Up The Creek RV Park

Are you looking for somewhere to go around the Pigeon Forge area? Our #1 pick probably remains to be Honeysuckle Meadows, but if you are looking for somewhere close to town and don't mind spending a little more money- Up the Creek RV Camp is going to be another good option. You aren't going to have as much space as Honeysuckle Meadows, but it is more space than a lot of other area campgrounds. The base prices aren't too bad, but do vary by season. They do nickel and dime you here though. You have to pay extra for any extra people staying over two per night as well as pay an additional fee for more than one car. You also have a $25 fee to lock in a specific site number on your reservation. I'm not a big fan of any of these things, but it is still cheaper than some of the other parks in the area. I just don't do the whole RV resort thing too often.

We have explored more places this year in the area due to having Dollywood passes. We were finally able to go on Saturday evening and see the Christmas lights. It was a downpoor most of the day. The weather has not been great for us on any of the days we have alotted to go to Dollywood, but it ended up being a nice evening.

Pros
The Campground is a smaller campground and most sites do have some space. I believe all the sites are full hookup. Cellular service is pretty well as it is only 3 miles from downtown Pigeon Forge. This means that it is close to all the touristy things, that a lot of people want to do. They do have a Trolley Stop in the campground, so if you have a drivable RV and do not bring a car you can still have decently priced transportation. Everything is clean and seems to be very well kept. All the sites are pretty decently level on gravel pads. The current check-in format is that they leave you a folder at the main sign, you do have a form to fill out and turn in. The Staff is nice and courteous. The last thing I'd like to mention is that most of the sites are decently sized. There are a few that are a little tight, but most have enough room as well as they do utilize some trees between sites for privacy. These trees aren't excessively thick and for the most part, don't get in the way when driving or getting into your site.

Cons
There is not a bathhouse, this isn't a big deal to me but I know it is for some. I don't particularly care for the upcharges. The admission form does state that this is in a susceptible flooding zone, and has you sign a waiver as such.

Site Recommendations- based on where I would stay, mixed between different levels of sites

25, 18, 20, 28, 27, 26, 43, 5, 47, 29, 15, 2, 52, pull through 3

I prefer state park camping to rv park so I did a lot of research before picking this park. I was still leary that the sites would be crammed together with no privacy. Totally not the case! The grounds were kept neat by camp host. Some sites have greater than state park distancing. Even tho ours had campers on both sides of us, the well placed trees & greenery, we could barely see them. The drive around the camp is all paved & level so it's great for walking the dog or getting some exercise. While we didn't get in the creek, I saw several other campers who took advantage of it. The location isn't great for those who like to be right in the middle of the action but it was perfect for us who like the quieter side of things yet either a short drive or trolley ride will have you there in just a few minutes.

*be sure to follow the directions they send you when you make reservations or the GPS will take you down a narrow winding/hilly & extremely curvy road to get there.

Perfect place for those with an RV or trailer that is close to Pigeon Forge, Gatlinburg and the Smoky Mountain National Park. Very clean, all full hookup, well spaced. We are newbies but our neighbors said this is the best park in the area. We have two young kids and they were happy to throw rocks in the creek and ride bikes around the park. Worth noting there is no playground or other amenities like common bath or showers. Didn’t bother us.

We licked out and got in here with a weeks notice, one site was available for the time we were going to be in town. Site 50 and most of the interior sites have lots of trees but camper bigger than our 28’ fifth wheel got in them. Our site and 49 were tight and had to keep moving our RV to get it situated for our slide out but after a few tries finally got it. The creek side sites are the ones to go for. Nice paved road and gravel sites all seemed level. Very close to Pigeon Forge but far enough to keep out of traffic. Only thing that got me was OMG the traffic getting there from I40. Get there real early as we got off interstate at 1:30 pm on a Sunday and it took us 2 hours to travel the 20 miles or so. I would have given 5 stars if the site we had was a few feet wider. We will stay here again on a creek side site and looking forward to that trip.

Hate to say it. But this is one of those RV parks that you kind of don’t want to review. Reason being, it is so wonderful, and if everyone knows about it, it will become harder and harder to get into. However, I will share the love. :-). This is one of the nicest RV parks we have stayed in. Small park, quiet, wonderfully private sites, gravel, level, stone decks, decent Wi-Fi, far enough from the maddening crowd, yet close enough to conveniences and the GSM national Park. There are no amenities like bathhouse or laundry, pool, clubhouse, etc. but all full hook up sites. We have a 40’ 5th wheel.

Loved this campground. It’s just far enough away from the busy-ness of the main drag in Pigeon Forge but close enough to everything you need. Campground was immaculate and most sites had great spacing and landscaping for privacy. Some of the pull through sites in the middle seemed more out in the open, but would work if you didn’t want tree coverage.
We had an awesome creek side, pull-forward site and I could not get enough of sitting by the creek in peace.
Blazing fast wi-fi during the few times we logged in. Two bars Verizon service even with a WeBoost, but upload and download speeds on the WiFi was great during the day.

Before booking for this summer, I had done hours of research on campgrounds in the area. Between campground reviews, YouTube videos, and the occasional site photos, I threw the dice and booked with Up the Creek RV Camp.

Just to provide some contrast, on the ride into town we passed several campgrounds where rigs were parked bumper to bumper and side to side. We were a bit discouraged, thinking that maybe pictures lie and we were in for the same type of experience. But that couldn't be further from the truth . . .

Up the Creek is everything they advertise in their website. The sites are BEAUTIFUL. They front two creeks, one on each side of the campground, and most of the outside sites back right up to the creek. There are pull-throughs in the middle sites for larger rigs, but even the large RVs can fit into most of the sites. It is incredibly well shaded and immaculately maintained. The landscaping is phenomenal and the roads through the campground are freshly paved. Each site has crushed stone as its base with a concrete patio for the picnic area, some with picnic tables and others (premium sites) with metal patio furniture, which is a nice touch. Some of the premium sites also have large brick fireplaces.

The campground is small, with approximately 60 sites, and about the only knock on the place is that there are really no amenities (no pool, no bath house, no playground), although there is a small dog park area. There is a stop in the middle of the campground for the Pigeon Forge Trolley that delivers you to and from Pigeon Forge approximately every hour for a small fee.

They have full hookups, including cable and wifi, although they do not allow streaming over the wifi connection. Cell service with Verizon offered 2 bars of LTE, sometimes 4 with our booster. The campground is easily and pleasantly walkable and the staff is very helpful and friendly.

If you don't mind not having the full "resort" experience, but you're looking for sites that are spacious, private, wonderfully landscaped, and far enough from the bustle of Pigeon Forge to feel like you're really closer to the mountains than you are to a very active city, this is the campground for you. We loved it here and would definitely come back.