Best Campgrounds in North Carolina

Horse cove was a gorgeous campsite. There are two “areas”, the campground near the check in station and dispersed camping along the road. We stayed in May 2025.

We chose to camp in the campground. It had a picnic table, fire ring, and lantern poles. It was a rainy weekend so we didn’t have many neighbors which made it perfect. The campground use to have two sections to camp but one has been closed down for quite a bit of time (there have fallen trees). There were only about 6-8 campsites all close to each other on the campground along the river.

The other option is to find campsites along the river. There were maybe 3-4 rv friendly sites from the campground to the boat dock (mostly tent options). There’s probably more past the boat dock but we didn’t check.

There’s probably river was loud but beautiful. No electric. There was a water pump but I didn’t see if it worked. There was an abundance of firewood in the campground and along the road. We decided to go hike Joyce Kilmore Forest which was a small trek from the campground. Felt like we were camping in a rainforest!

Toilet: enclosed toilet with thin toilet paper just like a porta potty. Smelled bad.

My fiance and I camped out a little longer than the actually extension period for individuals, but never had a problem. Several others have showed up to camp out a couple days but were gone shortly. For the most part it was just us. And whatever it is running around in the woods. I heard many coyotes elks and a an owl but nothing never stumbled to our campsite close enough to get a look at it other than one young fox which was running away when we pulled in one late night. I think the animals are aware that the campground is human territory so they stay away. It's at 10 different spots to set up with your car parked right next to your tent. Our Boost mobile wi-fi worked perfectly fine. There is a lake 2 mins away one way and another 7 mins away the other way. The city dump is also 2 mins away. And town is 5 mins away. I wish the gates never closed because we would still be there.

Loved this place by the river! Walking trails surround the CG and high quality mountain bike trails nearby. The owner is a cool guy and staff are friendly. Lots of different sites to choose from (of course riverside are in demand). The sites themselves vary in privacy and space but overall acceptable. Fire pits, picnic bench, some sites with bear boxes, warm showers, clean toilets, tent pads, very shady, firewood and ice available, WiFi only available near a trailhead parking lot, catch and release fishing. Most visitors are here for mountain biking from what I could tell. I do however have one critique: the morning I checked out a tree cutter company came out at 8 AM to cut some trees down right next to me. I understand the need to maintain forestry but it would’ve been nice to have a heads up a day before. Other than that I still highly recommend this place for camping and enjoying the National Forest surrounding you.

We stopped for the night on our way to Florida and arrived late. Liz was very accommodating and welcomed us with a thoughtful gesture of cheese, jam, and crackers. The web check-in process was seamless and efficient. The farm itself was lovely, with a variety of animals. However, there were a couple of areas for improvement. The electrical hookup was limited to 120V, and having a 30amp or 50amp hookup would have been more convenient. Additionally, the shower was out of order during our stay. Despite these issues, we enjoyed our time at the farm and appreciated the warm hospitality. Overall, it was a pleasant experience.

This is the "meet up" point for us and many of our camping friends. The sites are fairly level and they have added more gravel to the roads. The bathrooms are kept clean and most necessities can be found in the camp store. We usually pull our camper, but we have stayed in cabin 116.

Cabins 116 and 117 have dishes, cookware, etc. furnished.

135 and 135A are Jack and Jill sites, which we have used often with close friends. Sites along the river go fast, so make your reservations early.

If you can get by with 30 amp service, site 25 allows you to face your camper towards the swimming hole.

Paid for oceanfront and got site 38 which is further away from ocean than second row- only to see 2-3 front row sites set empty our entire weekend. They do not assign sites until arrival. Lost power for a few hours on entire campground first night and it was 82 degrees - no email or message as to what was happening. Then headed to the south beach entrance only to find it boarded up for repairs-I’m still chill-until I go to take a shower on Sunday morning at 0930 and I was locked out while it was being cleaned. Unpleasant and disappointing for $155+\night