About Cades Cove Campground
Number of accommodations: 160
Nearby Activities & Attractions
Fishing
Hiking
Seasonal information
2026 Season availability
Open year round
This campground is open year round, providing flexibility for your stay.
Campground Amenities
Most popular amenities
General Store
Pet friendly
RV Utilities and Hookups
- Dump station on site
Water and Hygiene
- Potable Water
On Site Services
- General Store
Pets and Policies
- Pet friendly
Report Incorrect Information
Help us improve by reporting any incorrect amenity information for Cades Cove Campground.
Rates, Sites & Availability
160 Sites Available
No sites found matching your criteria.
No available sites
All sites are booked for your selected dates. Try showing all sites to see booked options, create an alert to be notified when something opens up, or adjust your dates.
Site Details
Select a site to view details
160 Sites Available
No available sites
All sites are booked for your selected dates. Try showing all sites to see booked options, create an alert to be notified when something opens up, or adjust your dates.
Reviews (578)
What Guests Are Saying
Cades Cove Campground offers a beautiful and clean environment with friendly staff and excellent wildlife viewing opportunities, including bears. Many visitors appreciate the well-maintained facilities and the availability of nearby amenities like bike rentals and a camp store. While some reviews mention close proximity of campsites and occasional noise from generators, the overall experience is positive, with many campers expressing a desire to return.
What Guests Are Saying
Cades Cove Campground offers a beautiful and clean environment with friendly staff and excellent wildlife viewing opportunities, including bears. Many visitors appreciate the well-maintained facilities and the availability of nearby amenities like bike rentals and a camp store. While some reviews mention close proximity of campsites and occasional noise from generators, the overall experience is positive, with many campers expressing a desire to return.
Review Summary
Sarah B
VerifiedMay 28, 2025 • Stayed at: C44, Loop: Generator Free loop
One of the nicest National Park (or otherwise) campgrounds we've ever visited! The sites were beautiful and the facilities were clean and well taken care of. It was close enough to everything we were interested in doing in the Smokies. We had a great trip!
karen B
VerifiedMay 27, 2025 • Stayed at: C04, Loop: Generator Free loop
We had a great time! The check-in rangers were not rude but very business like check-in (tell us about your hikes, which are the best and less extrenuous-over at the table you can buy maps) other rangers in the park we're helpful with enjoyable conversation, what's expected of a National Park. Campsites were spaced out we were not piled on top of everyone. Most importantly don't forget to purchase the day passes if you plan to hike or be away from your car for more then 15 minutes.
Steve C
VerifiedMay 26, 2025 • Stayed at: B20, Loop: B:Generator Use
nice campground, bad weather, overall great experience.
Anja G
VerifiedMay 26, 2025 • Stayed at: B38, Loop: B:Generator Use
Lots of RVs and noisy also due to sounds of lots of insects. Very touristy, but close to lots of possibilities to view bears and wildlife.
Also close to Abrams trail.
Daniel N
VerifiedMay 24, 2025 • Stayed at: C31, Loop: Generator Free loop
Campground is great. One thing that could be improved is eliminating some of the poison ivy!! It was all around the post i was supposed to put the hang tag on, along the walking paths from the bathrooms to the sites etc. it would be great if this were sprayed.
Lynne S
VerifiedMay 23, 2025 • Stayed at: C22, Loop: Generator Free loop
We love camping in Cades Cove surrounded by beautiful nature and have been camping in CC for 50 years as we grew up in Knoxville. Made reservations months ago as usual for our annual trip in May. Very sadly, we didn’t learn until firm plans set and bikes rented that they pushed back the car free wednesdays until mid June. Very disappointing as the main reason we make the trip in May before school is out and campground less crowded. Loop jam packed as usual with cars, trucks, vans but we managed to ride with the flow but a lot less pleasant. Hopefully this will change back next year. Know it hurt our favorite bike rental shop’s business as well.
Alan O
VerifiedMay 23, 2025 • Stayed at: C36, Loop: Generator Free loop
Overall it was an excellent experience at the campground, considering the staff shortages. Fortunately our children are grown now, so the almost complete lack of campground nightly interpretive talks and ranger-led hikes around the campground that they so thoroughly enjoyed as they were growing up was not impactful on this trip. These talks were a major highlight for them each trip. It's pitiful that short-sighted politicians have taken that away from the current generation of children, as well as the great example the interpretive rangers presented to the children, just pitiful.
My other major complaint is that it was impossible to definitively determine th opening date for B-loop, which determines the ending date for generator use on C-loop. Recreation.gov did not display that date at the time we had to make reservations months in advance, nor as we got closer to our arrival date. All the sources I could find indicated B opened May 15, but when we arrived we were told B had opened Good Friday, and that it always opened Good Friday. If that truly is the case, Rec.gov needs to clearly state that so folks can plan accordingly. Other campers I talked to had encountered the same confusion. This is critical information at the time a lot of folks are making their reservation months in advance. Ditto the opening date of the Wednesday closure of the loop road to powered vehicles. We set our trip dates almost a year ago based on safe bicycling of the loop, because the closed Wednesdays "always" start in May. I know the staff in the Smokies, and indeed the entire sub-management staff of the NPS are not responsible for this childish, irresponsible behavior, but rec.gov and the NPS top "management" need to work with the Dept of the Interior to get their act together or "America's Best Idea" is going to sink into chaos.
Umesh P
VerifiedMay 22, 2025 • Stayed at: B12, Loop: B:Generator Use
We had great time. Excellent camp ground except privacy between sites
Jesse S
VerifiedMay 16, 2025 • Stayed at: B85, Loop: B:Generator Use
A
Thomas S
VerifiedMay 16, 2025 • Stayed at: C01, Loop: Generator Free loop
Staff was very friendly and helpful. The camp store was very nice. Campsite was in good condition. Restrooms could use a refresher.
Location Cades Cove Campground
Address:
10042 Campground Drive
Townsend, TN, 37882
United States
Latitude & Longitude: 35.6027 / -83.7763
Elevation: 579 feet
Nearby National Park
Arch Rock Entrance
Approximate driving time: 52 min
Policies & Rules
General
- A valid parking tag is required for any vehicle parking for more than 15 minutes in Great Smoky Mountains National Park. Front country campers parked at their designated campsite will not be required to have a parking tag. If they park elsewhere in the park, a parking tag will be required. Please note that parking tags will be required for vehicles in excess of what is allowable for each campsite. *For additional park information call 865-436-1200 or visit www.nps.gov/grsm
- Over the last 10 years, an average of 339 negative human-bear encounters have been reported each year; many more go unreported. Visitors should be aware that high bear activity can occur in any area, and that your safety is not guaranteed. To increase your odds for a safe visit, please follow best practices for living and recreating in bear habitat. Stay alert and be prepared to react appropriately during possible encounters, and always report any unusual bear interactions as soon as possible.
- Caution: Bear Habitat! Bears and other wildlife frequent the area. All food and equipment used to prepare and store food (even when empty, and even if certified as bear resistant) must be kept in a sealed vehicle or camping unit of solid, non-pliable material AT ALL TIMES when not in use. All scented items, as well as all water containers MUST be stored. Dispose of garbage promptly in dumpsters provided. Unattended or improperly stored coolers, food and/or scented items may be impounded by campground staff. Violators are subject to fines.
- Dispose of garbage promptly in bear-proof dumpsters. This rule is strictly enforced!
- Firewood Restriction: Only heat-treated firewood bundled in its original packing and bearing a certification seal from the US Department of Agriculture (USDA) or a state department of agriculture may be brought into the park. This rule is strictly enforced. Campers may also collect dead and down wood in the park for campfires. Firewood Vendors. Heat-treated wood is available from a growing list of private businesses in communities around the park. Please visit firewoodscout.org for a list of available vendors near the park. Concessioners at Cades Cove, Elkmont, and Smokemont will provide heat-treated wood for sale during their operating season. Certified heat-treated firewood is packaged and clearly marked with a state or federal seal. For additional information about these firewood regulations, please visit the park website at http://www.nps.gov/grsm/planyourvisit/frontcountry-camping
- Do not occupy any vacant site. If you have a reservation you need to KNOW your campsite number prior to arrival. Fires are allowed in fire rings only!
- There are no showers or electric, water or sewer hook-ups in the park. Some accessible sites have a 5 amp electric hookup for medical equipment use only.
- Generator use is prohibited from 8PM-8AM. Generator use and the idling of engines to charge batteries is prohibited in C Loop whenever Loop B is open for camping. Once B Loop closes for the season then generators will be allowed in Loop C, with restricted hours, until Loop B reopens for camping.
- A maximum of 6 people may occupy a campsite. The park stay limit is 14 consecutive days. Reservations which exceed the 14 consecutive day limit may be cancelled and refunded.
- A Tennessee or North Carolina fishing license is required to fish in the park. Special regulations apply in the park.
- Pets are permitted but cannot be left unattended. All pets must be kept on a leash at all times. Pets are not allowed on trails.
- Cades Cove and Smokemont campgrounds are the only campgrounds open year round and require a reservation. Reservations may be made up to 6 months in advance.
- You must check-in with the campground office staff UPON ARRIVAL to complete your reservation. If you arrive after the office is CLOSED for the day then you must check-in with the campground staff the following day. Failure to check-in with the office staff by noon following the day of your arrival will be considered a no show. This may result in a forfeit of your reservation. From November -April the campground office is intermittently staffed. You must be able to provide proof of your reservation upon request by park staff.
- Vehicle Free Day runs from the first Wednesday in May through the last Wednesday in September. No motorized vehicles will be permitted to enter Cades Cove Loop from sunset on Tuesday until sunrise on Thursday.
- Cancellation Policy for Individual Campsites: A customer who cancels a reservation the day before or on the day of arrival will pay a $10.00 service fee AND forfeit the first night's use fee (not to exceed the total paid for the original reservation). Cancellations for a one-night reservation will forfeit the entire amount paid and will not be subject to an additional service fee.
Nearby Campgrounds
Nearby destinations
Last updated: June 4, 2026
