With hundreds of miles of trails leading visitors to waterfalls, wildflowers and wildlife, Great Smoky Mountain National Park and its surrounding region are popular with campers who want to breathe healthy mountain air and combine the pleasures of nature with fitness activities like hiking and cycling. Whether you prefer rustic camping or a developed site, you will find a campsite to serve as your home base to participate in the area’s myriad recreational activities.
National Park Camping
Make sure to make advance reservations if camping during high season in summer and during holidays. If you plan to camp backcountry, you must first obtain free permits and trail guides from the national park’s visitor centers and ranger stations. You will find backcountry shelters, and the park permits tent camping. The park’s ten developed campsites have restrooms with flush toilets and cold running water, but campsites have no shower facilities, or electrical or water hookups. Each campground except Big Creek can accommodate RVs, but they all have different size restrictions. If you plan to explore the park in a saddle, horse hitch racks are available at some campsites.
Private Campgrounds
Dozens of campsites outside the park offer a variety of lodgings and amenities. Mill Creek Resort in Pigeon Forge offers you RV campsites with 30-amp service, city water and sewer, and cable television, with swimming pool, game room, laundry room, camp store and cabin rentals. When you visit in summer, seasonal activities include a day camp for children, entertainment and church services. Greenbrier Island Campground in Gatlinburg has primitive tent sites, water and electric sites and full hook-ups, most with a creek view. You can go swimming, fishing and boating in the Little Pigeon River. Townsend’s Lazy Daze Campground offers you views of the Great Smoky Mountains and Little River. It has rental cabins, tent sites and RV sites with full hookups. River activities, tubing and a swimming pool can easily fill your days.
National Park Activities
The Great Smoky Mountains National Park is America’s most visited national park, according to the Los Angeles Times website. Ranger-led programs present educational activities for your entire family, such as guided nature walks. You can hike through forests with a variety of trees that lead to waterfalls and mountain streams. Whatever your ability level, you can find hiking that suits you. The 11-mile Cades Cove Loop Road is a scenic cycling route. You can rent bikes at the Cades Cove Campground Store in summer and fall. You can enjoy fishing in more than 2,000 miles of stream waters and a protected wild trout habitat. Guided horseback rides and ranger-led hayrides are an enjoyable way for you to see the Great Smoky Mountains.
Regional Aboveground Activities
Ober Gatlinburg is Tennessee's only ski resort and offers you winter fun for skiing, snowboarding and snow tubing. The facility also features an indoor ice skating rink, in any time of year, you can spend time in the amusement park with its bungee jumping, miniature golf, a Velcro wall jump and water rides. White water rafting along the Lower Pigeon River has gentle rapids appropriate even if your family has young children. Travel along the Big Pigeon River for thrilling rapids, where guided trips with experienced guides bring safety along with a challenging raft ride. For a climbing adventure, you will enjoy the 100-mile views from Clingman’s Dome, a part of the Appalachian Trail and the highest point on the trail and in Tennessee.
Regional Underground Activities
Tennessee is home to more caves than any other state in America. In Forbidden Caverns, you can view grottos, natural chimneys, stalagmites and stalactites. Take a guided cave walk through well-lighted underground trails or get a cool respite on a hot summer day inside Tuckaleechee Caverns during a guided walk through the dramatic formations in air that is 58 degrees F.
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