Cosby Campground Map (click to enlarge)

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

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TYPE OF CAMPING

The Cosby Group Campground at Great Smoky Mountains National Park is for tent camping only.

CAMPING SEASON

The Cosby Group 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 Group Campgrounds web page for the latest schedule.

NUMBER OF SITES

There are three group campsites at Cosby. Each can accommodate up to twenty people and has parking for up to five vehicles. The campsites are situated side by side within the B Loop of the Cosby Campground. There is no privacy barrier between them.

You need a minimum of seven people to camp in a group site.

CAMPSITE INFORMTAION

The group campsites are located up a hill from the parking area. In fact, the campsites are actually terraced. For example, tent pads may be on one level and picnic tables on another. The restroom building is farther up the hill to the rear of the campsites.

Group Campsite 1 has two terraced tent pad areas, each 15′ x 30′. All tents must be pitched on the pads. There are two more terraces next to them, each with two picnic tables. There is also a stand-up grill with three cooking grates (equal to three standard grills), one standard grill, and a fire ring.

Terraced tent pads at Cosby Group Campsite 1

Picnic tables at Cosby Group Campsite 1

Group Campsite 2 is similar in layout except that there is only one terrace for the four picnic tables.

Group Campsite 3 is handicap accessible, which in this case means that two picnic tables, a triple-grate stand-up grill, and a tent pad are situated next to and level with the parking spaces, and the entire area is connected to the restroom building by a paved path. There is also a taller fire pit / grill, which is good for cooking if you are in a wheelchair, but it sucks for sitting around a campfire because the fire is down at the bottom of the metal container.

The non-handicap accessible camping area has two more terraces of tent pads and another terrace with two picnic tables and two standard grills.

Picnic tables next to the parking area at Cosby Group Campsite 3

AMENITIES

Like all campgrounds at Great Smoky Mountains National Park, there are no showers at Cosby Group Campground. However, the privately owned Cosby Run Campground does offer fee-based showers for Cosby Group 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 the Cosby Group 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.

There is no camp store selling ice and firewood at the Cosby Group 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

All group campsites must be reserved, and you can do so up to one year in advance at Recreation.gov or by 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 reservation system be sure to navigate to the proper campground reservation page. Search for Cosby Group Campground, not Cosby Campground. The main and group campgrounds have separate reservation pages.

FEES

The current group campsite fee is $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.

• 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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