Cades Cove Campground — Hotel in Maryville

Cades Cove the national forest, the loop, the wildlife, the mountains & beauty of the forest is 10 stars out of 5 every day of the week. Unfortunately this review is about the campground, which I found difficult to even give it 3 stars out of 5.

Upon arrival I learned that the booking site photos, descriptions and campground map are somewhat misleading. The sites are much closer together than shown, and basically there is zero privacy at this campground. We had selected site C05, which on the campground map appears to show that it faces the forest. It does not, it actually faces the employee maintenance yard. Wow, some view.

Every employee we met was great. However, it’s obvious that the government has put nothing into maintaining the facilities of this property. The bathrooms were literally the nastiest smelliest worst place I have ever had to use. The floors were full of mud & rocks. There are holes in the walls, the ceiling looks like it might fall down on top of you before you can finish your business. The employees like clock work cleaned them multiple times a day, but no amount of disinfectant can remove decades of decay.

Missing from our camping in the forest experience at this campground was the peace and quiet of nature and it’s beautiful sounds. Mostly because they were drowned out by fussing babies, battery powered impact guns putting up or tearing down campsites, slamming bear trash cans, and car alarms that went off at all hours of the night and day. Just so you are warned, apparently trash pick up through the campground is at 7:15 in the morning, as you will definitely hear when the garbage trucks slam open & shut every bear proof trash can in the place.

The pinnacle of our sound experience came the next morning at 3:00 am when a car alarm sounded. Then followed by the two camp sites behind us deciding they would tear down and pack up using their truck headlights to illuminate their sites and power equipment to breakdown all their rig set ups all while talking to each other as if they were the only people in the entire world. Collectively most of loop C got to “enjoy” their bonding experience with them as they broke camp. So much for the quiet hours of 10-7.

Our experience wasn’t all bad. We laughed a lot, we enjoyed the campfire, we saw turkeys, deer, lots of birds & squirrels and even a bear. We loved the folks that work at the camp store! So helpful and pleasant.

Will we return, maybe… if so, I am definitely...

My husband and I spent an entire week here camping in our little tent and it was beautiful. The bathrooms were very clean in the campground, but there is no soap, so bring your own soap. The park rangers and shop workers were very nice and friendly. Their concern for campers' safety is very genuine, so take all of their advice and follow the rules. It's for your own safety. We had a wonderful experience during our week here.

We hiked Abram's Falls Trail, which was absolutely beautiful. It was a 5 mile round trip (2.5 miles there and 2.5 miles back) trail, so not too bad. But it may be too much for those who are only used to 1 or 2 mile hikes. You are also going uphill on this trail, so take that also into account if you are used to walking 5 miles on a relatively level surface.

Then we also hiked Rich Mountain Loop Trail. It was also gorgeous, but be warned, you will be hiking for 8 and 1/2 miles up a steep trail. So it is NOT for small children and bring LOTS of water. Also, keep track of your map and which direction you're going, there are branch off trails that you can easily get lost on. If you are careful, come prepared, and have the physical strength this is a beautiful hike. The mountain view is stunning.

The Cades Cove Scenic Loop drive is also beautiful, lots of picture opportunities. It is a one-way street that you CANNOT turn around on. There are several signs that instruct people to keep moving and not to stop. Many people ignore this rule and just stop in the middle of the road, causing lots of traffic jams. It was very annoying when people did this. Only stop for animals crossing the road and then move on. DO NOT stop in the middle of the road to take pictures. There are plenty of pull-offs and parking areas to stop and take pictures, USE THEM.

My overall experience of this campground and park was awesome during the entire week. We even got to experience camping in a tent during cold nights and even rain. Thank goodness we came prepared! Being this close to nature was...

Our family camped at Cades Cove in July we had a tent site and a camper site. We had made the reservations for two nights but only stayed one. When they say their campgrounds are primitive they truly mean it! No electric or water hook ups at the camper site or at the tent site. The website states there are showers available in the park but we were unable to find them and when we tried to ask the rangers we couldn't find anyone to help. Absolutely no cell service or wifi so when there you have no way of communicating even if you need help. With the campground being in a bear habitat you MUST lock up all good items in your car which can make it a bit rougher on your family having to constantly walk back and forth and keeping your car packed with anything that might attract the bears. You CANNOT bring any firewood from outside the park and you cannot gather firewood from the ground inside the park so if you want to enjoy a fire you must BUY wood from the park. The bathrooms were not kept up or cleaned regularly and the doors slammed very loudly disrupting everyone in the surrounding sites whenever someone went in or out of them. The people who were gathering the trash from the camps trash bins came around at 6:00 AM and were extremely loud yelling back and forth and waking nearby campers. The week we went was unbearably HOT and made the experience completely miserable for our entire family. If you are adults looking to really connect with nature and escape the world then this will probably be the place for you, but if you have a family or want even the most basic of what most consider essentials of life then you probably won't be happy camping here. While the surrounding nature is beautiful and peaceful it seems you better be prepared for an adventure in real "roughing it"! I have been camping my entire life and generally prefer a tent and being close to nature but this campground left our family missing the joy camping has...