OT: Who has camped in Gatlinburg/Pigeon Forge?

[lovethemouse]

We're not able to do FW this summer We're thinking of taking our rv to visit family in TN and maybe doing Dollywood and Cades Cove for a day or two. Anyone have experience camping in the area? Looking for kid friendly places to camp near all the major attractions. TIA

 

[merky]

we did that last Oct. we camped at a KOA right across from Dollywood it was a great camp ground, it was right beside a park and the old mill stream resturant it was very nice. we will go back again while you are there be sure to vist Cades cove and Dixie dance stampede dinner show my dd loved this . have a great time.

 

[magicforever]

we camped in Pigeon Forge last year. It is near everything. It is in the middle of town though. If you really want to be in the woods, I would recomend gatlinburg. It is a small drive to Dollywood, but worth it if you really want to experience Smokey Mountain National Forest.

 

[YellowXterra]

Hello, try www.sepuc.com SouthEast Pop Up Campers for more local gatlinburg, GSM area info.

 

[tinkerjo]

We camped at elkmont 2 summers ago. No electric. you have to run a generator. they do have bathrooms with flush toilets but no hot water or showers But we had a wonderful time!! We camped right by the river(more like a creek) a real noisy one. Great to fall asleep to. Only $20 a night. Also there is something called the Firefly something ,it happens in June. : Millions of fireflys light up the sky. Its really neat. We saw bears in Cades cove and went horesback riding there too. Kids also had a good time in Cherokee. It was one of my(and my kids) favorite vacations. We spent very little time in Gatlinburg, but I would definately eat breakfast at the pancake pantry. It was awsome. My husband threatens to drive down some morning for breakfast, and we live in Ohio. Have fun!

 

[campingcorgi]

We camped there--stayed at the River Edge campground. Nice, super bathrooms, good gameroom and we could watch the activity at the gameroom on the rv tv over their cable. It was on the tram line, too, so we didn't have to worry about not having a car.

Here is a link:
http://www.stayriveredge.com/index.php

 

[wildernessfamily]

We camped at Twin Creek right in Gatlinburg. They have a web site. I will tell you if you do the Smokie mountains, the National Park Service a few years ago had a evening hike. It was called "owl hoots and wolf howls". It was a night hike that started at 8:30, you cover your flashlights with red paper, so you can see enough but not scare the wildlife. You hike into the woods and sit around and they teach you owl calls, sometimes the owls called back. They do NOT let you howl to the wolves because they are a protected species, but we could hear the wolves. It was a wonderful experience. I don't know if they still have it because of budget cuts but make sure you get the NPS paper and they might have it in there. Also don't forget the Junior Ranger program that most national parks have. It will cost you a few bucks for the activity book but if you have a few days and can do so many activities your kids can become a junior ranger.

 

[Monki]

We have stayed at both the Twin Creek and the LeConte Vista campgrounds in Gatlinburg. Both are on the trolley route, and one was closer in to town, I think it was Twin River - and that was very convenient. If you have children, riding the trolley is alot of fun and prevents you from trying to find parking - which is at times difficult.

We always go into Pigeon Forge, but the traffic is very bad there, and I haven't found a campground there I like - most are in town limits, and there is always some type of car show going on, so I think it would be very loud. Both of the campgrounds I mentioned are quiet, and Twin Creek has fishing, so we like that atmosphere better.

Have a good trip!

 

[tigger2005]

On http://www.pigeonforgeforum.com/forums/ I have a section on camping in the Pigeon Forge area it is at http://www.pigeonforgeforum.com/forums/forumdisplay.php?f=21

Not much there right now but you could leave a question for the "locals".

There is also a lot of information there about Dollywood and Pigeon Forge.

 

[Parkers_girl]

I was just there with my family in late october. It is absolutely beautiful!! they have a wonderful campground in cades cove, we were very impressed!! def a great area to get away from it all, yet still be in tourist town...

 

[Disneybound Cajuns]

My husband and I also stayed at Twin Creek for our 25th wedding anniversary. It was wonderful, we would sit outside and had a creek running next to us. We also had a family of bear that appeared in the campground, it was really neat. It was a clean and quiet campground with the trolley into town and a great grocery store almost directly across the street. We loved it!