National Park Service · Tennessee
Great Smoky Mountains National Park campsites, sold out? Here's how spots come back.
Ridge upon ridge of forest straddles the border between North Carolina and Tennessee in Great Smoky Mountains National Park. World renowned for its diversity of plant and animal life, the beauty of its ancient mountains, and the quality of its remnants of Southern Appalachian mountain culture, this is America's most visited national park. Plan your visit today!
How booking at Great Smoky Mountains National Park works
Reservations for Great Smoky Mountains National Park are made through Recreation.gov. In peak season, the most popular campgrounds are typically claimed within minutes of each release — which is why the park reads as "sold out" for most of the year.
Sold out is not final, though. People book far ahead and plans change, so cancellations return to the official calendar throughout the season — with no announcement, at any hour. A cancelled site is bookable by whoever sees it first.
Booking facts
| Managed by | National Park Service |
|---|---|
| Book through | Recreation.gov |
| Location | Gatlinburg, TN |
| Campgrounds | 30 |
| Official listing | Recreation.gov |
Campgrounds in Great Smoky Mountains National Park
Set a watch on the whole park, or go straight to the campground you want — each one has its own availability and cancellation pattern:
| Elkmont Campground | 217 sites |
|---|---|
| Cades Cove Campground | 164 sites |
| Cosby Campground | 157 sites |
| Smokemont Campground | 142 sites |
| Deep Creek Campground (NC) | 92 sites |
| Look Rock Campground | 69 sites |
| Balsam Mountain Campground | 43 sites |
| Cataloochee Campground | 27 sites |
| Abram's Creek Campground | 16 sites |
| Big Creek Campground (Great Smoky Mountains National Park) | 12 sites |
| Cataloochee Horse Camp | 7 sites |
| Big Creek Horse Camp | 5 sites |
| Round Bottom Horse Camp | 5 sites |
| Cades Cove Group | 4 sites |
| Elkmont Group Camp | 4 sites |
| Anthony Creek Horse Camp | 3 sites |
| Cataloochee Group Camp | 3 sites |
| Cosby Group Camp | 3 sites |
| Deep Creek Group Camp | 3 sites |
| Smokemont Group Camp | 3 sites |
| Tow String Horse Camp | 3 sites |
| Collins Creek Picnic Pavilion | 2 sites |
| Cosby Picnic Pavilion | 2 sites |
| Deep Creek Picnic Pavilion | 2 sites |
| Greenbrier Picnic Pavilion | 2 sites |
| Metcalf Bottoms Picnic Pavilion | 2 sites |
| Appalachian Clubhouse | 1 sites |
| Big Creek Group Camp | 1 sites |
| Spence Cabin | 1 sites |
| Twin Creeks Picnic Pavilion | 1 sites |
How ItOpened watches Great Smoky Mountains National Park
We scan the official Recreation.gov calendar for Great Smoky Mountains National Park around the clock. The second a site that matches your dates and equipment opens up, you get a text with a direct link to that exact site. You book it yourself, in your own account, at the normal price. We never book, hold, or resell anything — monitoring is all we do, and it's what your fee pays for. Openings are first-come, so a text beats an email every time.
Page data refreshed 2026-10-29. Availability facts come from the official directory listing for Great Smoky Mountains National Park; cancellation statistics come from our own scanning logs.