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Old 01-10-2015, 10:20 PM   #1
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Anyone with Elkmont CG, Smoky Mt memories

Looking forward to our first two night trip to Elkmont CG in June. While staying in a cabin 7 years ago outside Gatlinburg we did a drive through on the way to Cades Cove. I knew then, after see those sites on the river that this CG was a must stay.

No electricity, no water, no showers, and bears that visit your campsite if you leave food laying around too long. Camping at its purest.... Is there any wonder you have to make reservation 8-10 months in advance.

Would like to avoid the traffic of Gatlinburg and drive in through Maryville/ Townsend but am concerned about towing up Hwy 73/Little River Gorge Rd. Looks really narrow on Google Maps.

Would like to hear from anyone who has driven in from any direction and has stayed at this Great Smoky Mountain landmark.

Also looking for a good/clean overnight stop on I-75 north of Chattanooga.
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Old 01-10-2015, 10:42 PM   #2
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I grew up in East Tenn and spent a month every year in Cade's cove with family. Your limited to less these days. I've been back numerous times. Last Spring with a 5ver was latest visit. I pulled my RV everywhere no problems. You can go on any public road with your RV in that area.
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Old 01-11-2015, 10:15 AM   #3
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That's a really scenic drive. We rode it last May on a Honda Shadow 1100 in the rain. As Texashighsheriff said, you should be okay. Just watch your speed. It does have some sharp curves.
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Old 01-11-2015, 10:50 AM   #4
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The road is a bit narrow and does have some sharp turns and overhanging rocks. I think you'll be fine with what you have.
The curvy tight spots are far less on the section of 73 from Elkmount to Gatlinburg than the section from Elkmount to Townsend though.

I wouldn't think twice about pulling a short trailer to Elkmount coming from either direction. I'd pull my fifth wheel to Cades Cove no problem, but you wouldn't catch me on 73 from Townsend to Gatlinburg (little river gorge road) with it lol.
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Old 01-11-2015, 11:35 AM   #5
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The roads inside the Natl park are wide enough but you must take caution on the tight curves and the over hang rocks... 5th wheel almost getting to high to clear the overhangs... Just move out in the center of the road more.

Add WILD HOGs to the BEARs list... Some deer roaming around at dusk... We spot BEARS on the Cades Cover motor trail just about everytime we go thru it...

One of our favorite camping sites. We always grocery shop in Townsend. Don't caare much for the shopping crowns up and down Gatlinburg main road. We usually go to Pigeon Forge so we can park our truck outside the stores. You almost have to park in a paid parking lot to roam around Gatlinburg. ELKMONT is a Trolley stop for Gatlinburg... Cell phone service is very bad at ELKMONT. You may have to go back towards Gatlingburg and pull off in the pull out parking area that overlooks Gatlinburg...

TV SERVICE is good using OTA BATWING for local BROADCAST HDTV signals. We got eight or so HDTV signal channels - Also Ham Radio is great as there is a local ham radio repeater on the same mountain...

Firewood is available from concession place - guy usually opens up around 4PM each day.

We always like to setup on the Little River side camping spots. It does get very loud however when the water is up a tad... Watch out for snakes close to the river...

River will overflow its banks in high rain periods. We had to evacuate in the middle of the night on one trip...

Speaking of rain it seems like ELKMONT is much like a rain forest as it will drip water for days after a rain storm. ALot of campers like to bring along large tarps and cover their tents and trailer with... We have a 30X30 large tarp with cutouts in the tmiddle for the roof mounted air conditioner and vent fan. Makes a great cover aas well as a nice full width awning to sit under. The back side of my tarp goes to the ground at an angle and the front part extends out over my existing awning and ties off in tent poles and anchors to the ground from that...

We always pick the generator use sites and run everything off the batteries except air conditioning until 8AM the next morning then run the generator for three hours to re-charge our battery bank up using smart mode charging....

Have fun... We usually show up in the SEP/OCT dates. We always try to get the F008 camp site...


Roy and Carolyn
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