Best RV Parks & Resorts near Catawba, NC

Took the new pop-up to Kings Mountain State Park this past weekend and had a great time. The sites are pretty close together, but we still had adequate room to spread out. Each site has water, 30 amp electric, a picnic table, and a fire pit ring. Our site was a pull-through, but the majority of them are back-in. Throughout the campground, AT&T had great cell coverage, but Verizon was non-existent. Our site was a stone's throw from the bath/shower house, which was clean and recently updated. When not in the side, a short walk takes you to the Trading Post, a small store selling firewood ($7), ice, souvenirs, and sundries. Next to that is a large playground connected to a pavilion. A short 2 minute drive (or longer hike if you are feeling ambitious) takes you to the Kings Mountain Military Museum where you can learn of all things historical to Kings Mountain. There's a small model village and numerous other attractions to view while at the park as well. Overall this was a great experience. It's close to home for us, and the price was fantastic ($30 nightly). Let me know if you have any other questions!

I picked this campground because it was very close to Blue Ridge Parkway. My plan was to ride my motorcycle through this beautiful area of NC, but the rain didn't cooperate this trip. I camped in site 112. The staff was extremely friendly and helpful. This was a last minute reservation and they had limited availability. The site is not very level and very tight for my 32 foot RV. The site had full hookups (water, sewer, 30 amp electric) that worked great. I walked most of the campground and there are some great sites. Most are wooded and reasonably spaced. Quite a few long term campers, but the rigs and sites were all very well kept. At $64 per night it is a little pricey, for site 112, but probably not for the campground and area as a whole. No grill, just a tire rim for campfires and a picnic table.

Getting parked was a bit of a challenge to get things as level as possible and work around power stand and be able to get awning out to stay out of rain.

I would camp here again and recommend others give it a try. Lots to do in this part of the NC mountains.

Older campground lots of shade.  staff very friendly and helpful. We were really surprised with how much has been invested in Carowinds over the years by Cedar Fair that the campground has been untouched.  Bathrooms/bathhouses were very clean and seem to be the one part of the campground that has been updated.  One section of the campground has been turned into long term camping and many looked like they had been there for years.  campground was quiet other than noise from air traffic as airport is nearby but it was minor.   Campsites have decent space in between each other which is great bc the sites are small in length and you will be parking either beside the rig or sideways in front of it. We stayed in a back-in site and most back-in sites seemed rather level but pull throughs were hit or miss on that aspect.  If you are staying here to go to the park then it is very convenient and has an excellent shuttle that runs frequently and drops you off near the front gate.  Very small camp store that has most of the basics. Campground overall is clean, safe and secure but we expected a little more from theme park campground.  We live nearby and are pass holders at Carowinds so we will likely stay frequently due to the convenience.

South Mountain State Park, NC From I-40 Exit 104, you twist and turn, up and down but keep a sharp eye for the small, brown State Park signs or you’ll pass your right hand turns. 

The South Mountain Visitors Center is very spacious and attractive but doesn’t offer a great deal. There is a cool 3D topo map display of the state park. At present, this is a 23,000 acre State Park...and ever acquiring more land. 

The family campground is a short distance further inside the park on the left side(approx 2 miles) marked by a small brown sign...and is situated at 1400 ft elevation. 

The campground is tiny and narrow, running between a creek and the state park roadway. The sounds of the creek melodious, the road traffic noise-not so much. I would definitely advise selecting the creek side campsites as they lay deeper in the wood line out of sight of the roadway and have the creek noise to cover roadway noise.(note: the roadway dead ends at the trailhead/picnic area, so the only traffic are day visitors and park staff) Be forewarned, Cell service is nonexistent. Your site will have a WiFi password for internet at the Visitors Center, but you need to be at or in the building for it to work. 

PROS:

•Small campground with few amenities

•Mountain/creek location

•Nice modern facilities

•Water

•Adjoining trail network

•No cell service

•80’ Waterfall•Interpretive Hemlock Nature Trail

•Beautiful Day Use picnic area 

CONS:

•Road noise for sites 10-14, during working hours and day use hours.

•No cell service 

Site 13 backs up toward the roadway, and without much understory, passing traffic is very visible and noisy(the high shoals falls and trail network are popular day use attractions). On the sites between the campground roadway and the State Park roadway, you are much closer than the website maps post, and without understory vegetation, you have direct visibility of several neighbors and normal conversations can be heard. Night noise restrictions, on our visit, were observed so it wasn’t an issue. My visit was Wed, Thurs. midweek Oct 7-8. 

Our site was an“leveling,” octagonal, elevated, crushed gravel pad, surrounded by landscape timbers...an elevated fire ring with a swing-over, non-adjustable grate, a picnic table and metal lantern pole. It worked fine but I used a small two-man tent. Depending on wind direction, fire ring embers would present a problem for a larger tent. Our site parking area was 45’ from the raised timber to campground roadway. 

The restroom/shower house is a monstrous, mountain lodge style modern facility...very clean, spacious and well-stocked. 

Walking the Family Camground my future site picks would be 5 or 7. Site 5 is a park and carry but it did not appear to be more than 50’ and it sat on the creek. Site 7 is on that same small loop but had a larger rectangular raised pad, for keeping tents distanced from fire pits. 

Some sites have a deep enough gravel drive for a small camper or popup. And a few have electric. 

Several trails lead from the NW end of the family campground parking lot and vary in length and difficulty. Most notable is the Raven Rock Trail to the High Shoals Falls Trail, which, depending on your level of fitness could be deemed a moderate to strenuous 2.35 mile climb and descent to the upper falls and then wooden boardwalk and steep steps down to the gorgeous 80 ft High Shoals waterfall. Smaller falls and cascades continue on the descent. Our total loop mileage was 5.5 with nearly a thousand foot of elevation gain. 

Park employees both at the Visitor’s Center desk and in the field were very friendly and pleasant. The NC State Park Ranger was very informative and helpful, as well as giving much appreciated suggestions for great and often lesser traveled hiking trails. 

Roughly 16.5 miles of mountain bike trails intermix with hiking and equestrian trails. There is a separate equestrian campground between the Visitors Center and the Family Campground. Note: there are several backcountry backpack-in campsite areas(Upper Falls Campsites offer picnic tables, fire ring and a couple pit latrines).