Best Cabin Camping near Townsend, TN

Rustic cabins near Townsend provide access to Great Smoky Mountains National Park while offering more comfort than tent camping. Several campgrounds feature cabin accommodations, including Townsend-Great Smokies KOA and Little River Campground. Cabins typically include electric service, beds, and seating areas, though amenities vary considerably between locations. Some provide full bathrooms while others require guests to use centralized bathhouse facilities. KOA cabins generally include air conditioning, heating, and basic furniture. Little Arrow Outdoor Resort offers more upscale cabin options with expanded amenities. "We stayed on the river with a deck. Deck could use some TLC, but it was a nice view. Bathhouses were immaculate."

Options range from tiny log cabins to spacious family-sized layouts. Townsend KOA offers standard and deluxe cabin models, with some riverside units featuring private decks overlooking Little River. Mountaineer Campground and Clabough's Campground both maintain cabin units suitable for couples or small families. Reservations are strongly recommended, especially during summer months and October leaf season when occupancy rates peak. Most cabin facilities accept pets with additional fees, though specific policies vary. According to reviews, "This is a gorgeous spot to camp! The river is right next to the campground and you can always hear it. The staff is friendly, the grounds are well kept."

Most cabins include beds but require visitors to bring their own linens, towels, and toiletries. Kitchen facilities vary widely—some deluxe cabins include small refrigerators, microwaves, and basic cooking equipment, while more rustic options may only provide outdoor fire rings with cooking grates. Camp stores at KOA and Little Arrow sell basic provisions, firewood, and camping supplies. The Townsend area offers several general stores and grocery options within a short driving distance. Some campgrounds offer premium cabin packages that include bedding and towels for an additional fee, which may be worthwhile for travelers with limited packing space.

Best Cabin Sites Near Townsend, Tennessee (161)

    1. Elkmont Campground — Great Smoky Mountains National Park

    124 Reviews
    Gatlinburg, TN
    10 miles
    Website
    +1 (865) 430-5560

    $30 / night

    "Our site was good size and bathroom facilities were nice and clean with running water and flush toilets. I wish the national parks would have shower facilities at more of their campgrounds."

    "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."

    2. Cades Cove Campground

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

    $30 / night

    "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."

    "Picnic table, fire ring and grill, sand tent area, level driveway- all make for a good choice for any type of equipment. No cell service for Verizon and none for many miles on the drive to the site."

    3. Townsend-Great Smokies KOA

    28 Reviews
    Townsend, TN
    2 miles
    Website
    +1 (865) 448-2241

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

    "The River is flowing behind the park, open to Tubers (Rental from the office), great outdoor playground and pool."

    4. Pigeon Forge/Gatlinburg KOA Campground

    55 Reviews
    Pigeon Forge, TN
    14 miles
    Website
    +1 (865) 453-7903

    "This is more of a every want/need met glamping RV Resort. And it’s awesome!

    The RV sites are large and level, full hookup."

    "The sites are extremely, ridiculously close together which means our picnic table pad was 6 feet from our neighbors."

    5. Little Arrow Outdoor Resort

    22 Reviews
    Townsend, TN
    2 miles
    Website
    +1 (865) 448-6363

    $60 - $185 / night

    "Tiny homes, glamping tents, and cabins for rent. Then there are on river and off river RV sites. The on river rv sites have a gazebo over the picnic table."

    "Little Arrow Outdoor Resort is an upscale campground located just minutes from Great Smoky Mountain National Park. The campground has several different types of accommodations."

    6. Greenbrier Campground

    70 Reviews
    Gatlinburg, TN
    20 miles
    Website

    $35 - $258 / night

    " Greenbriar campground is located in Pittman Center, west of Gatlinburg, adjacent to the Great Smoky Mountains. The campground is certainly one of the nicest camping spots I’ve n the area."

    "Sites are full hookup and have cable, picnic tables, fire rings and a grill. Everything was extremely clean."

    7. Mountaineer Campground

    12 Reviews
    Townsend, TN
    1 mile
    Website
    +1 (865) 448-6421

    $44 - $140 / night

    "But if you want to be close to the national park, this is a great pick, as you are just a couple miles from the beginning off the Townsend entrance to the park."

    "Sites are well spaced, so you are not on top of your neighbors. Lots of trees and shade. Pool and playground. Full hookups and dump station. There is a small store."

    8. Little River Campground & RV Resort

    11 Reviews
    Townsend, TN
    1 mile
    Website
    +1 (865) 738-3665

    $30 - $160 / night

    "Camp store has firewood and a few essentials, but they don't sell propane. We got ours filled at the Tractor Supply in Alcoa, TN nearby. They had crafts and hayrides while we were here."

    "Overall a positive experience. We stayed in the tent camping area."

    9. Camp Riverslanding

    21 Reviews
    Pigeon Forge, TN
    14 miles
    Website
    +1 (865) 453-8181

    $76 - $92 / night

    "Located right by Parkway, it has easy access to plenty of things to do."

    "New looking bathrooms and shower house. Washers and dryers. Big and clean pool. Big bouncy contraption for kids. Utility hookups are close."

    10. Clabough's Campground

    18 Reviews
    Pigeon Forge, TN
    13 miles
    Website
    +1 (865) 428-1951

    $70 - $109 / night

    "The new commons area includes a new pool, office, activity room, 12 new great secure private lockable bathrooms with 3 piece bath/shower big enough for a family or a couple to share."

    "Fantastic bath houses and covered common areas with gas fire pits. Only glitch, I had to buy another sewer hose to total 45ft to reach the sewer access. Otherwise great campground."

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Cabin Reviews near Townsend, TN

1118 Reviews of 161 Townsend Campgrounds


  • Lori H.
    Jan. 5, 2021

    GlampKnox

    Perfect Getaway!

    Glampknox is located in Knoxville, close to downtown and The Smoky Mountains. The area is rural and beautiful, and the views from the site are wonderful, and the location is very convenient!

    The property has a beautiful cabin that is also available to rent, as well as a wedding/event barn venue. There are horses on the property too. It is some of the most picturesque property you’ll find!

    The site has a really nice tent cabin, with a covered porch, rocking chairs, and a wood burning stove. The tent has two twin beds, and they were super comfy. It has battery powered lanterns inside for light.

    The site does have restrooms and an outdoor shower, both of which are just a short walk down to the barn. There is a large fire pit in front of the tent, and plenty of space for extra tents and great trees for hammocks. There is also a hiking trail around the property. The host also had firewood stacked for us at the tent.

    Highly recommend GlampKnox for the perfect getaway!

  • M
    Jul. 20, 2018

    Adventure Trail Campground - **CLOSED**

    Rustic Cabin Camping Experience

    My family is usually tent campers, but we decided this year we didn't want to deal with the hassle of setting up & breaking down camp. We chose this campground because of the rustic camping cabins they offer. The price is right, and the experience felt just like our usual camping trips without the set-up (& no worries about leaking tents during rain!).

    Cabins are VERY rustic (perfect for us), one-room, with a handful of bunk beds & electricity. Ours had 3 bunk beds, so slept all 6 of us easily. You bring your own bed linens, and use the same shower-house/restrooms as tent campers would. Your site has a picnic table & fire ring. I believe they asked us to keep food out of the cabin. Not a big deal, since the cabins are basically just enough room to sleep anyway. We did breakfast most mornings of our week-long stay at our own campsite, as well as a few easy dinners (hotdogs), but for our bigger dinners we used their picnic shelter (which has a decent grill & a lot more space). If the park had been very busy, it might have been a little difficult to do so, since they only have the one picnic shelter, but we honestly didn't see more than a handful of other guests during our stay.

    The grounds themselves are nicely kept. They come around every morning & pick up your trash from your campsite. They do have a pool, playground, park store, bathhouse. All the essentials. Did notice that the pool & bathhouse were often closed for cleaning mid-day. The bathhouse had a sign stating cleaning took place between 1-2pm, but it seemed like that block of time always ran over quite a bit. Not too big a deal, since most days we were out doing things off-site for the bulk of mid-day, but if you were tent camping & stay on the campground all day I could see that being a lot more annoying. The bathhouse is pretty typical of most state and national parks - maybe even a bit nicer. Kept well cleaned.

    For the price, & the number of additional amenities, this place was perfect! Lots of waterfalls, hikes, & opportunities for outdoor activities in the area. Cherokee's not far away, and definitely worth a visit.

  • Cristy M.
    Jul. 21, 2018

    Townsend-Great Smokies KOA

    Right outside of Great Smoky Mountain National Park

    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.

  • J
    Apr. 6, 2021

    Moonshine Creek Campground

    Best laid out and maintained park

    The park is very well maintained. You can tell the owner takes pride in the park. The place is laid out so that almost every site is creekside. Bathrooms are placed all throughout the park. plenty of parking. extremely nice bath house with 4 showers and dressing area separate as well as 4 toilet rooms also had 3 washers and 4 dryers, looked very new. plenty of hot water. we stayed in a camping cabin which had a full bed and sleeping loft. the loft is very large, 3 10-12 yrs old as well as 3 3-4 yr olds fit up there nice and comfy. they have camping cabins, fully equipped cabins, rv sites as well as tent sites. every site has a grill/fire pit and picnic table. they gave a camp store with firewood and just about anything else you need or forgot to bring. the town of sylva nc is only 15 minutes away and it has fast food, restaurants and, grocery and a walmart.

  • Marlene V.
    Oct. 29, 2020

    Gorgeous Stays

    Cute place. Interesting Spots.

    Cute place. Interesting stays. Glamping tent, a bus, a tent pad, a few tiny cabins and more. Owners are nice and very accommodating. Shared gas fire area. It was a very cold night and they had our tent with heated blankets. It was definitely a Unique glamping area.

  • Ashley M.
    Sep. 17, 2019

    Moonshine Creek Campground

    Beautiful Campground

    My husband and I stayed here for my birthday in one of the camping cabins. We will definitely be back now that we have our A-frame camper. The campground is beautiful with a mountain stream flowing through the entire campground. Immaculate bathhouses and wonderful owners. Great store onsite and lots to do in the surrounding area.

  • Nate H.
    Sep. 30, 2020

    Greenbrier Campground

    Best Around

     Greenbriar campground is located in Pittman Center, west of Gatlinburg, adjacent to the Great Smoky Mountains. The campground is certainly one of the nicest camping spots I’ve n the area. The campground is very large, and has multiple camping options. They have tent and rv spots, as well as cabins, but I also saw some teepee style tent cabins. The campground is very wooded, so you feel like you are getting a legitimate Smoky Mountain camping experience. The pigeon river runs through the campground, and is great for fishing, or swimming/tubing in summer. There is a dog park also, and the campground is pet friendly. This campground has so many things to do, and it is very popular, so if you want to camp here, I would suggest booking early, because spots are booked months in advance. The campground is very quiet at night, with just the sounds of nature. There is a camp store, with firewood, and you’ll want to enjoy a campfire, even in the middle of summer. I Highly recommend Greenbriar Campground for camping in the Smokies.

  • Lisa C.
    Sep. 19, 2022

    Tuckaleechee Campground

    Now called Little River Campground, absolutely wonderful!

    Husband and I wanted to get away and found this campground- it is such a gem! You can't see it well from the road, but there is a huge sign out by the road. Trust it! You're in the right place. You drive across a small bridge across the Little River when you get to the campground, but it can handle big rigs. We saw many massive Class A campers while we were here for 6 nights. We pull a 30 ft travel trailer and used a pull through site- very large spot as far as rv sites go. They have back in spots for campers and tents literally on the bank of the river and you're allowed to swim, play, tube, etc in the river at your own risk. Camp store has firewood and a few essentials, but they don't sell propane. We got ours filled at the Tractor Supply in Alcoa, TN nearby. They had crafts and hayrides while we were here. Wifi is free but not great. Verizon cell service was good enough at 3 bars the whole time. No on-site laundry services, so we had to go into town to use laundromat (nearby town of Townsend is adorable but no laundromat). The grounds offer tent, cabin, and rv sites with various levels of electric, water, cable and sewer access. Our site had 30amp, water, sewer and cable. Nice and level site, large fire pit, sturdy plastic and metal picnic table and large beautiful mature trees. The bathhouse is seriously impressive and is, by far, the nicest campground bathhouse I've ever used! One of my favorite features was random and I never knew I was missing it in my life until now.. the bathrooms have strong AC pumping right into each bathroom, making everything nice and cool when you come in from the hot campsite.. wonderful! Good view of the mountains in the distance and minutes away from Great Smoky Mountain National Park entrance. This is a wonderful find!

  • Lisa C.
    Sep. 19, 2022

    Little River Campground & RV Resort

    Such a gem!

    Husband and I wanted to get away and found this campground- it is such a gem! You can't see it well from the road, but there is a huge sign out by the road. Trust it! You're in the right place. You drive across a small bridge across the Little River when you get to the campground, but it can handle big rigs. We saw many massive Class A campers while we were here for 6 nights. We pull a 30 ft travel trailer and used a pull through site- very large spot as far as rv sites go. They have back in spots for campers and tents literally on the bank of the river and you're allowed to swim, play, tube, etc in the river at your own risk. Camp store has firewood and a few essentials, but they don't sell propane. We got ours filled at the Tractor Supply in Alcoa, TN nearby. They had crafts and hayrides while we were here. Wifi is free but not great. Verizon cell service was good enough at 3 bars the whole time. No on-site laundry services, so we had to go into town to use laundromat (nearby town of Townsend is adorable but no laundromat). The grounds offer tent, cabin, and rv sites with various levels of electric, water, cable and sewer access. Our site had 30amp, water, sewer and cable. Nice and level site, large fire pit, sturdy plastic and metal picnic table and large beautiful mature trees. The bathhouse is seriously impressive and is, by far, the nicest campground bathhouse I've ever used! One of my favorite features was random and I never knew I was missing it in my life until now.. the bathrooms have strong AC pumping right into each bathroom, making everything nice and cool when you come in from the hot campsite.. wonderful! Good view of the mountains in the distance and minutes away from Great Smoky Mountain National Park entrance. This is a wonderful find!


Guide to Townsend

Experience the charm of cabin camping near Townsend, Tennessee, where the beauty of the Great Smoky Mountains meets cozy accommodations.

Cabin campers appreciate these amenities

  • Enjoy the well-maintained facilities at Greenbrier Campground, which features clean bathrooms, showers, and a market for convenience.
  • Little Arrow Outdoor Resort offers a stunning pool area, hot tub, and immaculate restrooms, making it a perfect retreat for families.
  • At Camp Riverslanding, guests can take advantage of riverfront sites and a nice pool, ensuring a refreshing stay.

Cabin campers like these nearby activities

  • Explore the scenic trails and breathtaking views just a short drive from Cades Cove Campground, where wildlife sightings are common.
  • Elkmont Campground provides access to beautiful hiking trails, including the Little River Trail, perfect for outdoor enthusiasts.
  • Enjoy tubing and kayaking opportunities right by the river at Townsend-Great Smokies KOA, making it an ideal spot for water activities.

Cabins are available at Little Arrow Outdoor Resort

  • Little Arrow Outdoor Resort features a variety of cabin options, including glamping and traditional cabins, catering to different camping styles.
  • Experience the unique charm of cabin camping at Greenbrier Campground, where you can enjoy the peaceful surroundings and modern amenities.
  • For a family-friendly atmosphere, consider Pigeon Forge/Gatlinburg KOA Campground, which offers cabins along with numerous activities for kids.

Frequently Asked Questions

Which is the most popular cabin campsite near Townsend, TN?

According to TheDyrt.com, the most popular cabin campground near Townsend, TN is Elkmont Campground — Great Smoky Mountains National Park with a 4.7-star rating from 124 reviews.

What is the best site to find cabin camping near Townsend, TN?

TheDyrt.com has all 161 cabin camping locations near Townsend, TN, with real photos and reviews from campers.