Old Forge Campground
Sites are first-come, first-served. Recreation.gov lists this campground for paying on site, and you may be able to pay with the Scan and Pay feature of its app.
More like this: first-come in Tennessee
Season & status
| Status | Closed for the season. Forest Service sites close for the season; check the official page for the reopening date. |
| Forest | Cherokee National Forest |
| Booking | Sites are first come, first serve basis and are non-reservable. |
| Fees | Camping fee is $7 per site per night. |
| Rules | Group size is 5 people, 2 vehicles per site. No alcoholic beverages are allowed in the area. Horses are not allowed in the campground. Food storage restrictions apply at all areas on the Cherokee National Forest. All food and beverages must be stored in an approved bear-proof container, your locked vehicle or hard-sided camper at all times unless being eaten, prepared, or transported. |
Weather by month
Getting there
| Coordinates | 36.0911° N, 82.6819° W · Directions ↗ |
Fire nearby
- PrescribedRx - Stone Mountain
26 mi from the campground
Distance is to the reported incident point, not the fire edge. Call the managing office before you drive.
Supplies & services
| Outdoor gear | Bluff Mountain Outfitters ↗ | 15.9 mi |
| Dump station | Dump station ↗ | 37.5 mi |
| RV sales & service | Blue Ridge Adventure Vehicles Inc. ↗ | 42.3 mi |
Locations © OpenStreetMap contributors. Call ahead; hours change seasonally.
No site-by-site records, no amenities, no fee schedule, no directions or photos in the Recreation.gov record. What is here comes from the agency's own listing. The rest lives there.
Checked nightly. Modules appear as soon as the record fills in.
Explore
Worth a stop
- 13.9 miPaint Creek Picnic Area ↗Day use
Trails nearby
- 0.1 miJennings Creek Horse Trail1.1 mi trail
- 0.1 miLittle Jennings Creek Trail2 mi trail
- 0.7 miDoctors Ridge Horse Trail1.1 mi trail
- 1 miPoplar Cove Horse Trail1.5 mi trail
- 1.2 miSarvis Cove Trail3.1 mi trail
- 1.2 miCowbell Hollow Horse Trail1.5 mi trail
Trail and trailhead records are the Forest Service's. Distances are straight-line to the nearer trail end. Trail conditions are not tracked here.
Public land it sits in
Cherokee National Forest begins about 1.7 miles away, and it is the closest of these.
- 1.7 miCherokee National Forest ↗National Forest · Forest Service · 1,228,298 acres
- 3.1 miSampson Mountain Wilderness ↗Wilderness · Forest Service · 10,895 acres
Each unit is published as a centre point and an acreage rather than a boundary, so this section stands it in for a circle of the same area. Whether a campground is inside, and how far it is from one it is outside, are both approximate.
Other campgrounds nearby
On the National Register nearby
- Brown-Neas HouseBuilding · Afton · 7.1 mi
- Samuel Doak HouseBuilding · Greeneville · 7.4 mi
- Ripley Stone HouseBuilding · Afton · 7.5 mi
Guidebooks for Cherokee National Forest and Tennessee
We earn a small commission if you buy through these links. It does not change what we list.
- Cherokee National Forest hiking guideWilliam H. Skelton and Lamar Alexander, 2024Find at Bookshop.org
- Campgrounds in and Around the Great Smoky Mountains National ParkGrueen Huffman, 2010Find at Bookshop.org
Titles come from Open Library's catalog, matched by subject heading or by title.
Reference
Questions people ask
Do I need a reservation at Old Forge Campground?
No. Old Forge Campground is first-come, first-served. Sites are first come, first serve basis and are non-reservable. Sites are taken on arrival and paid at the fee station.
Source: Forest Service
How much does it cost to camp at Old Forge Campground?
Camping fee is $7 per site per night.
Source: Forest Service
Is Old Forge Campground open right now?
Closed for the season as of Oct 16, 2026.
Source: Forest Service status
How many sites does Old Forge Campground have?
10 sites.
Source: Forest Service
What if Old Forge Campground is full?
The nearest public campgrounds are Horse Creek Recreation Area (1.8 mi), Katy Branch (10.4 mi), and Paint Creek Campground (12 mi).
Source: Campgrounds nearby