Up the Creek RV Camp is a great base camp for visiting Cades Cove in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park. Cades Cove is popular for auto-touring, hiking, bicycling, wild life viewing and photography. An 11-mile paved loop road winds through this scenic mountain valley dotted with original pioneer cabins, businesses and churches dating back to the early 1800’s. Visitors may choose among several stops and pull offs along the loop road to tour these original structures and homesteads, view wildlife, or take pictures. The loop road is open daily from sunrise to sunset, weather permitting.

The entrance to Cades Cove is 26 miles from Up the Creek RV Camp, (14 of the miles being within the Smoky Mountains National Park) and can be accessed from the RV Camp through Hwy 321/Wears Valley Rd. through Townsend, TN, without having to wait through Pigeon Forge or Gatlinburg traffic.

There are also several trailheads accessed through Cades Cove, such as the 5-mile round trip hike to Abrahams Falls or the shorter Cades Cove nature trail. The Cades Cove loop is also enjoyed by bicycling enthusiasts, being one of the few areas for biking in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park. The National Park Service closes the loop road through Cades Coveto motorized vehicles on Wednesdays and Sundays until 10 a.m., making a perfect opportunity for a quiet, motor-free bicycle trip. For a shorter, less strenuous trip, visitors may choose to take Hyatt or Sparks Lane, cutting out most of the hills on the loop road.

After a full day of visiting Cades Cove in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park, your spacious, full hookup RV site at Up the Creek RV Camp, awaits you. We take pride in our quiet, yet convenient setting that is close to the dining, shopping and amusement options that Pigeon Forge, TN, has to offer, without having to camp amidst the downtown noise and traffic. Of all the Pigeon Forge RV or Gatlinburg RV campgrounds, Up the Creek RV Camp has the most spacious RV camp sites in the Smokies.

There are still plenty of wildflowers blooming in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park in August and September. This Turk’s Cap Lily (pictured right) was photographed from Newfound Gap Road. It is typically found in moist woods, balds or trail side thickets from July through September. This spectacular lily can also be seen on Kanati Fork Trail.

The Yellow-fringed Orchid (pictured below) can be seen on Cades Cove Loop Trail and Fork Ridge Trail. The blossoms range in color from bright yellow to deep orange. This delicate beauty also blooms from July through September.