings are mostly level. There are grates attached to the fire rings that can be laid back if not in use.

We enjoyed our stay here very much, though check the weather forecast: it rained at the campground while we were out and had no idea it had rained. :)

The sites are good with picnic tables, fire rings, and gravel tent pads. Also, the trees provide plenty of shade and bear-proof trash containers. Also, no bright street or area lights are shining into the tent all night long.

Although there are not any shower facilities, which didn't bother me, the toilets are not that great!

Two big problems for me. 1. A lot of generator noise and 2. No one respected the 5 mph speed limit which was a big concern with the young children running around, and the number of wild animals around.

If you are a tent camper, I recommend looking for tent only camp sites in this area.

(As a Ranger for The Dyrt, I am occasionally given the opportunity to stay at campgrounds to help expand the listings on the site. I was given the chance to stay at Greenheart Forest through this program.)

Located in Pisgah National Forest, Greenheart Forest labels itself as a place of healing, and that description could not be more accurate. David and Jeannette, the owners, are both incredibly nice. From our initial phone call, to meeting them, to when we said goodbye, they were so kind and conversational in all of our interactions.I spent a lot of time talking to David about his passion—and the mission of Greenheart Forest—of forest bathing and terra psychology. 

The campground itself is both small and large. There are only five sites available for booking, but they are considerably spaced out, and the sites themselves are very large. While the sites are technically“drive-in,” the road to get to them is very difficult to navigate unless you have 4-wheel drive, so when planning the trip, plan to either hike-in(about 200 yards or so), or to pay$5 each direction for David or his wife to provide portage of your gear. When we went it was raining pretty heavily and my front-wheel drive RAV-4 could not make it, so we took advantage of David’s truck. 

Site 1 is the closest to the lodge/parking lot, with a covered picnic table. Site 2 is the“glamping” site, available at an upcharge; David has a 10-person tent, 2-room tent set up that includes two cots in one“room,” and a rug and chairs in the other. This site is huge, with a large fire ring, and ample room to set up other tents. We stayed here and were able to set up a second tent and a screen shelter with room to spare. Site 3 is also very large, with wooden benches around the fire ring, a gravel tent pad, and plenty of ground space for additional tents. This is also the site closest to the“privy;” a pop up tent set up around a bucket with toilet paper and a bucket of leaves to aide in decomposition.(There is a bathroom with running water in the lodge as well.) Sites 4 and 5 are the furthest from the lodge, with site 5 being the most private and slightly downhill from the others. This site was occupied when we went so I could not get a good look at it, but the privacy it had was incredible. 

These are tent sites only; they will not accommodate RVs, and sites 3 and 5 are not accessible by vehicle, but by short trails past the other campsites. There is no electricity at the sites, and water is available at the lodge but must be carried the rest of the way. 

The road that takes you to sites 1 and 2 stretches towards the edge of David’s property, and ends in a trail that takes you to the Max Patch summit via the Buckeye Ridge Trail, about 3 miles round trip from the campground to the summit. We did not get to explore the trail, but have been to Max Patch and it is incredible and well worth the walk if your trip allows time for it. 

Even better than the wide and open campsites though, is the overall atmosphere David has created. He has a zen garden for walking and meditation, flowers everywhere, and community places set up both inside and outside the the lodge for talking to other campers. His background in Forest Bathing has led to building a place of love and healing, and it shows in everything from the moment you first turn into the driveway. We came with kids, and while everything was very child-friendly, this would be a wonderful place to come alone if you needed to get into the forest and clear your head, or with a retreat looking for a place to facilitate deeper healing or meditations.

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!

I was too early in the season to stay at Cosby (it doesn't open until id/late April), but I was exploring this area of the park and spent some time wandering through the campground. I wished i'd been there a few weeks later to enjoy this area. A beautiful river runs along the road into the campground and there is a picnic area and amphitheater for Ranger programs in season. Of all the no-frills campgrounds in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park, this one falls on the more basic end of the spectrum and the low cost reflects it.

Unlike the more popular campgrounds where sites are practically on top of each other, Cosby’s sites are generally farther from each other, offering a little more privacy. Most of the sites are better suited to tent campers, though a few of them are designated RV sites offering a back-in parking pad. The parking at the sites is parallel to the road and then the picnic table, fire ring and tent pad are either above or below the parking area, sometimes a dozen stairs or more. This isn’t necessarily a problem, but you’re in bear country, so all food needs to be secured in your car when not in use. You won’t want to haul your cooler up and down a few times each day, etc. A few of the sites are small, with limited space around the picnic table and/or fire ring. The B loop seems steeper than the A loop. It also contains 3 group camp sites. As with other campgrounds in the park, bathrooms provide flush toilets and sinks with a dishwashing sink outside. No showers. Buy heat treated firewood outside the park or you can gather firewood in the park. No camp store here.

Several trails leave from the campground, including the popular Hen Wallow Falls trail. A beautiful river runs alongside the road into the picnic area and campground. The Roaring Fork Auto Road isn’t too far away, with hikes to more waterfalls and Mt. LeConte; Greenbrier is another starting point for hikes, including Ramsey Falls. There’s rafting available during the summer just outside the park. It’s about 25 minutes to Gatlinburg in the spring, probably longer during peak season . I wouldn’t make it my home base for a week-long visit to the Smokies, but it’s worth a night or two here to explore this side of the park, away from all the crowds. It’s at least 90 minutes from here to Cades Cove and that’s a spring, low crowd estimate; I can’t image how long it would take during peak season. 

100 of the 140 sites are online reservation only; if you have an RV you'll probably want reservations to be sure you get a spot that is optimized for an RV. No cell service.