Best Equestrian Camping near Columbia, NC

Arrived shortly after 8 pm after a long day's drive. The sun was going down but it wasn't dark yet. The campground office was locked and deserted. No posted instructions about after hours registration, no pay box. Ran into a park ranger who informed me the campground was closed for the evening; as in, would not take my money. Seriously? The campground is behind a gate with a keypad, so no chance of driving in and talking to the camp host. The ranger was kind and apologetic at least.

Drove a little further south and found a nice site at Bells Island Campground. The host there was happy to take my money.

This is a beautiful campground! There are only seven campers here in this campground, and I can't believe it. The sites are gravel and mostly level but I did have to use a couple blocks of my levelers. There are picnic tables and fire pits at each site, however my picnic table has a very very warped bench. But it makes no difference to me as it is only me, and I have my own chairs! The bathrooms are clean and well lit. The only thing I have a problem with here, is that there are no garbage cans or dumpsters near the campsites. The only garbage containers I found were near the dump station, which is on the way out of the park, nowhere near the campground! There is lots to do within this camp, let alone in the area around the camp. I have noticed two hiking trails, I have seen the kayaks that are for rent and the area you launch, all we need now is some nicer weather. Other info, I asked if they had weekly rates and was told yes. But of course you are limited to 14 days like so many other campgrounds. When I arrived and talked to the clerk about the weekly rates, all he did was multiply the daily rate by the number of days. There is no discounted weekly rate. They also do not take Sam's club, do not have senior discounts, etc.. I don't know if their site on the the dirt shows the price, but it was $42 for the first night and drops to $38 per night for the rest of my stay.

The campground at Northwest River Park is small and pretty basic. For a tent camper that is used to wooded, private sites these leave much to be desired. There is not much privacy. The campground was full the night we stayed there and very busy and noisy through the night. We stayed on a Memorial Day weekend though so maybe it is not typically like that. All night our young children were woken up by the noise from the nearby RV's AC units. 

What this park lacks in it's campground, it makes up for in it's recreational activities! There is a putt-putt course! Canoeing! Tons of hiking trails! Multiple playgrounds! Lots of wide open space for kids to run and play! Fishing! This is an excellent park for kids and families to come for the day! 

Overall not a horrible experience but this is the closest campground to our house and we have not felt the need to come back and stay overnight. Maybe would be better for camping mid-week when it's not so busy.

It was a rainy Labor Day weekend, but we still managed to enjoy ourselves at the campgrounds. Because this area is near wetlands some of the campsites were flooded throughout the weekend. If rain a lot of rain is forecasted you may want to talk to one of the rangers about your particular site.

Rangers were nice and very attentive during there checks of the campgrounds. The facilities were very nice and clean. Campgrounds were very dog friendly, which made camping with the dog enjoyable.

My only issue was the parks reservation system. I reserved the campsite using the online, Reserve America system. About a week before our trip I had to change plans and only stay 2 days instead of 3. Tried to change the reservation but the park said I had to do it with Reserve America. When I called Reserve America I kept being told we don't handle that park you have to call this number. After being given 4 different numbers and talking to 6 different people I gave up trying to change the reservation. From now on if I camp here, I will make the reservations directly with the park and not online.