Anthony Creek Horse Camp
- Right now
- Taking bookingsSites offered on 24 of the next 24 nights read 16:01 UTC
- A night
- $30From, per site
- Sites
- 3All of them booked ahead
The place
the agency’s own description · what’s there · 15 notices
In the agency’s own words
Anthony Creek Horse Camp is located near the gently rolling waters of Anthony Creek. Whether blanketed in bright wildflowers in the spring or vivid colors in the fall, the scenery at Anthony Creek never disappoints. You MUST have a HORSE to camp in Anthony Creek Horse Camp! Keep reading
Recreation
With access to several of the Smokies' popular horseback riding trails, equestrians will never be bored. Anthony Creek Trail intersects the campground and takes travelers up Bote Mountain, a 3,000 foot altitude gain. Although the trek is fairly strenuous, the trail is one of the most popular in the area due to the extraordinary views. For access to the Appalachian trail, visitors can take the Anthony Creek Trail to either the Bote Mountain Trail or the Russell Field Trail, both of which intersect with the Appalachian Trail. During spring, stopping to see the pink Mountain Laurel blooms on Spence Field is a must for anyone in the area. The nearby horse stable provides one-hour horseback rides as well as hay rides and carriage rides from March through October, providing recreational activities for the entire family. Campers can enjoy high-quality backcountry fishing in the cool waters of the countless streams and rivers that snake through the mountains, with trout available in abundance. The park also holds one of the best collections of log buildings in the eastern United States. Over 90 historic structures, including houses, barns, outbuildings, churches, schools and grist mills, have been preserved or rehabilitated in the park, a few of which are easily accessible from Anthony Creek via the Cades Cove Loop Road.
Facilities
Anthony Creek offers primitive-woods camping. There are no hookups or showers at the campground. Potable water is available from the campground spigot, about 1/2 mile away, and water for horses can be collected from the nearby stream. However, visitors must bring their own drinking water. The nearby Cades Cove area offers additional amenities. You MUST have a HORSE to camp in Anthony Creek Horse Camp!
Natural Features
Anthony Creek Horse Camp is surrounded by picturesque mountain ranges, pristine streams and rivers and clear blue skies that set the backdrop for your camping and horseback riding adventure. At 1,800 feet elevation, Anthony Creek provides a moderate climate, typified by mild winters and hot, humid summers. Great Smoky Mountains National Park preserves the rich cultural history of Southern Appalachia. The mountains have a long human history spanning thousands of years, from the prehistoric Paleo Indians to early European settlements in the 1800s, to loggers and Civilian Conservation Corps enrollees in the 20th century. The park strives to protect the historic structures, landscapes and artifacts that tell the stories of all the people who once called these mountains home.
Nearby Attractions
The Cades Cove Campground, Group Campground and Picnic Area are located just a short walk away, providing additional camping for larger groups without horses. The area offers a popular 11-mile loop road, where campers often bike and hike. A camp store offers basic supplies as well as bicycle rentals, and three historic churches are all located along the loop. Townsend, located about nine miles away, offers full service grocery stores and fuel. Charges & Cancellations • If you plan to arrive at a date later than your arrival date you MUST contact the campground office 865-448-4103 in order to avoid a cancellation to your reservation. If you wish to cancel your reservation the day of your arrival you MUST contact the campground office 865-448-4103 in order to receive a refund. • Rules and reservation policies can be found at https://www.recreation.gov/rules-reservation-policies
What the agency tells you
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. *Bear Habitat! ! All food and equipment used to prepare and store food 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. 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.
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.
Everything else this campground posts · 12
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.
There are no showers or electric, water or sewer hook-ups in the park.
Quiet hours are in effect from 10 p.m. to 6 a.m. Generator use is restricted from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m.
Fires are allowed in fire rings only.
- A reservation is required for all horse camps and you MUST have a horse to camp here. A maximum of 6 people and 4 horses may occupy a campsite. All horses must be accompanied by a negative Coggins test. The park stay limit is 14 consecutive days.
Stalls are provided but may not be visible from your campsite. Check the site page for details. Horses may not be tied to trees.
With the exception of Big Creek, horse camps do not have potable water.
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.
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 between 8:30 - 9:00 a.m. Failure to check-in with the office staff may forfeit your reservation.
Vehicle Free Days run from May through September annually every Wednesday. 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.
Tents and rigs
- Sites
- 3 · 3 equestrian
- Hookups
- None
- Longest rig
- 24 ft
- Accessible sites
- None listed
- Pets
- Not allowed
- Campfires
- Allowed, barring fire bans
- Shade
- Every site
Facilities
- Showers
- None at this campground
- “There are no hookups or showers at the campground.”
- Drinking water
- None, bring your own
- “However, visitors must bring their own drinking water.”
- Store
- Nearby
Around the campground
- On the water
- River, Creek
- Fishing
- Hiking
- Historic site
- Horseback riding
- Ranger programs
- Wildlife viewing
- Night sky · 44th darkest of 95 in TN
- Bortle 4
- Fall color · reported 9 days ago, 7.8 km away
- Minimal color
2 of 6 site-nights open this Friday and Saturdayread 16:01 UTC
Every site here is reservable, and the record lists none held back for anyone who drives up.
OpenBooked
Watch for a cancellation
Full? Watch it.
One email when a night opens, plus More Than Just Parks dispatches. Unsubscribe any time.
We read recreation.gov once an hour, at 40 minutes past, and write the first time a site in your window is free for the nights you asked for.
Scanners that check every few minutes exist, and most of them charge. This one is free, it reads the same calendar, and it won’t always be first.
Tell me when the season opens
Watch for the season to open
One email when the season goes on sale, plus More Than Just Parks dispatches. Unsubscribe any time.
We check once an hour, at 40 minutes past, and write the first time the agency has that season on sale.
Scanners that check every few minutes exist, and most of them charge. This one is free, it reads the same calendar, and it won’t always be first.
We make nothing when you book. The link goes straight to the government.
Every line of the receipt · 17
What you actually pay
Derived by CAMPANAC: the agency’s published rate for this season, $30 a night, plus one $8 recreation.gov reservation fee for the booking. A weekend here means Friday and Saturday night, booked once. Optional charges (an extra vehicle, a second tent, a dump-station fee) are listed separately and aren’t in this total.
“• If you plan to arrive at a date later than your arrival date you MUST contact the campground office 865-448-4103 in order to avoid a cancellation to your reservation. If you wish to cancel your reservation the day of your arrival you MUST contact the campground office 865-448-4103 in order to receive a refund. • R…” · this campground’s own terms
Who keeps the booking fee
The agency’s own policy text says the reservation fee and the cancellation processing fee are “retained by the reservation service contractor”, and that a campground concessionaire will decline to refund them because “they did not receive these fees”. Recreation.gov is run under contract by Booz Allen Hamilton. What share of your booking fee the contractor keeps isn’t published in any federal dataset we can read, so we print no number for it. Our reporting on the contract →
How we know this receipt · 6
recreation.gov availability, read 16:01 UTC · rules read Sep 9, 2026 · rates Sep 10, 2026 · How we know all this
The sites
3 sites · which ones have room · the site map
The sites, ranked
from 3 mapped sitesAll 3 sites
The price is derived by CAMPANAC, not published per site: the per-night rate this campground publishes for each site’s own site type. 3 of the 3 sites listed carry one, and a site whose type has no published rate sits out of the price rather than being called free.
Getting there
the map and the coordinate · the agency’s directions · the phone number
Where it is
Cades Cove GroupGreat Smoky Mountains National Park · 0.3 mi
Cades Cove CampgroundGreat Smoky Mountains National Park · 0.6 mi
Metcalf Bottoms Picnic PavilionGreat Smoky Mountains National Park · 8.5 mi
Abram's Creek CampgroundGreat Smoky Mountains National Park · 9.4 mi
Look Rock CampgroundGreat Smoky Mountains National Park · 9.8 mi
Elkmont Group CampGreat Smoky Mountains National Park · 11 miFrom Maryville, TN: Take U.S. 321 North (you'll actually be driving south!) from Maryville to Townsend, TN (about 22 miles). At the traffic light in Townsend, continue straight on TN 73 and follow signs to Cades Cove.
From Pigeon Forge, TN take US 321 South (you'll be driving westerly) to Townsend, TN. Turn left (south) at Townsend onto TN 73. Follow signs to Cades Cove.
The horse camp is accessed through the back of the Cades Cove picnic area, through an unlocked gate.
The weather
the next four days · the thirty-year normal
Next four days, and the thirty-year normal
Forecast
NWS forecast for Townsend, TN
Typical weather
Typical October night 44°F, day 68°F.
Coldest month of the year: typical January night 26°F, below freezing. Bring a bag rated colder than that, and expect ice in the water bottle.
Daily high and lowDays with 0.10 in or more
A normal is the 1991-2020 average for the month, not a forecast: about half of all Julys are colder than the July line. The seven-day forecast above answers the other question.
The land, and who answers for it
what threatens it · who answers for it
What threatens this place
You’re camping on ground somebody wants. We track the threats and the comment deadlines.
Who answers for this land
Anthony Creek Horse Camp is in Tennessee’s 2nd congressional district. Its representative, Tim Burchett (R), votes on the laws that decide what happens to this land. Public-lands grade so far: F. See every public-lands vote →