LyttleBryan June 23rd, 2009
Update: I forgot to apologize for the quality, or lack there of in the pictures. These pictures were taken with my former camera that I am returning. You can read about that in my other blog post.
Campsite #20 lies in the Western Smokies on the Meigs Mountain Trail between Elkmont and the Curry Mountain Trail. I have yet to stay overnight at the campsite, but explored the campsite quite a bit while hiking Meigs Mountain to The Sinks one bright Saturday afternoon. I liked what I saw and will definitely be planning a trip there as soon as I have a weekend open. Unfortunately that probably won’t happen until Spring of 2012. Yikes! On to the specifics…
- Roominess: This campsite is quite roomy and open. I would enjoy it as a nice option for larger groups of people. There’s enough room for 3-4 tents near each fire ring and that still allows some distance from any neighbors
- Firewood: There wasn’t an abundance of firewood at or in the near vicinity of the site, but I did some walking on the outskirts and saw enough burnable wood that it shouldn’t be difficult to get a good fire going.
- Water Source: There is an unnamed creek flowing immediately to the east of the campsite. It isn’t the Little River, but it’s more than enough to safely filter out of. It’s also close enough that you can hear it as you’re falling asleep which is something I’m very fond of.
- Scenery: It is very pretty at Campsite #20. The day I was there the sun was shining down through the branches of the tall trees in the area making for a very eye pleasing and peaceful surrounding.
- Seclusion: As I mentioned above, the area is very open. You’re likely to see your neighbors, but fortunately there’s probably enough room that you won’t have to hear them.
- Getting There: The route that we took was Meigs Mountain out of Elkmont. Aside from a little bit of uphill right at the beginning it was on the easier side of things. Some other options include taking Curry Mountain to Meigs Mountain, Lumber Ridge to Meigs Mountain, or if you’re in the mood for massive amounts of water crossings, Meigs Creek to Meigs Mountain. From that list the only trail I haven’t hiked is Lumber Ridge. For the rest I can they are all excellent hikes.
- Hammock Trees: The tall trees in the campsite make for some excellent hammock options.
Conclusion: Overall Campsite #20 is a high class campsite. The general roominess of the site makes it ideal for larger groups while the scenery and peacefulness of the creek would also make it ideal for a lone trip with a hammock and a book. I’m looking forward to going back and staying at Campsite #20.
Tags: #20, Campsite 20
LyttleBryan June 15th, 2009
First, I apologize for not providing some pictures with my campsite reviews. I know it’s probably frustrating to hear someone’s description of the site without being able to actually see what they are talking about. Second, that all changes after this review. This past weekend I got my new digital camera and will be able to provide pictures with all future reviews, and maybe even some video! Additionally I will be going back to #24 mid July and plan to take lots of pictures to update this post. Okay on to the campsite!
Campsite #24 lies in the Mid-Western Smoky Mountains approximately 5 miles from Elkmont Campground. It sits next to (practically in) the Little River. It’s a reservation only campsite so if you are planning to take a trip, I would highly recommend calling early. One important thing to note is that this campsite closes quite frequently due to aggressive bear activity. Given it’s close proximity to Elkmont this shouldn’t come as a surprise.
- Roominess: This campsite is quite roomy for a reservation only campsite. It has 5 sub-sites, 4 of which have fire rings. There is definitely more than enough room for the max number of people allowed on reservation only sites.
- Firewood: Given the popularity of this trail and it’s easy-to-get-to nature I was expecting little in the way of firewood. I was dead wrong in every aspect of that assumption. if you were willing to cut there were so many good dead trees around that 5 campfires a night would be hard pressed to use it in a year.
- Water Source: The only thing more abundant that firewood was water. Little River provides a wonderful water source and some nice nature music when trying to sleep.
- Scenery: When I sit in my office cubical thinking about the mountains and laying back in a beautiful area relaxing, this is the kind of place I envision. It is absolutely GORGEOUS here.
- Seclusion: There is quite a bit of seclusion in this campsite. The 5 sub-sites are all blocked from each other so if you’re looking for some relative peace, this is actually a pretty solid option.
- Getting There: There are several options for getting to #24 ranging from sublimely easy to insanely hard. The most direct route is to take Little River Trail directly there. Some of the other options include Cucumber Gap to Little River, Husky Gap to Little River, Rough Creek to Little River, or even Goshen Prong to Little River. All in all this campsite is an option for just about everyone.
- Hammock Trees: The one thing I can’t rate this campsite highly on. All of the exploring I did only yielded two reliable trees for hammocks. This is very disappointing for someone like me who lives by the Hammock!
Conclusion: This is a wonderful campsite with a lot to offer. It’s easy (or very hard) to get to, there is plenty of firewood, and it’s quite beautiful there. All in all this is a campsite that I will definitely be returning to (July 20th in fact).
Tags: #24, Campsite 24
