Great Smoky Mountains Institute at Tremont (school and group residential programs)

Worth knowing

• An education center inside the national park whose dorm sleeps up to 125, with room for 135 on site in all.
• Staff cook three hot meals a day; school trips last 3 to 5 days for groups of 12 to 135.
• Stays come with Tremont's guided programs for school and college groups, priced from $300 per student.
• The dorm is heated and air-conditioned, split into four sections with their own bathrooms; guests usually bring bedding.
• Meeting space includes a room for 200 and an open-air council house for 100.

What the operator states

Sleeps

Can house up to 135 people on site; Caylor Lodge dorm holds up to 125, plus a tent village of cabin-style tents with bunk beds. School group size listed as 12 to 135.

Largest single building

Sleeps 125

Sleeping setup

Bunks

Kitchen

Full-service kitchen run by staff; groups do not cook

Meals and dining

Kitchen staff serve three hot meals a day in the dining hall; dinners are family style

Meeting space

Activity center meeting room for up to 200 and an upstairs room for up to 40; open-air Council House for up to 100; classrooms, a science lab and an open-air pavilion

Outdoors

Inside Great Smoky Mountains National Park about four miles from the Townsend entrance, on the Middle Prong; trails, a field for group games and a blacktop court

Accessibility

Dorm's accessible bathroom is on the ground floor; the second story is reached by two outside stairways

Parking and buses

Parking lot by the office; bus access not stated

Minimum stay

School programs run 3 to 5 days

Season

Not stated on the pages we read; school trips run during the school year and summer camps in summer

Group rules

Lodging comes with Tremont's own guided education programs; the pages we read describe school and college groups and workshops, not a plain facility rental. Most participants bring their own linens, pillow and blankets.

Price

School programs start at $300 per student; aid, scholarships and discounts available (no date on the page; confirm before you rely on it)

Ask before you book

Built from what the operator's page left open when we checked.

1. Is your stated capacity the permitted occupancy, or a count of every bed and sofa?
2. Can a church bus or coach reach the building, and how many cars fit?
3. Are pets allowed?
4. Is alcohol allowed on the property?

Copy these questions

Also read what "sleeps 30" really means and the full question list.

Where this came from