The best DISPERSED camping near
Boger City , NORTH CAROLINA

Family Campground

One nice thing is the size and separation of the sites. One bad thing is the road is busy.

This campground is one way and exits into a trailhead parking area. There was one site that was in the parking area, would not be my first choice. Shaded sites with picnic tables and fire rings. Nice shower house , well maintained.

Easy access to several trails and not far from the falls. The river runs the back of the campground.

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.

Love this campground! Well maintained and clean bath houses. Choose a site hidden in the trees with lots of shade and privacy or in the sun with a view of the reservoir. Hiking trails and water activities. Warning: prone to flooding and cancellations.

Stayed here for 5 days in November 2020.

The road is gravel and dirt. No major potholes and easily navigable. Two cars/trucks and most likely two small to mid-sized RVs can squeeze by at the same time. If you take the road all the way to the end, about 2 to 2.5 miles, there is a huge asphalt parking lot(see pics). One caveat: there is a relatively narrow turn near the top of the lot, past the camping sites, that would be difficult for larger RVs. Then again many trucks hauling dirt bikes on trailers made it up to the parking lot. If they can, I imagine many lengthy vehicles probably could get through also.

This parking lot is mainly used by Off Highway Vehicles(OHV). That is, dirt bikes and four wheelers. The OHV trail starts at the parking lot, which is why on weekends it gets extremely busy. I'd say I saw upwards of 25 trucks and vans in November. Most leave before sundown. Some may occasionally camp. The OHV lot is far enough from the sites, about 0.5 miles, that you won't hear the bikers coming and going from the OHV trail. You will hear them when they pass your site on their way in and out. By the way, I believe you cannot camp at the parking lot though I did not try.

There are a handful of sites, all of which are of different sizes and shapes. All can accommodate tents with ease. Tables and fire rings are available in most though I didn't check them all. Some sites will fit trailers and trucks, especially if you squeeze them in. See pics of how a few campers did exactly that. Small RVs will fit in most sites, possibly by backing them in. The road is wide enough where backing in is possible, especially with assistance. I saw a large fifth wheel in one of the sites and a truck and trailer in another of the smaller sites(see pics).

There are two toilets about 100 feet apart. They are clean and toilet paper is supplied(see pics).

Phone reception and internet access are unavailable at the sites, or at least the one I was at. It's possible that with a booster you may get service. You will get service to make phone calls at the OHV trail parking lot. Internet is spotty.

Being a forest, trees abound. Depending on the site you are at, you may or may not get sunshine. The trees provide plenty of shade. This can be good and bad. My solar panels had to be moved every 15 to 20 minutes if I wanted them to provide full charge. A bit of a hassle but doable. I was able to charge my power station sufficiently.

As for groceries, there is a store diagonally across from the entrance of the forest. Unfortunately, it was only open during the weekend when I happened to be there. The Collettsville General Store is about 6 miles from the dispersed camping sites and a far better bet. If you're exiting the forest, turn left and keep going until you hit a T point. Turn right and it's immediately to your right. They are a fully stocked convenience store where you can also get pizza and sandwiches. The general store also serves as a gas station. And they're open 7 am to 9 pm to boot!

About 0.25 to 0.5 miles from the Collettsville General Store is the Hard and Flossie Clark Family Park, a public park, where phone reception is available. There are covered picnic tables so you can sit and surf(see pics). If you scout around you'll find a power outlet that is turned on. Enough to get routine tasks done while charging your laptop.

Collettsville also has a post office, which opens during the afternoon every day. I think from 12:30 pm to 4:00 pm. Or it may be 12:30 to 4:30.

Happened upon this campsite not long after starting up the “105” fro the south. At only 2575’ it’s not high but the view is spectacular. Plenty of room for a couple of tents. Wouldn’t try with a RV though.

Great free primitive camping. If all you need is a fire and a tent, this is the spot for you. The Linville Loop is also an amazing 3-4 day backpacking trip for anyone up to the challenge.

Nice spot within the Nature preserve. Sites are close but not on top of each other. Paved but not necessarily level. The cleanest and most well designed bathrooms I’ve ever seen in a campground. Lots of great hiking trails throughout the preserve. Level boxed in pads for tenters in a separate area from RVs as well as sites that can be packed out to. On a visit during COVID it was open but limited. Set on the beautiful Lake Wylie, surrounded by marinas and large beautiful lakeside homes. Well designed for fishing, boating, gatherings and picnics. It feels so remote but is literally minutes from the full metropolis of Charlotte, NC. A must see for at least a day hike if you are in the area or camping if you have the chance.

The location next to the reservoir is awesome. Rode the bike trails and loved it. Did some kayaking too. The actual campsites can be a bit tricky to park but overall great time

We had the best weekend at Steele Creek! We went the 3rd weekend in October and the fall leaf color was gorgeous! The close proximity to Linville Falls, Blowing Rock and the Blue Ridge Parkway was perfect. We will definitely be back to explore the area more. It was cool outside but we saw several kids playing in the creek and it looked fun. We will have to come back in the summer to enjoy the water.

It was our first time camping as a family and now we wish we could camp every weekend!