Campground Review Summary

• Name:  Cosby Run Campground
• Dates of stay: March 30 – May 1, 2019
• Location: 311 South Hwy 32, Cosby, TN 37722
• Type of campground: Private / Independent
• Cost: $400/month ($13.80/night)
• Additional fees: electric
• Stay limit: none
• Accepts mail / packages: Did not ask
• Cell reception: ATT good
• Website: cosbyruncampground.com
• Pros: inexpensive, decent location, nice owners
• Cons: very basic amenities

Full Review

This review is a bit unusual in that we didn’t really stay in this campground except for the first and last nights. We stayed in our log cabin in nearby Gatlinburg and essentially used this campground as a parking lot (with electrical hookup)  for the month of April. The alternatives would have been to simply park it in a lot somewhere farther away (not on power) or to pay high daily rate fees at one of the other nearby campgrounds. Parking at this affordable campground a half hour away from the cabin was by far the better option for us.

Cosby Run campground is under new ownership as of a couple of years ago. The prior owner was, shall we say, eccentric. Stories of his (lack of) customer service is legendary. The new owners are working hard to repair the aged campground’s reputation and to bring it up to acceptable standards. A lot of work has been done, but a LOT of work remains.

Our site was a long gravel pull through, quite long enough for our bus plus toad. The utilities had all been re-done recently so the 50 amp electrical service, water and sewer worked perfectly. We deployed our satellite dish so that our favorite episodes could continue to record while we were away. Our ATT signal and data service worked adequately here.

Here’s the good stuff:  Our site and hookups worked out beautifully. The owners couldn’t be nicer or more accommodating. The cost was very affordable at $400/month. We paid extra for the electric but since we were there so little, it was only $22 for the whole month. The campground setting is scenically wooded and very quiet. The coin laundry machines are brand new. It’s very near the Cosby entrance of the Great Smoky Mountains National Park, and some awesome hiking trails. The campground is about 30-40 minutes from the hustle-bustle (and amenities) of Gatlinburg, which is a plus or minus depending on what you want.

Here’s the not as good stuff: Being an older campground, the layout is cramped and the amenities are run down. One side of the bath house was under renovation during our visit, so both genders had to use the same (non-renovated) side which wasn’t optimal (knock first!).  I didn’t even try to use the showers. We were able to carefully pull straight in to our site upon arrival, but there was insufficient maneuvering room to pull out forward, so exiting required slow and careful backing-out all the way to the street using several spotters. Smaller rigs may not have that issue. The campground feels a bit like a construction zone currently as workers expand sites and lay gravel, and unfortunately we got a sizeable rock ding in one of our basement doors as a result. (The owners were most apologetic and have offered to pay for repairs)

This campground will only get better. I applaud the owners for taking on the challenge of refurbishing an aging campground. They have big plans to make it big rig friendly and really nice, but it will take some time to get everything done. It isn’t the place I’d choose to actually live in for a few weeks, at least not until the bath house renovations are done and big rig access is improved. But for a parking spot, it worked great, and in a couple of years I expect the campground will look very different.

Bottom Line: Budget priced option in the peaceful Cosby area and the amenities will only improve over time.