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There are approximately 51,000 acres of National Forest System lands in Montgomery, Randolph and Davidson Counties. The Uwharrie National Forest includes the Uwharrie Ranger District Office, located at 789 NC Highway 24/27 East, Troy, NC 27371. At the district office you can obtain information about the area, get brouchures, camping information, trail passes, and permits. You can also obtain a Senior pass, Disabled Pass. We also have USGS Topo maps for sale. Primitive dispersed camping is allowed throughout the Forest, except in those areas that are posted "No Camping". These sites can be found along most of Forest Service roads and trails. Please remember when using these sites to be careful with camp fires and carry out your trash and debris. Please leave your campsite in good clean condition so that others who follow you may also enjoy the Forest. The Uwharrie National Forest is part of the 2 million acres of public lands managed by the North Carolina Wildlife Resources Commission for public hunting, trapping and fishing, and are designated as Game Lands. In addition to the appropriate basic annual hunting license, a Game Lands Privilege license must be obtained to hunt on the Uwharrie National Forest. Information concerning seasons, bag limits, and special Game Lands Restrictions are found in the annual N.C. Inlands Fishing, Hunting and Trapping Regulations Digest, available where licenses are sold. Camping and Day-use Information Enjoy camping or a picnic at one of the many day-use areas. A list of camping and day-use areas in the Uwharrie National Forest can be found here. You may enjoy this story on a QR guided trail in the national forest. OHV Trail Vendors. Shooting Range Vendors. Recreation Maps Uwharrie National Forest map Trail Strategy Documents, Presentations and Maps Badin Lake Area map Morris Mountain Area map North Eastern Portion map South Eastern Portion map Wood Run Area map Documents... Presentations... Be Safe The national forests in North Carolina offer a wide variety of outdoor recreation opportunities. From the mountains to the sea, there are many exciting adventures awaiting your visit to these national forests. Please keep in mind that all outdoor recreational activities on the Croatan, Pisgah, Nantahala and Uwharrie national forests, including activities at recreation sites, have inherent risks due to the natural setting in which they occur. Always remember, your safety is your responsibility. Badin Lake OHV Trails close December 18th at 8:00 am OHV Trails will reopen April 1st in the morning OHV annual passes will be available from the Uwharrie Ranger District office or the Eldorado Outpost
Disperse camping is allowed in the Birkhead Mountains Wilderness. Camp at least 200 feet from all streams, creeks, roads and wildlife fields. When using fire rings, please disperse the ring before leaving camp. Use of cook stoves is highly recommended. Firewood is available as dead and down in the forest, please do not cut live trees for firewood. Also hunting is allowed in this area, orange would be advisable to wear during the hunting seasons, when hiking the trails.
Please pack all trash out with you when you leave. No mountain bikes or ATV's are allowed within the Wilderness area.
No permenant camps are allowed in the Wilderness area. Camping is allowed for a 14 day period with in a 30 day time frame. Dogs are allowed as long as they are on a leash and kept under control.
Traveler
Had a good time camping and enjoyed the song of wind and birds.
Guide
Good challenging hiking, and plenty of campsites along the trails. This is a good place for a 'shakedown hike' if you ever plan on through hiking the AT. There are a few different trailheads, so you are never too far from your car or civilization. 23/27 trailhead has a decent sized parking lot and allows for overnight parking for backpacking etc. Rt 109 trailhead has slightly smaller parking.
If you are car camping, there are established campsites for that, and you can basically disperse camp anywhere there is a site in the Uwharrie.
TravelerBeautiful campsites, plenty of room for our camper. Neighboring sites were a bit rowdy when we were there, no ranger to enforce the rules. Other than the loud neighbors the campground was very nice, lots of nearby trails to ride and hike.
TravelerDrove out in the Tacoma and slept in the bed of the truck near the water pulled off on the side of the road. The spot we found already had a fire pit made which was so nice. Only a short hike down to the water and the weather was beautiful!
TravelerWe primitive camping here at least every other weekend. We love it. Great trails, beautiful scenery. A peaceful experience
TravelerNestled in the middle of NC is this great forest. There were lots of established camping spots. We picked a nice one near a stream. There was a lot of road traffic even late into the night. People were friendly when we saw them but everyone kept their distance.
GuideThe State Forest has camping. We used our pop-up with a generator in rustic locations. There are hiking, horse, OHV, dirt bike, ATV, and mountain bike trails.
LegendPersonally, I would give dispersed camping here four or five stars, but I have to be objective from the point of view of many campers. This is not an RV camping area, at least not the dispersed camping area. You cannot drive up to the campsites. There are no electric, water, or sewer hookups. There might be at the more developed campgrounds, but if you are camping along the Uwharrie Trail or the Dutchman’s Creek Trail, it is completely primitive. With that said, I have enjoyed camping in the Uwharrie National Forest.
This makes my third time in the Uwharrie National Forest. The first time was with a Royal Ranger Junior Training Trails group when I was a Royal Ranger leader. We camped along the Dutchman’s Creek Trail. The second time was with the Boy Scouts when we were preparing the boys for a longer backpacking trip to Philmont in New Mexico. This time was my third time, and I was by myself. I hiked along the creek at what was marked as campsite 1 along the Uwharrie Trail. It was a short hike and easy to moderate. Unfortunately, it wasn’t far enough away to hear distant noises from Hwy 24, so if you want to get away from traffic noise completely, hiker farther in.
Obviously, there are no facilities, so I had to take my own water and a water filter. Since I was close to a stream, I had to take care of personal business about two hundred feet farther away. There was evidence that others had been at this site because of the trash, but as always(and I am not patting myself on the back), I left the site cleaner than I found it. I am sure there are other views, but my favorite view was from Dennis Mountain, which is only about 700 feet above sea level. I didn’t make it to Dennis Mountain this time, and I wish I had taken pictures when I was there before. On my previous trips, I also wish I had taken more photos. Nevertheless, backpacking and camping in the Uwharrie Mountains gives you a sense of being in the wilderness.
Ranger
Very nice trails. Well maintained. Not marked the best... signs at intersections. Plenty of creeks. Hike in for dispersed camping.
GuideThis is a great area for dispersed campers with 4WD or AWD. It's pretty popular so head out early to secure your spot. Some of the sites may have a little trash left from the last user, so please try to leave it cleaner than you came to. No toilets for disperesed areas. Most sites have rock fire pits and room to set up. Love it here. Plenty of OHV trails as well.
TravelerThe tent sites nice and clean and level. The host drove through many many times in the 3 days I was there. Bathrooms are what you can expect from a state park clean with little bugs here and there but nothing you can do about that in the middle of the woods. Overall great place good four-wheeling and nice accommodations
GuideAlong the Uwharrie trail. Water available on both sides of camp / trail.
TravelerIt should be no shock to those familiar with North Carolina’s geography that if one is seeking higher altitudes and breathtaking overlooks, Uwharrie is not the place he should go. Notwithstanding, as much of the higher elevations are impassable during the winter months, the forest offers backpackers an opportunity to stay on the trail a few days. The Uwharrie Trail, which pretty much spans the park north/south is about 20 miles point to point. The trailhead is kind of hard to follow sometimes, sections of the trail are prone to flooding and creek crossings can become difficult following heavy rains. Overall, however, the forest is a good place for backpacking in this region of the state. Th streams, provided one has filtration or iodine tablets, provide ample sources of drinking water.
GuideFirst time at Uwharrie and we drove about 5 hours to get there but it was worth it! It’s a huge area with several campgrounds. We stayed in 2 different dispersed primitive sites and they were both great. Plenty of space and trees and privacy! There are a 6 different stores/gas stations that have the overnight passes available for purchase. We got our passes from Eldorado outpost and the attendants there were very knowledgeable and helpful! We also took our Jeep on the OHV trails and had a blast. There are several places you can take a canoe or kayak on and the scenery on the lake was beautiful as well. They also have several hiking trails throughout. Canebrake horse camp is located in Uwharrie and has horse trails throughout. We didn’t come across a park store but they did have showers and bathrooms in the actual campgrounds. There’s a store/gas station (Eldorado Outpost) right down the road and they also have an air compressor for inflating tires (which is handy for off-roading). It was definitely a long drive but we will definitely be making the trip again. We really liked the secluded primitive campsites and the various trails we were able to take our Jeep on.
TravelerThis area was a place that I went often to deer hunt in the fall. I have never came across another camper/hunter at this location. It is a good location if you are looking for an area that is away from camp grounds and heavy traffic. I never shot a deer here but they are in the area. The area is just SW of Troy, NC down HWY 109/24. On the map below, it is the most western forest area.
Link to Map:
https://www.fs.usda.gov/Internet/FSE_DOCUMENTS/fseprd485941.pdf
TravelerThis area was one of my favorite ares for dispersed camping in Uwharrie National Forest while living in North Carolina. The area can be accessed by boat on the Little River, or by hiking in. Me and my friends would always float our kayaks down the river to a place we called "Bird Dog" and camp for the night. If you are looking for a place that has very little traffic, this is the place you want to go! This area would be limited to dispersed camping due to no campsites. It is a National Forest so be mindful of rules and regulations while visiting!
link:
https://www.fs.usda.gov/Internet/FSE_DOCUMENTS/fseprd485941.pdf
There is a boat ramp where PEKIN ROAD crosses the Little River. PLEASANT GROVE CHURCH ROAD pretty much cuts right through the area on the PDF.
GuideMake sure to wear bright colors during hunting season because there are a tong of people out deer hunting in this area. That being said there are a ton of great campsites that are private and secluded.
Frequently Asked Questions
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According to TheDyrt.com, the most popular dispersed campground near Albemarle, NC is Uwharrie National Forest with a 4.3-star rating from 15 reviews.
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