LODGING AND CAMPING FACILITIES
There are no Government-operated cabins nor lodging accommodations in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park. Under the policy approved by the Secretary of the Interior, tourist facilities within the boundaries of this park are limited to automobile campgrounds and picnic areas. Cabins and lodging accommodations may be obtained in any of the towns surrounding the park, and such information may be obtained from the Chambers of Commerce of such cities. The only accommodations inside the park are LeConte Lodge on the summit of Mt. LeConte, accessible only by foot or horseback, and Wonderland Club Hotel, Elkmont, Tennessee. These are operated under permit from the National Park Service. Information regarding these may be obtained by writing direct to LeConte Lodge, Gatlinburg, Tennessee, and the Wonderland Club Hotel, Elkmont, Tennessee.
There are at present two permanent public campgrounds in the park—the Chimneys campground located about seven and a half miles from Gatlinburg, Tennessee, and the Smokemont campground located about four miles from the Oconaluftee Ranger Station in North Carolina. These campgrounds are furnished with water supply, fireplaces, tables and benches, comfort stations, and tent and trailer spaces. Campers must bring their own tent or trailer and other camping equipment.
There are also meagerly furnished temporary primitive campgrounds located in Cosby, Greenbrier, Elkmont, Walkers Valley, Cades Cove, Happy Valley, and Bunny Branch on the Tennessee side, and about the mouth of Lost Cove on Eagle Creek, at the old ball grounds at Proctor and at the confluence of Bone Valley and Hazel Creeks in Hazel Creek, at the head of the bay on Forney Creek and four miles up Forney Creek at the warden station, and on Noland Creek, and Deep Creek Straight Fork, Cataloochee, and Big Creek on the North Carolina side.
The campgrounds are open the year round, but during freezing weather the water is cut off and the comfort stations closed. Caretaker services are provided in the Chimneys and Smokemont campgrounds from about the middle of May until October. The campgrounds are operated on a first-come-first-served basis and reservations are not taken for camping space.
No special permit is required for camping at any of the designated campgrounds in the park, but a camping permit is required for camping elsewhere in the park. Such a permit may be obtained from any of the rangers or wardens or upon application to the office of the Superintendent, Great Smoky Mountains National Park, Gatlinburg, Tennessee.