Best RV Parks & Resorts near Columbus, NC

We stayed here one night on our way through the area.  The owners were very nice and helped us get situated in our site.  The roads in the campground are dirt, rutted, and steep.  I am glad we unhooked our Jeep before navigating our RV to the site.  The RV rocked and rolled quite a bit :-) The site was level, clean with full hook-ups.  The price was very reasonable.  Most campers were seasonal or long-term campers.

Jake from the Dyrt here! The Gatlin Ridge RV Park is the perfect basecamp for those looking to explore the area and return home to their RV with full hookups. Check them out and make sure to leave a review on the Dyrt!

Overall, this is a very nice, clean park conveniently located to the interstate I-85) and attractions in the area. It has all the amenities you would expect to find at a KOA such as a swimming pool, playground, dog park, miniature golf, store, clubhouse, and more (including goats). It is by far the nicest private campground in the area that we have stayed at.

This KOA has 127 sites offering varying degrees of services to accommodate RV's, tents, and those wanting to rent cabins. We chose a 50-amp full hook-up back-in site but were upgraded to a pull-thru so we could be in a sunny location to mitigate the chilly air. How nice of them! Our site (#79) was perfectly level as were most others (but not all). Water, electric, and cable hook-ups were well placed at the site and worked fine. We paid $37/night(with the KOA member discount). Nice, large grassy area for dogs to walk and sniff and there is a decent size dog park.  Roads and pads are hard packed gravel with grass in between sites. Some sites are set in a wooded area while some are out in the open with plenty of sun and satellite coverage. The park is big rig friendly and the roads are easily navigable. All sites have a picnic table and some had fire pits but ours did not. Cable is included and offered over 50 channels. Wifi worked well at our site.  The laundry was small with three washers and three dryers but very clean and had a decent book exchange. The bathroom and showers were super clean and looked like they were updated recently. 

The campground is extremely clean and the owners/employees are super friendly. There is a short hiking trail (less than a mile) through the woods and plenty of green space in front of some of the pull-thrus. playground large swimming pool with large deck putt putt with lots of goat humor. 

The only downside would be the closeness of sites but that is pretty much what you expect from private RV parks. Fortunately, we did not have neighbors right next to us which gave us more space. I'm usually not a KOA fan but have to say this one was great for our overnight stay and we would recommend it.

Great location to all the hikes we planned on doing, looked like there were long term campers there that were nosy. Campsites are nice and spread out, however. Definitely recommend going during a busier season with a group of people. Went in beginning of October.

Poorly maintained , old leaves and limbs everywhere. The long term campers are filthy, trashy and encroaching on the grass areas of other sites. Too many vehicles per site, loud vehicles and unsafe driving speeds.  No presence of management.

Great experience at end of May, 2023. The park has had primitive camping for years, but this year is the first season with an area for RVs/trailers and a separate area tent campers. All sites are level with concrete pads, except for the tent site. Fire pit is on bricks. Bathhouse is immaculate. The park has a great visitors center, lots of trails for hiking and seeing waterfalls, campground is pristine, and non-tent sites have full hookups. The park covers 7,000+ acres and hosts the start of the trail into Pisgah National Forest to the famous Rainbow Falls. We have a 17' Casita and stayed in a site with full hookups. Activities in the surrounding area include lots of waterfalls, hiking, mountain biking, golf, shopping and dining in the Highlands, and some great restaurants.

The sites are very close together. The tent sites have a sand base to the site and sand gets everywhere! We were across from the bath house and the bath house was nice and clean but kinda small. Friendly atmosphere and it appears that most people are long term campers.

Sites are close together, however there are lots of activities for the kids.

Full hook ups available, some with cable. The stream and lake are beautiful. Next time I will reserve a spot near the lake.

Wonderful small campground w less than 50sites. Most are creekside back ins. Full hook up including cable. Smoking wifi. Level gravel sites with concrete patios. Some with yard swings. Very clean. Clean bathhouses. Cute camp store. Free library. Pool and other rec. Propane refills and wood$ delivery to site. Trash pick up. Great hosts. Campground is easy to get to and tucked into the woods.

This does not seem to be the typical KOA, and it is small compared to my recent visits to some other KOAs. However, it was very quiet with lots of shade, but tents are not allowed. There are cabins, and the remaining sites have RV hookups. There are several things I loved about this campground. There is a small creek running beside the campground, and I believe most of the sites run along the creek. It is a very clean campground with a family like atmosphere. I met the front desk clerk, Julie, who was very helpful, and I also met one of the owners, who was very friendly. What is really unique about this KOA is that there is a nature trail through the woods. That is something I don’t recall seeing at any other KOA, and it was a pleasant surprise. I wish my grandson had been with us. He would have loved the fire truck playground and the Johnson Creek Mining Company water tower and trough. The recreation area had a ping pong table, a swimming pool, and cornhole boards, among other things. The showers/bathrooms were attached to the main office, and I really liked how the showers had a flexible hose. For safety and privacy, it was the type that can be locked so you don’t have to worry about strangers being in the bath facility with you. Overall, I recommend this campground highly. The only negative I have is that there are no tent sites.

The location was great. Close to everything we wanted to do. We toured the Biltmore, slide down the sliding rock, and made some other stops in Pisgah National Forest. There is full hook ups so most people use the bathroom in their trailer. We used our toilet but chose to use the provided showers. They were older but clean. The ducks that wandered around were a bother. They pooped all over our carpet and other things. Other than that it was an average campground.

Croft State Park is a really nice campground for RV and travel trailer camping. For tent camping, it is just okay. I say that because of the gravel surfaces at the campsites. Fortunately, I took a cot to sleep on, for even with a foam pad and an air mattress, I think sleeping would be uncomfortable. The site I stayed on did have water and electricity, which was fortunate since it is very hot there in August. My mistake was not taking a large enough fan. 

The bath house was conveniently located, and it was air conditioned. There were hot showers, and when I say hot, I mean hot. If you take a shower in their bath house, I suggest that you do not turn the water all the way to hot to begin with. Otherwise, you will burn yourself. Although there was a soap dispenser in the bath house, you will need to take your own soap. The dispenser was empty. 

There is a beautiful lake at the campground, which allows several opportunities for fishing. There is a fishing dock and several types of watercraft rentals. There is also miles and miles of trails for hiking, biking, and horseback riding. I was amazed at the number of trails. 

Another section of the park is devoted to equestrian camping, and there is even a show arena. For those who want to primitive camp, there is a place for that as well. I would have given the campground four stars, but because of the gravel sites and the yellow jackets, I could only give it three. The yellow jackets were out of control. 

I would suggest some pest control measures. I realize that most campers are in RVs and travel trailers, but tent campers also need a more appropriate place to camp than on large gravel surfaces.

Precious! I’ve never stayed in an RV park next to a small airport with a train track running through the middle of the park! Our pull through site was located under an old oak tree, conveniently next to the laundromat.

Fell asleep to the soothing sounds of a locomotive horn punctuated by the plinks of acorns bouncing off the roof. Awakened at 5:30 AM by sirens tuned to major thirds followed a little later by the thumping sounds of helicopter blades. What a symphony of delightful sounds! Thankfully, I wear hearing aids I can remove at night. Unfortunately, my wife was not so lucky.

The park did have full hookups, wifi, and while it did not have cable it had excellent reception from a number of local stations. I give it to two stars - one star for infrastructure and a second star for novelty. Zero stars for ambiance.