If you are looking to dabble in the Smoky Mountains without losing all cell service, camping at this location is perfect for you! I found that while traveling when you want to be removed from civilization but still able to touch base you can't beat a good KOA. This one is a great example of just that, offering amenities for you to enjoy but proximity to easily drive to an adventure just ahead.
This place was pretty nice to say the least, it had that rustic mountain feel but with modern amenities. You could stay here in a cabin or RV or take it down to the tent camp, like I usually enjoy doing. The cabins here though were a little touch of magic and I would recommend these for a holiday away or a Christmas cabin, they were just so cute.
Unlike a lot of KOA camps this one has year round access to pool and hot tub as well as sauna room. But the list of perks doesn't stop there, this is more of a resort feel than campground. They offer bike rentals, shuttle tours to the mountains, fishing, giant checkers and game boards, a clubhouse area, children's activities and both wifi and cable.
So what is the catch to this near perfect sounding place? The only one I could find is that tent sites are limited. Yep, only thing I could find!
There are 4 different cabin options, tons of rv spaces but less than a dozen tent sites in this HUGE mega park. They even offer a grill at this location... you can't beat all that!!
So back to the tent sites.... there are two types available in very limited quantities and they vary vastly despite being placed in the same section of the park only feet from one another. Deluxe sites are $52.99 a night a little to much for me, and while they looked nice with a sandy tent pad and bear boxes along with electricity and water, I was content with my grassy pad and no water or electric at a $30 savings. Sorry KOA you can't have $30 just so I can sleep on sand instead of grass that is what a sleeping pad is for.
So as you can see by my rating even though there was that sharp gouge in price from one site to the next I still gave them a 5 stars. Why you might ask? Well because this campground literally was a resort on a paupers budget staying in my grassy tent site. I had access to every amenity there was to offer, staff was friendly, nothing was left a mess by other campers (or if it had been staff cleaned it up before I knew it) and facilities were very nice.
This KOA set the bar high for others of the same brand and made me realize sometimes why I just enjoy doing the commercial camping thing... sometimes you want rugged... then sometimes you want to have a nice comfortable night that reminds you of home or a hotel...lol
