Elkmont Group Camp
4Heads uppark alerts
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 15 of the next 15 nights read 16:01 UTC
- Sites
- 4All of them booked ahead
The place
the agency’s own description · what’s there · 14 notices
In the agency’s own words
Situated in the stunning Great Smoky Mountains National Park, this site offers an ideal setting for group camping excursions and outdoor enthusiasts of all kinds. Keep reading
Recreation
Visitors can enjoy high-quality backcountry fishing in the cool waters of the nearby Little River and countless other streams and rivers that snake through the mountains, with trout available in abundance. Great Smoky Mountains National Park is a hiker's paradise, with over 800 miles of maintained trails ranging from short leg-stretchers to strenuous treks, with a number of those trails easily accessible from Elkmont Campground, including the popular Laurel Falls Trail, which leads to spectacular 80-ft. waterfall. The Elkmont, Little River and James Creek Trails are also accessible. Hiking and fishing are not the only reasons for visiting the Smokies: Picnicking, wildlife viewing and auto touring are popular activities. With around 1,500 bears living in the park, it's not uncommon for a visitor to spot one. From the big animals like bears, deer, and elk, down to microscopic organisms, the Smokies have the most biological diversity of any area in the world's temperate zone. 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
Elkmont Group Camp offers four tent-only sites, accommodating anywhere from 15-30 guests per site. Modern amenities like flush toilets and drinking water make for a comfortable outdoor experience. Each site has picnic tables and fire rings with grills, creating the perfect atmosphere for family meals or late night s'mores. The campsite provides easy access to hiking trails, historical buildings, horseback riding trails and waterfalls. Elkmont Campground tends to book up during peak months but additional camping is offered nearby at the Cosby Campground and Cosby Group Camp.
Natural Features
Ridge upon ridge of forest straddles the border between North Carolina and Tennessee in Great Smoky Mountains National Park. World-renowned for its diversity of plant and animal life, the beauty of its ancient mountains and the quality of its remnants of Southern Appalachian mountain culture, Great Smoky Mountains is America's most visited national park. At 2,150 feet elevation, Elkmont Group Camp provides a moderate climate, characterized by mild winters and hot, humid summers. Great Smoky Mountains National Park preserves a rich cultural history of Southern Appalachia. From the prehistoric Paleo Indians to early 19th-century European settlements, the park strives to protect the historic structures, landscapes and artifacts that tell the stories of the people who once called these mountains home. Elkmont is also known for its historical and cultural significance as a former logging community and summer resort getaway.
Nearby Attractions
Gatlinburg, one of the Smokies' famous tourist towns, is located about 9 miles from the site, offering organized rafting trips, museums, restaurants, galleries, an aquarium, skiing and more.
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 · 11
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. For additional information about these firewood regulations, please visit the park website at http://www.nps.gov/grsm/planyourvisit/frontcountry-camping .
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. 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.
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
- 4 · 4 tent-only, 4 group
- Hookups
- None
- Accessible sites
- None listed
- Pets
- Allowed
- Campfires
- Allowed, barring fire bans
- Shade
- Every site
Facilities
- Toilets
- Flush Toilets - seasonal
- Drinking water
- Yes
- Dump station
- Yes
Around the campground
- On the water
- Waterfall, River, Creek
- Fishing
- Hiking
- Historic site
- Ranger programs
- Visitor center
- Wildlife viewing
- Fall color · reported 3 days ago, 0.7 km away
- No change
Full this Saturdayread 16:01 UTC
How full the weekend is nationally.
3 campgrounds have sites open within 30 miles, read 16:02 UTC. See them
OpenBooked
Every one of the 4 sites on offer is taken this Saturday. 1 is free on Mon, Oct 19. read 16:01 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 · 3
Sites the agency is offering this Friday and Saturday that nobody has taken, nearest first. read 16:02 UTC
- Smokemont CampgroundGreat Smoky Mountains National Park · 17 mi · 1 of 274 site-nights open
- Look Rock CampgroundGreat Smoky Mountains National Park · 20 mi · 1 of 130 site-nights open
- Cosby CampgroundGreat Smoky Mountains National Park · 22 mi · 1 of 124 site-nights open
recreation.gov availability, read 16:01 UTC · rules read Sep 9, 2026 · rates Sep 10, 2026 · How we know all this
The sites
4 sites · which ones have room · the site map
The sites, ranked
from 4 mapped sitesAll 4 sites
Toilet distances are OpenStreetMap’s, measured for 4 of the 4 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. 4 of the 4 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
Elkmont CampgroundGreat Smoky Mountains National Park · 0.2 mi
Appalachian ClubhouseGreat Smoky Mountains National Park · 0.5 mi
Spence CabinGreat Smoky Mountains National Park · 0.7 mi
Metcalf Bottoms Picnic PavilionGreat Smoky Mountains National Park · 3.8 mi
Cades Cove Group CampgroundGreat Smoky Mountains National Park · 6.0 mi
Deep Creek CampgroundGreat Smoky Mountains National Park · 6.0 miFrom Cherokee, NC: Take Newfound Gap Road (aka U.S. 441) North through the park into Tennessee. Turn left at Sugarlands Visitor Center. Follow Little River Road approx. 4.5 miles. Turn left at the Elkmont Campground sign and proceed 1.5 miles to the campground office.
From Gatlinburg, TN: Take Newfound Gap Road (aka U.S. 441) South into the Park. (If coming from Pigeon Forge, take the Bypass into the park.) Turn a right at Sugarlands Visitor Center. Proceed 4.5 miles to the Elkmont entrance and turn left at the Elkmont Campground sign. Go 1.5 miles to the campground office.
The weather
the next four days · the thirty-year normal
Next four days, and the thirty-year normal
Forecast
NWS forecast for Gatlinburg, TN
Typical weather
Typical October night 44°F, day 69°F.
Coldest month of the year: typical January night 27°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
Elkmont Group Camp is in Tennessee’s 1st congressional district. Its representative, Diana Harshbarger (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 · 4
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 office that runs itGreat Smoky Mountains National ParkNational Park Service unit
- The member who votes the moneyDiana HarshbargerU.S. Representative · Tennessee’s 1st district
- Your senator, on the same appropriationBill HagertyU.S. Senator · Tennessee
- Your senator, on the same appropriationMarsha BlackburnU.S. Senator · Tennessee
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 the National Park Service to set aside a published share of the sites here for whoever drives up, and to post what that share is.
Subject Hold back a share of sites at Elkmont Group Camp for campers who drive up
To the National Park Service, Great Smoky Mountains National Park: I tried to camp at Elkmont Group Camp in Tennessee and couldn’t. All 4 sites at Elkmont Group Camp are reservable, and the agency's own record lists none held back for somebody who drives up. On Saturday, October 17, all 4 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. Elkmont Group Camp keeps none, and that’s a choice somebody made rather than a rule. I’m asking for one specific thing: set aside a published share of the sites at Elkmont Group Camp as first-come, first-served, and post what that share is so it can be checked. Somebody who drives up has no way in, and no way to find out whether they might have had one. Sent about Elkmont Group Camp (Great Smoky Mountains National Park, Tennessee) 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 Elkmont Group Camp, Great Smoky Mountains National Park, Tennessee
Dear Diana Harshbarger, I’m a constituent in Tennessee’s 1st district. I tried to camp at Elkmont Group Camp, Great Smoky Mountains National Park, Tennessee, and couldn’t. All 4 sites at Elkmont Group Camp are reservable, and the agency's own record lists none held back for somebody who drives up. On Saturday, October 17, all 4 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. Elkmont Group Camp keeps none, and that’s a choice somebody made rather than a rule. I’m not asking you to run Elkmont 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 Elkmont Group Camp (Great Smoky Mountains National Park, Tennessee) 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 Elkmont Group Camp, Great Smoky Mountains National Park, Tennessee
Dear Bill Hagerty, I’m a constituent in Tennessee. I tried to camp at Elkmont Group Camp, Great Smoky Mountains National Park, Tennessee, and couldn’t. All 4 sites at Elkmont Group Camp are reservable, and the agency's own record lists none held back for somebody who drives up. On Saturday, October 17, all 4 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. Elkmont Group Camp keeps none, and that’s a choice somebody made rather than a rule. I’m not asking you to run Elkmont 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 Elkmont Group Camp (Great Smoky Mountains National Park, Tennessee) 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 Elkmont Group Camp, Great Smoky Mountains National Park, Tennessee
Dear Marsha Blackburn, I’m a constituent in Tennessee. I tried to camp at Elkmont Group Camp, Great Smoky Mountains National Park, Tennessee, and couldn’t. All 4 sites at Elkmont Group Camp are reservable, and the agency's own record lists none held back for somebody who drives up. On Saturday, October 17, all 4 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. Elkmont Group Camp keeps none, and that’s a choice somebody made rather than a rule. I’m not asking you to run Elkmont 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 Elkmont Group Camp (Great Smoky Mountains National Park, Tennessee) via campanac.com