Cosby Campground Map (click to enlarge)

See the Cosby Region web page for an interactive location map.

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TYPE OF CAMPING

Cosby Campground at Great Smoky Mountains National Park can accommodate tent campers and small RVs and other self-contained sleeping vehicles ranging from 20 to 30 feet in length (each site has its own size limits, which are given on Recreation.gov). It also has three group campsites. See the Cosby Group Campground web page here on National Park Planner for information and photos.

Tent camping at Cosby Campground

CAMPING SEASON

Cosby Campground is typically open from late March until the end of October. The exact opening and closing dates change each year, so be sure to visit the National Park Service’s official Great Smoky Mountains National Park Frontcountry Camping web page for the latest schedule.

NUMBER OF SITES

Cosby Campground is one of the larger campgrounds in Great Smoky Mountains National Park with 157 campsites housed in two loops. All but nine RV-only sites can accommodate tents, and 138 sites are for tents only. Fourteen campsites can accommodate tent campers or small RVs. All types of campers are mixed together in both loops. Campsites can host up to six people, and there is parking for two vehicles.

RV-only campsite B88 at Cosby Campground

TENT SITES

Cosby Campground is located on a slope, so in most cases—but not all—tent campers must carry their equipment either up- or downhill from the parking area. To combat uneven terrain, all sites have a level 16′ x 16′ tent pad on which to pitch a tent. You can have as many tents as you can fit on the pad, though realistically this means two at most.

According to the campground rules, tents must be pitched on the tent pads, and those with more tents than pad space must pay for a second campsite. However, I saw plenty of campsites where tents were not on the tent pads (see photo below where the blue tent is on the pad and the green tent is not), and it didn’t appear that park Rangers or campground hosts were enforcing the rule. It may have just been a busy day, so I don’t suggest that you make a reservation under the impression that it’s OK to pitch as many tents as you want anywhere you want.

A picnic table and a grill / fire ring are standard at all campsites.

Typical tent site at Cosby Campground in Great Smoky Mountains National Park

Campsite located downhill from the parking space

Picnic table, grill / fire ring, and tent pad are standard on all tent sites at Cosby Campground

Most of the parking spaces are “curbside” spaces, providing campers with easy in-and-out access to the sites. Most fit two vehicles.

Campsite parking at Cosby

RV SITES

Campsites A1, A2, A3, A21, A23, A36, B48, B75, and B88 are for RVs only. Maximum length is 30 feet.

Campsites A17, A20, A25, A28, A42, A57, A59, A61, and B93 can accommodate RVs no longer than 25 feet in length such as Class B RVs. The sites have tent pads as well, so tent campers can also reserve them.

Campsites A11, B20, B34, B35, and B58 can accommodate self-contained sleeping vehicles no longer than 20 feet in length such as vans and pickup trucks with camper tops. These sites also have tent pads and are available to tent campers.

RV sites A21 and A23 at Cosby Campground in Great Smoky Mountains National Park

AMENITIES

Like all campgrounds at Great Smoky Mountains National Park, there are no showers at Cosby Campground. However, the privately owned Cosby Run Campground does offer fee-based showers for Cosby Campground guests. It is located on Highway 32 just outside the entrance to Cosby Campground.

While there are no showers, there are modern restrooms with cold water at Cosby Campground. They may not have hand dryers or paper towels, so bring your own hand towels with you. There is a dump station for RVs near the campground entrance.

There are no electric or water hook-ups at any of the campsites. If you need 5-amp connections for medical devices, you must camp at Smokemont, Cades Cove, or Elkmont, the only campgrounds in the park with this amenity.

There is no camp store selling ice and firewood at Cosby Campground. You can purchase heat-treated firewood in the spring through fall at Cosby Run Campground, or at the National Park Service-operated Elkmont and Cades Cove campgrounds any time of the year. You can get ice at Cosby Run or any local convenience store / gas station. There is one located about a 10-minute drive from the campground entrance at the intersection with Hwy 321 / 73. There is also a sandwich and ice cream shop.

Cell phone service is not available within the campground itself, but you should have service by the time you get to Hwy 321 / 73.

RESERVATIONS

Reservations are required at Cosby Campground, and they can be made up to six months in advance online at Recreation.gov or by calling (877) 444-6777. If you show up without a reservation, you must drive back to where you can get a phone signal and make a reservation. There is no computer or Internet at the campground office. When using the online system you will be given detailed information about the campsites, including the size of the parking areas, so choose appropriately if you are in an RV or are pulling a trailer. 

On weekends, especially in the fall, the campground will be close to full, if not full. If you try to make a reservation 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.

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 camping at another of the campgrounds 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.

FEES

The current individual campsite fee is $17.50/night. Owners of a Senior or Access pass receive a discount on individual campsites.

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.

• Do not bring your own firewood to Great Smokey Mountains National Park. Firewood is available for sale inside the park and surrounding towns, but not at Cosby Campground. 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. Generators are allowed from 8 AM to 8 PM.

• 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.

For a complete list of regulations, see the National Park Service’s Campground Regulations web page for Great Smoky Mountains National Park.

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