Campsite 1 at the Tow String Horse Camp

See the Frontcountry Campgrounds web page for an interactive location map.

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LOCATION

Tow String Horse Camp at Great Smoky Mountains National Park is located four miles north of the Oconaluftee Visitor Center on Highway 441.

CAMPING SEASON

Tow String Horse Camp is typically open from April until the end of October. 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.

TYPE OF CAMPING

Tow String Horse Camp can accommodate tent campers, RVs less than 35 feet in length, and small self-contained sleeping vehicles. However, as far as I can tell, there is no parking at the actual campsites. I don’t think I am imagining things because I was talking to a lady who was camping at the Round Bottom Horse Camp, and she also made the claim that there was nowhere to park at the actual campsites. There is a parking area prior to the campsites and a day use area for trailers farther down at the end of the road. It appears that this horse camp is geared for those who plan to sleep in a tent, perhaps somebody in pick-up truck towing a small horse trailer or somebody backpacking from campground to campground on a horse. The fact that nobody was at the campground when I visited in mid-October goes to show that the typical horse owner doesn’t like to camp here.

You must have a horse to camp in a horse camp.

Parking area at the Tow String Horse Camp

NUMBER OF SITES

There are three campsites at the Tow String Horse Camp. Each site can accommodate up to six people and four horses. However, horses do not stay at the campsites. There is a 12-horse stall between the parking lot and Campsite 1. You won’t be able to see your horses from Campsite 3, and perhaps from Campsite 2 as well.

12-horse stall at the Tow String Horse Camp

View of the horse stall and parking area from Campsite 1 at Tow String Horse Camp

The three campsites are laid out one after the other on a small, sloping hill, and they pretty much look identical. Campsite 3 is the farthest from the parking area. All sites have a level 16′ x 16′ tent pad, lantern post, picnic table, and grill / fire ring.

Campsite 2 at Tow String Horse Camp

AMENITIES

There is no electricity or running water at Tow String Horse Camp. Toilets are portable toilets like you’d find at a construction site. Horses can drink from a nearby stream, or you can haul water from the stream to your campsite. The stream is approximately 100 yards away.

Ice, vending machine snacks, and firewood are sold at the Smokemont Riding Stables, which is about a mile farther up the road near the Smokemont Campground.

RESERVATIONS

Reservations are required to camp at Tow String and can be made up to six months in advance online at Recreation.gov or by calling (877) 444-6777. It is not possible to pay at the campground. If you show up without a reservation, you must leave and find a place with phone service and make a reservation. There is no phone service at the campground.

FEES

The current campsite fee at Tow String Horse Camp is $23. However, prices can always change. The most current rates are given on the Recreation.gov web page.

CAMPGROUND RULES

• Checkout time is noon.

• 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, but not at the Tow String Horse Camp. 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. Generator use is prohibited from 8 PM to 8 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.

• See the National Park Service’s Horse Camps web page for additional rules for horse camps.

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