Our Family’s Top 10 Favorite Activities When We Camp At Elkmont

HIKING, BIKING, SWIMMING, HISTORY, VISITING A GHOST TOWN… THERE’S LOTS TO DO AT THIS FAMILY-FRIENDLY CAMPGROUND IN THE SMOKIES

Elkmont Campground is one of my go-to campgrounds in the Smokies and not just because it is close to my house in the Knoxville area. The campground itself is great, but it also has lots to do right on the doorstep of your campsite so to speak, or a quick drive away. The kids are not as interested as I am in reading a book in a hammock all day (which is my favorite camping activity), so having more active choices for them is always a bonus.

If you wanted, you could spend a fun-filled camping weekend at Elkmont without ever having to leave the campground or get back in your car. That makes it one of my dream campgrounds. But if you are looking at spending a week camping here or want to see as much as you can of the Smokies during your trip, Elkmont is well situated in the park to take advantage of lots of the most popular sights.

Overview Of Things To Do In Elkmont

Hiking is always a big favorite of my family, and you’ll find some short kid- friendly trails as well as longer hikes that you can easily walk to from your campsite. There is even a hidden cabin in the woods not too far away that the kids will love to try and find.

But there is more to do in Elkmont than just hike its surrounding trails-- you can tube and splash around in the Little River, explore a historic “ghost town,” go for a bike ride, or catch a fish.

Its location also puts you close to some of the best trails and historic sites in the park, like Laurel Falls and Little Greenbrier School, and not too far from other day trip ideas like Alum Cave and Clingmans Dome. Even if it rains, you won’t be stuck in your tent all day-- you can drive over to nearby Gatlinburg and have some fairly touristy but memorable fun at the aquarium or enjoying samples from approximately a million fudge shops.

Our Top 10 Things To Do In Elkmont

1. Hike- there are 3 trailheads within walking distance of the campground and one leads to a hidden cabin in the woods.

2. Explore Elkmont’s Historic District, often called Elkmont’s “ghost town.”

3. Swim, splash, or tube in the Little River that runs through the campground.

4. Go biking around the campground or over at Cades Cove, the best biking spot in the park.

5. Spot some wildlife- turkeys, woodpeckers, owls, snakes, and even bears are all animals I have seen at Elkmont.

6. Take a day trip to Metcalf Bottoms, a popular riverfront picnic area in the park with hiking trails.

7. Head up Clingmans Dome to see the highest point in the Smokies.

8. Beat the crowds at Laurel Falls, one of the most popular hikes in the national park and super close to the campground so you can get an early start.

9. Go fishing in the Little River or Jakes Creek.

10. Take a day trip over to Gatlinburg and have yourself some kitschy but memorable fun with the family at this touristy mountain towm.

A Map Of The Great Smoky Mountains National Park To Help You Get Your Bearings (Elkmont has a blue box around it).

Click to enlarge

A Map Of Elkmont Campground

*DON’T FORGET YOUR PARKING PASS!* As of March 2023, you will need a parking pass to park anywhere in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park for more than 15 minutes. Parking passes can be bought online, at all Visitor Centers, and at a few other places, like the Townsend Visitor Center. Passes are $5 for the day, $15 for the week, and $40 for a year. They are not transferable either, meaning you will need one for each car you plan on driving into the park. The GSMNP website has lots of details and FAQ about the new parking passes. These new passes will help pay for some much needed maintenance throughout the park, including at rest areas and campgrounds.

1. Take A Hike From Your Campsite

You can walk to several trailheads from the campground itself-- the Nature Trail, Little River Trail, and Jakes Creek Trail. This is one of my favorite things about Elkmont- that there are 3 trailheads you can walk to without having to worry about fighting traffic in the park.

Elkmont Nature Trail

0.8 mile Loop Trail

This is a short but pretty (and often overlooked) loop trail adjacent to the eastern half of the campground. You can walk to it along the Little River Road or take a cut through path between campsites C11 and C12.

At the trailhead, look for the box containing brochures containing all the information that corresponds to the numbered signs along the trail (or ask for one at the ranger station). The kids enjoy finding each sign and reading the associated blurb.

The trail isn’t always wonderfully maintained so be prepared to go over fallen trees. Definitely not for strollers but fine for toddlers due to its short length and minimal elevation gain.

Little River Trail

6.1 miles long but most people hike 2.5 miles up to the intersection with Cucumber Gap and then return

One of the most popular trails in the park, the Little River Trail is an old logging road and rail line so it is wide and fairly flat, at least for the first few miles. And since it follows along the river, it is quite scenic too. A perfect place to stretch your legs for a long or short while, whatever you feel like.

Tip: Otters were released here in the 1990s so keep an eye out for them.

Hiking In The Smokies has an excellent write-up of the trail and several loop options you can do from here back to Elkmont. The Little River trail to Cucumber Gap trail to Jakes Creek trail is a popular loop trail for longer day hikes without being overly strenuous (5.6 miles RT, 830 ft elevation gain mostly on Cucumber Gap)

Jakes Creek Trail And Avent Cabin (a hidden cabin in the woods!)

3.3 miles long but only 1.3 miles to the hidden cabin

Mostly used as a connecting trail to other trails (Meigs Mountain or Cucumber Gap), Jakes Creek trail is worth an exploration, especially for the first mile. You will pass lots of remnants of the cabins and cottages that were once part of the Appalachian Club, a private club for wealthy Knoxvillians. This section was know as Society Hill. You can read more about the Appalachain Club and the Elkmont Historic District below in the section about Elkmont’s “ghost town.”

A mile or so up Jakes Creek Trail takes you to an unmarked spur trail to a hidden cabin in the woods, Avent Cabin. It isn’t really that hidden anymore as lots of people know about it—even Google has it marked on its maps.

In the spring and summer though, you won’t be able to see the cabin until you are almost there so it does feel a little like a lost world. And the kids really like that aspect of it.

Built in 1845, Avent Cabin is one of the oldest cabins in the park. The original family cleared the surrounding forest for corn, potatoes, and apple trees, which is amazing because you can’t figure out where they did all of that on the now completely forested hillside. It became the studio for noted artist Mayna Treanor Avent in 1919 and she used it for 20 years.

When you arrive at the cabin, do read the extremely thorough information booklet in the former kitchen which will tell you all about the construction of the cabin as well as give examples of Avent’s beautiful art. You’ll also appreciate the neat pictures of the cabin and the surrounding land back in the 1900s.

It is 1.3 miles from the Jakes Creek trailhead to the cabin and doable for most kids although the spur trail has a high log bridge crossing so be careful. And the spur trail isn’t particularly wide either but have seen people with kids in backpack carriers so it really isn’t that difficult.

It is a bit hard to find the spur trail so read this excellent write up by Hiking In The Smokies which will tell you exactly when to start looking to your right from Jakes Creek trail as there are several false trails prior to it.

2. Explore Elkmont’s “Ghost Town”

The Elkmont Historic District is a collection of preserved and not so preserved buildings leftover from Elkmont’s days as a logging town and a resort for well-heeled Knoxvillians. The Appalachian Club was a private club that had a namesake clubhouse and cottages for its members, starting in the early 1900s until the park stopped renewing leases in 1992.

The cottages were in 3 different areas that had unofficial but fun names- Daisy Town by the Appalachian Clubhouse and closest to the campground, Society Hill on Jakes Creek trail, and Millionaire’s Row along the Little River trail. The Wonderland Hotel used to sit by the entrance to the campground at the top of the stairs you can see from the road. It was a competing private club and then a public hotel.

The National Park has a great section on Elkmont’s history and it is well worth a read. It also explains why some buildings have been restored and why some only have chimneys left.

Daisy Town is the best preserved out of the former areas. Most of the cottages and the Appalachian Clubhouse have been restored by the park service in recent years and are lots of fun to explore. Most of the cottages are extremely basic which I find interesting as the owners were quite wealthy.

Have younger kids look for #5 in Daisy Town as it was built as a little girl’s playhouse. For older kids, it is super fun to walk through all of the historic district in the evening because it definitely feels like a “ghost town.” You can even include a stroll up to the old Levi-Trentham cemetery at night. (It is located across Jakes Creek from Daisy Town.)

Most of Millionaire’s Row along the Little River trail has been demolished except for Spence Cabin and all of the cabins that made up Society Hill along Jakes Creek are gone. All that’s left of the demolished buildings is often their stacjed stone fireplaces and foundations.

*Pro- Tip- Be careful as one of our kiddos caught a piece of glass in her Chacos and cut her foot a few years ago. So there is still some demolition debris around. We always make sure everyone is wearing hiking shoes now when we explore.

3. Swim Or Splash In The Little River

Many of the campsites in Elkmont reside along the Little River or Jakes Creek so swimming and splashing are easy activities to do. Even if you aren’t lucky enough to get one of the river or creekside campsites, you can quickly walk to the water from just about anywhere in the campground.

The best “beachy” area is next to the bridge over the Little River by the ranger station. This is usually our go-to swimming spot if we aren’t camping riverside.

Be sure to bring water shoes as it is quite rocky and flip flops probably won’t cut it as the water can be fairly fast moving so they quickly go bye-bye. And then you have a sad kid who won’t walk back to the campsite with one shoe.

The water is pretty cold too, which is refreshing on a hot July day but just cold on other days. Bring lots of towels to warm up chilly kiddos when they get out.

4. Go Biking

Around The Campground

Elkmont is a large campground, with over 200 campsites, so there are lots of paved loops for kids to explore on bike. It is fairly safe as cars go pretty slow and biking is a popular activity for families.

Bikes can only go where cars can go but that means stay off the trails with them. And helmets are a requirement for kids under 16 per TN state law and just a good idea in general for everyone (go ahead and insert “Mom Voice” here).

Cades Cove- The Best Biking Spot In The Smokies

If you are bringing your bikes to the campground and will be there mid-week in the summer, be sure to check out the car-free Wednesdays over at Cades Cove -- about 20 miles/ 45 min drive away from Elkmont.

You can bike the entire 11 mile Cades Cove Loop, just do a small part, or spend the whole day and include a short hike on your bike loop. It is a fantastic way to see the beauty of Cades Cove without the overwhelming crowds usually present.

The car-free Wednesdays usually happen from May-Sept (exact dates change every year). Read our blog about biking Cades Cove for more details. “Your Guide To Biking Cades Cove In The Smokies”

5. Spot Some Wildlife

Like most places in the Smokies, wildlife is all around you. Bears, deer, turkeys, pileated woodpeckers (personal fave), snakes-- these are all animals I have seen while camping or hiking around Elkmont. Otters have been released in the Little River too, although I have not been lucky enough to see them.

Click on images below to enlarge

Synchronous Fireflies

One of the best wildlife displays anywhere in the Smokies happens at Elkmont every year approximately during the last 2 weeks of May and first 2 weeks of June. This is when the synchronous fireflies come out to do their mating ritual.

If you haven’t seen them, these ain’t your backyard fireflies. For one, there’s a lot; and two, they all blink rapidly together and then they stop for a bit together. And then back on together, and then stop again. You get the idea. These beautiful waves of light are pretty amazing and well worth planning a trip just to experience it.

It blew away the kids the first time they saw it and we sat in silence watching the show for at least an hour, which is an amazing feat for teenagers and pre-teens. Well done fireflies!

6. Take A Day Trip To Metcalf Bottoms

Hike To Little Greenbrier School and the Walker Sisters Cabin

Metcalf Bottoms is an excellent picnic area and a great place to play in the water. It is also near the trailhead to Little Brier Gap Trail, one of our favorite trails in the park. This is an awesome hike with kids because it starts at Little Greenbrier School and hikes to the memorable Walker Sisters Cabin.

These two historic structures have been restored and are kid favorites, because you can enter them and imagine life from an earlier period. The kids especially relate to the schoolhouse with its it wooden desks and tables.

The Walker Sisters Cabin is also fascinating as a glimpse of settler life that these women carried into the modern age. Read the NPS page about these remarkable women to find out why so many people hike to their cabin.

Little Brier Gap trail is wide, has a very slow gradual incline, and is pretty short at 1.1 miles long between the Little Greenbrier School and the Walker Sisters Cabin. These are popular trails in the park and Metcalf Bottoms is an extremely popular picnic area, but you can get an early start because Elkmont Campground is only 5 miles away.

Drive to Little Greenbrier School during the summer months when the road is open. Drive over the wooden bridge over the Little River at Metcalf Bottoms and go about 0.5 miles until you see a gravel road on your right and a sign for Little Greenbrier School. The school is another 0.5 miles up this gravel road. Go slow because this gravel road is narrow andoncoming traffic sometimes has to stop to let people pass in the wide places.

Or you can park at the picnic area at Metcalf Bottoms and walk the 0.7 mile long Metcalf Bottoms Trail to Little Greenbrier School, then pick up Little Brier Gap trail to the Walker Sisters Cabin.

See our blog about this hike for more pictures and info- “You Go Sister! My Family’s Favorite Historic Site In The Smokies" 

7. Head Up To Clingmans Dome

The views from this viewing platform atop the tallest peak in the Smokies are undeniably spectacular but the traffic getting there is undeniably awful.

On a weekend in the summer or fall, it can be stop-and-go all the way from Sugarlands Visitor Center up to Clingmans which is 20 miles. Then you have to circle the parking lot up there for an hour or more until a parking spot opens up. I have actually turned around and left before even getting far up Newfound Gap Road because the traffic was so bad.

If you would love to see Clingmans without sacrificing your sanity, then take advantage of the relative nearness of Elkmont Campground and plan an early morning start. Sunrises can be spectacular here.

Last time we camped at Elkmont, we left the campground at 7am, only taking enough time to make coffee, use the restroom, and throw a bunch of granola bars and fruit in the car.

After a 55 minute car drive, blessedly traffic free, we arrived at Clingmans Dome and were able to hike the trail in near solitude and enjoy the huge viewing platform with only about 5 other people. And this was in June, in the height of the tourist season. Early birds do get the worm!

And we got to see the sunrise, sort of (it was super misty and cloudy but that’s okay because it was a quiet and peaceful mist free from crowds of people). By the time we left at 9ish, the parking lot was full up and the crowds were starting up the trail. But we got to go back to our campsite and make pancakes and not deal with any of those headaches.

Click on images below to enlarge

8. Beat The Crowds At Laurel Falls

2.6 miles RT to the falls, paved but only stroller friendly if you have a jog-type stroller that can handle large roots

One of the most popular trails in the park due to its convenient location near Gatlinburg and because of the picturesque, 80 ft falls, I never hike Laurel Falls Trail any more because it is usually a zoo. But Elkmont is only 2.5 miles from the trailhead so it is a little easier to get here early in the morning.

Aim for an 8am arrival at the trailhead at the very latest. The early morning also ups your chances of seeing wildlife, such as bears. See the NPS website for more info about Laurel Falls.

9. Go Fishing

The Little River is a great place to fish for trout and smallmouth bass. You will need a permit if you are over 13 years old and you can buy those in Townsend, Gatlinburg, or Wears Valley. They don’t sell them in the park. The NPS website has more info about fishing in the park.

10. Take A Day Trip To Gatlinburg

Gatlinburg is not my favorite place due to my lack of interest in crowds or more knick-knacks to clutter up my house more than it already is.

But is does have plenty of decent chain restaurants like Mellow Mushroom or local favorites like Calhoun’s, plus the closest grocery store and outdoor outfitters. And it can be a great option for that rainy/overly cold day when you need something to entertain the kids.

Ripley’s Aquarium of the Smokies is worth a visit, especially for a rainy day activity. It isn’t the cheapest but you can spend 2-3 hours there and really get your money’s worth, especially if you have kids that love this sort of thing.

If you are an “est” person, ie like to do the highest, longest, fastest, etc, then check out the SkyBridge at SkyLift Park as it is the longest pedestrian suspension bridge in North America. It has a glass bottom section at the highest point that reinforces all my instincts that people were not meant to be this high up.

You can usually drive to Gatlinburg in under 30 minutes from Elkmont but expect to pay $10-$20 for parking. Or you can take the trolley from Elkmont for $2 a person round-trip between June and October, see below.

*On some busy summer weekends in the late afternoon you can hit heavy traffic (like an hour or more to get into Gatlinburg) as people are returning to their hotels there from the park. Just be aware of that.

The Gatlinburg Trolley used to run a national park route that included a stop at Elkmont if you remember those days but it w discontinued last year and they don’t know if/ when it will start again as per a phone conversation in Nov 2022. I hope they bring it back and add in even more trolley routes as that could help with the serious parking issues the park is facing. Just my two cents.

Best Campsites At Elkmont

As far as frontcountry campgrounds go, Elkmont is pretty good. But there are campsites you want to avoid and tricks to know to make your camping trip the best that it can be.

Read our blog “Everything You Wanted To Know About Elkmont Campground In The Great Smoky Mountains National Park” to find out all of our favorite campsites and hacks we have learned over the years of camping at this great, family-friendly campground.

Not A Fan Of Camping?

If you are over sleeping on the hard ground (I hear you, especially after I hit 40) or never understood why anyone would willingly do such a thing in the first place, we have you covered there too. You will find plenty of vacation rentals to choose from around the national park.

We usually stay outside of Gatlinburg in either Townsend (known as the “Peaceful Side of the Smokies”) or in Wears Valley which is a gorgeous valley between Pigeon Forge and Townsend. We prefer the quieter ambiance and better views from these 2 places as compared to Gatlinburg but hey, each to their own.

For our list of favorite places to stay, read our blog “Where To Stay In Townsend- The Gateway To The Smokies.” It has places for Townsend and Wears Valley.

Other Helpful Tips And Resources

Websites

The National Park Service website for the Smokies is the place to start. It has good general information on the park and decent campground and picnic area info, but it does not have a comprehensive list of trails.

*** Pro Tip- Always check the park service website for a list of current closures or alerts. You don’t want to plan your trip around certain hikes or activities only to find out that trail is closed due to bear activity or road maintenance. Sometimes these things happen overnight so I would check it before you leave your lodgings each morning. At the campgrounds, just swing by the ranger stations and check the bulletin boards.

For good info on trails not mentioned on the NPS website, you will need to depend on crowd sourced sites like All Trails. One of my favorites is a local one called Hiking In The Smokies and it has excellent descriptions and mileage for all of the trails they have hiked in the park (and they have hiked a lot).

Guidebooks

If you want more info about the Tennessee side of the Smokies and especially about our favorite family-friendly trails, check out our Great Smoky Mountains National Park Guidebook available on Amazon. It lists recommended lodging options if you are not camping as well as activities and restaurants in nearby Townsend, TN.

We give you a detailed, 5 day itinerary that hits the highlights of the park while missing the crowds and introduces you to the Smokies we know and love as locals.

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