About Cades Cove Campground
Cades Cove Campground is open year-round, which makes it one of only two park campgrounds you can use in winter. At 1,807 feet, it has about 160 tent and RV sites with flush toilets and drinking water, a dump station, and no hookups or showers. The camp is a short drive from the Cades Cove Loop Road, the park's best-known wildlife drive.
Seasons and sites
The Park Service lists Loop B and parts of Loop C as open from mid-spring through November 30. In winter only sites C1-12 and C26-61 are open, by reservation. Once Loop B closes for the season, generators are allowed in Loop C during restricted hours until Loop B reopens. A camp store with basic supplies and bike rentals operates in peak season, from May to October. Reservations are required, up to six months ahead on recreation.gov. The fee is $30 per site per night, and Senior and Access passes discount it, though the America the Beautiful pass does not.
The loop and vehicle-free days
The 11-mile one-way loop road opens from sunrise to sunset. On Wednesdays from early May through late September (May 6 to September 30 in 2026), the loop is closed to cars all day and open to bicycles and walkers; Class 1 and 2 e-bikes are allowed. You can rent a bike at the camp store. Abrams Falls is a 5-mile round-trip hike from the far end of the loop.
Getting there
From Townsend, take TN-73 and follow the signs into Cades Cove, about 9 miles from town. Townsend has groceries and fuel. Expect traffic on the loop in summer and October. A parking tag is not required at your campsite, but parking elsewhere in the park requires one, and federal passes do not replace it.
Rules to know
Check-in is at 1 p.m. and check-out at noon. Quiet hours are 10 p.m. to 6 a.m. Pets must be on a leash no longer than 6 feet and are allowed in the campground and on roads, but not on trails. Keep food stored; black bears are frequent in the cove.
Good to know
- How many sites does Cades Cove Campground have?
- 161 sites. Season: Open year-round. Loop B and parts of Loop C close in winter..
- How do I reserve a site?
- Reservations for national park campgrounds are made on recreation.gov. Summer and October weekends book up early.
- Do I need a parking tag?
- A Park It Forward parking tag ($5 a day, $15 a week or $40 a year) is required for any vehicle parked more than 15 minutes inside Great Smoky Mountains National Park. Entry is free, and federal passes such as America the Beautiful do not replace the tag.