Cades Cove Campground Map (click to view or download PDF)

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See the Cades Cove Region web page for an interactive location map.

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TYPE OF CAMPING

Cades Cove Campground can accommodate tent campers, RVs up to 40 feet long, and vehicles with trailers up to 35 feet long. There is also a separate area for group camping. For those with their own horses, the Anthony Creek Horse Camp is just down the road. (See the Cades Cove Group Campground web page here on National Park Planner for complete details and photos of the group campground.)

Loop C campsite at the Cades Cove Campground in Great Smoky Mountains National Park

CAMPING SEASON

Cades Cove Campground is the second largest campground in Great Smoky Mountains National Park and only one of two that are open year-round. However, part of the campground is closed in the off-season.

Unlike the main campground, the Anthony Creek Horse Camp is open seasonally, usually from April through early November. The exact opening and closing dates change each year, so be sure to visit the National Park Service’s Horse Camps web page for the latest schedule.

TERRAIN

Cades Cove Campground is wooded and fairly level for a campground in Great Smoky Mountains National Park, which is ideal for tent campers. On the downside, there are very few small trees and shrubs to form barriers between campsites, so there is no privacy. Furthermore, sites tend to be packed closely together. If privacy is important to you, pick a site on the outside of the loop. This eliminates a campsite either across the road or behind you.

Loop C Campsites at Cade Cove Campground in Great Smoky Mountains National Park

NUMBER OF SITES

MAIN CAMPGROUND

The main campground at Cades Cove has 164 campsites situated in two large loops: Loop B and Loop C (this includes five A sites for disabled visitors within Loop B). Of these, 133 are open to both tent campers and RVs, and 31 sites spread randomly throughout the campground are for tent campers only.

Loop C is the preferred loop for tent campers, while Loop B caters more to RVs. The reason for this is because Loop C is generator-free whenever Loop B is open (typically mid-April through Thanksgiving weekend), so while tent campers may still be mixed in with RVs at Loop C, there won’t be any generator noise during the main camping season. Where generators are allowed, they can only be used from 8 AM to 8 PM.

One of 31 sites at Cades Cove Campground reserved for tent campers only, Great Smoky Mountains National Park

Most campsites can hold two vehicles, and only one of them can be an RV or other self-contained sleeping unit, or a boat. There is a separate parking area for extra vehicles. Parking space size varies per site, most ranging from 21 to 35 feet in length. There are six 42-foot spaces, but these are all reserved for disabled campers. Most of the sites have back-in parking spaces, though there are a few pull-through sites. Parking space lengths are given for each site on Recreation.gov, the reservation website.

Loop B at Cades Cove Campground in Great Smoky Mountains National Park

Each campsite can host up to six people. The terrain is level, and even if there is a small slope, most campsites have level tent pads on which you can pitch your tent. Pads are at least 13′ x 13′, but some are larger (info is given on the Recreation.gov website). You can have as many tents as you can fit on the pad, though realistically this means two in most cases. Those with more tents than pad space must pay for a second campsite.

There are 11 sites reserved for disabled visitors. Ten can accommodate tents and RVs, and one is for tents only.

RVing at Cades Cove Campground in Great Smoky Mountains National Park

HORSE CAMPGROUND

The Anthony Creek Horse Camp is located down a road that begins at the far end of the Cades Cove Picnic Area. The campground has three sites, each holding up to six people and four horses (or mules, burros, llamas). There is parking for two vehicles. Both tents and small (up to 24 foot) self-contained sleeping vehicles are welcome.

Each site has a 4-horse stall.

AMENITIES

Like all campgrounds at Great Smoky Mountains National Park, there are no showers, but there are private companies and campgrounds that offer fee-based shower facilities outside of the park. Ask the campground host for directions to the closest one. The main and group campgrounds do have modern restrooms with cold water, and there is a dump station for RVs. The horse camp has a pit toilet.

There is no cell phone service at the campground, but an emergency phone is available at the office near the entrance.

The Cades Cove Campground Store is typically open from March through October from 9 AM to 7 PM. The store has a deli where you can buy hamburgers, hot dogs, sandwiches, pizza, ice cream, and beverages. You can also rent bikes and purchase souvenirs, firewood, and other camping supplies. See the Cades Cove Trading Company website for operating hours and fees.

Cades Cove Camp Store located near the Cades Cove Campground entrance at Great Smoky Mountains National Park

TENT AND RV CAMPGROUND

There are no water or electricity hook-ups at the campsites, with the exception of 5-amp connections for medical devices at two sites reserved for disabled visitors (C31 and C57).

Each site has a tent pad, picnic table, and a grill / fire ring.

Campsite C31 at Cades Cove Campground in Great Smoky Mountains National Park

HORSE CAMP

Like the regular campsites, each site at the Anthony Creek Horse Camp has a tent pad, picnic table, and fire ring / grill, plus a hitching post for the horses. There is no running water, and the toilets are what I call “fancy outhouses,” meaning they are non-flush toilets housed in a permanent building (vs. the plastic, portable toilets). You can get drinking water and use the flush toilets at the main campground or the picnic area, but this is certainly not convenient—especially after dark—due to the half-mile distance between the facilities.

Each campsite has a 4-horse stall.

RESERVATIONS

MAIN CAMPGROUND

Reservations are required year-round for all campsites at Cades Cove Campground. Reservations can be made up to six months in advance online at Recreation.gov or by calling (877) 444-6777 between 10 AM and 12 AM EST. If making a reservation online, you will have access to all sorts of information about the site, including the size of the parking area, so choose appropriately if you are in an RV or trailer.

Campsites not reserved in advance are available on a first come, first served basis on the day of your arrival for that night only. You can use the reservation system to book campsites for additional days, but you may have to move to a new campsite if the one you pick is booked the next day (or there may be no campsites at all next day). Inquire about available sites at the campground office if it is open. If you arrive when the office is closed, you can self-register. To do so, check the office bulletin board for a list of campsites that are available FOR THAT NIGHT ONLY and pick from one of these. Do not drive around looking for an empty site because no occupation notice is attached to the campsite post. Someone with a reservation may show up at midnight. If a campsite is available, you can pay in the morning and hopefully make a reservation for the rest of your stay.

Cades Cove is Great Smoky Mountains National Park’s most popular camping spot. On a summer or fall weekend it is very likely to be full. If this is the case, try the nearby Elkmont Campground, the largest in the park. I tried making a reservation a month in advance for late October on a Friday night through Tuesday and could not get a spot at Cades Cove until Sunday, but I had no problem getting a site at Elkmont.

If you try to make a reservation at any campground in the park and the entire campground is booked solid, check back every chance you get because people cancel all the time and the sites immediately go back up for sale. I’ve gotten campsites at Great Smoky Mountains National Park two hours after I couldn’t get one the first time I tried to make a reservation.

The Cades Cove Campground is not gated, so you can check in after hours. If you arrive when the campground office is closed, proceed to your site and register in the morning. If you forgot your site number, check the Late Arrival bulletin board at the campground office. Please note that I forgot my site number when staying at another campground at Great Smoky Mountains National Park, and the site information was not available as it should have been. I had to drive back to the nearest town where I could get a cell phone signal so I could log into Recreation.gov and find my number. Lesson learned—don’t forget your site number.

Cades Cove Ranger Station and campground office at Great Smoky Mountains National Park

HORSE CAMPGROUND

Reservations are required for the Anthony Creek Horse Camp and can be made by phone or at Recreation.gov up to six months in advance. Be sure you are on the Anthony Creek Horse Camp and not the Cades Cove Campground reservation page if using the online system.

FEES

The current individual campsite fee is $30/night. Owners of a Senior or Access pass receive a discount on individual campsites.

Horse campsites are $30/night.

Prices can always change. The most current rates are given on Recreation.gov.

CAMPGROUND RULES

• Check out time is noon. Check in is 1 PM.
• All food must be stored in food storage boxes (if provided) or in your vehicle.
• Stays within Great Smokey Mountains National Park are limited to 14 consecutive days at any one campground, and no more than 60 total camping days in a year. If you wish to camp more than 14 days at a particular campground, you must leave that campground for at least one day before returning. To do this, you can return home or simply switch to another campground for a day.
• Park on the pavement only and/or in designated spaces.
• Do not bring your own firewood to Great Smokey Mountains National Park. Firewood is available for sale at the Cades Cove Camp Store. You can also gather wood inside the park that is on the ground and dead.
• Pets are allowed as long as they stay on a leash no longer than six feet. However, no pets are allowed on the hiking trails, other than horses, and you cannot leave them unattended at your campsite.
• Alcohol is permitted in the campground as long as the people drinking are at least 21-years-old, which goes without saying.
• Quiet hours are in effect from 10 pm to 6 am.
• Hammocks are allowed in the campground with the following guidelines: Must be over the footprint of the campsite, limited to trees 10 inches in diameter with adequate padding around the tree and only 2 hammocks are allowed to be suspended from the same tree.
• The horse campground has additional rules. See the National Park Service’s Horse Camp web page for details.

For more information on camping in Great Smoky Mountains National Park, see the National Park Service’s Frontcountry Camping web page. This lists all the rules and regulations, opening and closing dates, and the latest camping fees.

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