Deep Creek Group Camp
1Heads up1 fire 12 mi away
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 10 of the next 10 nights read 16:09 UTC
- Sites
- 3All of them booked ahead
The place
the agency’s own description · what’s there · 15 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. 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. Keep reading
Recreation
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.
Facilities
The camp offers three group sites, all with grills, tables and campfire rings, perfect for a family meal or a late-night s'mores session. Hookups and showers are not provided, but flush toilets and drinking water are available.
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 it's proximity to water, Deep Creek is an ideal campground for water recreation and books up quickly during summer months.
Nearby Attractions
Although the Deep Creek Group Camp is available by reservation only, the nearby Deep Creek Campground offers first-come, first-served camping, and can also accommodate RV campers. Bryson City, located about three miles away, offers grocery stores and medical facilities.
Charges & Cancellations
Customers who cancel a group overnight facility reservation less than 14 days before the arrival date will pay a $10.00 service fee AND forfeit the first night's use fee.
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.
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.
Everything else this campground posts · 12
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.
A reservation is required to use a group camp.
There are no showers or electric, water or sewer hook-ups in the park. Some group sites are accessible.
Quiet hours are in effect from 10 PM to 6 AM. Generator use is prohibited in group camps.
Fires are allowed in fire rings only!
A minimum of 7 people is required for group site use. Maximum site capacity varies from 15 to 30 people. The park stay limit is 14 consecutive days.
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.
For additional park information call 865-436-1200 or visit www.nps.gov/grsm
Tents and rigs
- Sites
- 3 · 3 tent-only, 3 group
- Hookups
- None
- Paved pads
- All
- Accessible sites
- 1
- Pets
- Allowed
- Campfires
- Allowed, barring fire bans
- Shade
- Every site
Facilities
- Toilets
- Flush Toilets
- “…and showers are not provided, but flush toilets and drinking water are available. Deep Creek is in…”
- Showers
- None at this campground
- “Hookups and showers are not provided, but flush toilets and drinking water are available.”
- Drinking water
- Yes
- “…are not provided, but flush toilets and drinking water are available. Deep Creek is in the southeastern…”
- Dump station
- Yes
- recreation.gov lists “Dump Station”
Around the campground
- On the water
- Waterfall, River, Creek
- Fishing
- Hiking
- Historic site
- Horseback riding
- Visitor center
- Wildlife viewing
- Fall color · reported 8 days ago, 13 km away
- Minimal color
Full this Saturdayread 16:09 UTC
How full the weekend is nationally.
7 campgrounds have sites open within 30 miles, read 17:03 UTC. See them
OpenBooked
Every one of the 3 sites on offer is taken this Friday and Saturday. 3 are free on Mon, Oct 19. read 16:09 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 · 16
What you actually pay
“Customers who cancel a group overnight facility reservation less than 14 days before the arrival date will pay a $10.00 service fee AND forfeit the first night's use fee.” · 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
Open within 30 miles this weekend · 7
Sites the agency is offering this Friday and Saturday that nobody has taken, nearest first; the nearest 5 of 7. read 17:03 UTC
- Deep Creek Campground (NC)Great Smoky Mountains National Park · 0.1 mi · 1 of 180 site-nights open
- Appalachian ClubhouseGreat Smoky Mountains National Park · 16 mi · 1 of 2 site-nights open
- Elkmont CampgroundGreat Smoky Mountains National Park · 16 mi · 1 of 422 site-nights open
- Cades Cove CampgroundGreat Smoky Mountains National Park · 22 mi · 1 of 320 site-nights open
- Cosby CampgroundGreat Smoky Mountains National Park · 24 mi · 1 of 124 site-nights open
recreation.gov availability, read 16:09 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
Deep Creek Campground (NC)Great Smoky Mountains National Park · 0.1 mi
Deep Creek Picnic PavilionGreat Smoky Mountains National Park · 0.3 mi
Cheoah Point Cabin 17.0 mi
Cheoah Point Cabin 27.0 mi
Collins Creek Picnic PavilionGreat Smoky Mountains National Park · 9.2 mi
Tow String Horse CampGreat Smoky Mountains National Park · 9.4 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 Group Camp 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 Group Camp, 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 Group Camp, Great Smoky Mountains National Park, North Carolina, and couldn’t. All 3 sites at Deep Creek Group Camp are reservable, and the agency's own record lists none held back for somebody who drives up. On Saturday, October 17, all 3 sites recreation.gov was offering there were already booked. 1,623 of the 7,639 federal campgrounds in this country still keep at least some sites for whoever arrives first. Deep Creek Group Camp keeps none, and that’s a choice somebody made rather than a rule. I’m not asking you to run Deep Creek Group Camp. 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 Group Camp (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 Group Camp, Great Smoky Mountains National Park, North Carolina
Dear Ted Budd, I’m a constituent in North Carolina. I tried to camp at Deep Creek Group Camp, Great Smoky Mountains National Park, North Carolina, and couldn’t. All 3 sites at Deep Creek Group Camp are reservable, and the agency's own record lists none held back for somebody who drives up. On Saturday, October 17, all 3 sites recreation.gov was offering there were already booked. 1,623 of the 7,639 federal campgrounds in this country still keep at least some sites for whoever arrives first. Deep Creek Group Camp keeps none, and that’s a choice somebody made rather than a rule. I’m not asking you to run Deep Creek Group Camp. 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 Group Camp (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 Group Camp, Great Smoky Mountains National Park, North Carolina
Dear Thom Tillis, I’m a constituent in North Carolina. I tried to camp at Deep Creek Group Camp, Great Smoky Mountains National Park, North Carolina, and couldn’t. All 3 sites at Deep Creek Group Camp are reservable, and the agency's own record lists none held back for somebody who drives up. On Saturday, October 17, all 3 sites recreation.gov was offering there were already booked. 1,623 of the 7,639 federal campgrounds in this country still keep at least some sites for whoever arrives first. Deep Creek Group Camp keeps none, and that’s a choice somebody made rather than a rule. I’m not asking you to run Deep Creek Group Camp. 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 Group Camp (Great Smoky Mountains National Park, North Carolina) via campanac.com