Very nice park; staff friendly but sometimes hard to communicate with as they did not speak good english. Looked like lots of fun to be had riding inner tubes on the river; water too cold this early in the year. We camped here in a Fifth Wheel.
It has an indoor pool. It did not seem very clean. Staff were unable to answer questions about rate. The price has gone up significantly. We camped here in a Fifth Wheel.
This is a difficult park to find and not an easy drive on the access road to it, being very narrow and winding. We had site 71, which was not level. Wifi is available at your site for an extra fee, but free if you take your laptop to the central office area. This park does not get a lot of sun due to it's setting in the valley. There was no cable tv at our site and extremely poor antenna reception. No cell phone service either. It was not a good value for the money and we felt it was not up to KOA standards. We would not stay here again. We camped here in a Motorhome.
It is difficult to find. Sites were tight and unless you spent $70 for the top level they were not really Big Rig friendly. It is a typical KOA campground. We camped here in a Motorhome.
This is a first class, and I mean class, campground. I could go on and on, but all superlatives would not suffice to anyone going that way don't miss it. Its the Ritz. We camped here in a Travel Trailer.
The campground is huge. Our site was very spacious and we enjoyed that part greatly. 2 of the 3 showers in the shower house closest to us were out of order for the entire 3 nights we were there. Our son's campsite had a broken faucet which we reported on our first day, it got fixed two days later. As for the pool/hottubs, the indoor pool was a little cool, the hottub was broken but was still hot. They had no problem taking our $8 per person (there were 9 of us) on the float trip. They cart you 3 miles up the road promising that if you have problems or just get tired to go to the road and they'll pick you up. We returned to our campsite after watching the beautiful fireworks display in Cherokee to their "Barney" night watchman. Our teens laughed maybe just a little loudly and he flashed his flashlight at us and told us to quiet down, it's quiet time. It was 11:03 pm on a Friday night. All the other people drove in after us and we never saw him call other people down and we're good, respectable people. I did see him yell at a couple of teens that were walking to a vending machine for them to return to their campsites. It was humiliating to have this man treating people so rudely. As for the other staff, they were young so you felt the need to re-confirm everything you were told. Otherwise, the area is beautiful. We camped here in a Travel Trailer.
I have stayed at this campground for approximately 20 years, in the spring and usually again in the fall. Management has changed in the last few years and I see a decline in this campground. The positives: Beautiful area and campground. Kept up nice (not quite as nice as before management change). Pool and hot tub. Nice sites and big rig sites. Nice cabins. The negatives: Not kept as nice as before. Staff not knowlegdeable about much (it took three people to figure out how to refund a ladies charge when charged for wrong thing. it took 4 to figure out how to refund one night for us). Fishing is going downhill (campground has no control over this). Pool was dirty and too much chlorine in water. Not prepared for large weekend. Cable was off 3 times. It's just the little things that have declined in this campground which I have previously rated at a 10. The staff aren't as friendly and not trained very well. In all this is a nice campground and it is very busy from spring to fall, so if you don't like crowds this place isn't for you. Staff needs training, campground needs attention and work. There are a few hidden charges as well. The site quote isn't what you pay. Expect about $3 per night extra for resort fee, misc fee and so on. I don't use internet so I can't say about that but cable (when working) is free, pool and hot tub are free. Mini golf has a charge and so do bikes and things of that nature. The usual for most campgrounds. Camp store is well stocked and very nice. I will return again but if this campground continues as is, or worsens then I may stay somewhere else in the future. We camped here in a Travel Trailer.
The campground was very quite since we were visiting during the off season. The sites were large and had steel fire rings with grills. The sites had cable, but ours did not work. The indoor pool could have been great, but the area did not smell clean and the pool itself was very cold. The staff at the park were friendly. WiFi was avaiable for an extra charge. We camped here in a Travel Trailer.
We didn't take our trailer this time and opted for a river cabin instead. Well laid out park, although not many restroom and showers available for the size of the campground. Pool area was nice but could use a bit of cleanup. Sites next to road may not be everyone's cup of tea, there is a light buffer but I wouldn't choose those sites. Staff OK, nothing special, cabins on the river are very nice. We camped here in a Campground Cabin.
We have stayed in this campground for about 30 years usually in the spring and sometimes in the fall. The ownership has changed hands but mostly the CG remains the same. Not quite as clean as it used to be and I agree, they have started charging for the little things that used to be free. On holidays and busy weekends this campground if full and often isn't as clean as it should be and is usually noisy with the children that are there. It's a nice place and in off season, quiet. We camped here in a Travel Trailer.
Nice campground with fantastic sites. Office people put us on a "camping suite" site with my sister-in-law, but the site didn't fit 2 35' trailers plus our suburban and pickup truck. They moved us to two different sites without a problem. Only 2 problems. First there is a $2 a day "resort" charge and, second they want $7.99 a day for WiFi access. All the other campgrounds we had stayed at on this trip had FREE WiFi. We camped here in a Travel Trailer.
Very, very over priced.......everything costs extra. A very busy place with absolutely no personal service. They ride around in carts all day and all they seem to do is pick up things that people have left behind, except the trash. More worried about taking your money than anything else. Laundry rooms were dirty and for the size of the campground, insufficient in size. Took a couple of days just to get the laundry done. Not our kind of place. Saw more of the Fish and Game Warden than anyone else. EVERYTHING COSTS EXTRA. We camped here in a Motorhome.
This park has been very crowded on the weekends we have spent there. It is clearly designed for maximum usage rather than quality of experience. The indoor pool and hot tubs are a nice attraction. The roads need to be updated and speed limits need to be enforced better and on a regular basis. The sites on the river are probably the best, but are just OK. "Pricey" is the best word to describe the experience. We camped here in a Travel Trailer.
We were here on the July 3-5, it was a very crowded campground on a holiday. If you like an active campground with lots of activities this is your campground. We amuse ourselves occasionally for our children. Since we like quieter camping. The kids loved it here -- Indoor pool, outdoor pool with slide, snack bar, mini golf, bouncing mat, plenty of children with bikes, giant chess game on the lawn, DJ, dances, large camp store, tube on the river just behind the campground. The staff was very friendly and helpful. It was a short drive from the Smoky Mountain National Park entrance and visitor's center. The only thing I did not like about the campground was the mixed sites. Since we camped in a motorhome and we where mixed with tents and pop-ups as well as travel trailers its hard to relax - its two different types of camping. I felt we were riding over there nicely spread out tents and cooking areas, if we drove out for the day. Would stay again if in the area, but not on a holiday week and I would specify the site area, since I am now familiar with the campground. We camped here in a Motorhome.
This is one of the nicest campgrounds we've stayed at. Large sites, friendly staff and clean campground. The campground is huge. The only complaint I have is that I thought there was free WiFi. When I went to get on line in the evening, I had to sign up and pay for the service by the hour. The charge was 2.99 per hour. I opted to pass on that. The cable TV wasn't working very well when we first got there, but the staff had worked on it for 2 days straight through the park and it finally came in clear. We would definitely go back to this campground and next time we're going to request the premium site with the concrete slab and wire mesh patio furniture. The regular sites are equally as nice too. Would recommend this KOA to everyone. We camped here in a Fifth Wheel.
A bit expensive and you are sandwhiched in like sardines. But the park is nice enough, serves good food and has a place to leave your pet all day if you want. They also offer shuttle service to the area attractions We camped here in a Motorhome.
If you have children you will love this park. If you are traveling without children don't bother. The park has many things to offer a family with children as a result the park was at times over run with children tooling about in golf carts and big wheel (three wheeled bicycles). The do offer help and shuttle service to some of the area attractions. Sites are large, paved and adequate. The WiFi was not available when we where there except in the area of the office/swimming pool and the staff were not particularly concerned about this. We will probably stay there again (they are literally at the door of the National Park. We camped here in a Fifth Wheel.
The people who run the counter at this place do not speak English. They are hard to understand. The park is very expensive and the river sites are a joke for travel trailers. They put you next to a mosquito pond. There are few sites for travel trailers on the river. They will take your extra money though for a river site. Our river site was next to the jumping pillow and a stagnant pond. People kept walking through our campsite. We camped here in a Motorhome.
My husband and I stayed at this campground in 1999 and found it to be excellent. A few years has changed everything. We felt that this campground will no longer be on our list as a favorite. The only nice camp sites were the new big rig sites and they are overpriced in my opinion considering the conditions of the campground. Sites are dirty and littered, laundry was filthy as were rest rooms, staff was not friendly, electric didn't work on our site and had to be repaired with new breaker. The roads are potholed, the grounds are not well kept. The staff rode around on golf carts all day and did nothing. No one in charge here. We will not go back to this campground. There are some other campgrounds in Cherokee that are very clean and nice. We checked them out while we were here. We camped here in a Motorhome.
Review Rating
[ 7 / 10 ]
July 2006
$38
This is our 5th year coming to this campground, though still a nice campground, things are starting to go down hill under the new management. Restrooms in prior years where cleaned multiple times during the day, this year once maybe twice, but not a very good job of cleaning. Not sure if we will return. We camped here in a Tent Trailer.
I have nothing but good things to say about Cherokee KOA. We booked a rally at this location. The staff was very friendly and accommodating to any special requests that we had. The grounds and facilities were well maintained, restrooms were very clean. The campground store was well stocked. Cherokee KOA treated us very well and we will return again in 2007 for another rally there. We camped here in a Fifth Wheel.
This was a great park to stay with children. My kids are 5 and 7 and they were constantly busy. There was a visiting youth church group and they had face painting, tye dye t-shirt and flip flop making, which was wonderful. My children went from the pool to activities all the time. This park is a constant buzz on the fourth of July. People everywhere. Park has a great covered pool and the jumping pillow was so hot in the daytime that it burned my kids feet. Only problem was that it closed at 7pm which is really the best time to do any jumping and not burn up. Overall our site was awesome, but should be since it was $62 a night. We had a nice paved "super site". If your looking for alot of peace and quiet then this is not the park for you. Like some action and activities then this will be right down your alley. Was a nice stay and quiet time rules are enforced. Only bad thing I can say is that this park does allow golf carts and four-wheelers which if you are driving a vehicle or a big rig in and out of the park you have constantly got to navigate between kids which rule the road and will shoot right in front of a big rig. This made me extremely nervous and it looks like a accident just waiting to happen. Parents have a tendency to let there children run wild and they have no clue there are vehicles around. Even little ones riding bikes with no parents. One ran out in front of me on a bike with training wheels and I don't know where she came from but Thank Goodness we did not hit her. Just be careful kinda chaotic. We camped here in a Motorhome.
Very nice campground with all the amenities. It has an indoor and an outdoor pool, hot tub and kiddie pools etc. There is an exercise area available also. Many sites have concrete pads. River fishing and tubing and trout fishing in stocked ponds are available for a daily fee to the Cherokee reservation. Very friendly staff who have always been helpful. The campground was not quite as clean as when we visited in September 2005 but this could have been because we were there right after the fourth of July holiday. All in all I would go back again. We camped here in a Fifth Wheel.
Just got back from a week-long trip here. It was absolutely wonderful!!! We did the "7-night Super Saver" which is not mentioned on their website...ask for it! We stayed on a super site which gave us ample room for our truck and camper. Every camper site has concrete pads. There were many, many people (children and adults) on bikes, scooters, and golf carts, but it's not a problem if you drive slow and share the road. As with every vacation, you can make it good or bad depending on your attitude and patience. If you're going to take advantage of the tours the campground has to offer, ask for Deanna or Amber to assist you; they are awesome! We had to make several changes and they were super nice in accommodating us!!! The campground offers free shuttles to all the tour destinations and local shopping. With the high cost of fuel and heavy traffic in the area it's a great bonus. The food that the 2 snack bars offer is delicious. Nightly dinner specials are also offered. For example: New York Strip Steak, potato, and corn on the cob for $10.99. They also offer all you can eat pancake breakfast with a side order of meat for about $4.50. You can't beat this place for activities, cleanliness, and relaxation. This is our 5th time back to this campground. We have never been disappointed. The staff was extremely helpful and pleasant. I highly recommend this resort. We camped here in a Fifth Wheel.
We used RV Park Reviews to help us select a campground for our recent trip to the Smokies. I seriously debated between the Cherokee KOA and the Yogi Bear campground that is also nearby. The Cherokee KOA won out because of the fun things for kids since I have three small ones (ages 7, 6 and 5), but I was still very worried about my decision after reading the reviews here. Specifically, I was worried about it being nothing more than a large "concrete pad" as someone here wrote. But I was pleasantly surprised--and glad that we chose as we did! Cherokee KOA is a very nice family campground with lots of trees, and it's nestled right between the hills. The one negative I found was that their Web site doesn't tell you that you have to pay $2 for 15 minutes on the jumping pillow and $2 per round for the mini-golf (or $8 per kid for an all-day pass to use both). Our site on the river was spacious and shady, but it was also all dirt. And since it rained all weekend, that meant it was also all mud. That's not really the campground's fault though, although I suppose they could add some rocks or something so people didn't have to wallow in mud when it rains. I thought it was a lovely campground overall: clean restrooms with lots of showers, clean laundry room, 2 pools and 2 hot tubs, a kiddie pool, 2 playgrounds and lots of activities, plus a nice store for supplies. It also has a great deal on an all you can eat breakfast each morning! Despite the rain, I think we chose well; we will very likely return again. We camped here in a Tent.
Review Rating
[ 5 / 10 ]
May 2006
$65
Typical KOA with nice amenities. We paid for a premium site which was simply a concrete pad that was no bigger than the other sites in the campground. First site had trees on both sides and had to ask for another site so we could extend awning. Roads are very narrow and people tend to park along the sides of the road. Makes it almost impossible to get into your site without asking someone to move their vehicle. We were there on a holiday weekend and the place was packed. We normally enjoy KOA's but found this one to be too crowded for our taste and, in my opinion, over priced as well. Will likely not return to this KOA. We camped here in a Travel Trailer.
Stayed here in 2004 and again in May 2006 and opinion is that under new management, this place has slid downhill a bit. Still very nice place to stay but hospitality counts. We camped here in a Motorhome.
We stayed here last year and it was great. This year however the stay was very bad. We traded up from a pop up to a TT after the reservations were made, I called and ask for full hook up site 1 month before our check in date and was told I would get a full hookup site if one came available. When we arrived they gave the man in front of me a full hookup site who didn't even have reservations and told me sorry they had just gave the last full hookup site to him. I ask why this happened and there were no answers available. Pop ups in super sites, TT's in pop up sites, tents in full hookup sites. Could not put out awning on site, children running and riding bikes through site, drunks behind use in tent playing music loud, and some older lady in KOA shirt yelling at all kids to get their bike helments on. Will not go back to this campground. We camped here in a Travel Trailer.
Really a nice, clean family oriented campground. Many people on the staff to assist campers. Lots to do for kids - 2 pools, jumping pillow, carpet golf, basketball goal, 2 playgrounds, paved roads throughout the campground for biking. Can park your car at the campsite and never have to move it again - campground provides shuttles into the town of Cherokee, other shopping areas and tubing. Wish campground fees did not go up during holiday weekends, but that happens everywhere now. With 400 sites, it can be crowded when full. If you want to be secluded during peak seasons, this is not the place to go. We look forward to visiting here again. We camped here in a Travel Trailer.
Review Rating
[ 2 / 10 ]
April 2006
$40
Last time we will stay here. The parents here do not supervise their children at all and the owners and staff never say anything to wild children or their parents. We camped here in a Travel Trailer.
This was our first visit to this campground. We were very impressed. The campgrounds were clean and well maintained. The staff was knowledgeable, friendly and helpful. The directions supplied with my reservation made the campground easy to find. One small issue, one shower I used could not be adjusted for height, but I was able to make it work. We intend to make this a yearly visit. We camped here in a Travel Trailer.
Review Rating
[ 8 / 10 ]
February 2006
$60
I'm glad I didn't find this review until after we stayed at this park or I might not have chosen it. We had a great stay but it was also during a very slow time - only about 5 other sites were occupied. We stayed for about 4 nights and found the staff very friendly and helpful. Some construction and renovation was going on but it didn't interfere with us. Only problem was that our cable went out on the 3rd day. We didn't discover it until nearly dark. The guy came out in 20 degree weather and fixed it within the hour. We enjoyed the location and took several day trips. We loved coming in at night and using the indoor pool and hot tub. We camped here in a Travel Trailer.
Another KOA rip-off. Roads are confusing and the map they give you is no help. They charge $55 per night for their paved "supersites". These sites are about what you would pay $25 for everywhere else, and our site was very unlevel. Your cellphone will not work in this place and neither will your dish tv, but their cable selection is mighty slim. Forget about getting satellite internet in this place, but you can pay a ridiculous fee for their wi-fi. In short, way, way overpriced. Unfortunately, what we have come to expect from most KOAs. We camped here in a Motorhome.
Second time for us in this campground. Although we still like it fine and recommend it, we did have a little trouble. We reserved and paid for a full hook-up site. When we got to our site, we found it did not have a sewer connection. It was after dark when we got there, so I agreed to go ahead and set up camp in the site. They mentioned changing sites the next day, but I decided to stay put once we were set up since we were only there two nights. I was able to get my money back for the difference between a full hook-up site and a electric/water only site. Turns out their computer showed the site (#290) as being a full hook-up while in reality it isn't. Otherwise we had a great time and will return here again in the future. We camped here in a Travel Trailer.
Very nice park. We got there late, after dark, but was able to get checked in and then into my spot without much trouble at all. I had read negative comments about the staff not speaking English, but we had no trouble at all. A nice young lady from Bali helped me several times in the campground store. The whole entire staff that we came in contact with was super-nice. We had a full-hook-up back-in site. A nice family was camped next door and, since it was dark, they helped me get backed in and situated where I needed to be on my site. The pools and hot-tubs are very nice. The other park amenities are all very nice. The only thing that aggrevated me a little is that the map on the campground website is somewhat misleading. It portrays a straight shot through the town of Cherokee to get to the turn-off for the campground, but there are a couple turns that must be made. I wasn't expecting to have to turn and I missed one of them and wound up going several miles the wrong way before I found a place to turn my 53-foot rig around. This was a minor setback, however. My overall opinion of this campground is very good and I will be staying there again on my next trip to the area with no second thoughts. We camped here in a Travel Trailer.
If you like crowds and lots of things to do, then this campground will be nirvana! We had a super back-in site next to a trout pond with a nice view, however, the road traffic noise was annoying. This is a huge campground (2000 people over the July 4th weekend). The staff was friendly and communication was OK, no problems there. If you do not feel like cooking, there is an on-site restaurant serving 3 meals a day. Being the 4th, the owners had a decent fireworks show and ice cream was supposed to be served afterwards, but, due to a massive power outage, it all melted. Oh well.. Lots for kids to do including swimming in 2 pools, tubing, fishing, bring your bikes! Overall, this was a great experience, the staff did a great job keeping the grounds clean. We camped here in a Fifth Wheel.
Review Rating
[ 2 / 10 ]
June 2005
$55
This is truly one of the worst parks in which we have ever stayed. It was full of out-of-control kids (and some parents) roaring around on bikes and big-wheels. The family next to us continually ran their gray water out onto the ground and onto our site....and when we complained (3 times) to the staff, nothing was done. The smell was awful. Dogs were running loose both night and day, coming over to fight with our dog (which was leashed). We had one of the most expensive, river front, sites in the place; but when we got there we learned that you couldn't even see the river from the RV because of a large mound. This is a place to avoid. We camped here in a Travel Trailer.
Wow another Great park! Very family oriented. Has a lot to do in the park itself very big indeed! H ad a Great time; we were last there in 2002. Even has a river that you can tube down for a very long way. Also has kennels for your dog if needed while your site seeing. We camped here in a Travel Trailer.
This an excellent family vacation destination. The campground has very extensive
recreational facilities and there is so much to do, both within the resort and in the surrounding area. Our premium paved RV site was huge. The staff is very friendly and eager to please. I highly recommend this place. We camped here in a Travel Trailer.
Review Rating
[ 9 / 10 ]
2004
$38
Beautiful area. Lots of work on new sites. Pool and hot tub were a bit too cold on some
days and, a bit too hot on others. River front sites are great and give you extra space for privacy. All amenities. A bit far from town but, only about 4 miles. Only drawback is language barrier of staff (most from Indonesia). The staff tries very hard to be accomodating but, there does not seem to be anyone in charge. We would camp there again. We camped here in a Motorhome.
Review Rating
[ 9 / 10 ]
2004
$45
I gave this campgound a rating of 9 instead of 10 because they do have some people that
are sometimes hard to understand (their accents being from different countries) working here although that being said they are extremely nice and helpful. The campground is beautiful, nicely kept and clean. The staff is friendly and helpful. Their accomodations are very nice: pool, hottub, volleyball court, basketball area, tubing in the river and more. The pool is indoors opening up for summer time use. They have a small restaurant and snack bar. Movies at night although I would like a better area and a TV instead of a projection type system but that is the only bad thing you can say. Great place. Would reccomend it highly. I have stayed here for approximately 15 years both in spring and fall. Busy during major holidays, book in advance. We camped here in a Travel Trailer.
Review Rating
[ 6 / 10 ]
2004
$55
Upon arrival, the campsite for our 30 ft travel trailer was muddy as well as the other travel trailer sites. There was not enough room between the trees for our slide out or awning to be extended. It was all I could do to get out of the site and head back to the office frustrated. The only decent sites were the expensive super-sites that are concrete. The office was ok to deal with after trying to understand them as they were from Indonesia. The office which sold the trout licenses when asked did not mention any fishing rules. We later found out that only one rod per person is allowed or a $100 fine per additional rod. The campground needs to be cleaned up in my humble opinion. I seriously doubt if we ever go back We camped here in a Travel Trailer.
Review Rating
[ 4 / 10 ]
2004
$45
Manager is excellent and doesn't hesitate to ask folks who are being ugly to leave. There's
plenty to do in the park - 2 pools, hot tub, internet cafe, gym, tubing, fishing, playground as well as a variety of bicycle rentals. CG store is nice. Having said that, the sites are waaayyy too close. We were back in The Swamps in the back of the park and our site stayed muddy the entire weekend of July 4th. Kamping Kabins & Kottages appeared to be dropped in willy nilly with no thought to orderly layout. At a minimum, they need to pull out every other site; preferably every 2nd & 3rd site. The RV Supersites looked nice but still too close. At least they had nice lawns & patios. We won't go back. We camped here in a Travel Trailer.
Review Rating
[ 10 / 10 ]
2004
$45
Great fun for kids, loads to do without leaving the park. Shuttle to all attractions close
by. We will be back!! We camped here in a Travel Trailer.
Review Rating
[ 7 / 10 ]
2004
$49
Stayed at the park for one week. Some of the sites are rather small, but they now have
supersites for the big rigs which are very nice. Campgrounds provide transportation to many tours and attractions. River runs through the campground which
is nice for tubing and trout fishing. Planning on going back next year!! We camped here in a Fifth Wheel.
Review Rating
[ 8 / 10 ]
2004
$32
Arrived May 6th hot tub out of order, 1 pool open inside. Site 78 back in at fishing pond
but cannot see pond brush grown up so blocked view. Cable tv not working black ants everywhere really bad. Grass had not been mowed concrete pad had not been cleaned, leaves and dead limbs everywhere really bad so cleaned myself between killing the black ants. No cable tv so had to move to site 245 to have cable tv and a lot that had been mowed. Staff is very nice and helpful, store well stocked it is a beautiful place, lots of really pretty cabins to rent, I think I was there a little too early in the season because seemed like a lot of mowing and work needed to be done. Also they are located long way from the town of Cherokee, seems like a lot of driving to visit anything you want to see and do in Cherokee. Bring shampoo from home 6.00 for a 16 oz bottle Alberto VO5. We camped here in a Motorhome.
Review Rating
[ 7 / 10 ]
April 2003
$40
Lock your stuff up. Campground is not secure. Campground is nice enough but weekend was ruined when someone stole PDA from my pick-up at night (the first and only time I have had anything stolen at a campground. Too much activity and people moving around. We camped here in a Fifth Wheel.
Park used to be great! Today people are allowed to park on the grass, leave dog dropping on you site, dead trees standing by some sites and staff inadequate to meet needs of large active campground. Park offers cabin rentals and this area is always messy looking and crowded. YUCK! The Park has a lot of activities but my opinion is they are trying to cut corners and it shows. We camped here in a Motorhome.
Review Rating
[ 6 / 10 ]
2003
$43
Very nice park. They have gorgeous new premium sites that are wonderful and were all full when we camped there. We would camp there again. Very friendly and helpful staff. Sites were big and clean. Laundry room was spotless! Bathrooms were clean every time we used them. We camped here in a Motorhome.
Review Rating
[ 1 / 10 ]
2002
$35
This was the worst campground we have ever stayed at! The staff barely spoke english and
the sites were so small we had to share with the people next to us. The bathrooms were nasty the showers were cold and nasty to be in. The staff was very rude and when we asked for another site they told us it was the only one available for tents and we would have to deal with it. We will never go back here again! The only good thing about this place was the hot tub and they had limits on it. The kids were treated very badly when they went to play at the playground and when they got in the creek to play the staff screamed at them to get the h... out of there or they would make us leave. All they had to do was tell them they could not get in the creek and they would not have gotten in it no more. We camped here in a Tent.
Review Rating
[ 10 / 10 ]
2002
$40
We stayed at this part in mid November. When we checked in we paid for only one night and
asked if there would be any problem staying a second night. The person at the desk said to just come on by before 11 AM the next morning. At 10AM the next morning my husband went down to the office to pay for a second night an was informed that we would have to move as the site we had been given was requested by another group arriving this day. We had our grill, lawnchairs, dog pen, awning, etc. all set up so the last thing we wanted to do was pack up & move. I
went to the office, asked for a supervisor and was told the same story - I asked why they gave us a site that was booked in the first place and she had no
explanation - no appology, no offer to move the new people coming in, no offer to compensate our inconvenience, ziltch. And to boot there were only 4 sites
occupied in the entire place! We packed up our site, left in disgust and headed for another park. We camped here in a Travel Trailer.
Review Rating
[ 9 / 10 ]
2002
$45
This is a good, clean and safe campground. Lots of activities for all the family. Location prohibits satisfactory usage of some cell phone services, and there are phone hook-ups at only a very few occupied sites. If you want to watch TV, take a satellite or vcr and movies; good reception has been spasmodic at best. If you are a camp-worker, give it very long and serious thought before working here. To paraphrase an old
saying, "It's a great place to camp, but I wouldn't want to work there" We camped here in a camper.
Review Rating
[ 4 / 10 ]
2002
$35
A lot of international students were working there. They were friendly. We were not happy with the first site we were given. We were in a tent and they put us in the middle of a lot of RV's. However, they were very accommodating about moving us. The shuttles to area attractions is a nice feature. My only complaint was they allowed a church group to come in at 1:00 am. They were loud, noisy and rude. They woke up everyone
around them. It was very disturbing. We camped here in a camper.
Review Rating
[ 9 / 10 ]
2002
$40
Very, very nice campground in the Great Smoky Mountains, on river, with cabins, friendly staff, snack bar, swimming pool, clean restrooms checked throughout the day and theme weekends. We had a great time! We camped here in a camper.
Review Rating
[ 10 / 10 ]
2002
$40
Took a good care of my pets when I was gone. Have a lot of activities, tours, free shuttles to shopping center and casino. They have a lot of exchange students - it makes that place funny and interesting. Store was opened 24 hours - had all the supplies I needed; groceries, fire wood, ice, RV supplies, etc. Very nice place overall!!! We'll come there again next summer. We camped here in a camper.
Review Rating
[ 9 / 10 ]
2002
$50
Nice family-oriented place. Secluded, no major road nearby to bother with noise, access road fenced off, so kids won't run onto it accidentally. Speed bumps everywhere, security on duty at nights, very safe. One sharp turn on the way there, but no problem even for a big rig, paved pull-thru sites make for easy parking. Pool, hot tubs, grill, snack bar and store around nice,brick-paved plaza. High-tech, payphones with modem hookups, automatic hand dryers in bathrooms, even cellular repeater for clean signal. Bus tours to all major attractions of the area. We had such fun with the international students - you may have to speak a little slower but my kids loved learning about where they were from and visiting with them about their country. Owners are fun and helpful. Will definitelly come back in August 2002. We camped here in a camper.
Review Rating
[ 10 / 10 ]
2002
$38
We had 2 big full hook up RV sites side by side. The staff has some international college students who were courteous and very helpful finding 2 sites together in a shady area. The theme weekends are fun! We went on Mardi Gras weekend, the free Chicken Gumbo in the pavilion was tasty, the colorful, winding parade through the park with a saxaphone player leading the way and tossing of beads and candy to campers was great! The band started playing by the pool, kids and parents danced around. Super memories for our whole family. My husband and daughter enjoyed the fishing. Security was courteous, quiet time enforced, free shuttles, clean bathrooms, a well-maintained campground that is family run. We made more reservations for July before leaving. Great experience! We camped here in a camper.
Review Rating
[ 9 / 10 ]
2002
$45
This a beautiful park and the sites and campground is well maintained.The workers are friendly and will help you in any way they can. We camped here in a camper.
I traveled to several sites around Cherokee region (Yogi, KOA, etc...) and everything was extremely crowded due to trout fishing tourney. After traveling approximately 25 miles attempting to locate a campground, I figure I would take a stab at Craig's Campground. The manager was sitting on the front porch of the office and was extremely nice. He suggested a spot next to the creek with full hook-up and we set up camp. Before we left for Cherokee, asked him what time check-out was and he asked us what time we wanted to leave the next day and said not to worry nor hurry. Extremely nice people, facilities were not fancy, but they were very clean. We camped here in a Travel Trailer.
This campground is a nice, no frills place to stay. We arrived and found the gentleman in the office to be very courteous and helpful. The office is stocked with some essentials to save a trip to town for incidentals. We were directed to a pull-thru at the very top of the last row (#50) and found it asphalt surfaced and very level. We noticed other sites that would be difficult to access with a bigger unit, some of them short and sloping enough that would give problems in leveling. Satellite reception is an iffy proposition as most sites are shaded by tall trees. Free WIFI is availble although the signal was weak at our site, but it did work. The tv cable signal was very clear with 36 channels, most of them good ones. There is a $3 charge per day for the tv cable connection. The water/sewer/electric hookups seemed well placed for most units. Picnic tables and fire rings were at each site. There is a swimming pool and childrens play area with playground equipment, both appeared to be well maintained. There was an abundance of permanent residents, but most of their sites were well kept and the campground was quiet with nobody loitering that we noticed. I would have given the park a higher rating had the cable connection been free. We would stay at this campground again. We camped here in a Travel Trailer.
The restrooms were always dirty. The staff was never in the office, and they were not helpful. They did not have signs with the proper messages. They put us at our site then they would unhook our water to clean bathrooms without informing us. The shutdown both bath houses for a 24-hour period. But the bathhouses still were not clean. The signs to get to the Park were not in the proper place to get there. We camped here in a Travel Trailer.
The staff was very helpful and friendly. The sites are a little close, the laundry was not really too clean but the price of the machines was so low it made up for it. We would stay here again. We camped here in a Fifth Wheel.
This park is quiet and away from the town. The sites are set up for long term campers. The park is not set up for Big Rigs (only a few 50 amp service sites, and poor road design) The bathrooms and showers were not clean and appeared to have just been opened for the season. The park has a very friendly staff, but difficult to locate them. We camped here in a Motorhome.
We just used the park as a base camp, There were mostly full timers there. Restrooms were small but clean. Pool was emptied for the season but looked well kept. Store was also a bit small and a bare. The sites were nice and for the most part level. Cable Tv worked with out problems. Would stop again if in the area. Its out of the way and quiet!!! We camped here in a Travel Trailer.
This campground had some damage from heavy rain before we camped even with work on going the staff were very friendly, they are trying to update, nice campground in the Smokies close to everything.would stay again. We camped here in a Motorhome.
This is the worst park we have ever visited in all of our travels. The cable had no reception (which you have to pay extra for), and the manager was hateful about fixing it which he never did. The park is very unkept, has terrible access, and unlike all the other North Carolina parks is extremely unfriendly. To sum it up avoid this park. We camped here in a Motorhome.
Expensive for such a below average park. Although the restrooms were clean, bowls occasionly plugged up, paper ran out, etc and very slow repsonse to problems. Our 30amp box kept losing power and after a week still had not been fixed. About two thirds of the sites are permanent trailers, with many of them in an advanced state of deterioration. Sites were not mowed and generally this seems to be a campground where not much of the income is put back into the park. It's redeeming qualitys are that it is well off the highway and very quiet and the pool is immaculate. We camped here in a Fifth Wheel.
A very nice campground. The only problem we had was interference with low untrimmed branches. The F loop is definitely the preferred place for big rigs. We camped in the D loop and had difficulty turning into and out of our site. We witnessed one camper who shattered the satellite dome on his fifth wheel with a low hanging branch. The camp host was marvelous. If they trim the trees we'll stay here again. We camped here in a Motorhome.
A very nice National Park. Paved sites, lots of grass and trees. Dry camping only, but a dump site is close by. If you are in to campy Indian stuff, the town of Cherokee is close down the road. I would stay here again. We camped here in a Motorhome.
This is a great place. Sites are large over in the F section. This is dry camping and there are restrooms but no showers. They have a dump station and fresh water available down the road about a quarter mile at the horse stables. There is a nice 6 mile hiking trail at the campground. It is a short drive down to Cherokee for supplies. We camped here in a Motorhome.
Very nice National Park. More rustic if you are use to RV parks. No showers or hot water. Restrooms were clean where we stayed which was in Loop F next to the stream. Great family environment. You can fish, ride bikes, tube and hike. You do have to purchase a Tennessee or North Carolina fishing license to fish in the park. We purchased our licenses on North Carolina's Fish and Game website. Very reasonable price for a 10 day license. We will be back. We camped here in a Tent Trailer.
I left my heart in the smokies..this campground for me was still as beautiful as i remembered last time I was there as a child. My kids were also thrilled to hike the many surrounding trails, play in the stream and go horseback riding from the on site stables. This was our experience..the review: most of the sites in the " f " loop, (over the bridge), are more wooded and private, many are on the creek. On our site, we were parked on a paved level area. Many of the surrounding larger rv's appeared to have plenty of room in their sites. Smokemont is fairly close to town if shopping is necessary. We camped here in a Travel Trailer.
Review Rating
[ 9 / 10 ]
June 2006
$20
sites are plenty big. Ours was backed up to the stream witch was beautiful. Level site gravel very clean. Very peaceful must stay if your looking to relax. Spent 3 nights there. We camped here in a Travel Trailer.
Large pull thru and back in sites. Good hiking from the campground. Beautiful wildflowers this time of year. We camp here often. We camped here in a Fifth Wheel.
We loved this wooded no hook-up, no shower campground. We came into Cherokee and the park on Hwy 19 through Maggie Valley and wished we had taken the 19 truck route instead. The road was much less narrow and unforgiving. We camped in November and most of the campground was closed off, only A and B loops were open. Potable and non-potable water at the dump station had been turned off. We liked site A7 just fine, it was fairly level and quite roomy with a stream just across the way that we could hear. Trailer Life indicates that typical site size is 12 x 27 and the park website says that the RV length limit for this campground is 35 ft but we saw many slightly curved pull-thru sites in D loop that were 100 ft long. They weren't all completely level but they looked fine for big rigs. F loop is an RV only loop that would take a 35 ft RV with some sites in the trees and some more out in the open, several are right on the stream. Bathrooms were simple flush toilets with cold running water, some bugs and a bit of dirt but not too bad. Road into campground and to dump station is narrow but distance each way is less than 1/4 mile. We have a 30 ft class A. We camped here in a Motorhome.
Very nice campground. There wasn't very many camping when we were there. Some of the staff in the office were rude to my mother when they were checking in. If you go and plan to fish the stream don't expect them to stock the stream the same as they did in the past years. I realize this is not the campground manager fault, but when you purchase a permit from them I feel they should be able to tell you what days the streams are stocked. Several of the campers went there just to fish. The staff was asked to contact the Tribal fishery and ask questions about the lack of the stream stocking and no one there acted like they had the time to do so. I feel it should have been at least attempted to be done for the campers. Most of the campers left early due to this reason. We camped here in a Motorhome.
Stayed 3 days spot 904, a real mud hole since it rained, low hanging trees for my 40 ft. motorhome. On arrival had burned rubbish in the fire pit ,broken glass all over the area, goose "poop" everywhere, an empty milk carton wedged in the tree trunk and the clincher was a used prophylactic laying on the ground. A real mess!! Many open sites with grass were available so I don't know why we were put in that spot. The people at the front office were not helpful at all. On the good side the security is good and the Wednesday night pizza was good. The lake is very muddy and full of geese that create a real mess in the campground. &.95 a day for the wifi and you must walk all the way to the office to sign up. A real bummer. I would not go back. We camped here in a Motorhome.
We love this campground, especially the river sites. It's in a beautiful setting, with a lake in the middle and the river running on both sides. Sites are large and the park has great entertainment on the weekends, and a restaurant and well stocked store on site. The only downside is that Cherokee needs a serious "face lift". The only thing to do there really is the casino, and that's not for us, so we wish a good restaurant and some other entertainment would be added to the area. Yes, there's a museum in town, and the outdoor drama, "Unto these Hills" is excellent, but we've seen those more times than I can count. So, for a quiet weekend, this is a great destination. For more than that, I think we'd cross the mountain and stay in the National Park. We camped here in a Fifth Wheel.
1 night stay. Re-charged battery. Water had a sulphur taste did not use. We camped here in a Fifth Wheel.
Review Rating
[ 8 / 10 ]
October 2006
$30
A fine park and great location for the Great Smoky Mountains National Park. We were here for the Fall colors, not to be missed. Happy Holidays while a nice lay out, there were some tight areas for big rigs and considerable mud. The restrooms were few and far between. Only two were open while we were there. We camped here in a Motorhome.
Great, Christian campground! We loved it and look forward to our visit again in 2007! Lots of things to do inside and out of campground. Please visit...you'll love it...especially if you have children. We camped here in a Motorhome.
We returned from Happy Holiday today - definately one of our favorite campgrounds to date. Sites were large and roomy. Many were stream-side (nothing like falling asleep to the sound of rushing water). The staff were friendly and very helpful. This is a very family friendly campground with lots for the kiddies to do. Bring a tube to float down the stream. The weather in Cherokee is the best - except for the sudden afternoon storms (take care of the awning - we lost ours). Despite that one major issue, we had a wonderful time and will return as soon as possible. The bathhouses were large and immaculate. The only problem we saw was that the interior sites seemed to flood quickly during the rain. Store is stocked with everything you might need. We camped here in a Fifth Wheel.
This was our first time to camp here,we usually go to River Valley Campground. We like to go tubing and the running stream by our campsite was great for that. The sites were spacious and the restrooms were clean. We probably will come back here on our future camping trips to Cherokee. We camped here in a Tent Trailer.
I made reservations early for this campground and specifically asked for a shady site. When I got there they put me right in the hot sun. I asked if we could be moved to a shadier site, but they refused. I asked for a refund so that I could go somewhere else, and they refused. I told her that they had falsely told me this site was shady and I should be given a refund. The manager finally came out and gave me the refund. Poor customer service! I will never go back! We camped here in a Travel Trailer.
Review Rating
[ 4 / 10 ]
2003
$30
We had reservations for Labor Day. As we were setting up our popup, 2 of the cables broke.
Instead of trying to prop it up (a heavy, 13' roof; setting up at dusk) we decided to go to my wife's aunt's place, a couple miles away. We went to the office to try to get our money back, and got no sympathy; we ended up forfeiting a nights rent. No, it was not their fault our camper broke, but it's not like they were going to lose any money. We went back to the site and ate a sandwich with some friends before we left. While we were eating, a staff person knocked on the door, wanting to know when we were leaving, since they had someone to take our place. I told him that we would stay as long as we pleased, since it was paid for. He backed off. Needless to say, we won't be back. We camped here in a Travel Trailer.
Review Rating
[ 10 / 10 ]
2003
$34
We just got back from a 4 night stay at this great campground. If there is a better campground out there in existance, I don't know how it could be possible! We fell in love with the campground! The sites are very spacious. We had a site right by a beautiful, running stream. The site was grassy and on dry land, no mud. The site had plenty of room for our 28 ft TT as well as a big space for our truck. We didn't have to cram our truck in front our RV like we have to do at some campgrounds. There is a nice fish pond and also you can fish for trout in the stream. There is a nice
swimming pool. There is a cafe on site where you can get ice cream, pizza, etc. It has a very well stocked camp store also. The employees there are very nice.
It is situated in the beautiful mountains in Cherokee. There are many attractions nearby. I can not express enough just how wonderful this campground is! It is absolutely beautiful and I recommend it VERY highly! We enjoyed it very much! We camped here in a Travel Trailer.
Review Rating
[ 4 / 10 ]
2003
$27
Arrived for Memorial Weekend, wouldn't honor my good sam discount. Had lots of rain in area, site given close to the next person. Awning within 2 or 3 feet of next campers slide. Tackle box stolen, water shut off by unruly kids, water shut off by camper backing over faucet, crowded, people would walk thru our site to get to the river...I mean by the door, staff wouldn't move us to better sites when we arrived...tried later..offer no good sites. Ladies in the cafe really nice, music and fishing nice. Nice views. Won't go back to the campground or the area. We camped here in a Travel Trailer.
Review Rating
[ 10 / 10 ]
2002
$35
We stayed here in a tent on 4th of July weekend and it was the best experiance of our
lives. This campground was clean the staff was friendly and the showers were hot. We camped here in a Tent.
Review Rating
[ 9 / 10 ]
2002
$32
Wonderful place. Live entertainment, pleasant staff. Offered a Good Sam membership that would save me money even though I only stayed 5 nights! We were away during a small storm and the full timers next to us lowered our canopy to make sure it wasn't damaged. This is my wife's favorite campground. We camped here in a Travel Trailer.
Review Rating
[ 7 / 10 ]
2002
$26
I have stayed at this park in several ocasions over the years I normally camp in a 30' Fifth wheel but this time I traveled with my daughter and we were going to tent camp the sites were either in the sun or on the rocks, the site we were assigned was not to our liking. we found a site that we liked better on the creek which we wanted in the first place, I sent my daughter up with some money to the office, I knew it would be more to see if we could change. Keep in mind there were probably 75 empty sites. She came back and told me their computer would not allow them to put a tent on that site. When she told me that, I thought that was the most ridiculous thing I ever heard, so I went up to the office and was given the same answer, I asked to speak to the manager after waiting for a few minutes he finally spoke to me and he stated that he had to save those sites for when the big rigs that come in later that evening. I asked the clerk if that site was reserved for that night, she stated no, I explained to the manager that I had the money and the site was vacant and that I wanted to rent it and he refused. It appears that the Happy Holiday park does not like tents. I asked for my money back and left not to return. Management not very accommodating. We camped here in a camper.
Review Rating
[ 8 / 10 ]
2002
$30
Nice, well maintained park run helpful friendly staff. Lots of activities for families. Some permanent sites (all were very well kept by the friendly occupants). Bath houses are clean, but not a/c. Best sites are shaded along the streams. A band plays on Saturday night, but stops at 10pm. Gravel drives are well packed and suitable for bikes. Harrah's Casino nearby (If you can stand the heavy smoke). Full service restuarants are in close by Towns of Maggie Valley and Sylvia. We camped here in a camper.
Review Rating
[ 8 / 10 ]
2001
$30
This is a big park. The RV sites are close , but not too bad. You can still get your slides out and your awnings and party lights and enjoy the campground. They have live entertainment on the weekends (Not bad). Close to everything in Cherokee NC. A must see is the Indian Village, the Indian Museum and the drama at night "Unto these Hills".!...The pool was clean and some camping right on the river. Bathrooms are so,so but not bad. I would go back again... We camped here in a camper.
We camped here last weekend 5/23-25/09 in a tent. My family loved the campground. The only two things we found to be problems were we could not reach the wifi from our site 12 and the stream was very loud. We could pickup the wifi from other areas. We all had a hard time getting to sleep because of the creek. Some people may like this sound but for us on the waterfront it was a little hard to hold a quit conversation. The staff was very friendly and helpful and the store was well stocked. The bath house was clean and well kept. The sites were wooded and very nice. The stream was beautiful. The play area was small but very nice. We are planing on going back in a few months and plan on staying here again but on a site further from the creek. We camped here in a Tent.
I couldnt agree more with the previous post. This is a nice campground in the mountains, not a resort. Fishing is great. During our stay there was a couple drunks playing country music @ 2am, that was probably the only negative. Fishing is easy and they stock the creek 3 times a week, you need a indian permit also. If you can't catch a trout out of this creek you may want to try a new hobby. Had a nice stay and would go back. We camped here in a Tent.
This is a real nice place, but make no mistake; it is a campground, not a resort. The electric is 20 amp only, so air conditioners cannot be used. The good news is, it gets cool enough at night it is not needed. The campground is heavily wooded, and the sites are smaller, so unless you are in a pop-up or small travel trailer, I would not come here. I left the camper at home and used tents. Some sites on the stream. Bath house is clean, but it got overwhelmed on the weekend. The trout fishing is good. You can fish right from some of the campsites. If you are planning on coming here in your tents, reserve site 60. It is big, on the stream, and somewhat remote from all the other sites. Basic rate for a site is $22.00, an extra $2.00/day for AC, $2.00/day more for sewer. Camp store is well stocked and they don't gouge too bad for staples such as ice. I like it and I'll be back with my fishing rod (caught the limit), but just be aware this is a campground, not a resort. We camped here in a Tent.
Nice woodsy feel to the campground. Creek sites small, and unfortunately hookups too far apart for our rig. We chose site 43 which was a good size full hookup (wsec) back to back site. Campground very quiet, although it wasn't crowded. Management was extremely helpful. Recommended several good places to eat. We travel in a Class B Roadtrek and wanted to see "Unto These Hills", the night time Indian drama. On the way back to the campground we saw an elk -- so cool. When we got back to the campground we pulled into our site and hooked-up. We sat and enjoyed the night air for an hour or so then went to bed. In the morning we realized we were not on the site we had rented! They didn't give us any problem nor even approach us about it. Bath house was clean each time we used it, showers had hot water and great pressure. Small (and I do mean small!) changing room attached to shower. There is a game room, pay phone and a HUGE laundry room. Would definitely stay here again. We camped here in a Motorhome.
We have camped here before, during the spring. The campground was not crowded and was clean. This time it was very busy and crowded. The restrooms were dirty with paper and water on the floor each time we used them. The showers were not clean. We stayed five nights and I never saw the restrooms clean. The employees were friendly and helpful as before. I will camp here again, but not during the summer. We camped here in a Travel Trailer.
This is a nice campground, on the river. Very pretty area. The grounds were clean. The sites were gravel and fairly level. There are also sites away from the river, but the water could be heard throughout the park. Friendly, helpful people who took us on a golf cart to pick out our site. The showers and restrooms were clean each time we used them. TV cable was good and included in the rate. Easy access to the campground. Cell phone service is difficult at best. There is a small store nearby, the campground is about 3 miles to Cherokee. This is a campground, with fishing in the river, a pretty area, but not much else. We will stay here again because it is what we like. We camped here in a Travel Trailer.
This was a nice place to use as a base camp. We got to select our site before renting. There is a river to tube. It was very busy. The sites were very small. We were close to everything in Cherokee. The sites were pretty muddy. Management seemed nice. We camped here in a Travel Trailer.
Smaller park than some of the other commercial parks in Cherokee but if you need a base to tour, it's good. Bathrooms definitely need work, clean but in sad shape. CASH ONLY, no credit cards or checks. Nice staff, toured available sites before selection. We camped here in a Travel Trailer.
We stay at this campground most every time we are in Cherokee. We love the fact that there is a running stream that you can do great tubing and fishing in and lots of shady lots. The only downfall is that you cannot reserve a specific site and after April, they take no reservations. We will continue to come to this peaceful campground because we love the relaxation but we wish they would accomodate reservations. We camped here in a Tent Trailer.
The campgound was not clean. Several live ins but their sites were well kept. The bathrooms and showers were not clean and they ran out of toilet paper. I would have given a lower overall rating except for the fact that the one person that was working did try to be very helpful. We also did end up with what was probably the best site there - it had a wooden deck over a stocked trout stream. Overall sites were too small, too close together, and not very well kept. We camped here in a Travel Trailer.
We have camped at Yogi In the Smokies many times over the years and have always had a wonderful experience, until this last time. We have two 8-year-old dogs that we have taken camping with us for years. We recently acquired another stray puppy that we have adopted, taking our total to 3 dogs. Well this was our first camping trip we made with all 3 dogs and were very apprehensive about the new puppy and how well she would do. Well it turned out that she was wonderful and our other two dogs are always good and we had no problems with any of them barking or scaring other campers. Well we were taking them out on a regular potty walk when the manager of the campground came up behind us in his golf cart. The first words out of his mouth were to ask us how we "Smuggled" 3 dogs into the campground. We thought he was just trying to make small talk with us and was joking around. But he kept following us with the cart and asked once again how we "Smuggled" the dogs in. I finally stopped and turned to him and asked what he meant by his question. His reply was that the rules stated that only 2 dogs max were allowed in the campground and we obviously snuck the 3 dogs in. I promptly replied that we didn't "Smuggle" anything into the campground and that we informed the campground we had dogs when we registered. He then proceeded to inform us that he would let us stay with the dogs this time but we would never be allowed to come back with 3 dogs. So I promptly informed him that we wouldn't be coming back if that was the case. He then mumbled something under his breath that sounded like "that's fine by me" and proceeded to drive on. My wife and I continued to walk the dogs in silence after that because both of us were so stunned we just didn't know what to say. We talked with multiple campers around us that had seen or heard what had happened and it sounded like the other campers weren’t happy with the staff either. I can't speak for the other camper's experiences but the rest of the staff seemed friendly to us and didn't say anything about having 3 dogs whenever we walked them. We also checked the rules on the flyer that they hand to us at check-in and it said nothing about a maximum number of dogs. When we got home we also checked the rules on their website and found nothing their either. My guess is if they have a rule like that, it’s unwritten or in the legal jargon that you are supposed to read before you sign when you check in but I’m guessing it’s probably not their either. Anyway, the manager's accusatory remarks and tone was enough to make us never want to go back. We camped here in a Travel Trailer.
Jellystone is a "classic" campground. It appears to be around 20 years old with many sites of all different sizes and configurations. Most are for TTs and Popups. I think the biggest rig they can handle is about 40ft - and not too many of them. Overall it is a nice CG with its best feature a river that hugs the edge of it. It nice for wading and many people use it for gentle tubing. The pool looked clean although we did not use it. We also did not check out the the showers/baths. The roads are gravel/dirt and a bit narrow in spots. Also the office is not near the entrance so you need to drive into the CG a bit. Most folks looked lost when they first came in looking for it. We give it an 8 since we did have some issues, although most of the staff were very nice and apologetic. The cable never really worked. It worked a little the first day and then went out completely. The other issue we had was with power. On the second day our Surge Guard kicked off a few times. We called the CG staff to make sure it was not our device, but found one leg was only putting out 98v. We moved to the 30amp connection and had a few problems with that too. We believe it had to do with load since the CG was packed. Once everyone left, we never had another problem. Despite the issue, we would probably come back since it is a pretty location and we want to try to get one of the limited large sites along the river. The sites were level - ours was nearly perfect. Cell phones do not work here. We camped here in a Motorhome.
We have been going to this campground for a few years (and it was one of our favorites) but we were very disappointed during this stay. This campground used to be very kids friendly with a lot of kids activities and the people running them used to be very friendly, but that was definitely not our experience this time. They have switched ownership and it just is not the same any more. The people doing the craft were not prepared and very disorganized. You can no longer rent tubes to go down the river. They have taken away a lot of the campsites and put up cabins instead. Still a beautiful and very clean location, though it is a significant drive to civilization. A stay here can get very expensive with all the added cost for extra people, extra tents, river front, etc.... Would definitely recommend the Jellystone campground in Gatlinburg instead of this one if you are looking for a place to go with your children that has some activities. We camped here in a Tent Trailer.
Campground was nice and clean and relatively quiet despite the large number of children there. Our site was very small - we barely had room to put our awning out. There were other larger sites. We have a 26' travel trailer and made reservations for 10 nights so don't know why they put us on the smallest site in the campground. We saw some other campgrounds in the area we will try next time. We camped here in a Travel Trailer.
Arrived at the park and enjoyed the rustic look that welcomed us. The employees were very friendly but thought that it was a bit pricey. Arrived at campsite and found a large RV in lot next door with their fishing equipment and tents in our site. Dropped trailer in next lot and went back to office and they stated they had problems the night before with the group camping there and I reminded them I was traveling with two children and didn't wish to expose them to their antics. They attempted to move us to another site but we were again faced with a group of "rowdy" campers/fishermen. They stated it was an unusual week because of the trout tournement and they were very sorry for the inconvenience. This park has much potential, but stay clear during this trout release season. We camped here in a Travel Trailer.
This is very nice park. The staff is friendly & leave you alone. The restrooms,showers, & grounds are kept clean. It has a laundry room, camp store, clean pool, video room, & nightly movies on a big screen. The play ground is OK , could use some updated play equipment. All the sites are very shady & the river is beautiful & soothing. We all waded out in the water. It's not too far away from Cherokee or GSMNP & peaceful & quiet at night. We stayed here twice with our 4 children & would certainly stay again. We camped here in a Tent.
Review Rating
[ 7 / 10 ]
2004
$31
On the plus side - this is a nice family campground. Great for tents, pop-ups and TT's or renting one of the camping cabins. Very pretty sites along the river. Good trout fishing. Lots of shade. Clean grounds, bathrooms and showers. Nice new pool. Quiet at night. Staff friendly and helpful and worked hard at keeping everything clean. Nice little camp store. Activities for children. Lots of kids and pets - most were well behaved. On the negative side - sites and road definitely need to be better defined. The road needs to be paved or at the very least get graveled. Difficult to tell a site from the road - do not arrive after dark. Caution to big rig owners: it is VERY hard to maneuver due to skinny roads, trees hanging out into the road and too tight turns. Maneuvering through the park and putting a 40' motorhome in most of the sites is a real push! We ended up taking over two sites but could only do that because the campground was not full - forget it during the busy season. Large motorhomes will not fit on a river site. Not enough sites with sewer hookup. Most have water and/or electric - 30 amp only. No satellite TV available due to all the trees. No cell phone coverage - too many mountains. Cable TV is a joke - about 3 clear stations and the rest were all fuzzy or snowy. The ground is packed dirt with maybe some sand mixed in and not much grass because of the heavy tree coverage. Be careful of this place if there is much rain - it will be very muddy. From recent rains some sites in the front area were still muddy and rutted. Road to the campground is a windy 6 1/2 miles at 35 mph in a car (much slower in a motorhome) with a couple of sharp curves. We would have given a higher rating except that this campground is advertised as welcoming big rigs but we did not find it suitable for big rigs. We camped here in a Motorhome.
Review Rating
[ 8 / 10 ]
2004
$25
This campground has been improving since the current owners Bruce and Sharon bought it.
It still has a ways to go but the potential is definitely there. The bathhouses are always very clean and the kids love all the activities. Last year they totally redid the swimming pool so it should be in great shape this summer. It wasn't open when we were there recently, too early in the season. On the still needs to improve side, site definition needs to be better defined and the roads need some more gravel. The location is absolutely beautiul along the Raven Fork River. We drove thru the Cherokee KOA because on our last visit to Cherokee we camped at the KOA. They have almost turned this park into a concrete parking lot. HUGE concrete pads and almost all the trees are now gone. Not a very camping like atmosphere. If you like more of the state park type layout and trees, located along a beautiful river then you may like Yogi better. We camped here in a Motorhome.
Review Rating
[ 5 / 10 ]
2003
$27
Dirt interior roads, gravel on some sites to keep the mud under control, but messy if raining. Heavily wooded overhead so don't count on satellite TV. Don't know how many sites have cable TV. Owners and staff were very nice, but park was a little too rustic for us. We camped here in a Travel Trailer.