The Doughton Park campground off of the Blue Ridge Parkway is a great place to spend the night without if you are driving along the Parkway and don't want to venture too far off course. The campground is much larger than I expected. There's an RV section on one side of the Parkway and a tent section that is on the other side. I only explored the tent side.

Although a little bit confusing, with concentric loops, there are many sites to choose from. Some loops and sites are more wooded and further from roads and amenities while others are more central and along a field. I opted for a more central site and ended up being the only person camping in that loop. At the end of October there were only three other campers in the whole tent side of the campground.

The hosts were friendly and helpful in choosing a site. The bathrooms are small but clean and there are easily accessible water sources about. There has been a young bear hanging about in the campground so they, very reasonably, ask that you keep all scent sources in your car.

The Blue Ridge Parkway is an incredible drive, my favorite section is south of this campground in North Carolina. Just along the VA-NC border the Blue Ridge Music Center is well worth the stop. There is free music there daily from 12-4!