Little River at Great Smoky Mountains National Park

How do you take a shower while camping at the Great Smoky Mountains National Park?  That’s what I asked myself before I went, having browsed the year round and seasonal camps, learning that  none of the camps have showers, and the closest alternatives would involve exiting the park to nearby cities.  At this point planning for my trip I purchased a solar shower, but it never got used.  That’s because I discovered how people cope in the park, and that would be by bathing in the Little River!

The Little River has miles of roadside access points, some crafted by the park, some improvised.  The Little River Gorge Rd that you must follow to do just about anything on the west side of the park will reveal people constantly in this river, and I’d learn to make use of it too.  When I visited the water was fairly cold, but it’s a wide shallow river in most spots with plenty of banks, pools and boulders to walk on, sun on, and splash around.  Sink I was staying at the Elkmont Campground, which happens to have the little river flow through it, I had an extra large amount of options for where to hop in.  This river however stretches on seemingly forever in the park, and “Little” isn’t a fair name, because it’s a fairly major element.  It flows through The Sinks, you can view Meigs Falls from it at roadside, you can kayak or tube in it, and you can even follow it out of the park into nearby Townsend, TN where there’s more recreation involving it.

If you’re new to bathing in the wild just keep in mind not to use any products that will contaminate the water.  This sort of scenario is best for a good rinse off, and if you bring an abrasive scrubby or something you can still exfoliate just fine.  Gear wise, I’ve taken to carrying a pouch on my hiking bag in these sorts of places that contains a microfiber towel, a small scrubby, some biodegradable soap (that I have a feeling I’ll never use because I’m worried about screwing up the environment), and a bathing suit.  That’s about all it takes to bath in the Little River within the confines of the Great Smoky Mountains National Park.  This is highly relevant to those of us who tent camp.