The best TENT SITES camping near
Ballantyne East , NORTH CAROLINA

This was a good park. We stayed here a few time. I will say the staff is a hit or miss. They are polite but not friendly at times. The pool is pretty cool, but can get crowded. The best part it is extremely close to the state park and Lake Norman. You can drop in kayaks, fish, or just get out on a hike. It is an easy off and on highway. Down side is depending where your spot is of how loud it is. Bathrooms are clean and well maintained. The tent sites are well established and they are very organized.

Small Family owned campground. Perfect for a small family getaway for a long weekend. We loved coming here on our long breaks and just escaping from reality and swimming in the beautiful pool!

It was surprisingly busy, almost all sites occupied. There is not much space between the sides, but the park is huge and right at the lake. We stayed only one night. A lot of young families were here with their bikes. Restrooms were fair. All in all a nice campground if you don't mind little privacy.

I loved the place. Really remote and FREE. Lots of spots on Botha sides of the road. Not for bigger rigs. I’ve got a 13 foot pull behind. Backed in mostly but a few could be pulled in an out. Road posted 25 mph but recommend 10 mph. Was also narrow in spots. Very bumpy. Last 1/2 mile don’t go. Steep rocky Muddy. Photos show. Fire rings were rocks. No water all primitive. Will go back when warmer. Lots of trails and wildlife. Stayed in 2 different spots.

Came here because I couldn’t get to my original spot before dark. Good views and lake area. Has beach for swimming and fishing too. Didn’t see any toilets. Had pick nick tables and trash cans. Lots of parking, gate closes at sunset or 830 pm. Ever which comes first with no camping signs. Spent the night in boat ramp lot. Safety ? Had a high speed police chase at about 1pm on road beside it.

This seven day stay was our first at this park. We were impressed with the cleanliness of the park. Even with part of the park under construction, this did not impact our stay.  

The bath house was clean. The men's side gave every appearance of being well maintained. The women's side also gave this appearance and was fully functional with plenty of hot water and good pressure. 

The gravel roads in the part are well maintained and our camping spot, number 25, was easy to back into.

The negatives about this camp ground could be seen as minor but bear listing. First of all we were given an incorrect gate code for after 6 PM entry. Our camp site was damp when we pulled in and the volume of rain that fell during our stay caused a small river to run through the site. Even two days after the rain, the hookup side of the site was mostly under puddles of water.

This was the shakeout trip with our new to us, 2015 R-Pod 176T. This turned out to be a great trip.

The Campground and Host Kitty were wonderful. The Campground is wooded and very scenic. We stayed in site 25 which had a view of the pond. Also it was a short walk to the bathhouse which was clean and warm for a cold fall/winter trip.

The Campground is on a park which has lots of attractions for the family including a gem mine, carousel, small zoo, fishing, padle boats and other things to do. These were closed due to COVID 19 but will be available once the pademic is over.

There was WiFi across from our site which was really good. We were able to stream Netflix and AT&T TV with no problem. The Camp host Kitty, was kind and helpful throughout our stay she had suggestions for us and assured us that if we had any issues she would be there.

I would highly recommend Dan Nicholas Park.

Especially post COVID 19!!!!!!

We stayed here on our way North to head home. It's in a decent location, the sites are level with full hook ups. The nighttime noise was bothersome, not sure where it was coming from, likely outside the campground. We didn't do the amusement park because of Covid and being almost below freezing. Maybe if we had, it would have been more appealing?

This is such a great place to go if you are wanting to escape from the city!

If you happen to have loud drunk neighbors, who party until 3:30 am, the hosts will not tell them to be quiet. Someone did call the sheriff, but no one came until 10 am the next morning. They woke the drunks up to tell them to be quiet, but they were allowed to stay in the park. I give it 2 stars because this is a beautiful park.