Harrah's Cherokee Casino

There is a house with huge grass yard/field across from the Casino that has a sign. $3 a day for parking. There were 5 or 6 RV's there. We parked for a day. Can easily stay over night a few days.

We stopped at Harrahs Cherokee in March for an over night on our way home. Nice quiet parking lot for a Thursday afternoon. Parking lot was huge so we parked next to the river out of the way. We let the jacks down and slides out but that was it. No awnings or chairs or coolers. It appeared no shuttle was running at the time of our arrival. Casino staff was very nice as I arrived to play the slots and very receptive to us camping over night. Never tried their food selections so I can't comment on that. There is smoking and non smoking. The slots were pretty generous to me that night. Walking out at 3 a.m. I asked "security" if they could escort me to my rv since I had a substantial amount of money on me and was told no I had to walk. They only provide shuttle service on the weekends. I didn't ask for shuttle service, I asked politely for security and denied again. I took it from that, they don't have security patrolling the lots at night. But he did tell me if I got mugged they would have it on camera. Winning the house money made his sarcastic attitude worth the trip and walking alone some 150 yards away ok!

Things have drastically changed since my last post on this casino. We asked to park in the parking lot way out back after driving 5 hours and it was dark by the time we arrived and security told us they would tow if we were not out by 11 pm. They did allow us to stay in their overflow across the street until daylight to allow us to find a campsite. If you have a camper van however, it must be ok to park in the "No RV or truck area"... Size matters. :)

report from Karen B, November, 2007
Follow the traffic circle around to the self parking lot on the left. RV parking is in the far left corner of the lot. There's one small sign that says: "Campers & Oversized Vehicles, No Overnight Camping Allowed"
 
We were confused by this sign but since we stayed overnight for five days and were joined each time by three or four other RVs and the security truck passed us on his rounds, we've concluded that the sign is marking the RV parking and that they just don't want anyone setting up camp although it seemed okay to have slide outs extended. We were able to pick up several WiFi signals if we parked near the sign.
 
It's an easy five minute walk to the casino and there are also shuttle stops close by. Shuttles run continuously.
 
The casino is large , all types of slot machines and many poker machines. The best poker machines that we found were 8/5 JOB. This casino used to have an unusual type of slot machine which required you to chose what you wanted to hold and then take an extra free spin. They only scored on the center line .Some of these are still in use but most of the slots are standard machines now.
 
The comps were pretty generous so we ate at the snack bar and also at the buffet. DO NOT eat at the snack bar. The seating area was filthy and the food was really bad. Everything that we had at the buffet, except for the desserts some of which were stale and tasteless, was very good. It was a lunch buffet so I think that the desserts were from the night before. For other food options, there's an IGA grocery store, a pancake house and a steak house right across the highway.
 
Comps are good for a variety of other things like the Museum of the Cherokee Indian (worth a visit) , Unto These Hills outdoor drama, gas, golf and even rafting trips.
 
(Editor's Note: This is a good example of a casino where the official policy is "No Camping" but overnight parking is allowed, or at least tolerated. Most RV travelers have encountered situations like this before -- I know we have several times. You have to "feel your way" through the situation. Many places will unofficially allow good customers to overnight, but if one troublemaker comes along everyone will probably get the boot.)

report from Karen B, December 19, 2008
We stopped Harrah's in Cherokee for the night and noticed that they've changed the sign to limit overnight parking to one night. That seems to clear up the question of whether overnighting is allowed.
 
Indians casinos are usually pretty relaxed though and I think that longer stays would be approved by asking in the casino. Also the construction hasn't interfered with the RV parking area although it has made the walk a little longer as Wayne E. reports. They're building a gravel, concrete and boardwalk pathway to make it easier to get from the parking to the casino if you walk instead of taking the shuttle.