Deep Creek Campground (NC)
We don’t think it should be. Every campground should hold some sites for whoever drives up.Tell your representative →
- Right now
- Taking bookingsSites offered on 9 of the next 9 nights read 14:11 UTC
- A night
- $30From, per site
- Sites
- 92All of them booked ahead
The place
the agency’s own description · what’s there · 3 notices
In the agency’s own words
Located next to one of the most popular creeks in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park, Deep Creek Group Camp provides traditional primitive camping with the stunning backdrop of the mountains. Whether blanketed in bright wildflowers in the spring or vivid colors in the fall, the scenery at Deep Creek never disappoints. The camp offers 92 individual sites, all with grills, tables and campfire rings, perfect for a meal or a late-night s'mores session. Hookups and showers are not provided, but flush toilets and drinking water are available. Keep reading
Recreation
Great Smoky Mountains National Park is a hiker's paradise, offering over 800 miles of maintained trails ranging from short, leg-stretchers to strenuous treks, with a number of those trails easily accessible from the picnic area. But hiking is not the only reason for visiting the Smokies: Fishing, picnicking, wildlife viewing and auto touring are also popular activities. 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 nearby Bradley Fork River provides a great place to go for a dip or fish for trout. Wildlife viewing is a popular pastime, and with around 1,500 bears living in the park, it's not uncommon for visitors to spot one. The park is a sanctuary for a magnificent array of animal and plant life, all of which is protected for future generations to enjoy. 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.
Facilities
Deep Creek Campground offers an unforgettable outdoor experience with the added convenience of flush toilets, drinking water and sinks. There are campsites for tents as well as RVs available, and tent pads, grills and fire rings are provided.
Natural Features
Deep Creek is in the southeastern portion of the park and provides a moderate climate, typified by mild winters and hot, humid summers. Because of its proximity to water, Deep Creek is an ideal campground for water recreation and books up quickly during summer months.
Nearby Attractions
Great Smoky Mountains National Park is a hiker's paradise, with plenty of trails easily accessible from the Deep Creek Group Site. An easy 1.6 mile roundtrip hike will allow you to enjoy two beautiful waterfalls in the Deep Creek area. Walk Deep Creek Trail 0.7 mile to the junction with Indian Creek Trail. On your way you can view elegant Tom Branch Falls located on the far side of Deep Creek. Turn right at the junction with Indian Creek Trail and proceed approximately 200' to Indian Creek Falls. The falls are 25 feet in height. Deep Creek runs on the edge of the campground and provides easily accessible fishing, wading and tubing. Visitors can also 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. Contact Info This location is staffed. Please call (828) 488-3184 to speak with local staff.
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.
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.
- PLEASE READ SITE DESCRIPTIONS CAREFULLY, site width, length, and slope vary site-to-site. Leveling blocks might be needed for sites. • Caution: Bears and other wildlife frequent the area. 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. • River Tubes are considered “vessels” by the NPS and the State of NC, therefore children 13 and under are required to wear PFD’s. Over age 13, PFDs are highly recommended. Close-toed shoes and helmets are strongly recommended. • 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. Heat-treated wood is available from a growing list of private businesses in communities around the park. Please visit www.nature.org/firewoodmap 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. • 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. • Quiet hours are in effect from 10 PM to 6 AM. Generator use is restricted to 8 AM to 8 PM. • Fires are allowed in fire rings only! • 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. • 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. During November-April the office may be open intermittently; during these months campers occupying their site must be able to provide proof of occupancy when requested by park staff. • For additional park information call 865-436-1200 or visit www.nps.gov/grsm
Tents and rigs
- Sites
- 92 · 25 tent-only, 30 walk-in
- Hookups
- None
- Paved pads
- 50 of 92
- Accessible sites
- 1
- Pets
- Allowed
- Campfires
- Allowed, barring fire bans
- Shade
- Every site
Facilities
- Toilets
- Flush Toilets
- FLUSH TOILETS on 1 of 92 campsite records, ACCESSIBLE FLUSH TOILETS on 7 of 92 campsite records
- Showers
- None at this campground
- “Hookups and showers are not provided, but flush toilets and drinking water are available.”
- Drinking water
- Yes
- DRINKING WATER on 30 of 92 campsite records, ACCESSIBLE DRINKING WATER on 6 of 92 campsite records
Around the campground
- On the water
- Waterfall, River, Creek
- Amphitheater
- Backpacking
- Biking
- Birding
- Fishing
- Hiking
- Horseback riding
- Fall color · reported 9 days ago, 13 km away
- Minimal color
Full this Saturdayread 14:11 UTC
How full the weekend is nationally.
OpenBooked
Every one of the 90 sites on offer is taken this Saturday. 67 are free on Tue, Oct 20. read 14:11 UTC Why the weekend fills and the week doesn’t
Watch for a cancellation
Watch this campground
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 · 18
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.
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 · 5
recreation.gov availability, read 14:11 UTC · rules read Sep 9, 2026 · rates Sep 10, 2026 · How we know all this
The sites
92 sites · which ones have room · the site map
The sites, ranked
from 92 mapped sitesAll 92 sites
Toilet distances are OpenStreetMap’s, measured for 92 of the 92 sites listed. A site with no reading is unknown, never far.
The price is derived by CAMPANAC, not published per site: the per-night rate this campground publishes for each site’s own site type. 57 of the 92 sites listed carry one, and a site whose type has no published rate sits out of the price rather than being called free.
Measured shade is NLCD Tree Canopy Cover 2024 (USDA Forest Service / MRLC) read at the site’s own coordinate, 27% canopy or more, and only for the sites the agency gave no Shade value. It never changes the agency’s own shaded count beside it.
| 1 | walk to | 30 ft | 114 ft | 297 ft | ||
| 10 | walk to | 40 ft | 36 ft | 160 ft | ||
| 11 | walk to | 50 ft | 155 ft | 171 ft | ||
| 12 | walk to | 59 ft | 65 ft | 107 ft | ||
| 13 | walk to | 75 ft | 133 ft | 82 ft | ||
| 14 | walk to | 61 ft | 67 ft | 85 ft | ||
| 15 | walk to | 54 ft | 84 ft | 79 ft | ||
| 16 | walk to | 57 ft | 213 ft | 66 ft | ||
| 17 | walk to | 52 ft | 137 ft | 39 ft | ||
| 18 | walk to | 63 ft | 46 ft | 142 ft | ||
| 19 | walk to | 41 ft | 190 ft | 52 ft | ||
| 2 | walk to | 25 ft | 116 ft | 268 ft | ||
| 20 | walk to | 72 ft | 121 ft | 110 ft | ||
| 21 | walk to | 41 ft | 203 ft | 92 ft | ||
| 22 | walk to | 63 ft | 47 ft | 188 ft | ||
| 23 | walk to | 52 ft | 139 ft | 178 ft | ||
| 24 | walk to | 43 ft | 146 ft | 228 ft | ||
| 25 | walk to | 55 ft | 195 ft | 203 ft | ||
| 26 | walk to | 43 ft | 118 ft | 266 ft | ||
| 27 | walk to | 41 ft | 150 ft | 247 ft | ||
| 28 | walk to | 52 ft | 55 ft | 305 ft | ||
| 29 | walk to | 37 ft | 148 ft | 213 ft | ||
| 3 | walk to | 48 ft | 48 ft | 309 ft | ||
| 30 | walk to | 39 ft | 247 ft | 176 ft | ||
| 31 | tent only nonelectric | 37 ft | 146 ft | 182 ft | $30 | |
| 32 | tent only nonelectric | 52 ft | 62 ft | 265 ft | $30 | |
| 33 | tent only nonelectric | 39 ft | 226 ft | 137 ft | $30 | |
| 34 | tent only nonelectric | 58 ft | 60 ft | 226 ft | $30 | |
| 35 | tent only nonelectric | 36 ft | 121 ft | 154 ft | $30 | |
| 36 | tent only nonelectric | 38 ft | 201 ft | 94 ft | $30 | |
| 37 | tent only nonelectric | 47 ft | 39 ft | 191 ft | $30 | |
| 38 | tent only nonelectric | 38 ft | 172 ft | 56 ft | $30 | |
| 39 | tent only nonelectric | 36 ft | 100 ft | 131 ft | $30 | |
| 4 | walk to | 25 ft | 122 ft | 243 ft | ||
| 40 | tent only nonelectric | 47 ft | 24 ft | 166 ft | $30 | |
| 41 | tent only nonelectric | 49 ft | 64 ft | 117 ft | $30 | |
| 42 | tent only nonelectric | 64 ft | under 10 ft | 151 ft | $30 | |
| 43 | rv nonelectric | 125 ft | 280 ft | 125 ft | $30 | |
| 44 | rv nonelectric | 58 ft | 393 ft | 105 ft | $30 | |
| 45 | rv nonelectric | 57 ft | 445 ft | 108 ft | $30 | |
| 46 | tent only nonelectric | 76 ft | 437 ft | 119 ft | $30 | |
| 47 | tent only nonelectric | 76 ft | 460 ft | 154 ft | $30 | |
| 48 | rv nonelectric | 41 ft | 522 ft | 176 ft | $30 | |
| 49 | rv nonelectric | 41 ft | 498 ft | 135 ft | $30 | |
| 5 | walk to | 48 ft | 50 ft | 268 ft | ||
| 50 | rv nonelectric | 42 ft | 582 ft | 137 ft | $30 | |
| 51 | rv nonelectric | 27 ft | 590 ft | 152 ft | $30 | |
| 52 | rv nonelectric | 44 ft | 557 ft | 136 ft | $30 | |
| 53 | tent only nonelectric | 57 ft | 409 ft | 137 ft | $30 | |
| 54 | rv nonelectric | 37 ft | 232 ft | 260 ft | $30 | |
| 55 | rv nonelectric | 37 ft | 265 ft | 227 ft | $30 | |
| 56 | rv nonelectric | 38 ft | 289 ft | 225 ft | $30 | |
| 57 | tent only nonelectric | 38 ft | 310 ft | 192 ft | $30 | |
| 58 | rv nonelectric | 37 ft | 349 ft | 204 ft | $30 | |
| 59 | tent only nonelectric | 37 ft | 359 ft | 170 ft | $30 | |
| 6 | walk to | 29 ft | 135 ft | 215 ft | ||
| 60 | rv nonelectric | 87 ft | 452 ft | 173 ft | $30 | |
| 61 | rv nonelectric | 63 ft | 539 ft | 169 ft | $30 | |
| 62 | tent only nonelectric | 42 ft | 579 ft | 143 ft | $30 | |
| 63 | tent only nonelectric | 42 ft | 600 ft | 184 ft | $30 | |
| 64 | tent only nonelectric | 43 ft | 649 ft | 184 ft | $30 | |
| 65 | tent only nonelectric | 43 ft | 675 ft | 223 ft | $30 | |
| 66 | rv nonelectric | 41 ft | 654 ft | 218 ft | $30 | |
| 67 | tent only nonelectric | 41 ft | 691 ft | 255 ft | $30 | |
| 68 | tent only nonelectric | 46 ft | 682 ft | 259 ft | $30 | |
| 69 | rv nonelectric | 51 ft | 635 ft | 207 ft | $30 | |
| 7 | walk to | 38 ft | 99 ft | 208 ft | ||
| 70 | rv nonelectric | 51 ft | 676 ft | 236 ft | $30 | |
| 71 | rv nonelectric | 41 ft | 628 ft | 184 ft | $30 | |
| 72 | rv nonelectric | 41 ft | 658 ft | 218 ft | $30 | |
| 73 | rv nonelectric | 27 ft | 611 ft | 177 ft | $30 | |
| 74 | rv nonelectric | 32 ft | 644 ft | 216 ft | $30 | |
| 75 | rv nonelectric | 39 ft | 600 ft | 180 ft | $30 | |
| 76 | rv nonelectric | 32 ft | 636 ft | 219 ft | $30 | |
| 77 | tent only nonelectric | 35 ft | 627 ft | 226 ft | $30 | |
| 78 | rv nonelectric | 55 ft | 566 ft | 203 ft | $30 | |
| 79 | rv nonelectric | 55 ft | 542 ft | 245 ft | $30 | |
| 8 | walk to | 32 ft | 99 ft | 168 ft | ||
| 80 | rv nonelectric | yes | 47 ft | 467 ft | 183 ft | $30 |
| 81 | rv nonelectric | 52 ft | 465 ft | 235 ft | $30 | |
| 82 | rv nonelectric | 47 ft | 420 ft | 200 ft | $30 | |
| 83 | tent only nonelectric | 57 ft | 383 ft | 136 ft | $30 | |
| 84 | rv nonelectric | 53 ft | 402 ft | 79 ft | $30 | |
| 85 | standard nonelectric | 53 ft | 349 ft | 111 ft | ||
| 86 | standard nonelectric | 49 ft | 317 ft | 136 ft | ||
| 87 | rv nonelectric | 49 ft | 336 ft | 128 ft | $30 | |
| 88 | standard nonelectric | 44 ft | 261 ft | 214 ft | ||
| 89 | rv nonelectric | 44 ft | 294 ft | 209 ft | $30 | |
| 9 | walk to | 32 ft | 68 ft | 168 ft | ||
| 90 | standard nonelectric | 33 ft | 221 ft | 135 ft | ||
| 91 | rv nonelectric | 33 ft | 246 ft | 106 ft | $30 | |
| 92 | standard nonelectric | 50 ft | 206 ft | 106 ft |
25 of 92 listed
Getting there
the map and the coordinate · the agency’s directions · the phone number
Where it is
Deep Creek Group CampGreat Smoky Mountains National Park · 0.1 mi
Deep Creek Picnic PavilionGreat Smoky Mountains National Park · 0.2 mi
Cheoah Point Cabin 16.9 mi
Cheoah Point Cabin 26.9 mi
Collins Creek Picnic PavilionGreat Smoky Mountains National Park · 9.3 mi
Tow String Horse CampGreat Smoky Mountains National Park · 9.5 miSeasonal phone is 828-488-3184
From downtown Bryson City, NC: Follow signs to Deep Creek, 3 miles away.
The weather
the next four days · the thirty-year normal
Next four days, and the thirty-year normal
Forecast
NWS forecast for Bryson City, NC
Typical weather
Typical October night 43°F, day 69°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 · a letter you can send
What threatens this place
You’re camping on ground somebody wants. We track the threats and the comment deadlines.
Who answers for this land
Deep Creek Campground (NC) is in North Carolina’s 11th congressional district. Its representative, Chuck Edwards (R), votes on the laws that decide what happens to this land. Public-lands grade so far: F. See every public-lands vote →
Who can change it · 3
Two offices, two different asks. The draft to the agency asks it to set aside a published share of the sites here for whoever drives up. The draft to Congress asks why that share is zero and presses for a published minimum at the campgrounds it funds.
- The member who votes the moneyChuck EdwardsU.S. Representative · North Carolina’s 11th district
- Your senator, on the same appropriationTed BuddU.S. Senator · North Carolina
- Your senator, on the same appropriationThom TillisU.S. Senator · North Carolina
Read the draft, or change the wording
For the camper who turned up, or tried to book, and couldn’t get in. Every draft is written from this campground’s own record (its agency, its unit, its site count and its own weekend) and the buttons above copy whichever wording is selected here.
Asks them to put the question to the agency in writing, and to press for a published minimum share of walk-up sites across the campgrounds they fund.
Subject Walk-up camping at Deep Creek Campground (NC), Great Smoky Mountains National Park, North Carolina
Dear Chuck Edwards, I’m a constituent in North Carolina’s 11th district. I tried to camp at Deep Creek Campground (NC), Great Smoky Mountains National Park, North Carolina, and couldn’t. All 92 sites at Deep Creek Campground (NC) are reservable, and the agency's own record lists none held back for somebody who drives up. On Saturday, October 17, all 90 sites recreation.gov was offering there were already booked. 1,623 of the 7,647 federal campgrounds in this country still keep at least some sites for whoever arrives first. Deep Creek Campground (NC) keeps none, and that’s a choice somebody made rather than a rule. I’m not asking you to run Deep Creek Campground (NC). I’m asking you to put it to the National Park Service in writing: why is the share of first-come sites there zero, and what would a published minimum share cost? Please press for that minimum at the federal campgrounds you fund. The people who open these campgrounds, collect the fees and keep the water running are seasonal positions. At GS-5, base pay plus the government's own 36.25% benefit factor, one costs about $47,414 a year. One percent of the $13.3 billion the USS Gerald R. Ford cost to procure would pay for about 2,800 of them for a year. Both figures are the government's own (a Congressional Research Service report and an OPM pay table), and I’m glad to send them. Sent about Deep Creek Campground (NC) (Great Smoky Mountains National Park, North Carolina) via campanac.com
Asks them to put the question to the agency in writing, and to press for a published minimum share of walk-up sites across the campgrounds they fund.
Subject Walk-up camping at Deep Creek Campground (NC), Great Smoky Mountains National Park, North Carolina
Dear Ted Budd, I’m a constituent in North Carolina. I tried to camp at Deep Creek Campground (NC), Great Smoky Mountains National Park, North Carolina, and couldn’t. All 92 sites at Deep Creek Campground (NC) are reservable, and the agency's own record lists none held back for somebody who drives up. On Saturday, October 17, all 90 sites recreation.gov was offering there were already booked. 1,623 of the 7,647 federal campgrounds in this country still keep at least some sites for whoever arrives first. Deep Creek Campground (NC) keeps none, and that’s a choice somebody made rather than a rule. I’m not asking you to run Deep Creek Campground (NC). I’m asking you to put it to the National Park Service in writing: why is the share of first-come sites there zero, and what would a published minimum share cost? Please press for that minimum at the federal campgrounds you fund. The people who open these campgrounds, collect the fees and keep the water running are seasonal positions. At GS-5, base pay plus the government's own 36.25% benefit factor, one costs about $47,414 a year. One percent of the $13.3 billion the USS Gerald R. Ford cost to procure would pay for about 2,800 of them for a year. Both figures are the government's own (a Congressional Research Service report and an OPM pay table), and I’m glad to send them. Sent about Deep Creek Campground (NC) (Great Smoky Mountains National Park, North Carolina) via campanac.com
Asks them to put the question to the agency in writing, and to press for a published minimum share of walk-up sites across the campgrounds they fund.
Subject Walk-up camping at Deep Creek Campground (NC), Great Smoky Mountains National Park, North Carolina
Dear Thom Tillis, I’m a constituent in North Carolina. I tried to camp at Deep Creek Campground (NC), Great Smoky Mountains National Park, North Carolina, and couldn’t. All 92 sites at Deep Creek Campground (NC) are reservable, and the agency's own record lists none held back for somebody who drives up. On Saturday, October 17, all 90 sites recreation.gov was offering there were already booked. 1,623 of the 7,647 federal campgrounds in this country still keep at least some sites for whoever arrives first. Deep Creek Campground (NC) keeps none, and that’s a choice somebody made rather than a rule. I’m not asking you to run Deep Creek Campground (NC). I’m asking you to put it to the National Park Service in writing: why is the share of first-come sites there zero, and what would a published minimum share cost? Please press for that minimum at the federal campgrounds you fund. The people who open these campgrounds, collect the fees and keep the water running are seasonal positions. At GS-5, base pay plus the government's own 36.25% benefit factor, one costs about $47,414 a year. One percent of the $13.3 billion the USS Gerald R. Ford cost to procure would pay for about 2,800 of them for a year. Both figures are the government's own (a Congressional Research Service report and an OPM pay table), and I’m glad to send them. Sent about Deep Creek Campground (NC) (Great Smoky Mountains National Park, North Carolina) via campanac.com