Cades Cove Campground

This campground is great dont get me wrong, but both restrooms closest to me were closed, I had to walk across the campground to use a restroom. If the bathrooms are fixed, I have nothing bad to say about these grounds, they are classic campgrounds that will serve you well.

No hot showers available. No laundry facilities. You pay and you get to poop that's it no amenities whatsoever for a national campground it is the worst National Park I've been to and I've been to a lot of them in the last 3 years. But I have to admit this is the first National Park Campground I have been to on the east side of the Mississippi River. Great Smoky Mountain National Park I say go somewhere else

This area is one of my favorite places to be. For me it is pastorale. Nature. The trees were glorious with all their colors. The wildlife getting ready for winter. Huge turkeys. Deer. Elk. Black bears. Squirrel by the gazillions. Abram's Falls hike is beautiful. I encourage everyone to go touch mother earth and revel in her beauty.

Absolutely beautiful country to camp in. The campground is very clean bathrooms are clean. We didn't see any bears this time but we did see wild turkeys and dear with the campgrounds. We would definitely like to to come back for a longer stay.

Love the location and the visitor area. We camped in our 27 foot travel trailer and the sites were nice. We were in the generator loop- there was definitely some obnoxious overuse of these when we were craving quiet time to sit out and enjoy our sites during the day. It was a hot and muggy few days. It is disappointing there are no showers to cool off- especially as there are no hookups in the campground.

Beautiful place to camp. Would be better if Generators are allowed. Was very cold a g night. Staff was friendly and helpful.

I've camped here a few times, great location, but zero for privacy. Tent pads are within 10 feet of your neighbor's picnic table/fire pit. Restrooms have flushing toilets, no showers. Awesome camp store, bike rentals a bonus.

We stayed at Cades Cove Mar 10-Mar 17, 2025. This was our first time here and first time in the park itself. I will say, our first 24 hours were quite an adventure with the weather; we were predicted to have a violent windstorm and in Cades Cove everything is under tree cover. A Park Police officer came by and suggested we evacuate to the visitor center parking lot where there was no tree cover. The windstorm didn’t blow out to be as bad as they thought, but I greatly appreciated the caution they showed. For the site, we stayed a week in C48. The site was pretty level and wide & long enough to accommodate both our 35A and toad. It was an easy-angled back-in with tree cover. Of course the’re no hookups, so we ran our generator in the morning & night before quiet hours started. There’s the traditional fire-ring and picnic. The restroom was right in the middle of our loops it looked like the customary park buildings; we didn’t utilize it, so we couldn’t vouch for cleanliness. The visitor center/store that was near the entrance of the campground was nice and pretty well-stocked. They had some day programs for the children and rangers came through often. The CG has a very safe feel and very comfortable. Townsend is a winding 11 miles into town where there is a very nice IGA foods with friendly staff (They had good coffee too). There is also an excellent ACE hardware (propane) whose employees were fabulous, a laundromat that was clean and serviced and one of the three towns coffee shops (Artistic Bean, they had fabulous Almond Croissants) all in one central mini-mall; the other two of the three coffee shops is Towns End Coffee Co and The Dancing Bean. If there were others I didn’t find them. The visitor center there is very nice as well, it’s staff was friendly as well. Needless to say we didn’t have bad experiences in Cades Cove or Townsend. We already have our reservations for November 2025

LOUD! Our family stayed in one of the "C" campsites. The site was large, so there was plenty of room for a couple of tents and to spread out. There were even some nice trees to hang the hammock. But all that being said, our site was extremely loud. So much so that we won't be considering another stay at this campground. I may be spoiled though. Maybe this is the way folks camp in the Smokies. Where I come from, and you're not going to like this, California, respecting other people's boundaries and solitude is the norm. I know, I know, ....California is full of hippies and bleeding heart liberals. Who cares what they say or want. I'm with you on this. But I assure you that I'm not one of those. I just want to have a peaceful outing with the kids. Unfortunately that wasn't to be. Not on this trip anyway. Let's see, at 1a.m. a group rolls in, and proceeds to act like it's one in the afternoon. That, along with a womans restroom door that kept slamming, didn't allow for much sleep. I know that you can't choose your neighbors, but the stream of ladies allowing that door to slam again and again, well, it's just unforgivable. I mean it could be heard throughout the whole campground!! But obviously no thought was given to suppress the door from slamming shut! I guess their need to pee took more precedence. The sites aren't overly close together, but there is definitely line of sight with your neighbors. If you're lucky, the sight you see in the site next to you will be as good a sight as it was to me. Let's just say that the view took the edge off the loss of sleep. If that darn slamming door would have let up the view could have been reflected in my dreams. No such luck. I guess I'll have to wait until I get home. I hope the dream isn't the reoccurring one about me at school in my underwear. Quick Tip: However loud that it was, the campground is beautiful. Bring along the bug spray. The bugs don't care how loud it is, and they don't discriminate. Those suckers will bite cute ladies just as well as sleepy guys.

To be clear up front, this is about the drive through the Campground and not a stay onsite. I was with family a nearby campground and we were told about the driving path through Cades Cove. We had already observed bison (numerous) and a bear en route and were excited to learn we could see more of the same and other woodland creatures on this path. It was literally like getting in the school pickup line upon entering. But why not? A chance to view wildlife, for free, from the safety and comfort of your vehicle. Sometimes creatures were off in the distance (note: bring binoculars for such an occasion). Some were right beside the road (also something to consider if you have your windows down). But all of it was majestic. The scenery, the sun setting, the animals moving leisurely and without fear. It was as if they knew we were only passing through. My only regret is 1) we didn't come earlier in our stay (we went the last day we were in the area) and 2) that I don't own a professional camera. Numerous opportunities for beautiful photos. Don't make my mistake and go as often as you can.