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Every number below comes from the live Elkmont and Cades Cove pages on this site, which track these recreation.gov campgrounds for cancellations.
Elkmont is the bigger booking at 211 sites (164 standard, 25 tent-only, 22 walk-to) and sits closest to Gatlinburg on the park's busy north side. Cades Cove has 161 sites (130 standard, 31 tent-only) at the head of the famous 11-mile loop road. Both book on recreation.gov with no hookups. Pick Elkmont for proximity to Gatlinburg and firefly season; pick Cades Cove for wildlife, history, and the loop at your doorstep.
Elkmont lists 211 sites: 164 standard, 25 tent-only, and 22 walk-to. Cades Cove lists 161: 130 standard and 31 tent-only. Neither campground has hookups, so it is coolers and batteries whichever door you choose.
Elkmont puts you minutes from Gatlinburg dinners and the Sugarlands side of the park, and its late-spring synchronous firefly event is famous enough to need a separate parking lottery. Cades Cove trades that for the loop road: bear sightings, historic buildings, and flat cycling mornings before the cars arrive. Its crunch seasons are spring wildflowers and October color.
Both book through recreation.gov on a rolling reservation window, and both sell through far in advance for peak stretches. Set a free alert for your exact dates at either campground and we email you the moment a cancellation opens. Sold out anyway? Cabins around Gatlinburg or Townsend book on Vrbo.
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Elkmont is the bigger booking at 211 sites (164 standard, 25 tent-only, 22 walk-to) and sits closest to Gatlinburg on the park's busy north side. Cades Cove has 161 sites (130 standard, 31 tent-only) at the head of the famous 11-mile loop road. Both book on recreation.gov with no hookups. Pick Elkmont for proximity to Gatlinburg and firefly season; pick Cades Cove for wildlife, history, and the loop at your doorstep.
Both are among the most in-demand campgrounds in the park, per our own booking guide. Elkmont has a specific crunch window: the synchronous firefly event in late spring, which the park page calls the single hardest stretch to book (it comes with its own parking lottery). Cades Cove peaks in spring wildflower season and October leaf season, when the loop road also gets heavy traffic.
Yes. Elkmont and Cades Cove are recreation.gov campgrounds watched by Camp.land alerts. Set your dates once and we email you the moment a site opens. The first alert is free.