From the Great Smoky Mountains in the west to the shores of the Outer Banks in the east, the state of North Carolina is full of diverse and beautiful natural scenery and wonders that make for amazing camping destinations. Camping enthusiasts will find a wide variety of campsites, ranging from tent sites to RV sites to cabins across scenery that varies from peaceful forests to gorgeous mountain terrain to seaside campgrounds where guests can fall asleep to the sound of crashing waves.
Bear Den Family Campground and Creekside Cabins
The Bear Den Family Campground and Creekside Cabins offers a base camp for exploring the scenic mountains of North Carolina. SItuated within the Pisgah National Forest near the Blue Ridge Parkway, the campground near the town of Spruce Pine offers several amenities and activities in addition to its campsites and cabins, such as opportunities for fishing without requiring a license and swimming at the lake. There are also more than thirteen miles of hiking trails, playgrounds, volleyball, basketball, and a game room with arcade games, air hockey, and pool tables. The Bear Den’s Trading Post sells firewood, drinks, and ice.
600 Bear Den Mountain Rd, Spruce Pine, NC 28777, Phone: 828-765-2888
Camp Hatteras RV Resort & Campground
The Camp Hatteras RV Resort and Campground in the famed Outer Banks of North Carolina is a family-owned and operated campground that has been around since 1991. Spanning across approximately fifty acres, the resort offers both soundfront and oceanfront sites for tent and RV camping, as well as Park Model Rentals. The campground also hosts several planned activities throughout the summer season and provides numerous amenities, such as wireless internet, cable television, full hookups, a fully stocked camp store, a marina, a dog park, a whirlpool, indoor and outdoor pools, a game room, cornhole, shuffleboard, basketball, tennis, and miniature golf.
24798 NC Hwy 12, Waves, NC 27968, Phone: 252-987-2777
Carolina Beach State Park
With miles of trails traversing across an array of distinctive habitats, secluded camping spot underneath towering trees, and a marina that provides access for visitors to some of the best fishing areas in North Carolina, Carolina Beach State Park has become a popular attraction along the coast. The family campground in the state park can be found near Snow’s Cut and features nearly eighty campsites within a wooded setting. There are sixty-nine sites without full hookups and ten full-hookup sites, including one that is wheelchair-accessible. Each site includes a fire ring or grill and a picnic table.
1010 State Park Rd, Carolina Beach, NC 28428, Phone: 910-458-8206
Carolina Hemlocks Recreation Area
Located in the Pisgah National Forest near the Blue Ridge Parkway, the Carolina Hemlocks Recreation Area offers some of North Carolina’s best camping. Running alongside the scenic campground is the South Toe River, offering a great spot for tubing, swimming, or trout fishing. Open from April to October, the campground itself is made up of campsites for both RVs and tents, with some of the sites featuring views of the river. There are also modern bathhouse facilities with hot showers available to guests. Activities at the campground include hiking, tubing, fishing, and weekend programs from Memorial Day through Labor Day.
6000 Hwy. 80 S, Burnsville, NC 28714, Phone: 828-675-5509
Curtis Creek Campground
The Curtis Creek Campground is located less than one hour from Asheville, North Carolina, at the base of the beautiful Blue Ridge Parkway. Nestled within the eastern United State’s first National Forest tract of land, roaring trout streams and old growth forests surround the campground. Three campsites loops offer twenty-five campsites, one of which can accommodate RVs and the other two are tent-only. Sites on one of the loops include a fire ring, lantern post, picnic table, and tent pad. In addition to the campsites, the Curtis Creek Campground also offers bear-proof recycling and trash receptacles, drinking water, and vault toilets.
3799 State Rd 1227, Old Fort, NC 28762, Phone: 828-652-2144
Davidson River Campground
Located just within the boundaries of the Pisgah National Forest near Brevard, North Carolina, the Davidson River Campground is situated along the banks of its namesake Davidson River, which provides an excellent place for swimming, tubing, and fishing. The river is actually noted as one of the southeast region’s premier spots for trout fishing. Open the beginning of April through the end of October, the Davidson River Campground provides nearly 150 campsites accommodating both RV and tent camping, many of which offer a good amount of shade. Sites include lantern poles, fire rings, tent pads, and picnic tables.
1 Davidson River Cir, Pisgah Forest, NC 28768, Phone: 828-785-5337
Hidden Creek Camping Resort
Situated at the base of the beautiful North Carolina Blue Ridge Mountains, the Hidden Creek Camping Resort is a 64-acre campground boasting cozy cabins, tent campsites, sites with electricity and water, and RV sites with full hookups. There is also plenty to do besides camping as well at the Hidden Creek, providing countless hours of family fun. The resort offers swimming, fishing, a 300-foot long water slide, a kiddie pool, a junior Olympic pool, bingo, volleyball, dances, crafts, s’mores roasts, movies, and much more. Campers can also take kayaks, canoes, or paddle boats out on the five-acre lake.
1210 Deacon Dr, Marion, NC 28752, Phone: 828-652-7208
Indian Creek Campground
The Indian Creek Campground is a serene, beautiful, and peaceful place for camping in the mountain town of Cherokee. Situated near the Great Smoky Mountains National Park’s southern edge on the grounds of the Cherokee Indian Reservation, the campground offers a naturally beautiful, heavily wooded, and quiet setting for a relaxing camping getaway. The family-oriented, privately owned Indian Creek Campground includes more than seventy campsites, including creekside tent sites, primitive tent campsites, cabins, sites for small RVs and pop-ups, and full-hookup sites. Amenities include a playground, camp store, stocked trout stream, hot showers, clean restrooms, Wi-Fi hotspot, and laundry facilities.
1367 Bunches Creek Rd, Cherokee, NC 28719, Phone: 828-497-4361
Lake Powhatan Recreation Area & Campground
Located in the city of Asheville, the Lake Powhatan Recreation Area and Campground is close enough to downtown for campers who want to experience some of the best Asheville has to offer, but far enough away to enjoy some peace and quiet in nature. Bordering the Bent Creek Experimental Forest near the French Broad River, the recreation area is popular among mountain biking enthusiasts. The beach and swimming lake provide a great way to relax and cool off during the summer months. The Lake Powhatan Campground includes almost 100 shaded campsites with fire rings, tent pads, and picnic tables.
75 Wesley Branch Rd, Asheville, NC 28806, Phone: 828-670-5627
Mount Pisgah Campgrounds
Perched within the western North Carolina mountains, the Mount Pisgah Campground offers a peaceful setting for camping along the famed and scenic Blue Ridge Parkway. The spacious campground offers sites for both tent camping and RVs, and features modern amenities, such as a country store, drinking water, and flush toilets. Each of the campsites feature picnic tables, as well as fire rings that are perfect for roasting marshmallows. 72 of the campsites at Mount Pisgah are offered on a first-come, first-served availability, while 53 can be reserved in advance. Advanced reservations, however, require a minimum stay of two nights.
408 Blue Ridge Pkwy, Canton, NC 28716, Phone: 828-648-2644
Nantahala National Forest
The Nantahala National Forest is located in the mountains of southwestern North Carolina, easily accessible from the Blue Ridge Parkway near Asheville. The forest encompasses approximately half a million acres and offers pictures hiking trails, stunning views, and a variety of camping options. The Standing Indian Mountain, one of the park’s highest points, offers spectacular views of the Nantahala River Gorge. The pool near the Cullasaja Falls along the Cullasaja River provides a good spot for swimming as well. Camping opportunities within the Nantahala National Forest range from rustic tent sites to RV sites to glamping options with the cabins.
Nantahala, NC, Phone: 828-257-4200
Campgrounds in North Carolina: Pisgah National Forest
The expansive Pisgah National Forest offers seemingly endless opportunities for outdoor recreation within the beautiful hardwood forest. Once owned by the Vanderbilt family, the forest is home to some of North Carolina’s most dramatic mountain scenery, including waterfalls and whitewater rivers. Pisgah National Forest became the eastern United States’s first national forest in 1916 and now offers a peaceful setting for camping enthusiasts, with camping options ranging from primitive tent sites to full-service RV campsites. The streams and rivers provide chances for whitewater sports, boating, and trout fishing, white gorges and mountain peaks are great for mountain biking and rock climbing.
Pisgah National Forest, Phone: 828-257-4200
Poplar Point Campground
Located in Apex, North Carolina, the Jordan Lake State Recreation Area include nine lake access areas along the 14,000-acre reservoir’s shoreline. The recreation area also boasts over one thousand campsites across five of these access areas, offering a variety of camping experiences, including group camps, primitive tent camping, and RV hookups. The Poplar Point Campground consists of almost 600 campsites, accommodating both tents and RVs, including hundreds of sites with electric and water hookups. Campsites also include lantern holders, grills, and picnic tables. A dump station, trash containers, restroom facilities, and shower facilities are provided at Poplar Point as well.
280 State Park Rd, Apex, NC 27523, Phone: 919-362-0586
Campgrounds Near Me: Rocky Bluff Campground
Situated just outside the town of Hot Springs, North Carolina, the Rocky Bluff Campground provides a place of solitude and relaxation within a wooded setting. The Rocky Bluff Campground is open from Memorial Day weekend until Labor Day weekend and is a paradise for fishermen, as well as a good camping spot for hiking enthusiasts. The Spring Creek Nature Trail encircles the campground, offering a little more than a mile hike that meanders along the creek, which happens to be an excellent stream for trout fishing. Flush toilets and drinking water can be found near the campsites.
2145 NC-209, Hot Springs, NC 28743, Phone: 828-689-9694
Campgrounds in North Carolina: Uwharrie National Forest
The Uwharrie National Forest of North Carolina is particularly well known for being a destination for off-roading, dirt biking, and ATVs. The forest is home to clearly marked trails for ATVs and other off-roading vehicles, however, there are also miles of mountain biking and hiking trails as well. Visitors can bring their horse along too, but it’s important to be careful as some of the ATV and equestrian trails overlap. As for camping, the Arrowhead Campground in the Uwharrie National Forest offers around fifty campsites, more than thirty of which include RV hookups for electricity.
Uwharrie National Forest, Phone: 910-576-6391
Yogi Bear’s Jellystone Park Campground Asheboro NC
Yogi Bear’s Jellystone Park Campground in Asheboro, North Carolina is a family-friendly campground offering a variety of camping accommodations, including tent campsites, pull-through RV sites, back-in RV sites, and cabins. Situated only a couple miles away from the North Carolina Zoo, guests at the park are given one free ticket to the zoo per site. Amenities at Yogi Bear’s Jellystone Park Campground Asheboro include themed weeks during summer, two stocked ponds for fishing, a swimming pool with water slide and waterfall, a jumping pillow, giant outdoor chess, outdoor movie theater, Gaga Ball, and trails for golf carts, biking, and hiking.
964 Crestview Church Rd, Asheboro, NC 27205, Phone: 336-964-0813
Zooland Family Campground
Just a short distance down the road from the North Carolina Zoo, the Zooland Family Campground offers rustic tent campsites and RV sites with full hookups, including 30/50-amp electric service.
Along with the many campsites, the Zooland Family Campground also offers quite a few amenities across the 33-acre campground, including a dog park, country store, basketball court, playground for children, game room, swimming pool, miniature golf, hiking trail, bonfire pit, laundry facilities, outdoor movie nights and other planned activities, wireless internet throughout the property, kiddie pool, horseshoes pits, bocce ball, volleyball court, pedal karts, two dump stations, and more.
3671 Pisgah Covered Bridge Rd, Asheboro, NC 27205, Phone: 336-381-3422
Hanging Rock State Park
Hanging Rock State Park near Danbury has provided some of the best outdoor experiences in North Carolina since it was established in the 1930’s. The park includes a 73-site campground, stocked lake for canoe rentals and swimming, grounds for picnicking, and over twenty miles of trails for hiking that weave along waterfalls and streams and climb up to amazing views. The trailer and tent campgrounds provide two one-way loops for a total of 73 sites, each one including a tent pad, grill, and picnic table. Some of the sites are able to accommodate RVs as well, however, there’s no dump station or hookups.
1790 Hanging Rock Park Rd, Danbury, NC 27016, Phone: 336-593-8480
Morrow Mountain State Park
Located near Albemarle, North Carolina, Morrow Mountain State Park offers a wide variety of outdoor adventures for visitors of all ages, including camping, swimming, horseback riding, fishing, paddling, hiking, or simply taking in all of the beautiful natural scenery at one of the Piedmont’s highest points.The family campground at Morrow Mountain State Park consists of more than one hundred campsites for tents, RVs, and trailers and is situated near a bathhouse and a swimming pool. There are also rustic camping cabins, remote backpack camping sites, and group camping areas as well. The state park also has miles of bridle and hiking trails.
49104 Morrow Mountain Rd, Albemarle, NC 28001, Phone: 704-982-4402
Tent Camping Near Me: New River State Park
The New River, named a “National Wild and Scenic River,” winds its way through New River State Park, which preserves some of the state’s best mountain scenery. The river offers opportunities for canoeing, fishing, and paddling, but other outdoor recreation can be found in the park, such as camping. Walk-in campsites can be found just a couple hundred feet from the parking areas at the US 221 access and the Wagoner Road access, with both providing river access for paddling. RV camping is possible at the park access of US 221. There are also several canoe-in, primitive camping opportunities along the New River.
358 New River State Park Rd, Laurel Springs, NC 28644, Phone: 336-982-2587
Camping Near Me: Cliffs of the Neuse State Park
A popular destination among the local community of Seven Springs, North Carolina, Cliffs of the Neuse State Park boasts impressive cliffs that overlook the scenic Neuse River and has been one of the area’s landmarks for several centuries. The park offers three cabins available for rental, a family campground with thirty-two campsites, and group camping areas. There are also expansive grounds nearby for picnics, a bathhouse facility, an eleven-acre lake, a sandy beach with boat rentals, and a grassy lawn. Five hiking trails guide visitors through mature forests and riverside habitats to quiet fishing spots.
240 Park Entrance Rd, Seven Springs, NC 28578, Phone: 919-778-6234
Raven Rock State Park
Located near the town of Lillington, Raven Rock State Park is a popular place for camping, hiking, and river fun. There are several camping options within the park ranging from the Family Wilderness Camp with five campsites to the Canoe Camp to backpack camping. Campsites feature a fire ring and a grill, and the camps themselves include a vault toilet. For backpack camping, campers will need to pack-in all supplies, as none of these sites can be accessed by vehicle. The Canoe Camp consists of six campsites and is designed for paddle-in camping by either kayak or canoes.
3009 Raven Rock Rd, Lillington, NC 27546, Phone: 910-893-4888
Campgrounds Near Me: Goose Creek State Park
Eight miles of hiking trails guide visitors in Goose Creek State Park through a wide variety of coastal experiences near Washington, North Carolina, such as a cypress swamp seen from the extensive boardwalk, wetlands by the Pamlico Sound, and Spanish moss-draped live oaks. There are two campgrounds within Goose Creek State Park: a primitive tent camping area situated between two creeks and a loop with several camping cabins and RV sites. The RV sites feature full hookups for sewer, water, and electric, and campsites include a lantern hook, picnic table, fire ring and grill, and a tent pad.
2190 Camp Leach Rd, Washington, NC 27889, Phone: 252-923-2191
Tent Camping Near Me: Hammocks Beach State Park
Hammocks Beach State Park is a gem along the coast of North Carolina, situated on Bear Island. This undeveloped, four-mile barrier island can be accessed by kayak, canoe, or ferry and provides an ideal destination for camping in nature. Nestled between the ocean and massive dunes, the wide beach is only interrupted by a small picnic and concession areas, as well as the park’s primitive campsites. There are 14 family sites at Hammocks Beach State Park able to accommodate up to two tents and six people, along with three camping areas for groups. Campsites are open all year.
1572 Hammock Beach Rd, Swansboro, NC 28584, Phone: 910-326-4881
South Mountains State Park
One of the most rugged areas in the state, South Mountains State Park is home to mountain streams, a waterfall, elevations of up to three thousand feet, and over forty miles of mountain biking, equestrian, and hiking trails. Near the parking area at Jacob Fork are drive-in campsites, 18 of which feature a fire circle and a picnic table. There are also two sites with RV hookups for electricity. South Mountains State Park also offers twenty-four backpacking sites across seven different locations, as well as equestrian camping. Recreation activities also include fishing, mountain biking, and horseback riding.
3001 South Mountain Park Ave, Connelly Springs, NC 28612, Phone: 828-433-4772
