Anthony Creek Horse Camp

Anthony Creek has access to several trails. The stalls are narrow and the horses stand on concrete. I have seen several horses who would not go in them and were difficult to get out. The road comes through the picnic area and is narrow and crowded during the busy season. Turning a trailer longer than 24 feet (3 horse slant) will be difficult. Water has to be carried from the creek about 100 yards away. Staff is great and bathrooms are clean.

There is not enough room to turn a full-length trailer around even staying within the 24ft limit. If there were 2 other campers set up when I arrived, it would have been almost impossible to turn around. Good otherwise. Book all three sites and take your buddies. That will allow you to get positioned safely.

The horse camp is not really set up for horses….. the stalls were horrid! They reminded us of a stock at the vets office where they perform procedures on the horses. The horses could not turn around or move at all and the stalls were on cement! Horrible to expect a horse to stand on cement all night! If a bear wanted to kill a horse, it would be easy since they would be trapped in the stupid excuse for stalls! Another problem is the lack of water at the campsite for the horses….carrying it from the creek is not a good option for older riders. The bathroom was clean and well maintained and the campsite was very nice…table and fire pit

The road leading in and out of the horse camp could be wider to permit people with larger trailers to get in and out. The turn to leave the camp barely left me enough room to get out.

The trails out of the camp were very nice and well maintained.

We have stayed at Anthony Creek horse camp several times and have always had a good experience. There are usually not many people at the campsite. There are several trails you can ride from camp and hikers occasionally pass through. The only 2 negative things about the camp are the fact you have to drive through the picnic area, which is usually crowded and difficult to get your rig through, and you have to carry water a short distance to camp from the creek for your horses. We see wildlife often, and make sure food is put away because bears frequent the area. We had a bear vist one night we were there.

You must check in at visitor center upon arrival. At other horse camps in GSMNP you simply fill out a card and put it on the board at the camp, which you have to do here also. The horse camp is reached by driving through the picnic area and turning through the gate at the upper end. The road is in good shape, but one lane for about 1/4 mile to camp. Trailers longer than a 3 horse slant with be difficult to turn in the camp. The stream that goes right by the camp was dried up this fall, but water for horses can be gotten from Anthony Creek about 100 yards above or below the camp. The camp has vault toilet, and 4 metal stalls at each camp. The trail goes right through camp and hikers pass frequently. The camp is very nice and only has 3 camp spots. Several trails can be ridden from the camp.

Anthony Creek is a wonderful spot to relax and unwind. We usually see as much wildlife in camp as we do on the trails.

Anthony Creeks central location with multiple trailheads really opened our trail riding experience.
Even with rainy days, the trail rides were very enjoyable.

{"text"=>"The Rangers at Cades Cove are excellent and dedicated to making sure campers and sightseers are respecting the park. They check on the campgrounds at least twice daily (maybe more) and are available to assist and answer questions. They give lectures with hands on demonstrations of the wildlife pelts known to exist in the park. They go above and beyond their duties, and will help with any problem that may arise. I have a particular shout out to them for resolving a bad situation I got myself into. I bring a small motorcycle for the beautiful ride around the loop road. I had just returned from a three hour exploration of the loop road and all of the attractions of early 19th century settlement houses and churches on my motorcycle. I was leaving the next morning and went to put my motorcycle on the carrier ramp I have on the back of my travel trailer. I have a ten foot long inclination ramp to facilitate this process. I use the engine to power the bike up to position as I walk along side. As I was reaching the top of the ramp, I lost control of the bike and it started to come down toward me. The bike weighs about 400 pounds and I knew I had to get out of the way. I flung my entire body away from the trailer and landed face down prone on the ground, with the bike landing mere inches from me with a loud thud. I reached over and turned off the engine, then struggled to get myself up off the ground. The bike was leaking gas from the tank, so I picked it up and put it on the kickstand. In doing so, I pulled a muscle in my lower back and was in immediate agony. I managed to position the bike for another attempt then left it as I limped back into my trailer to try to figure out what I was going to do to get my bike home. The next morning, I approached a ranger patrolling the campground and told him of my dilemma. I expected to hear something like they don't assist with problems such as this and I was wondering if I could find a couple of big guy campers nearby and coax them into assistence. To my pleasant surprise, the Ranger said there were a couple of big Rangers that could help and he would send them my way. In fifteen minutes the two rangers arrived, very large men, assessed the situation, and rolled the bike up on to the ramp like it was a toy. They insisted on standing by to help me secure the bike for travel and made sure I was okay to make the drive back to Knoxville. I hurt everywhere from my fall and scramble to get the bike up, but I assured them I could tow the trailer out.\n\nI unfortunately did not get the names of these two men, but I will be eternally appreciative of their help and concern. I could have easily been hurt worse with broken bones or even crushed by the 400 pounds of motorcycle landing on me, but I was fortunate to escape that through pure luck. The rangers asked if I needed medical or any further assistence, and I assusred them I was capable of getting myself on the road.\n\nI have since acquired a new system for loading and unloading that involves me having to do nothing more than locking the front wheel into the device and pushing a button to have it move the motorcycle into position either on the ramp or the ground.\n\nWhile giving very informative demonstrations and lectures on the wildlife in the area, they assist with lost kids, barking dogs, directions, heart attacks and any other problem that may present itself. The ladies and gentlemen of the Ranger service are dedicated to protecting the park and making the experience of the park enjoyable for the patrons. To me, they are worth their weight in gold.\n\nIt isn't much, but to all of the Rangers and particularly the two that assisted me, thank you. I can't wait to get back and go exploring again.", "languageCode"=>"en"}