INDIVIDUAL RATINGS
Each campground description includes ratings for beauty, privacy, quiet, spaciousness, security, and cleanliness; each attribute is ranked from one to five stars, with five being the best. Admittedly, these ratings are subjective, but we’ve tried to select campgrounds that offer something for everyone.
BEAUTY
In judging beauty, I took into account what the general area has to offer as well as the campground. The most beautiful campgrounds have sites that you just don’t want to leave and locations with easy access to breathtaking scenery.
PRIVACY
This rating is determined by how much your neighbors can pay attention to what you’re doing, and vice versa. The best campgrounds provide plenty of green space—shrubs and trees—between adjoining sites. Such campgrounds also stagger their sites so that, for instance, the entrance to the site across the road isn’t directly opposite the entrance to yours.
QUIET
My evaluations were influenced to a great extent by the presence of RVs and the kinds of visitors a park tends to get. (Campgrounds near urban areas, for example, tend to be noisy, as are those that cater to families with children.) I also considered the extent to which you could get away from the fray at a particular campground. You can expect some variation within my ratings based on whether you visit a campground during the week or on a weekend; on holiday weekends, all bets are off.
SPACIOUSNESS
This category contributes to the amount of privacy you have, but mainly it refers to how much space you have to move around in. Some sites are surprisingly large, even to the point of overkill; others are incredibly small.
SECURITY
In general, I found campgrounds in the greater Smokies to be very safe and secure, due largely to the presence of campground hosts and park rangers making the rounds. The only places where I felt security might be compromised were those remote campgrounds that saw few visitors and had no staff or rangers on duty.
CLEANLINESS
My judgments were based on the presence and remnants of past campers around the sites—trash, tent stakes, burned logs, and the like—and on the state of the restroom facilities. I did take into account that primitive toilets tend to be less tidy than modern facilities, although there seemed to me to be little reason for either to be a mess.
THE CAMPGROUND PROFILE
Each profile contains a concise but informative narrative of the campground and individual sites. In addition to the property, the recreational opportunities are also described—what’s in the area and perhaps suggestions for touristy activities. This descriptive text is enhanced with three helpful sidebars: Ratings, Key Information, and Getting There (accurate driving directions that lead you to the campground from the nearest major roadway, along with GPS coordinates).
THE CAMPGROUND LOCATOR MAP AND MAP LEGEND
Use the Southern Appalachians–Smokies Campground Locator Map, opposite the Table of Contents, to assess the exact location of each campground. The campground’s number appears not only on the overview map but also in the Table of Contents and on the profile’s first page.
A map legend that details the symbols found on the campground-layout maps appears immediately following the Table of Contents.
CAMPGROUND-LAYOUT MAPS
Each profile includes a detailed map of individual campsites, roads, facilities, and other key elements.
GPS CAMPGROUND-ENTRANCE COORDINATES
Readers can easily access all campgrounds in this book by using the driving directions in Getting There along with the overview maps, which show at least one major road leading into the area. But for those who enjoy using GPS technology to navigate, the book includes coordinates for each campground’s entrance in latitude and longitude, expressed in degrees and decimal minutes.
To convert GPS coordinates from degrees, minutes, and seconds to the above degrees–decimal minutes format, the seconds are divided by 60. For more on GPS technology, visit usgs.gov.
A note of caution: A dedicated GPS unit will easily guide you to any of these campgrounds, but users of smartphone mapping apps may find that cell service is unavailable in the remote areas where a number of these hideaways are located.
WEATHER
Spring is the most variable season in this region. During March, you’ll find your first signs of rebirth in the lowlands, yet trees in the high country may not be fully leafed out until June. Both winter- and summerlike weather may be experienced in spring. As summer approaches, the strong fronts weaken, and thunderstorms and haze become more frequent. Summertime rainy days can be cool, especially in the high country. In fall, continental fronts once again sweep through, clearing the air and bringing warm days and cool nights, though rain is always possible.
The first snows of winter usually arrive in November and snow can intermittently fall–April, though no permanent snowpack exists. About 20–80 inches of snow can fall during this time. Expect entire days of below-freezing weather, but be aware that temperatures can range from quite mild to bitterly cold.
FIRST AID KIT
A useful first aid kit may contain more items than you might think necessary. These are just the basics. Prepackaged kits in waterproof bags (Atwater Carey and Adventure Medical make them) are available. As a preventive measure, take along sunscreen and insect repellent. Even though quite a few items are listed here, they pack down into a small space:
• Ace bandages
• Adhesive bandages
• Antibiotic ointment (Neosporin or the generic equivalent)
• Antiseptic or disinfectant, such as Betadine or hydrogen
