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I grew up about an hour away from that area and lived half my life there and can offer some insights about prime time to visit if your goal is to avoid crowds. That area is usually very beautiful in the fall when the leaves start turning. It seems that most people have the perception that the third week in October is the color peak. This is not necessarily so any more. We were there the second week in November a couple of years ago and there were absolutely no crowds and the leaves were just post peak then; it was really beautiful and temperatures very mild.
If possible, avoid the month of October and anything around a holiday such as Memorial Day or Labor Day, July 4. There are normally big crowds most all summer and school spring break times. Prices on all lodging and restaurants adjust for the peak times. This doesn't necessarily affect CGs so much, but that area tends to get really busy on fall weekends when UT has a home football game.
There is a fairly newly opened Camp Margaretville in Pigeon Forge. We stayed there last June when it first opened. Being a long time Parrothead, I just had to stay there. When you look around you will quickly realize no expense was spared in building this place, it looks like they took at least 50 feet of earth off the side of a hill to build it. The trees are newly planted and relatively small. It will be an absolutely beautiful place in the future when they mature a bit. It's also very expensive, there are some select sites that charge $189/night. I'm sorry, but for that amount of money I should be able to look out my window and see an ocean.
If you are interested in visiting Cades Cove, Wears Valley Rd. runs between Pigeon Forge and Cades Cove. There are a lot of CGs along that road. I've never stayed at one, but Honeysuckle Meadows is a highly rated one. Judging by photos on their website it's apparently an older CG with large mature trees and large sites.
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