Abrams Creek Campground

Abrams Creek Campground is a 16-site frontcountry campground beside the creek at 1,125 feet. It’s a quiet place to sleep by the water and start longer hikes, not a full-service base. Four sites are tent-only; none has electrical hookups, and there are no group sites. Reservations are required and site-specific, so book before you drive in: there’s no cell reception here.

Flush toilets and potable water are seasonal. The campground has picnic tables, grills and fire rings, but no showers, hookups or camp store. Bring food and supplies before you arrive. Campfires stay in the supplied rings, and outside firewood must be certified heat-treated. The campground isn’t ADA accessible; the paved path to the restrooms has an incline.

The approach is unpaved, narrow and winding. The park allows RVs and trailers but advises against them; trailers are limited to 12 feet. Dogs can stay at camp on a leash up to six feet, but they can’t go on the connected backcountry trails. The campground closes seasonally, so check current dates before planning around it.

Cooper Road, Little Bottoms and Rabbit Creek trails connect with the campground area. The route toward Abrams Falls via Little Bottoms is a long hike, quite different from the shorter falls walk that starts in Cades Cove. Distance estimates for the campground route don’t agree, so check the current trail map before setting out.

Abrams Creek has a complicated restoration history. In 1957, managers used rotenone to remove nearly all of its more than 30 native fish species as part of rainbow trout management; that same year, Chilhowee Reservoir flooded the lower two miles of stream. Together those changes sharply reduced fish diversity.

From 1986 to 2001, park biologists reintroduced four rare fish species. Smoky Madtom and Citico Darter have since established breeding populations in the creek, while Spotfin Chub hasn’t persisted. The park continues moving fish between Abrams and Citico creeks to help preserve genetic diversity.