Don Carter State Park Campground
Nancy W.The Dyrt PRO User
Reviewed Apr. 20, 2020

Nice campground, good hiking and paddling

Since this a fairly new state park, the facilities are relatively new and the campground has up-to-date hook-ups so you don’t have to worry about getting electrocuted from an old post barely stuck in the ground. The campground has a mix of back-in sites, pull thrus, and primitive sites. We chose a pull thru site which was nice and long for our 45’ RV and tow car.  Site #7 is great with some shade and a partial view of the lake.  Be aware that numerous sites are not level and numerous pull thru sites are crested in the middle. The RV sites are paved which is especially nice when it is raining. Some of the roads are pretty weirdly laid out and we would mistake pull thru sites for roads so make sure to follow the white lines to navigate.  There are some fairly tight turns that you may need to take slow if you are in a big rig and watch out for the trees. There is a large picnic pavilion between sites 34 and 21 which could impact your camping if that was being used by a big group. The park has cable television and our Verizon phone and hotspot worked fine.

We liked the extensive hiking trails that we found all to ourselves and the access to the water. A nice, relatively flat easy 2-mile trail runs from the campground to the beach. There are a couple of boat launches (with rental paddle craft) and a swim beach. We were there on a weekday during the Coronavirus pandemic so there were not too many people there which made for a pleasant experience. The visitor center/office were closed but you could call for a reservation or book online. If you go online they have pictures of the campsites so you know what you are getting. This is the kind of park where you can spend lots of time enjoying the outdoors and an evening campfire. The surrounding area is pretty rural but if you feel like exploring head over to the neighboring town of Helen which is a Bavarian-themed mountain town with good German food and bakeries. You can also hike Anna Ruby Falls which is pretty and a short walk. Overall, we liked the campground and would camp here again.

Site42
Month of VisitMay
  • Review photo of Don Carter State Park Campground by Nancy W., April 20, 2020
  • Review photo of Don Carter State Park Campground by Nancy W., April 20, 2020
  • Review photo of Don Carter State Park Campground by Nancy W., April 20, 2020
  • Review photo of Don Carter State Park Campground by Nancy W., April 20, 2020
  • Review photo of Don Carter State Park Campground by Nancy W., April 20, 2020
  • Review photo of Don Carter State Park Campground by Nancy W., April 20, 2020
  • Review photo of Don Carter State Park Campground by Nancy W., April 20, 2020
  • Review photo of Don Carter State Park Campground by Nancy W., April 20, 2020
  • Review photo of Don Carter State Park Campground by Nancy W., April 20, 2020
  • Review photo of Don Carter State Park Campground by Nancy W., April 20, 2020
  • Review photo of Don Carter State Park Campground by Nancy W., April 20, 2020
  • Review photo of Don Carter State Park Campground by Nancy W., April 20, 2020
  • Review photo of Don Carter State Park Campground by Nancy W., April 20, 2020