Sevierville, TN – This is a large RV resort located near the extremely touristy town trifecta of Pigeon Forge-Sevierville-Gatlinburg, Tennessee. If you can think of a tourist trap, it’s almost certainly in the area, along with every bland chain restaurant imaginable. There are countless dinner shows, outlet stores, mini golf courses, rope courses, arcades, and attractions such as Dollywood, Ripley’s Aquarium of the Smokies, and Ober Gatlinburg. The entire region has been developed to cater to visitors of Great Smoky Mountains National Park, the most visited national park in the United States, logging over 11.3 million visitors in 2017. In any case, if you decide to brave the never ending traffic and crowds, this is a nice RV park to use as a home base. We spent most of our two week visit day hiking in the Great Smoky Mountains.
Our first site was a pull thru
A bathhouse. Interior roads are a mix of paved and gravel
We had two sites here: #123, a long pull through for 2 nights and #411, a shorter back-in along the Little Pigeon River for 14 nights. We arrived two days earlier than we originally planned and they were able to accommodate us, just not in our same reserved riverfront site. Both were level and all utilities worked well. The only downside, which is the reason I subtracted 1 star from the rating, is poor branch trimming on the sites. There is no way a 13’4″ tall motorhome can gain access without scraping on the branches.
Backing to the river was not as pleasant as we had hoped, as we did not realize that everyone in the park uses the area between the sites and the river as a public space, so there was a constant stream of golf carts, people fishing, kids on bikes, and even people throwing balls immediately behind our motorhome. We also had people cutting through our site to get to the river rather than walking to the open access areas.
Our back-in riverfront site was plenty wide
Another view of our site
Our site backed the Little Pigeon River
River Plantation Office
As a resort, River Plantation offers many amenities for the entire family, including multiple pools, a basketball court, a bark park, cabin rentals, an outdoor pavilion with grills, and an arcade. Co-located on site is a tree tops ropes course called Adventureworks Climb Zip Swing. There is also a good breakfast place, called Flapjack’s Pancake Cabin, located in walking distance.
They offer a dog wash during warmer months
River Plantation offers pools and a lazy river
There is a rope course next to the entrance of the park
There is a co-located RV wash which charges $2/foot
Rating: 
Date of Stay: March 23 – April 7, 2018
Campground Website: River Plantation RV Resort
