Big Creek Campground (Great Smoky Mountains National Park) took about 107.3 reservations per site each year, the most of the 15 campgrounds we ranked. Half its campers booked ~5 weeks or more ahead, and its sites were an estimated 86% full in summer.
The Blue Ridge from the Parkway near Craggy Gardens Photo: Ken Thomas / Wikimedia Commons, Public domain
Ranked by reservations per reservable site per year (FY2023–2025), so a small campground that fills up counts as much as a big one. "Typical booking" is when half of campers had already reserved; summer occupancy is our estimate (see how we measured).
01
Great Smoky Mountains NP · 19 mi from Hot Springs
Half of August Friday and Saturday arrivals were reserved at least 50 days ahead, and a quarter at least 133 days ahead.
~5 weeks out typical booking~86% full in summer (est.)107.3 reservations per site / yrRanked 1st of 15 · 12 reservable sites · 3,598 reservations FY2023–2025
02 · Pisgah National Forest · near Brevard
Shaded loops near trails, fishing and waterfalls
Several loops of shaded sites at 2,150 feet in Pisgah National Forest, with hiking trails, fishing spots and waterfalls nearby.
Half of May Friday and Saturday arrivals were reserved at least 80 days ahead, and a quarter at least 144 days ahead.
Its earliest observed bookings came nearly a year (358 days) ahead, the longest window of any campground near Asheville in this study.
~5 weeks out typical booking~88% full in summer (est.)104 reservations per site / yrRanked 2nd of 15 · 132 reservable sites · 38,967 reservations FY2023–2025
03 · Pisgah National Forest · near Asheville
Wooded loops on the banks of Lake Powhatan
Four loops of shaded sites in heavy woods on Lake Powhatan, all within walking distance of the lake, with hot showers. Its glamping tents are booked separately.
Bookings peaked at 8,793 in FY2022 and have eased each year since, to 6,040 in FY2025.
~3 weeks out typical booking~74% full in summer (est.)103.6 reservations per site / yrRanked 3rd of 15 · 71 reservable sites · 21,129 reservations FY2023–2025
04 · Great Smoky Mountains · Cataloochee Valley
A remote valley where elk are common
In the historic Cataloochee Valley, a relatively remote part of the Smokies by Cataloochee Creek; elk are common in spring and fall.
~6 weeks out typical booking~77% full in summer (est.)95.7 reservations per site / yrRanked 4th of 15 · 27 reservable sites · 7,253 reservations FY2023–2025
05
National Forests in North Carolina · 13 mi from Brevard
~4 weeks out typical booking~62% full in summer (est.)74.4 reservations per site / yrRanked 5th of 15 · 24 reservable sites · 5,334 reservations FY2023–2025
Typical booking: median days between booking and arrival, FY2023–2025. Peak season, est. full: reserved site-nights ÷ (reservable sites × nights) in summer (June–August), 2023–2025; blank where we couldn't estimate it reliably. Ranking is reservations per reservable site per year, averaged over the FY2023–2025 years each campground took reservations (campgrounds that joined Recreation.gov recently are marked "Partial history"). Details in About this data.
| # | Campground | Area / setting | Typical booking | Peak season, est. full | Reservations per site / yr | Sites | Total reservations FY23–25 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Big Creek Campground (Great Smoky Mountains National Park) | Great Smoky Mountains NP · 19 mi from Hot Springs | ~5 weeks out | 86% | 107.3 | 12 | 3,598 |
| 2 | Davidson River | National Forests in North Carolina · near Brevard | ~5 weeks out | 88% | 104 | 132 | 38,967 |
| 3 | Lake Powhatan | National Forests in North Carolina · near Asheville | ~3 weeks out | 74% | 103.6 | 71 | 21,129 |
| 4 | Cataloochee Campground | Great Smoky Mountains NP · near Waynesville | ~6 weeks out | 77% | 95.7 | 27 | 7,253 |
| 5 | North Mills River | National Forests in North Carolina · 13 mi from Brevard | ~4 weeks out | 62% | 74.4 | 24 | 5,334 |
| 6 | Balsam Mountain Campground | Great Smoky Mountains NP · near Waynesville | ~2 weeks out | 62% | 43.9 | 43 | 5,517 |
| 7 | Rock Creek Recreation Area (Cherokee National Forest, Tn) | Cherokee National Forest · 15 mi from Burnsville | ~6 weeks out | 75% | 40.5 | 31 | 3,750 |
| 8 | Curtis Creek Campground (Nc) | National Forests in North Carolina · near Marion | ~3 weeks out | 30% | 38.9 | 23 | 2,638 |
| 9 | Carolina Hemlocks Rec Area | National Forests in North Carolina · near Burnsville | ~6 weeks out | 43% | 33.4 | 35 | 3,365 |
| 10 | Paint Creek Campground | Cherokee National Forest · near Hot Springs | ~5 weeks out | 60% | 32.3 | 20 | 1,901 |
| 11 | Mount Pisgah Campground | Blue Ridge Parkway · near Brevard | ~4 weeks out | 42% | 30.4 | 126 | 10,896 |
| 12 | Wolf Ford Horse Camp | National Forests in North Carolina · near Brevard | 9 days out | 20% | 29.7 | 11 | 982 |
| 13 | Cosby Campground | Great Smoky Mountains NP · 22 mi from Waynesville | ~2 weeks out | 26% | 28.4 | 157 | 13,179 |
| 14 | Black Mountain Campground | National Forests in North Carolina · 12 mi from Burnsville | ~8 weeks out | 20% | 19.2 | 37 | 2,041 |
| 15 | Harmon Den Campground | National Forests in North Carolina · 12 mi from Hot Springs | ~2 weeks out | 11% | 9.3 | 22 | 611 |
Not ranked, because Recreation.gov doesn't list a reliable count of individual reservable sites (group, cabin or shared sites, fewer than 10 sites, or site records that don't match the bookings): Lake Powhatan Glamping (1,702 reservations), Sunburst (713 reservations), Briar Bottom Group Campground (580 reservations), Cataloochee Group Camp (576 reservations), Cataloochee Horse Camp (553 reservations), Cosby Group Camp (323 reservations).
Reservations peaked at about 58,000 in FY2021 and were about 37,000 in FY2025, still above the pre-2020 average of about 20,000 a year.
20,329 a year on average in FY2015–2019, 36,525 in FY2025, across all 21 campgrounds we studied. FY2020–21 were shaped by COVID closures and the camping surge.
The set of campgrounds on Recreation.gov changed over these years (some, like Paint Creek and Wolf Ford Horse Camp, joined recently), so part of the change reflects which campgrounds were bookable there, not only how many people camped.
Compare current openings and prices around Asheville.
Search Asheville campgroundsData: Recreation.gov reservations FY2015–2025. These are Recreation.gov's public reservation records (the RIDB historical reservation files), covering every federal campground in the area that took at least 300 reservations in FY2023–2025. Federal fiscal years run October to September, so FY2025 is October 2024 through September 2025.
Updated Nov 3, 2026. Distances are straight-line.