Cades Cove Campground

Seriously - Cades Cove is one of our favorite places in the Smokies. We are here at least once a year, and most years on three separate occasions. We always try to get a spot to camp, even tho they are all considered primitive - no water, no power, no sewer.

We enjoyed our stay in August (2023), camped in the generator area, but not because of the campsite. I am very sad to say that the site was in HORRIBLE condition when we arrived. While they'd had rain and the pad was filled with caked on mud & debris (from the water welling up and drying around the tires of the previous camper), that wasn't the worst of it. Obviously, the previous campers had been huge smokers and they left cigarette buts over the ENTIRE site. I wish I had counted the number of cigarettes we cleaned up but there were more than 50. We found them all over the grassy area, and around the edges of the pad. In addition to the butts, the site also had quite a bit of small pieces of trash. I'm disappointed in the campers, but also with the campground host for not spending a little more time to clean the place up before we arrived. We spend a little time before we leave every site we stay in to make sure we've not left a mess for someone else to clean up - we camp with our young grandchildren too, and NEVER have we left a site looking like this one.

With all that said, the bathrooms were as clean as expected. Go to Cades Cove to see the wildlife, bike the 11-mile route, and overall enjoy some peace and quiet. Our older grandson loves riding his bike through the campground, and hiking down to the stream at the end of the campground where he can play in the water.

We were pleasantly surprised to find out that Cades Cove now has wi-fi service/signal at the camp store area. While there's no service in the campground, we were able to call home, and check in through email as long as we stayed near the pavilion!

We have a National Park Pass which provides for a 50% discount on camping rates!

This campground was a nice surprise. Like many National Park Campgrounds the sites were somewhat close together, but not too bad. Also the trees and positioning of the sites made it feel less tight on space. Our site was a level paved site and easy to back into. This campground has great access to the Cades Cove drive and the Little River Road. Bathrooms were fine.
Excellent camp store and there is Wi-Fi in the amphitheater near the camp store.
We will return to this campground to enjoy this part of the Great Smoky Mountains.

I travelled here with a 35’ 5th wheel, long bed pickup and parked in site #C31, a dry, BI site for $11/night with the America the Beautiful Senior discount. The roads were asphalt and the sites were mainly gravel with a few concrete pads. The roads were okay to navigate, but take your time when traveling on Laurel Creek Road as it has some tighter curves. My wheels were on the yellow lines multiple times. This site was hard to back into due to the angle off the road and the number of obstructions – rocks, posts, and a culvert. It took some back and forth to get it in the site and positioned well. I had to park the truck sideways to get it off the road. The picnic table was on the wrong side of the rig, but there was a large tent pad to the rear that I used as an outdoor sitting area. The site is very spacious. Since it was early in the year, the leaves were not all out which was good for getting sun on my solar panels. The bathroom was right across the road which was convenient. There was no hot water in the bathroom and there are no showers anywhere in the park. I would not recommend coming in here with a rig any larger than mine as I was pushing it. If I was to come back I would pick any of these sites in the C Loop: 21, 29, 30, 50, 59 (more open overhead – solar), 74 (angle off the road is difficult but there were no obstructions.) On the B Loop: 4, 20, or 33 would be my top picks. The dump station had three spots which was nice. I liked the campground and the camp store had the BEST soft serve ice cream! It was a great treat after hiking all day.

Cades Cove campground is just off Cades Cove Loop allowing for easy twilight and dusk access to wildlife watch. The sites are relatively close together, but the beautiful wood around it makes one feel fairly secluded. Dry camping only, so amenities are basic. No firewood can be brought from outside the park and food packaging is strictly enforced.

I was in the generator free area so very quiet. Site was level with enough space between sites that I didn't feel crowded. Bathrooms were clean and basic. No showers but that is standard in many National Parks. I was able to fill the water tank in my trailer on my way out of the Park. There was limited Wifi service at the pavilion behind the store. No cell service, also typical in most National Parks. A very pleasant place to stay in a wonderful Park.

With nothing but the sound of rain on the roof, the generator-free loop was a dream. Nestled among large trees and surrounded by fall foliage, this campground on the "Quieter side of the Smokies" gives you the National Park camping experience you dream of.

There is zero cell service but wifi is available le at the Pavillion behind the store.

Site was good. Might be a problem for the largest of rigs. Quiet, most people followed the generator rules. Good sun for our solar charging. Open space and near rest room. No hookups, but good dishwashing area. Cades Cove road was a nightmare drive, so many people that do not understand the concept of pulling over🤦🏼‍♂️. Wednesday is car free. Ride the loop at daybreak and sunset. Lots of bear sightings.

Cades Cove the national forest, the loop, the wildlife, the mountains & beauty of the forest is 10 stars out of 5 every day of the week. Unfortunately this review is about the campground, which I found difficult to even give it 3 stars out of 5.

Upon arrival I learned that the booking site photos, descriptions and campground map are somewhat misleading. The sites are much closer together than shown, and basically, there is zero privacy at this campground. We had selected site C05, which on the campground map appears to show that it faces the forest. It does not, it actually faces the employee maintenance yard. Wow, some view.

Every employee we met was great. However, it’s obvious that the government has put nothing into maintaining the facilities of this property. The bathrooms were literally the nastiest smelliest worst place I have ever had to use. The floors were full of mud & rocks. There are holes in the walls, the ceiling looks like it might fall down on top of you before you can finish your business. The employees like clock work cleaned them multiple times a day, but no amount of disinfectant can remove decades of decay.

Missing from our camping in the forest experience at this campground was the peace and quiet of nature and it’s beautiful sounds. Mostly because they were drowned out by fussing babies, battery powered impact guns putting up or tearing down campsites, slamming bear trash cans, and car alarms that went off at all hours of the night and day. Just so you are warned, apparently trash pick up through the campground is at 7:15 in the morning, as you will definitely hear when the garbage trucks slam open & shut every bear proof trash can in the place.

The pinnacle of our sound experience came the next morning at 3:00 am when a car alarm sounded. Then followed by the two campsites behind us deciding they would tear down and pack up using their truck headlights to illuminate their sites and power equipment to breakdown all their rig set ups all while talking to each other as if they were the only people in the entire world. Collectively most of loop C got to “enjoy” their bonding experience with them as they broke camp. So much for the quiet hours of 10-7.

Our experience wasn’t all bad. We laughed a lot, we enjoyed the campfire, we saw turkeys, deer, lots of birds & squirrels and even a bear. We loved the folks that work at the camp store! So helpful and pleasant.

Will we return, maybe… if so, I am definitely bringing ear plugs!

Campground has decent separation ,but doEs lack privacy. Most sites need some leveling.
Many nice hiking trails . One leaves fromt the picnic area and meets a network of other trails. Another leaves from the beginning of Cade’s cove loop road and traverses on the ridges above the cove. Seen many bears in the cove loop road. If you do the loop road you will need to be very patient there are many traffic jams. Within the campground we seen deer and turkeys and one morning a bear so follow bear awareness with food.
The whole park is extremely busy. Firewood at the park is 10.00 dollars a bundle.
Really enjoyed this place very beautiful.