Smokemont Campground — Hotel in Big Cove Community

We camped here for the 1st time 10 years ago and immediately fell in love with this campground. We have actually never camped here during the busier seasons. We have gone in February and March because we were often the only campers there and we enjoyed the seclusion. We visited the mountains in late October of this year, but chose to stay in a cabin rather than in a tent because we now have 2 small children and wanted to try something different. We did visit Smokemont a couple of times during our trip because we have so many wonderful memories there. It was pretty busy, but not packed. The campsites are laid out nicely so everyone is pretty spread out. We used to camp in sites 31 and 32 because they are on the side closest to the Oconaluftee River. You can hear the river from your tent, which is something I really enjoyed. The campground is also not far from Cherokee. So if you forgot to pack something, it's not too far of a drive. The campground is just a few miles inside the park. The moment you drive past the entrance to the park, you will not have cell service. However, if this is an inconvenience and you absolutely need to check your email, send a text, make a call or simply check the weather, it is just a few miles back out of the park. It is important to note that even though this campground is just a short drive to the edge of the national park and so close to Cherokee, you cannot hear the city at all. It is absolutely beautiful there. There is a nice hiking loop for novice hikers and I believe there is a longer trail for back country camping.

We had elk pass right through our campsite. Lots of turkey. And saw a couple of bears up there as well. During one very cold camping trip, we had a little mouse in our tent. It was snowing and about 11°. So I dont blame him/her for trying. Our then 10 year old daughter was more than happy to let it sleep in her sleeping bag, but we had to kick the little guy out. It was an adorable little thing. We named it Luftee.

The river is just beautiful.

Smokemont is a very...

Our family had an excellent experience at Smokemont Campground. The gravel tent sites shed water well when it rained, each site had a fire pit, a picnic table, and trees, with ample room for parking. The bathrooms were large and clean (large toilet stalls, and large open sink area, no showers). They have a dish washing deep sink outside of the bathrooms built into the wall which worked GREAT for us. The campground was clean, and located right next to a creek, with excellent short or longer hikes available right from the campground! No inappropriate behaviors noted at the campgrounds when we were there, those campers with pets were acting responsibly. HIGHLY RECOMMEND. We tent camped 5 days and I would have loved 3 more days!! So beautiful, and restorative, and the air smelled like nature and was amazing. Any time it rained we made a short drive into town to explore. There are also several nice green spaces sprinkled within the campgrounds and we brought some basic "toys" and really enjoyed them (playing catch with the football, playing spike ball, etc). I would love to make this trip an annual tradition with my...

We had a major mix up as someone was in our reserved camping site when we arrived at almost dark after driving all day. The young lady did not know her campsite number so when the ranger supposedly looked up her last name, it was similar to mine. ID was never checked although I had reserved my site with an American the Beautiful lifetime pass as I am classified as a veteran with disabilities. When I approached the camper she was rude and stated she was not moving although I showed her my email confirmation. I went to the ranger station asking for assistance. The ranger made the camper move but no one apologized for the mix up. The ranger only made excuses and pointed out the similarity in our LAST name Our first names were no where similar.

The moral to the story...Know your campsite number before you check in as not to inconvenience others. The park should check ID for ALL...