Roamstead Review: the Best Glamping in the Smokies

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I don’t know about you, but as I’ve gotten older, the idea of pitching a tent, sleeping on the ground, cooking meals over a fire, and going without a shower for days…let’s just say, it’s doesn’t really have the same ring as it used to. That’s not to say I don’t still love the outdoors. Honestly, I find that nothing quite resets me the way spending time outside does. But, can we do it with some climate control and minimal back pain?

When Roamstead invited me to go glamping for the first time, I was sold. You mean to tell me I can sleep on a real bed in a room with my perfect temperature, but also spend my waking hours outside as much as I want…sign me up!

After my weekend at Roamstead, I’m convinced they are the best glamping in the Smokies, just a stones throw from the national park (at the less crowded entrances, mind you!). In this Roamstead review, I’m excited to share everything they have to offer, so you know what to expect from glamping and from their exquisite experience.

What is glamping? and where does Roamstead fit?

Glamping is like camping’s cool older sister. She’s been there, done that and found a way to do it better.

Glamping aka glamorous camping, is all the best parts of camping (i.e. the outdoors, welcome isolation, and fun stuff like campfires and s’mores), with some improvements, usually hotel-like rooms from which to enjoy the benefits of camping.

That means you get a real mattress, a sealed indoor space (bye-bye bugs, hello climate control), outlets, and sometimes even kitchen amenities.

Roamstead is a campground with the comforts of a boutique hotel. They offer some stellar amenities that truly make them the best glamping site near the Smokies. Keep reading for all the incredible things to expect from Roamstead.

Related read >> Beginners guide to camping

Where is the Roamstead campsite?

Roamstead is in the heart of the northern towns of the Smokies in Cosby, Tennessee just 25 minutes from Gatlinburg, 35 minutes from Pigeon Forge, and an hour and a half from Knoxville.

It’s also within 10 minutes from the Cosby entrance and 15 minutes to the Greenbrier entrance to Great Smoky Mountains National Park.

All this to say, it’s central to your exploration of the Smokies, but also removed enough that if you want to just stay on site to enjoy the Smoky Mountain air, you won’t have the crowds of Gatlinburg breathing down your neck.

What types of glampsites do they have?

They have it all! And I mean, all! They have boutique hotel rooms in their lodge, an historic cabin from the 1800s, modern stand-alone cabin lofts, an Airstream for vintage glamping, and yurts, which is a circular, tent-like building with wayyy more structure!

We stayed in a yurt (my first yurt experience!) and absolutely loved it! 

They also have primitive tent campsites with privacy walls and RV campsites with full hookups. Each campsite has a fire pit and picnic table and there’s a couple bathroom buildings accessible across the entirety of the grounds.

Roamstead Review

Lodge and Grounds

Upon arriving, we checked in at their lodge, which is the main building. It was immediately cozy with warm lighting, comfy couches and chairs, and the cutest touches, like Great Lodges of the National Parks, a coffee table book to peruse.

Upon further exploration of the lodge, I was pleased to discover their Pantry, kitchen, and work space upstairs. More on all that in a bit!

The grounds are beautifully curated with ample space for glampers and campers alike. There are lots of RV spaces, a few tent camping sites, the yurt village, and cabins in organized rows along just one of their streams that flow through the property.

With bridges that go over the water, a lawn space for games and community fire pits, a playground for kiddos, and a hammock area, you’ll feel right at home once you arrive.

Parking Availability

Parking was easy and plentiful. Each cabin and RV campsite have their own designated space, while there’s a lot for those staying in yurts and tent campsites.

While I did visit in shoulder season for the Smokies, I had no problem with parking and am sure that there’s enough for everyone even when fully booked.

Food On Site

Roamstead Kitchen

Yepp, they have a kitchen. And a dang good one, too!

As a novice camper, I learned quickly that prepping camping meals, especially for tent camping, is quite the task. Not only do you need to get a little creative, but it’s a lot of effort once you’re actually camping to cook then clean your dishes. 

At Roamstead, you certainly can cook your own meals as each site has a fire pit with a grill and some cabins have microwaves and stovetops, but their kitchen takes away that headache.

With a simple menu, they’ve perfected their each offering.

In the morning, you can enjoy espresso drinks with either a bacon, egg, and cheese croissant or a chocolate croissant. I had the former and it was SO GOOD. I could have eaten probably 3 of them.

For lunch and dinner, they have a pizza menu that’s sure to satisfy everyone. The pizzas are medium sized and can be shared between two people. We certainly left no crumbs!

They also have chicken tenders and mini corn dogs for Roamstead Rangers (aka the kiddos).

Top it off with a milkshake!

Free Granola and Coffee

Each morning for breakfast, you can enjoy complimentary granola with milk and drip coffee. It’s served every day from 8 am to 10:30 am.

I loved this so much. Not only was it delicious, but it turned the campsite into a community space where everyone could meet their fellow campers (or glampers).

Free Afternoon Cookies

The happiest text I’ve ever received may have been this one: “Hey Roamsteaders! We’ve got some complimentary fresh baked cookies at the lodge! Stop by for a sweet treat!”

Excuse me, but can every hotel get on this and offer complimentary cookies every day. New expectation level: fresh cookies. And I’ll tell ya, Roamstead’s cookies were INCREDIBLE. I’m an avid baker, so scouts honor, these were delish!

Amenities

Roamstead Pantry

If you forgot anything on your trip, the Pantry had you covered. Everything from firestarter, lighters, ice, logs, s’mores makings and skewers, snacks, drinks, ice cream, charcoal, and RV essentials (don’t ask me what they were, but there’s no doubt the assemblage of hoses and connections was RV stuff).

Prices were fair, too! Firestarter was around $2.75, for example.

Pool

Right next to the lodge was a saltwater pool including a 1-ft shallow pool for kids. There were plenty of chairs and fresh towels, so come summer, I just know it’ll be a great place to hang out!

Unfortunately, it was a wee bit cold when we visited, so we never made the dip.

Entertainment and Games

My favorite part of Roamstead was how much you could turn it into a staycation. Sure a visit to Great Smoky Mountain National Park is a must if you’ve never been, but considering all the entertainment at Roamstead, they sure make it hard to leave!

First in the lodge, they had board games and puzzles.

On their lawn, they had cornhole (sacks are stored in lodge, so be sure to ask), giant Jenga, and the ring game you often find at breweries.

They also show movies on their pavilion with a projector. When we visited they showed Minions: The Rise of Gru. 

Bathhouse

Ahhhh, the bathhouse. I once went camping (in the Smokies actually) where they didn’t have showers, and after 3 days, I resorted to washing my hair with compostable dish soap. It wasn’t pretty (and neither was I at that point).

Needless to say, Roamstead’s bathhouse was a welcome sight. Immaculately clean all the time, inside were a few sinks, bathroom stalls, and three showers stocked with body wash, shampoo, and conditioner.

The water was warm and the woman was pleased. What more do you need?

And a quick note that they did have more showers at the lodge, should the bathhouse be full. They were equally clean and full of the same amenities.

Laundry and Dishes

There are laundry facilities at the bathhouse, where the washer and dryers cost $2.00 – 2.75 and you can pay on your phone by scanning a QR code! So, no quarters necessary.

Also at the bathhouse and bathroom near the yurt village is a dishwashing station. They provide everything you need including soap and a sponge.

Internet and the Roamstead App

As much as I wanted to disconnect completely, I also loved Roamstead for my ability to get some work done in peace. That’s because their WiFi was solid. Even from across the grounds, I had no problem connecting.

We even streamed a live baseball game from bed one night!

Not to mention that Roamstead has an app full of happenings, local recommendations, and a chat line should you need anything!

Working Space

Upstairs in the lodge, you’ll find a nice quiet and cozy workspace. Because the lodge is the WiFi hub, if you really need to get something done, this is the best spot for it, especially if you have trouble connecting at your campsite. They even offered to turn the lodge’s music down if we needed.

Accessibility

Unfortunately at this time, Roamstead is not fully accessible. While there are showers that are certainly wide enough to accommodate wheelchairs, there is a small lip to get into the shower and no handles were present that I saw.

Additionally, while there are no stairs, the entire campsite is gravel, so it would be difficult, if not impossible to get around.

I hope this is an improvement they are working to make. They’ve only been less than a year!

Yurt Review

Like I mentioned before, my husband and I stayed in a yurt, mostly because it was a brand new experience and often what people think of when you say “glamping.” It’s me, I’m people.

Here’s how it went!

The yurts themselves are the perfect amount of space for two people. You can request a crib, should you need, but it’s one open circular room, so there’s no possibility of multiple beds or a pull out couch.

Inside, we had a mini fridge, ice bucket, luggage stand, climate control, towels, a nightstand each with earplugs, and a small sitting area.

The outside space included a small patio with a table and two chairs, and one picnic table and firepit per yurt.

We were right on the riverfront and loved the views and even more so, the sound! That said, it was pretty loud, so if you’re a light sleeper and need silence, those complimentary earplugs may come in handy.

We slept well both nights although it took us some finagling to get the temperature just right during the cold nights. The biggest culprit to our slumber was the skylight, which let in light every morning around 6:30 am. If you’re sensitive to light, I definitely recommend packing a sleep mask.

The yurt itself was very cozy and honestly made me debate if I wanted to spend my time inside or outside!

What to bring to Roamstead

While they do have their Pantry with lots of essentials, we weren’t sure going in what types of things would be provided so let me break it down, so you know exactly what you need for glamping here.

A note that if you are flying in, you honestly don’t need to bring much of anything aside from your clothes. But, if you are roadtripping and have wiggle room for packing, here’s some things to consider.

• Your own firewood – We bought some of theirs and while it wasn’t expensive, we had a hard time keeping it lit because it was such dense wood. Maybe the users were equally dense and that was the problem 🥴
• Your own firestarter – Again, we bought theirs, but had some trouble getting it to cooperate. Our first fire lasted 30 minutes, so we bought another firestarter, and that fire lasted an hour or so.
• Bear spray – There are bears in the Smokies, so if you’re driving come prepared with bear spray. Each adult should have one on them, especially when hiking.
• S’mores skewers – If you already have them, you definitely don’t want to spend another $14 on more of them. 
• Cards – I was pretty surprised that they didn’t have a plain deck of cards (although it’s possible someone was borrowing them). We somehow forgot all our board games and cards, so that was a bummer. These waterproof cards are durable and won’t deteriorate if they get wet!
• Food – I wasn’t sure what type of amenities were in the yurt, so we didn’t pack any food except snacks. I would recommend PB&J makings if nothing else.
• Flip flops/sandals — I guarantee you’re not going to want to put socks and shoes on after a fresh shower for your walk back to your campsite. Sandals are key!
• Bug repellent — We were visiting at the beginning of bug season, so we didn’t have much trouble. But if you’re visiting in summer or fall, definitely stock up on the essentials. I like Buggables, a citronella bracelet/anklet so you don’t have to use a spray.

Here’s what you don’t need and is provided for you:

• S’mores makings (minus chocolate) – They have little Ziplocs with graham crackers and marshmallows, so all you need is the chocolate, which they have for sale.
• Toiletries – They have body wash, shampoo, and conditioner, so no sweat there.
• Lighter/matches – Okay, yes, a lighter is certainly handy, but they do have matches and left behind lighters from past guests, should you need them.
• Breakfast – Like I said, they have complimentary granola and drip coffee daily, so don’t stress on breakfast.

What happens if I forget something?

First, you can shop for the basics from their Pantry.

Second, right down the road (literally a 7 minute walk) is a Dollar General. They have all the essentials including groceries. We stocked up on Gatorade, bread, and peanut butter.

Finally, Gatlinburg is a major town and only 25 minutes away. There’s a Food City just outside the main part of the city and lots of restaurants within the city.

P.S. If you’re looking for restaurants near Roamstead to broaden your meals, we loved Al Chile, a taco truck across from the Dollar General (so, a 7 minute walk away).

We also had simple, but delicious sandwiches from J.O.E. and Pop’s Sub Shoppe. The foot-longs lasted us two meals, and we could easily store them in our yurt’s mini fridge.

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So tell me, have you been glamping? If not, would you try it?

Book your stay at Roamstead here.

Thank you to Roamstead for hosting us and sponsoring this article. As always, all opinions are my own.

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