Big Creek Campground (Great Smoky Mountains National Park) took about 107.3 reservations per site each year, the most of the 11 campgrounds we ranked. Half its campers booked ~5 weeks or more ahead, and its sites were an estimated 86% full in summer.
Mount Le Conte from Clingmans Dome Photo: Thomson200 / Wikimedia Commons, CC0 (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
Inside the park · 16 mi from Maggie Valley
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 11 · 12 reservable sites · 3,598 reservations FY2023–2025
02 · Tennessee side · Cades Cove
A broad valley known for wildlife viewing
In Cades Cove, a broad valley ringed by mountains with some of the park's best wildlife viewing. Open year-round, with flush toilets and drinking water.
Half of May Friday and Saturday arrivals were reserved at least 43 days ahead, and a quarter at least 120 days ahead.
~5 weeks out typical booking~78% full in summer (est.)105 reservations per site / yrRanked 2nd of 11 · 161 reservable sites · 47,820 reservations FY2023–2025
03 · Tennessee side · near Gatlinburg
The park's largest and busiest campground
Eight miles from Gatlinburg at 2,150 feet, in forest beside the river, with mild winters and hot, humid summers.
Half of May Friday and Saturday arrivals were reserved at least 29 days ahead, and a quarter at least 117 days ahead.
FY2025 was its busiest year on record, with 20,074 reservations, above even the COVID-era peak.
~4 weeks out typical booking~84% full in summer (est.)101.4 reservations per site / yrRanked 3rd of 11 · 211 reservable sites · 58,938 reservations FY2023–2025
04
Inside the park · near Townsend
Half of June Friday and Saturday arrivals were reserved at least 32 days ahead, and a quarter at least 122 days ahead.
~4 weeks out typical booking~79% full in summer (est.)96.5 reservations per site / yrRanked 4th of 11 · 16 reservable sites · 4,306 reservations FY2023–2025
05
Inside the park · near Maggie Valley
Half of May Friday and Saturday arrivals were reserved at least 28 days ahead, and a quarter at least 118 days ahead.
~6 weeks out typical booking~77% full in summer (est.)95.7 reservations per site / yrRanked 5th of 11 · 27 reservable sites · 7,253 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) | Inside the park · 16 mi from Maggie Valley | ~5 weeks out | 86% | 107.3 | 12 | 3,598 |
| 2 | Cades Cove Campground | Inside the park · near Townsend | ~5 weeks out | 78% | 105 | 161 | 47,820 |
| 3 | Elkmont Campground | Inside the park · near Gatlinburg | ~4 weeks out | 84% | 101.4 | 211 | 58,938 |
| 4 | Abram's Creek Campground | Inside the park · near Townsend | ~4 weeks out | 79% | 96.5 | 16 | 4,306 |
| 5 | Cataloochee Campground | Inside the park · near Maggie Valley | ~6 weeks out | 77% | 95.7 | 27 | 7,253 |
| 6 | Smokemont Campground | Inside the park · near Cherokee | ~3 weeks out | 71% | 77.8 | 142 | 31,834 |
| 7 | Deep Creek Campground (Nc) | Inside the park · near Bryson City | ~3 weeks out | 62% | 44.1 | 92 | 10,555 |
| 8 | Balsam Mountain Campground | Inside the park · near Maggie Valley | ~2 weeks out | 62% | 43.9 | 43 | 5,517 |
| 9 | Look Rock Campground | Inside the park · near Townsend | 12 days out | 28% | 31.1 | 68 | 6,152 |
| 10 | Cosby Campground | Inside the park · 17 mi from Gatlinburg | ~2 weeks out | 26% | 28.4 | 157 | 13,179 |
| 11 | Harmon Den Campground | National Forests in North Carolina · 18 mi from Maggie Valley | ~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): Cades Cove Group (807 reservations), Elkmont Group Camp (706 reservations), Cataloochee Group Camp (576 reservations), Cataloochee Horse Camp (553 reservations), Deep Creek Group Camp (427 reservations), Smokemont Group Camp (352 reservations), Cosby Group Camp (323 reservations).
Reservations peaked at about 81,000 in FY2021 and were about 66,000 in FY2025, still above the pre-2020 average of about 37,000 a year.
36,827 a year on average in FY2015–2019, 65,928 in FY2025, across all 18 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 Deep Creek Campground (Nc) and Look Rock, 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 Great Smoky Mountains National Park.
Search Great Smoky Mountains 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.