Greenbrier Picnic Pavilion
1Heads up1 fire 8.3 mi away
This place has sites and nobody may sleep in them.Ask for camping here →
- Right now
- Taking bookingsSites offered on 16 of the next 16 nights read 16:13 UTC
The place
the agency’s own description · what’s there · 14 notices
In the agency’s own words
Tucked in the mountains under a canopy of cool shade, this picnic pavilion creates a peaceful and secluded environment for visitors, offering the best of the Great Smoky Mountains National Park. 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. Visitors 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. 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
Greenbrier Picnic Pavilion can accommodate up to 70 guests and offers a covered eating area and multiple grills, making it an ideal location for a party or family get-together. The pavilion may be reserved for a morning or evening block, so visitors who wish to use the area for a full day should reserve both time slots.
Natural Features
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. Whether blanketed in bright wildflowers in the spring or vivid colors in the fall, the scenery at Greenbrier never disappoints. At 1,750 feet, Greenbrier Picnic Pavilion 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 the early European settlements in the 1800s, the park strives to protect its historic structures, landscapes and artifacts that tell the stories of the people who once called these mountains home.
Nearby Attractions
Gatlinburg, a one of the Smokies' famous tourist towns, is located about 6 miles from the picnic area, offering organized rafting trips, museums, restaurants, galleries, an aquarium, skiing and more. Contact Info For facility specific information, please call (423) 487-2683.
Charges & Cancellations
Customers who cancel a day-use facility reservation less than 14 days before the arrival date will forfeit the total day-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. Having a picnic pavilion reservation does not exempt you from the parking tag requirement.
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!
Potable water is not available at this picnic pavilion or nearby.
Alcohol is allowed at designated picnic areas.
There are BBQ grills for charcoal fires. Wood fires are not allowed.
Decorations are allowed, provided they do not damage the structure (i.e. no staples) and are cleaned up on departure. Directional signs leading to the site are prohibited.
Commercial activity (for example, sales) is prohibited.
Weddings and wedding receptions require a separate permit in addition to the pavilion reservation; check the park website for Wedding and Special Event Permits
Keep your confirmation notice with you in the event of a conflict with a non-reservation party.
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
Facilities
- Toilets
- Vault Toilets
- VAULT TOILETS on 2 of 2 campsite records
Around the campground
- On the water
- River, Creek
- Fishing
- Hiking
- Historic site
- Wildlife viewing
- Fall color · reported 4 days ago, 2.7 km away
- Patchy color
1 of 4 site-nights open this Friday and Saturdayread 16:13 UTC
The agency files 2 records here and marks every one of them day use, not overnight. On its own record there’s nothing here to spend the night in.
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 · 13
What you actually pay
“Customers who cancel a day-use facility reservation less than 14 days before the arrival date will forfeit the total day-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
recreation.gov availability, read 16:13 UTC · rules read Sep 9, 2026 · rates Sep 10, 2026 · How we know all this
The sites
2 records · the site map
All 2 records
| Pavilion | 4-8PM | day use | 124 ft | $16 |
| Pavilion | 7AM-3:30PM | day use | 124 ft | $16 |
The agency files 2 more records here that aren’t sites for the night. It files them as day use. They’re in the table above, marked for what they are, and none of them is counted as a site.
Getting there
the map and the coordinate · the agency’s directions · the phone number
Where it is
Cosby CampgroundGreat Smoky Mountains National Park · 10 mi
Cosby Group CampGreat Smoky Mountains National Park · 10 mi
Cades Cove Group CampgroundGreat Smoky Mountains National Park · 10 mi
Deep Creek CampgroundGreat Smoky Mountains National Park · 10 mi
Collins Creek Picnic PavilionGreat Smoky Mountains National Park · 10 mi
Smokemont Group CampGreat Smoky Mountains National Park · 11 miThere is no street address for the picnic pavilion.
From Gatliinburg, TN: Proceed east on U.S. 321 North about 6 miles. Turn right (south) at the Greenbrier sign. Picnic pavilion is about 3.5 miles from U.S. 321.
The weather
the next four days · the thirty-year normal
Next four days, and the thirty-year normal
Forecast
NWS forecast for Pittman Center, 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
Greenbrier Picnic Pavilion 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 · 3
The agency’s own record files sites here and marks every one of them day use. The draft asks whether any could open to overnight camping, and if not, why.
- 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
Asks them to put the same question to the agency in writing.
Subject Greenbrier Picnic Pavilion has sites, and nobody may sleep in them
Dear Diana Harshbarger, I’m a constituent in Tennessee’s 1st district. Greenbrier Picnic Pavilion, Great Smoky Mountains National Park, Tennessee carries 2 records on the National Park Service’s own file, every one of them marked day use rather than overnight. I’m asking you to put one question to the National Park Service in writing: would they consider opening any of these sites to overnight camping, and if not, why not? Road trips and camping on public land are part of how this country knows itself. It’s where a lot of people meet the place they live in for the first time, and it has never been something you had to be well off, or well organised six months in advance, to do. Sent about Greenbrier Picnic Pavilion (Great Smoky Mountains National Park, Tennessee) via campanac.com
Asks them to put the same question to the agency in writing.
Subject Greenbrier Picnic Pavilion has sites, and nobody may sleep in them
Dear Bill Hagerty, I’m a constituent in Tennessee. Greenbrier Picnic Pavilion, Great Smoky Mountains National Park, Tennessee carries 2 records on the National Park Service’s own file, every one of them marked day use rather than overnight. I’m asking you to put one question to the National Park Service in writing: would they consider opening any of these sites to overnight camping, and if not, why not? Road trips and camping on public land are part of how this country knows itself. It’s where a lot of people meet the place they live in for the first time, and it has never been something you had to be well off, or well organised six months in advance, to do. Sent about Greenbrier Picnic Pavilion (Great Smoky Mountains National Park, Tennessee) via campanac.com
Asks them to put the same question to the agency in writing.
Subject Greenbrier Picnic Pavilion has sites, and nobody may sleep in them
Dear Marsha Blackburn, I’m a constituent in Tennessee. Greenbrier Picnic Pavilion, Great Smoky Mountains National Park, Tennessee carries 2 records on the National Park Service’s own file, every one of them marked day use rather than overnight. I’m asking you to put one question to the National Park Service in writing: would they consider opening any of these sites to overnight camping, and if not, why not? Road trips and camping on public land are part of how this country knows itself. It’s where a lot of people meet the place they live in for the first time, and it has never been something you had to be well off, or well organised six months in advance, to do. Sent about Greenbrier Picnic Pavilion (Great Smoky Mountains National Park, Tennessee) via campanac.com