Pigeon Forge / Gatlinburg KOA Holiday — Attraction in Pigeon Forge

We stayed in early November 2024 in Cabin DC11 right next to the pool and Jumping Pillow.

It started off on the wrong foot when we arrived and realized that when staff had called me weeks before to try and accommodate us by switching our cabins, they failed to let us know that these cabins were no equivalent (even though they are same price) because they do not have 2nd 1/2 bath. We had 8 people in the cabin with just 1 toilet. The saving grace was that there is a bathroom at the pool and also by the main office. We were told the cabins were the same price because they were the "new" cabins. They did not feel very new inside. There was nothing staff could do about it at the time because all the other cabins were already occupied.

The cabin also only had 1 parking spot in front of it which meant we had to be very creative with parking. Also didn't realize that 1st car is included but each additional car has a additional fee per night. I'm not sure how you can fill an 8 person cabin with just 1 car. Maybe a minivan with no luggage or a passenger van.

The location while convenient being next to the pool, playground, jumping pillow and exit to the campground, was a double edged sword. There was always traffic noise and lots of kids running around. Don't expect a quiet relaxing time here. It didn't bother us too much because we had kids that contributed to it all.

The interior of the cabin was okay. Annoying that a sponge isn't provided but we have to use the rags to wash with. The sink also didn't have a food trap so we had to go to office to ask for one. It was nice the hot water was on demand and unlimited. However this was negated by the fact that the water pressure was terrible in the shower head. The tub also would not drain and every shower you finished 1-2inch pool of water at your feet. Frustratingly enough when we tried to give the kids a bath, the same drain/stopper wouldn't hold the water and it was slowly drain over time so you had to keep filling the tub. The shower head was also super low, like at 5 ft height. So sorry for all you taller folks.

The microwave was finicky. Sometimes it heated things great and others we pulled stuff out and it was still cold. Maybe in it's death throws. Also it's installed too close to the fridge so the door keeps wanting to close as it's hinge is pressed against the fridge. We learned later on that if you open the door all the way, it gets stuck in the open position so we made it work. But sounds like a design flaw on who installed/designed it. There were no ice cube trays for the freezer.

The sofa bed does not come with sheets, you have to go to the office to ask. Hopefully you're not checking in late and the office is closed. The bedding for the bunks are also not put on for you so you have to do it yourself. We found out that one of the bedding sets were missing a sheet so we had to go get one from the office as well. One of the pillows we had also smelled strongly of urine but good thing we had packed extra pillows.

The TV power cable was unplugged when we arrived and we had to try and plug it back in without removing the TV from the wall as we weren't sure how it was mounted.

The concrete patio outside was very nice and came with plenty of seating, a rocking bench and gas grill. It was so big, I think I would've given up a portion of it to be able to easily park a 2nd car there.

The last thing to comment on was the wagon rides. It sounds like the activities are contracted out to a separate entity at the KOA. The office staff didn't know much other than what was printed on the schedule. We wanted to ride the wagon but it just didn't fit our schedule. Then one evening we were just sitting there and the wagon was running but it wasn't schedule to. We ended not never being able to ride it and the office staff had no idea why it ran that evening.

Overall the stay was fine. It wasn't great but it wasn't bad either. The price was right because we could split it between 2 families which made it cheaper than 2 rooms any decent hotel in Pigeon Forge...

OK, here is super short version. We love this campsite. Beautiful, convenient, great amenities and friendly and helpful staff! I would not hesitate to recommend others to stay here.

Now for those of you who want to read more details please read on, because I also do express some concerns that you should be aware of.

Let's start with the things I was really impressed with, the pool and lazy river were fantastic! My 5 year old granddaughter could not get enough of the pool or lazy river.

The campground is fairly large, walkable, but we rented a golf cart to make things easier. It was an electric 4 seat golf cart in golf shape. The battery held up for 4 days no problem and made our trips to and from the pool easier.

The playground area was also very nice.....nice playground with lots of kids playing and a jumping pillow that was as bouncy and fun to play around on as any I have ever seen. My whole family loved that thing.

Our campsite was relatively new, it had not been paved yet, but that was no problem. It had a very large concrete pad that was super nice and meant that we didn't even have to get our rug out. It also had a built in fire ring that we used. The site is on the backside of the campground and adjacent to the Pigeon River. So the view was really nice and we saw all kinds of wildlife playing in and around the river. There was also a very nice table and chairs provided. We didn't even get our camp chairs out during our stay as this stuff was so nice.

The campground is adjacent to the strip in Pigeon Forge, so you are minutes from nearly anything in Pigeon Forge. There is also an incredible Food City grocery store less than a mile away on the backroads where you can buy pretty much anything you can think of to have at the campground.

Staff were very helpful and friendly, the store was fully stocked and had lots of nice souvenirs and helpful items if you forgot something or something breaks while you are there.

Now for some of the not so great stuff.....and keep in mind, I'm just being very transparent here.....I still give this place a 5/5 and would not hesitate to recommend folks to stay here. But as much as we liked it and plan to come back, there are a few things you need to be aware of;

This campground is very very tight. In all honesty, I think they have about 10 sites too many that are crammed into spots that make navigation very difficult when trying to enter or exit certain parts of the campground with your rig. Not only are there a few too many sites, but there are a handful of strategic trees that should/could be cut that would really help in this regard as well. I'm talking less than five trees.

When we arrived, I nearly was unable to get into my site, even with their park guy assisting. I'm not a professional truck driver, but I am capable and fairly confident in my parking skills.....the problem was that I nearly had to jack knife my trailer to get it into place without the front of my truck swinging into the rigs of other campers across the road from my site. It was very narrow. I drive a Ram 2500 and my camper is 35' long.....far from the longest rigs I saw on property while there.

In addition, when it came time to leave, we had to ask our adjacent neighbor to move their vehicle because the sites along this area are so shallow that you have to park your vehicle along the side of the road. Some of the sites are not deep enough to allow you pull your vehicle "into" the site in front of your rig or even beside your rig...in our case the front of my rig was only a few feet from the road. If we had "pulled into" the site next to my rig, I would have had about 10' of my truck up on the concrete pad sitting area adjacent to my camper.

So just remember, if you book something on the backside of the resort, just know that it's tight, you will likely need your neighbors moving vehicles if you have a rig larger than 22'.

Overall a great campground even with the issues expressed! ...

Nice park. centrally located. reasonably quiet. DO NOT SHOW UP AFTER DARK. THERE IS NO ROOM TO BACK IN AND NO LIGHTING. the roads are too narrow and there is inadequate swing room to back in. I had to get up at 12am to move my car so the neighbors could get in. The staff kept sending people down the road in a direction that was impossible to back in. upon discussing this with the young lady at the desk. I got an eye roll and that's about it. The spaces are VERY small. but all of our neighbors were very nice. Lot's of kids running around and playing. Laundry was exceptionally clean, Bath house also looked clean although we didn't use it. Nice playground. They should however follow up on the amount of dog waste that litters the place. Lot's of dog's being walked, VERY few people carrying waste bags.

UPDATE Jan 2020 We decided to give this campground another try. The check in process has been revised and was fantastic. All the staff we met were gracious and professional. We got a site with the patio facing the river in the newer section of the park. The view was Stunning. The space was larger, but we still had to drop the trailer. They had a convenient place to drop it near the campsite so what could be better? Then night came. Without the sound buffer of the cabins and the other cabins, the nights were spent with the sounds of emptying dumpsters and delivery trucks in our living room. So we hardly slept for the 8 nights we had already paid for. We were going to ask to move but the park was full. Then it happened, Someone hit my trailer. Not that they came and told us, but there is a new streak of white gel coat down the side of my black trailer. We also found out that 2 of our neighbors had their trucks hit as well. To be fair, they are doing the best with the space they have. BUT, they just cannot accommodate large RVs. Everyone has to disconnect their trailers. Most had to turn the trucks sideways to clear the road. Some parked away from their campers. As much as we like the place, we will not be returning. We knocked a star off of the rating just to warn others of the size limitations. I don't see how they could fix the situation, It's just too small for the new larger RVs and Trailers.

As a side note. Part of traveling with pets is the cleanup process. If you can't pick up your own dog pooh, leave the dog at home. The campgrounds provides bags and cans and there was piles of dog pooh right beside them. You...