Some Smoky Mountain campgrounds remain closed

Did you know that some Smoky Mountain campgrounds are closed? Thanks to the sequester there are not enough funds to keep all of the park operations going. I was reminded of this when looking into camping options in the Smokies. Picnic areas near some of the campgrounds are also effected.

Three closures are:

Look Rock and picnic areas
Abrams Creek is reported to be closed by WATE but the NPS website isn't reflecting the information.
Balsam Mountain (Also reported at the above link.)


Almost all of the TVA and Tennessee State Parks have campgrounds, you don't have to worry about admission fees and they are usually staffed with friendly people. Another plus is that most of the state park campgrounds offer electricity. Here is an article that I wrote on the national park alternatives a few months ago.

There are campgrounds in the Smoky Mountain National Park that are still open. Cades Cove is one of them and Elkmont is another. The best way to find information on available camping is to search the national park website at nps.gov.

Our national park campgrounds and picnic areas are treasures. Hopefully the sequester will be over soon so we can go back to enjoying all that the Smokies have to offer. Camping is a good budget summer vacation for college students and a great getaway for the family.