Cataloochee Campground

Prepare to unwind by slowly winding down into a secluded valley rimmed by eye relaxing mountains. Bring your electronic devices only to capture moments and not to distract yourself. Cold water and clean restrooms onsite, otherwise anticipate your personal needs and transport accordingly. Elk like to mosey about the campground as do many of the human types. Other than the noise of motor vehicle engines the campgrounds are fairly quiet save the occasional delightful sounds of children being children. NO onsite wood purchase, so if you want a campfire, who doesn't, be prepared to scavenge for downed dead wood or bring the treated stuff. Gem for history minded, Jarvis Palmer House/museum not far from the campground. All said and done, worth the price of admission.

The roads are rough to get there no matter which way you come, however a fair number of RV's still make it on the gravel, narrow, winding roads. While the campground doesn't have the mountain views of the smokies, we came for the elk which we saw tons of. There's multiple hiking trails near by as well as historical structures to visit. So there is plenty to do while camping here even though it's far from any services (be sure to get wood, ice, etc. before coming).

Almost any of the sites on the outer portion of the campground are great (except for maybe site 19 next to the bathroom. The sites in the middle don't really have any privacy. The campground is completely level but sites still have a tent pad.

Bathrooms are clean. Camphost was very knowledgeable. There are bears in the area, so all items need to be cleaned and put away overnight.

The roads are rough to get there no matter which way you come, however a fair number of RV's still make it on the gravel, narrow, winding roads. While the campground doesn't have the mountain views of the smokies, we came for the elk which we saw tons of. There's multiple hiking trails near by as well as historical structures to visit. So there is plenty to do while camping here even though it's far from any services (be sure to get wood, ice, etc. before coming).

Almost any of the sites on the outer portion of the campground are great (except for maybe site 19 next to the bathroom. The sites in the middle don't really have any privacy. The campground is completely level but sites still have a tent pad.

Bathrooms are clean. Camphost was very knowledgeable. There are bears in the area, so all items need to be cleaned and put away overnight.

If you are going to be tent camping at the Cataloochee Campground, bring an air horn to chase away the elk that wander at times through campsites. An air horn is what the very helpful campground host uses to get them back into the woods.
Most of the campsites at Cataloochee are close to one another. There are lots of trees but no undergrowth like bushes to separate them and give a little privacy.
The single restroom was never crowded. It was clean and lit at night. It had flush toilets and a sink with hot and cold faucets, but no hot water. Don't look for a ranger station. The house is locked up and there is no ranger.
It's a shame that vandals have damaged or removed artifacts from the interesting history of the valleys.
When I was searching the internet for information, I found a site that suggested that there was a booklet for a guided auto tour of several of the homes in the Cataloochee valley. The campground host said that there was such a booklet in the past that was available at the campground; but that the asked-for $1 was rarely paid, and that the same type of folk that steals artifacts also steals money out of the fee box. You should find all the information you can on the internet, especially a map of where the houses and barns are located.
The campground is in the (Big) Cataloochee valley where several houses are located. The Woody house is one mile up a gated trail. As the original families grew, some of their children traveled along the Little Cataloochee creek over the Noland ridge to Little Cataloochee where there are many other homesteads. It's at least a five-mile hike that we might try another time.
We have been all over the Great Smokey Mountains National Park, but never in the Cataloochee valley. If you haven't already, you need to see it.
Download all you need from the internet before you get on the gravel road. There are no cell towers in the hills around Cataloochee.

If you are going to be tent camping at the Cataloochee Campground, bring an air horn to chase away the elk that wander at times through campsites. An air horn is what the very helpful campground host uses to get them back into the woods.
Most of the campsites at Cataloochee are close to one another. There are lots of trees but no undergrowth like bushes to separate them and give a little privacy.
The single restroom was never crowded. It was clean and lit at night. It had flush toilets and a sink with hot and cold faucets, but no hot water. Don't look for a ranger station. The house is locked up and there is no ranger.
It's a shame that vandals have damaged or removed artifacts from the interesting history of the valleys.
When I was searching the internet for information, I found a site that suggested that there was a booklet for a guided auto tour of several of the homes in the Cataloochee valley. The campground host said that there was such a booklet in the past that was available at the campground; but that the asked-for $1 was rarely paid, and that the same type of folk that steals artifacts also steals money out of the fee box. You should find all the information you can on the internet, especially a map of where the houses and barns are located.
The campground is in the (Big) Cataloochee valley where several houses are located. The Woody house is one mile up a gated trail. As the original families grew, some of their children traveled along the Little Cataloochee creek over the Noland ridge to Little Cataloochee where there are many other homesteads. It's at least a five-mile hike that we might try another time.
We have been all over the Great Smokey Mountains National Park, but never in the Cataloochee valley. If you haven't already, you need to see it.
Download all you need from the internet before you get on the gravel road. There are no cell towers in the hills around Cataloochee.

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I am so glad that we chose to stay at Cataloochee Campground while we were visiting Great Smoky Mountains National Park. Cataloochee is a bit off the beaten trail, something we absolutely loved. It is relatively private, quiet, and well-maintained. The road to get into Cataloochee was its own scenic adventure, as it winds in and out of the bluffs and down into the Cataloochee Valley. We really enjoyed driving further along the road past the campground to explore the trailheads there, as well as some of the historical buildings scattered throughout the valley. There are also large open meadows where we were able to quietly observe herds of elk grazing and even a small black bear digging for ants. Although the road to Cataloochee Campground is a dead-end and doesn't connect to other areas of the park, we didn't find this to be a nuisance -- getting to either the Oconoluftee Visitor Center (via Hwy-276 and the Blue Ridge Parkway) or the Sugarlands Visitor Center (via I-40 and Hwy-321) took only 50min to 1hr 15min, respectively. I would definitely recommend Cataloochee Campground and look forward to coming back!

I am so glad that we chose to stay at Cataloochee Campground while we were visiting Great Smoky Mountains National Park. Cataloochee is a bit off the beaten trail, something we absolutely loved. It is relatively private, quiet, and well-maintained. The road to get into Cataloochee was its own scenic adventure, as it winds in and out of the bluffs and down into the Cataloochee Valley. We really enjoyed driving further along the road past the campground to explore the trailheads there, as well as some of the historical buildings scattered throughout the valley. There are also large open meadows where we were able to quietly observe herds of elk grazing and even a small black bear digging for ants. Although the road to Cataloochee Campground is a dead-end and doesn't connect to other areas of the park, we didn't find this to be a nuisance -- getting to either the Oconoluftee Visitor Center (via Hwy-276 and the Blue Ridge Parkway) or the Sugarlands Visitor Center (via I-40 and Hwy-321) took only 50min to 1hr 15min, respectively. I would definitely recommend Cataloochee Campground and look forward to coming back!

Nice camping spots, just poorly managed. First thing issue, there is no campfire wood available on site. That means an hour drive (30 there and 30 back) to the closest place that sell it. Next item on the list was a 65’-70’ tree fell in the campgrounds around a tent and a camper. I watch the whole thing in amazement. Could of easily killed someone thank goodness no one was hurt. The trail maps that were provided aren’t worth wiping with…. But again a lot of the camping spots were very nice.