If glamping has been on your bucket list or you just love searching for off the beaten path travel activities and unique travel accommodations, this is the post for you. Under Canvas is a one-stop shop that makes all your glamping dreams come true. This Under Canvas Review features everything you need to know before staying at the ultimate glamping destination.
Under Canvas features glamping locations all over the United States, with each location special and unique to the equally unique location. They host beginner campers and seasoned camping professionals at their locations in the Great Smoky Mountains, Moab, Zion, Lake Powell, Grand Canyon, Mount Rushmore, Acadia, Yellowstone and Glacier.
I recently visited Under Canvas in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park with my husband, and we felt so inspired to share our stay here for future glampers and those of you who are curious about staying at Under Canvas.
Let’s get into everything you need to know about Under Canvas and Under Canvas Great Smoky Mountains!
Under Canvas Review: Everything you Need to Know About Under Canvas Great Smoky Mountains
Under Canvas Great Smoky Mountains is located just behind the main strip of Pigeon Forge, closest to the end nearest to the National Park entrance. It’s about a 20 minute drive into the beginning of the park.
We arrived around 12:30 p.m., so definitely a few hours before the 3 p.m. check in time, but to our surprise, our tent was already completely ready for us to check in to.
Upon arrival, we realized really quickly that there was no cell service for us (AT&T) on the property, and I feel like that’s going to be pretty standard around all the locations and with most cell providers. National Parks are not well known for amazing cell service, but I truly think there’s a good reason for that. It was so nice to check out for a little while and not worry about having our phones attached to us like we usually do. (P.S. make sure you download my favorite no-service-required audio GPS guide for the national park you’re staying at before you go! Life changing)
All Under Canvas locations also intentionally do not feature WiFi, so that’s definitely something to consider if you truly do not think you can be unreachable for the duration of your stay. For us, it wasn’t an issue and we actually enjoyed reading and doing some of the activities I will get into later in this post.
The check-in experience was so informative, I truly don’t think we had any questions about our stay or the property after talking with the employee at the front desk.
What to Know About the Under Canvas Tent Options
We stayed in the safari tent, which is their most affordable option and also doesn’t feature an in-tent bathroom or shower. At the Smoky Mountain location, all of tents without bathrooms are grouped together and all of the tents with bathrooms are grouped together. This is nice because the no-bathroom tents are closest to the community bathhouse and restrooms.
If you’re staying in a tent with the bathhouse as your option, it was perfectly fine, but I would bring shower shoes (cheap flip flops or sandals) if you plan on showering. We were only there one night, so we really didn’t feel like we needed to shower. I definitely would have wanted something to wear in the showers though if we had!
There honestly weren’t that many bathrooms and showers in the bathhouse, which I thought would result in long lines for them at night, but there really never was! They must have the quantity down to a science.
If you take a look at their tent options, there are definitely some really extravagant tents that look amazing, but we wanted to stick to a budget for this trip as much as possible. My family is visiting the Yellowstone location in August, and we actually got the Madison River Suite, so I am excited to update this post once I have a full review of that experience.
Each tent comes with two bright lanterns that also feature USB charging stations, so you are able to charge your phone if needed. So there are no electrical outlets or anything, but if you need a battery for a CPAP or other medical device, you can reserve one before your stay or request one once you arrive.
I also want to mention that the kids tent with two beds is pretty tiny. For our Yellowstone trip, we originally had booked the kids tent for my husband and brother to stay in, but after we saw them the night we stayed in Under Canvas GSMNP, we realized they were pretty tiny and booked the Madison River Suite like I mentioned. I definitely think the kids tent would be best for teenagers!
Food and Drinks at Under Canvas Great Smoky Mountains
Under Canvas offers hot breakfast and dinner items for an additional price that can be charged to your room, or they also feature a really good grab and go section with really gourmet options. They have refrigerated items in this section too so there were wraps and cold drinks ready to grab for an adventure at any moment.
The hot breakfast and dinner items rotate frequently, but they all looked and smelled really good. We just got two of the grab and go options for breakfast, though. I got the blueberry muffins- I was thinking they would be homemade, but they were just store bought ones, which was fine with me but just good to know. Preston got the yogurt parfait and really liked it though!
It’s also good to know that they have water fountain stations inside the lobby, so I think it’s a great idea to bring a refillable water bottle for your stay. This saved us a lot of money on buying new bottles of water and is just also great for the environment.
If you’re looking for something a little stronger, they also had a great selection of bottles of wine and local beers you could purchase in the lobby tent. If you can’t tell already from this post thus far, the lobby tent will be your go-to destination!
It’s very critical to know that you can’t have food anywhere near your tent. So if you have any food on you when you arrive, make sure to leave it in your car to avoid attracting little (or big) critters.
What to Do at Under Canvas Great Smoky Mountains
I am going to keep this contained to just things we saw to do on property, because if I started listing everything to do in the greater Smoky Mountains area, we would be here for hours. If you want to see what we do on a more typical trip to Gatlinburg and the Smoky Mountains, you can read all about our most recent trip.
Lawn Games
There were countless lawn games like horse shoes, corn hole, can jam, spike ball, frisbee, etc. This was definitely popular with families and looked like a really fun time for kids, but we really enjoyed doing just the oversized Jenga too!
Sunrise Yoga
It was rainy the morning that we were staying at Under Canvas, but a few people were participating in the sunrise yoga session, and it looked really fun. They also had hosted a tie-dye activity the night before we were there, and I think they rotate the activities pretty frequently. It looked really fun!
Reading and Relaxing
This was what we did for the majority of our stay because Under Canvas is such a good destination for a little relaxation. We brought a blanket in case we wanted to stretch out in the grass, but it was so hot when we were there we didn’t feel like going anywhere near a blanket.
S’mores at the Fire Pit
Under Canvas offers complimentary s’more kits so your entire family can grab s’mores to take to the fire pit. There are a few communal fire pits, but it’s good to know that they can be pretty crowded from what we saw. I think it all depends on the time, day, location, etc., but it’s still more than worth it.
Grilling
I think most locations have grilling stations so your family can come out and cook up something yourselves. I’m pretty sure they can provide everything you need if you reserve in advance.
Other Good Things to Know about Under Canvas
One of the best things about Under Canvas (in my opinion) is the fact that the lobby is open and staffed 24 hours a day. People were already milling about really early in the morning, so Under Canvas definitely knows their audience is on the go and ready to explore the national wonders at all hours of the day.
Their incredibly knowledgeable and friendly staff are always walking about and ready to help, so I definitely felt like we could come to them with any question or request and they would be able to help us.
It’s also good to know that you can get to the property earlier than your check in if you just want to hang out for a little while on the property. Your tent might be ready early, but if it’s not, there’s so much to do around the property, you won’t be bored.
Under Canvas serves complimentary, fresh coffee in their lobby. We ventured out that morning to get some of the coffee bright and early before bringing it back to our little tent to soak in the peace of nature on our little tent’s front porch.
Final Under Canvas Review
To cap it all off, if you have been looking at Under Canvas or wanting to glamp, I really think it’s worth it. If you absolutely hate being outdoors though, this still might not be the adventure for you. Even though it is glamping, you’re still outside, there are still bugs, it’s still hot with no AC, etc.
So I think it’s just good to keep in mind that even though it is elevated and fun, it’s still not going to be exactly like staying in a hotel.
Please let me know if there were any questions I can answer that I missed in this Under Canvas Review! I would love to chat about this experience in the comments below if you have any comments or questions.
I hope you enjoyed this Under Canvas Review, and if you want to watch a little sneak peek into our stay at Under Canvas, I shared all about it on my Instagram!
By clicking a link in this post, I may receive a small affiliate commission. As always, all thoughts and opinions are my own.
