Townsend, Tennessee, bills itself as "The Peaceful Side of the Smokies" offering a quieter, more low-key entrance point to the Great Smoky Mountains National Park. Its lower-priced restaurants, quaint motels and abundant recreational opportunities attract outdoor enthusiasts. Nine commercial campgrounds operate in or around the town while the Cades Cove area of the national park offers developed and backcountry camping opportunities.
Fundamentals
Townsend, located in Blount County in East Tennessee, represents one of the three gateway communities at Great Smoky Mountain National Park. The other two--Gatlinburg, Tennessee, and Cherokee, North Carolina--developed into larger tourist destinations with a variety of amusement parks and other activities. Townsend, with just a few hundred residents, maintained its small town feel.
The quiet village-like atmosphere has made Townsend a growing second-home and retirement community for residents of urban areas throughout the southeast U.S., according to the chamber of commerce website.
Commercial Campgrounds
In 2010, nine commercial campgrounds operated in and around Townsend, according to the Smoky Mountain Convention and Visitors Bureau website. Many of the campgrounds offer sites on the Little River, including rustic tent-only campsites and full-hookup recreational vehicle sites. All of the campgrounds offer hot showers, electric and water hookups.
The Punkin Center Motorcycle Resort, located a couple miles outside Townsend, caters to motorcyclists, hosts events and rallies throughout the year and provides guests with plenty detailed information about motorcycle tours in the area, according to its website.
National Park
Great Smoky Mountain National Park includes several developed campgrounds and 113 designated backcountry campsites throughout its 814-square-mile area, according to the park website. The park requires permits for backcountry camping. It also requires advance reservations for 24 of the more popular camping sites and for any of the lean-to shelters constructed in the park. The park limits campsite use to three consecutive days and shelter use to one night per shelter.
Cades Cove
The developed campground at the entrance to the Cades Cove valley offers 159 campsites, including a handful of accessible sites, and remains open year-round, according to the Cades Cove Camping Guide. The RV-friendly campground provides picnic tables, fire rings and lantern hangers at all campsites. Hiking trails around Cades Cove provide access to several of the park's backcountry campsites.
Features
Cades Cove ranks among the most popular destinations in the park, especially for wildlife viewing, according to the park website. Abundant deer, wild turkeys, fox and bear live in the area. Historic buildings from the late 19th and early 20th centuries remain in the area, including barns, three churches, log homes, outbuildings and a grist mill.
Considerations
The Cades Cove Campground provides cables for pulling food 10 feet or more off the ground and out of the reach of bears, which frequent campgrounds looking for food, according to the Cades Cove Camping Guide.
Traffic on the 11-mile loop through Cades Cove gets heavy during the summer and fall, according to the park website. Campgrounds fill up quickly during peak periods.
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