We are laying out our route to the RV Dreams Rally from Illinois and will be travelling I-40 route east through Tennessee in to North Carolina in early April.  (Route will dependent, of course, on whether they have completed job of clearing the I-40 rockslide).  We will then be taking I-29 down in to South Carolina.

After a few days in central Tennessee, we have allowed ourselves 3 nights in the Smokey Mountains area and are trying to find a campground where we could base and then take off in our jeep to explore, especially waterfall drives and natural areas. (We've seen all the Pigeon Forge, Gatlingburg, Asheville, touristy stuff in years past)

We are Passport America members and so far it appears out best bet is to stop the night at Creekside RV Park, in Pigeon Forge and then be fresh for crossing the mountains the next day, making our way to Fletcher Lake RV Park, Fletcher, NC, where we would stay a few days and do some exploring.

We would be very appreciative of any ideas on other campgrounds or areas to visit during this phase of our travels.

Thanks in advance!

Cindy,

This site will give you all the latest info on the routes in NC. http://www.ncdot.org/ 

You'll notice that off on the left side of the page they have a link to the I-40 repairs. Then there is another link for further reading about the latest developments and dates.

Jim

We have enjoyed staying at Cascade Lake Recreation Area CG a few times near Brevard. It is up a mountain and the CG can be a little tight for big rigs. I think they open on April 1. They are a PA CG and offer the discount Sun-Thur.

Another nice and easy place to stay is Davidson River CG. It's very level and is only a mile away from Hwy 280/64. I think it's part of the Pisgah National Forest. There are a few electric sites but it is mostly boondocking. There is a visitor's center/ranger station not far from it.

Wherever you decide to stay, please consider a visit to Brevard in Transylvania County. It is known as the Land of Waterfalls and has many wonderful day hikes and some beautiful falls. Check out http://www.visi****erfalls.com/ for some good info. The travel planner gives more detailed info.

We look forward to meeting you and others in SC.



-- Edited by Sylville on Thursday 25th of February 2010 09:52:15 PM

Well Howard's filter is working good. :) That's really visit waterfalls.

Thanks Bill, Gail, Jim, Dale and Bev and Gin & Syl, How wonderful to get so many helpful responses!! Yes, I typo'd and do know its I-26, not I-29. I appreciate the updates on the campgrounds and the I-40 status....arghhh!! It looks like to stay to our schedule we will need to detour north off of I-40 on I-81 and then back down on the Carolina side of the mountains on I-26. Several notes I've seen online also indicate they may be enforcing trucks and motorhomes staying to posted detours on the Interstates. I guess they are trying to keep the larger vehicles off the smaller mountain highways because of the added traffic the I-40 closing would cause. After doing more research based on your inputs, we've also seen now that many of the GSMNP sites like Cades Cove are closed in April/May timeframe as they have apparently received a nice chunk of funding for renovations from the stimulus package. Glad to hear the money is going to improvements there and would love to hear that they've improved campsites to make sites larger since I know the federal park sites have limited availability for 40 ft motorhomes. Also really liked the waterfall url, and got a good laugh out of seeing it how it was 'filtered'!! Based on your very helpful info, I think we will stop for an overnight somewhere past Knoxville, close to the interstate, then take a fresh start the next day and make our way over to Fletcher Lake RV Park, Fletcher, NC which is only a 1/2 hour drive from Brevard. That should position us for some exploring in the Transylvania Country area as Gin and Syl suggested. I'm getting really excited about our first 'extended' RV trip and can't wait to meet you all at the rally!! Hugs, C