Birch Gap Sites -Smokies

[Lead Dog]

Can any one camp here? I know you have to reserve shelters in the smokies if not thru-hiking. I'll be hiking the southern end (Newfound Gap to Fontana) might use this as a nights stop.

[Sickmont]

I thought i read somewhere that there was no "reserving" of shelters at all.

[SGT Rock]

Can any one camp here? I know you have to reserve shelters in the smokies if not thru-hiking. I'll be hiking the southern end (Newfound Gap to Fontana) might use this as a nights stop.
The Birches is a reservation only campsite.

I thought i read somewhere that there was no "reserving" of shelters at all.

What people are referring to when they say this is you can't show up at a shelter on the AT ahead of others and say "I'm holding 4 spots in this shelter for my buddies."

In the Smokies, a hiker cannot camp at a shelter without getting a reservation from the Backcountry Reservations Office. The exception for this is a thru-hiker does not need a reservation for a shelter, but is also not guaranteed space inside the shelter either. A thru-hiker may have to camp within sight of the shelter. And a thru-hiker cannot get to a shelter in the Smokies and hold it for another thru-hiker behind them that is planning to stay there. Any non-thru-hiker at a shelter in the Smokies has a real reservation through the Backcountry Office.

[full conditions]

This is one of the 'reservation only' sites so self-registration isnt an option here. There used to be a shelter here and it tends to be cold and damp.