Searching for a tent camping spot near Connelly Springs? The Dyrt helps you find campsites with tent camping near Connelly Springs. You're sure to find the perfect campsite for your North Carolina tent camping excursion.
Mortimer Campground is a small campground nestled within the Wilson Creek Wild and Scenic River Corridor south of Grandfather Mountain. Located at the site of an old Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) camp, the 17-site campground is surrounded by lush forests, gentle streams, and a large scenic river popular for swimming, fishing, and kayaking.
Visitors to the campground can enjoy a variety of activities including fishing, swimming, day hiking, mountain biking, kayaking, picnicking, and scenic driving. Swimming holes along Thorps Creek provide wading opportunities on hot summer days. Nearby Wilson Creek, designated as a National Wild and Scenic River in 2000, is well known for its excellent trout fishing, swimming, kayaking, and rugged features. History buffs will enjoy exploring the remnants of the once booming timber town of Mortimer as well as an old CCC work center. Two Forest Service trails depart from the campground. The Thorps Creek trail provides a short (approx. 1/4 mile) hike to Thorps Creek Falls. The more strenuous Schoolhouse Ridge Trail connects to the campground via the .2 mile Bill Vines trail and provides a 3 mile ridgeline excursion with beautiful views before connecting to the Wilson Ridge Trail. Many other Forest Service trails are within a short drive of the Campground, including Hunt Fish Falls, North Harper Creek Falls, and Little Lost Cove Cliffs. The area also boasts a network of scenic mountain biking trails.
Located in a rich mountain hardwood forest at an elevation of 1,400 ft., Mortimer Campground provides a secluded streamside setting shaded by large hemlocks and pine trees. Thorps Creek runs along the east side of the campground before feeding into the Wild and Scenic Wilson Creek, a popular destination for a variety of activities. Hardwood forests cover the mountain peaks on either side of the valley and multiple mountain feeder creeks can be found nearby. The Mortimer area provides beautiful scenery year-round, from stunning fall foliage displays to abundant spring and summer wildflowers.
This location is unstaffed. To speak with our main office for general information, please call: (828) 652-2144.
The Wilson Creek Visitor Center is 3.2 miles from the Mortimer Campground and provides information on the Wilson Creek area and has a photograph and artifact collection that tells the history of the area. The towns of Blowing Rock and Morganton are located within an hours drive of the campground, to the north and south respectively. Both towns offer a variety of restaurants, gas stations, grocery stores, and medical facilities. The Julian Price Memorial Park and Campground is located 24 miles north of Mortimer Campground and is a well-known destination for hiking, canoeing, fishing, and camping. Mortimer Campground is 21 miles away from Linville Falls, and the Linville Gorge Wilderness Area. The Gorge offers breathtaking views and numerous hiking trails. The Campground is 17 miles from the popular Grandfather Mountain State Park, the highest peak on the eastern escarpment of the Blue Ridge Mountains.
$20 - $30 / night
Blue Bear Mountain Camp offers year round camping experiences for every type of outdoor enthusiast. Car accessible tent and RV sites in a natural setting. Hike in sites for those looking for a little more adventure and privacy. Stargazer Domes and Cabin rentals for guests wanting a rustic, mountain getaway while staying in comfort. Located just 8 miles north of Boone, NC on over 150 acres of pristine mountain land, miles of hiking trails, a trout pond and spacious low density sites allow the guest to get away from it all in a rustic, remote setting. In the heart of the Blue Ridge Mountains. At 4,000 feet elevation, come enjoy cool mountain breezes and mild temperatures. Blue Bear Mountain is a scenic location for large events such as weddings, corporate events and family reunions. Come Get away from it all at Blue Bear Mountain!
$25 - $136 / night
This site is__not maintained but can still be used.__Campers must hike in to the developed areas, and all sites are primitive. No electric hook ups, no toilets, no running water available.
Mount Mitchell State Park Family camping (camping near Charlotte)
The nine-site family campground is open from May 1 to October 31 with full facilities. Each site is equipped with a grill and picnic table. Restrooms for use during warm seasons are located nearby. Showers and hot water are not provided.
Pack-in camping
Campers may leave vehicles in the park overnight to backpack into the Pisgah National Forest. Visitors who leave their vehicles in the park must register on the forms provided at the trailheads near the parking area or at the park office. Leave the form on the dashboard of your car. Mount Mitchell offers a choice of trails from which to enjoy the nearby alpine woodlands.
Ready to Reserve
It's not uncommon to encounter black bears at Mount Mitchell State Park, particularly in warm weather months.
Tent camping only - No RV spaces. All campsites at Crowders Mountain State Park are hike-in and primitive. Campground is accessed via a 1 mile trail starting from the visitor center.
At Black Bear Campground, we believe in the power of nature to bring people together. Black Bear Campground offers a place where families and friends can disconnect from their busy lives and reconnect with each other and the natural world.
Black Bear campground boast 31 primitive campsites along with five primitive cabins. On top of this, Black Bear Campground has a day use area that features a picnic area, a fishing pier and various hiking trails including the Fonta Flora State Trail.
There's never a dull moment at Black Bear Campground! Whether you enjoy hiking, fishing, biking, or just relaxing by the campfire, there's something for everyone here. Check out our calendar of events to see what's happening during your stay.
$21 - $36 / night
The Paddy's Creek access has 33 drive-in sites that are perfect with families with lots of camping gear. These sites are open to a maximum of 6 people per campsite.
Each campsite has parking for two vehicles adjacent to the camping pad. Each site's driveway is 20 feet long.
The campsite has a fire pit and picnic table. The tent pad measures 12 feet by 12 feet.
Potable faucets are located throughout the camping area. There is a centrally located bathhouse with toilets and hot showers that is open 24/7.
Sites 13 and 14 are accessible for people with limited mobility or disabilities. Please do not reserve an accessible site if no one in your group needs it, unless it is the only site left available when you are making your reservation.
$26 / night
Camping - Primitive and require a hike in of 1.5 miles Please note that fees and permits are required for all overnight stays, including backcountry camping. Backcountry campers must make a reservation online or by calling 1-877-722-6762 before setting up at a campsite. Campers can make same-day reservations up until 9:00pm the day of your arrival. Upon arrival, use the self-check-in through the Reserve America Camping App. Site ATTENTION BACKCOUNTRY CAMPERS Please be advised that these sites will ONLY accomodate a maximum of 6 people. If your group has more than 6 people, additional sites will need to be reserved. Sink gratefully into your sleeping bag after a day of hiking at South Mountains and fall asleep in the stillness of the forest. Twenty-four backpack camping sites are offered in seven areas of the park. Permit and fees are required to camp overnight. Please visit the visitor center prior to hiking to your campsite to fill out the permit and pay the fees. A kiosk outside the visitor center allows campers to register and pay the fees if they arrive when the visitor center is closed. These sites are designated on the park map, and hiking distances to each backpack camping site vary. Each camping area has a pit toilet located nearby. All supplies, including water, must be packed to the sites. To drink water from nearby creeks and streams, use a filtration device or boil the water for at least five minutes. Below is a listing of the backpack campsites and the distance between the campsites and the Jacob Fork parking area: Upper Falls – 1.4 miles 1.5 MILE HIKE TO CAMPSITES Maximum group size of 6 people per site. At the park office, back country campers must record the tag numbers of all vehicles left overnight. Water can be found most of the year in a nearby stream. Water must be filtered prior to use. Fires only in fire ring. A North Carolina State fishing license (basic) and the special trout fishing license are required to fish. Licenses are not sold at the park. Please arrive a minimum of 1 hour prior to sunset to allow time to get to the camping area before dark. North Carolina State park rules and regulations are posted in each park and enforced by rangers. Violating these rules and regulations is a misdemeanor and may result in a fine and revocation of permit. Alcoholic beverages, firearms (including fireworks) and other weapons are prohibited. Campers with a proper permit may possess a concealed handgun in permitted areas. Park Hours: November -- 7:00 AM to 8:00 PM; December through February -- 7:00 AM to 7:00 PM; March, April and October -- 7:00 AM to 9:00 PM; May through September 7:00 AM to 10:00 PM. Pets are allowed except in park buildings. They must be on a leash no longer than six feet and cannot be left unattended. Posted quiet hours are enforced. Building fires in undesignated areas is prohibited. Unlicensed vehicles and motorcycles, golf carts, ATVs and mini-bikes are prohibited with the exception of mobility-aid devices used by a mobility-impaired person. All vehicles are prohibited from walkways, trails and other areas not designated for such purposes. State vehicle and traffic laws are enforced, and the speed limit is 25 mph unless otherwise posted. North Carolina State parks are wildlife sanctuaries. No hunting is allowed and collecting plants, minerals and artifacts is prohibited. State fishing regulations are enforced. ** Arrival dates earlier than the online-reservation-window may also be available at the campground.
$15 / night
Scout
We really like camping there. We tent camp and it is clean and has a handful of things for the kids. The only down side is that the tent sites are road side…so when the campers pull in and out you hear them hitting the gas. Every now and again people will peel out on the road. 😕 Otherwise 👍🏻 and enjoy the friendly staff, CLEAN bathrooms and campground.
Legend
Remote, quiet family friendly campground. It is a basic campground with both tent sites and hook-ups. We enjoy tent camping here on the large field where fireflies light up the night sky! There are sites that are close to water so you can fall asleep listening to the gurgle of the creek - and sites near the woods. The bathhouse includes toilets and sinks with a hand dryer. You can drive to the falls or drive to the visitor center and hike to the falls - a great campground!
ScoutWe camped in this quiet and comfortable campground for 4 nights. We really appreciated the warm shower rooms, large, clean and private. Though we have a 28’ Open Range with shower and septic hookup, we preferred the shower rooms. There is a beautiful area for tent camping with lovely tent sites. And some were occupied by campers who braved a couple of below freezing nights and the first snowfall. The owners are so friendly and helpful you feel like a long-time neighbor. Fully functional septic, electricity and water. Well maintained.
Scout
I have going to this site BEFORE it was a state park. They developed it has a tent camping and put in two outhouses (pit toilets). It was easy to go camp without reservations anytime. The they installed the nice bathrooms and two RV sites. Good Luck making a reservation. It stays booked. The campground has a creek running beside it. It is stocked with trout a few times each year. You MUST have all of your NC Licenses. Be sure to pay attention to what season it is and what bait you can use. Hiking is great. Beautiful waterfall. NO PHONE reception. My wife loves it. There are 16 tent sites with no power and two RV sites with power. We love it.
Traveler
Sites #1-40 are for tent camping and the rest are for RVs. We camped with tents in the RV section because it was all that was available. It was definitely tough to find places to put our tents in our site (86), but the designated tent sites were large and flat. It was pretty crowded while we were there and campsites are close together.
The campground has lots of amenities—a pool, amphitheater, camp store with firewood and ice for sale, flush toilets, laundry machines, etc. They put on lots of fun activities like group hikes and educational talks. We went to the see the live music at the amphitheater Saturday night and it was charming. There are lots of hiking trails you can walk to, but we didn‘t have time to check them out.
The highlight of the trip was hiking the grassy balds starting at Carver’s Gap. Get there early! Parking was tricky when we got there at 9:30am and impossible when we left around 2pm. The scenery was absolutely beautiful. Overall a nice weekend in Roan Mountain State Park!
Scout
I showed up after hours on a motorcycle looking for an overnight tent site. They didn't have tent sites available in the after hours check in. Luckily, John, who works maintenance, was near by. He opened up the office, checked me into a tent site and figured out how to give me a military discount even though that is not his job. John saved my night! The tent site was clean, level, grass and water and electric worked great. There was some noise from the interstate but expected in a tent. Restroom and shower facilities were clean and functional. My only staff interaction was with John and he was outstanding in customer service and going over the top to take care of getting me set up. Thank you!
Legend
Mount Mitchell State Park, highest peak east of the Mississippi...6,684ft elevation... is located on The Blue Ridge Parkway, but it is still a bit of a climb (for foot or vehicle traffic) to get to the summit. https://www.ncparks.gov/mount-mitchell-state-park
Getting here the day after the solar eclipse, it was still pretty busy...and if you are traveling the Blue Ridge Parkway...speed is only 45 mph, so do your calculations. There are only nine, yes, count them...nine tent camping sites. So reservations are a must if you want a site! The campground is open from May 1 to Oct 31...but if you walk-in to the sites, as in via the trails, you can rent a site amost all year.
Tent sites are small, but nice. You get a timber lined tent pad, a crushed limestone area with picnic table, wooden lantern post, and a fire ring with flip grate...and a bear secure food storage bin. There are flush toilets between sites 3 and 7... and two water spigots nearby.
If campsites are full and you desire to hike the trails, you can register your vehicle with office, leave it there in the parking lot and locate a place to make camp along the trails. There are also several free roadside sites marked with a brown plastic post with a small tent emblem on them. Ordinarily these are along a stream where you can gather water (filter it!)...but it is primitive (LNT!).
The park has a restaurant, a museum, gift shop and an observation tower at the summit. Pretty cool that the observation tower is ADA...but steep.
Check weather reports. These mountains make their own weather. And remember, for every 1,000 feet of elevation gain, temperature decreases by 3 degrees (roughly...there is constant debate). So pack wisely. Surprisingly, though reports called for rain...we saw none.
Great hiking and long mountain views are one of the draws. The walk up the Observation trail is paved but steep, so give yourself some time if you are wanting to capture the sunset. If hiking, there are a myriad of sites that offer maps, levels of difficulty and recommendations. Did I mention that if you are planning to hike for the day...plan and pack for weather?
A worthwhile place to pitch your tent, but there are also several other campgrounds at lower elevations that also have great trails and more amenities.
Scout
Love tent camping here, awesome views and great prices
ScoutI lived under mellow mushroom and know for a fact that there is no tent camping here. There are paid parking lots on king and queen street, and have seen campers be able to stay there. But NO tent camping here in downtown Boone. Be better off trying to camp at local park or greenway I think, but there’s so much to offer around, find a nice tucked away spot like trash can falls less than 15 away from there.
ScoutI'd have given RM a 5 star review except for the RV sites are small and so close together. We have a small camper, 15" including the tongue and I felt the site too small. The tent sites are lovely., large and more private. Next time we''ll see if we can get a tent site since our camper is so small. No hook ups on the tent sites, but hey we're camping. The staff was friendly and extremely accommodating. We had some severe weather during our visit. 45mph, horizontal rain and a power outage. The staff was right out after the storm to clean up and help out. Our traveling companions were in a tent and their site was in standing water. The staff hauled in gravel and made an elevated pad as well as helping to move the tent. Great service! The area is spectacular and has something for everyone.
Scout
This is a great family owned camp ground everyone is very friendly but would love to see larger tent camping sites
Traveler
Stayed 1 night at a tent site. Had a hot shower and facilities were nice. Each site has a ring for fire/grill/ picnic table.
Only has 3 tent sites. I don' think tent campers can stay at the others. I didn't see the tent pad that they had at my site and just pitched the tent on the ground.
FYI you have to call up to make reservations. I arrived late and they gave me the code to the bathrooms over the phone and the wifi password.
you could hear road noise at night but didn't bother me.
Scout
We have tent camped and RV camped here. Great site with lots of space and kept up well. Views are great and area is beautiful.
Traveler
Friendly host, close to lake and well shaded, clean bathrooms, large enough tent sites, great for families.
Guide
Located on the Blue Ridge Parkway this campground is a great out of the way destination. Offers full hookup as well as tent camping. Quiet and very clean. Highly recommended !
Guide
If you're staying in a tent, it has to be site 9. Every other site is super tiny, and the tent camping in general is very crowded. It is a nice Campground and very friendly but they are definitely trying to conserve space.
Guide
Really cute campground just a short jaunt to the beautiful multi-level Catawba Falls hike in the Pisgah National Forest. We stayed in a tent site VERY close to a rushing creek of cool water. The sound definitely helped put me to sleep!
The tent sites all have a tent pad, camp ring, trash can, and picnic table provided. This site had a bit more privacy than others we saw and was on the other side of the property from the RV area, which also included a playground, bathrooms, showers, and small store. There are also small tiny cabins to rent out which is great if you had a large group and not everyone was down for roughin' it. Some tent sites were also close to shared pavilions which were very nice to use during the rainy weekend we experienced! We appreciated the hot showers since we were outside hiking all day but wanted to hit up some sights in Asheville that evening without looking too worn out.
The people who run the camp were extremely nice and helpful -- we arrived later than expected in a downpour thunderstorm and they were able to accommodate us and transfer us and our bags from the car to the site via golf cart.
GuideBeautiful RV sites in wooded area along Catawba Creek. Old Fort, NC and Falls nearby. Nice bathhouse, pump-out nearby. Diverse tent camping also available. Don’t let full time rv’s scare you. New RV site down from the entrance.
ScoutAmazing ground very nice folks, tent site was on the river. Clean showers with hot water. Laundry room is a bit dirty but functional, shop is great. 5 stars
Scout
It's a very nice campground with very friendly people and nice trails around. The only issue which wasn't big for me due to tent camping, the sites looked washed out and very unlevel so depending on camper or RV might take some work getting level!
TravelerThere are plenty of tent camping sites along the Mountain to Sea trail and throughout the park. I camped by Commissary Ridge next to a small Creek and an excellent view of sunrise. The coffee at the concession stand at the top was very nice.
Guide
We have tent camped here many times and it is always a great time.
Nothing beats falling asleep and waking up to the sound of the creek. Small playground isn’t much to look at but my kids (10 and under) always use the heck out of it. They love riding their bikes along the gravel road and grassy hillside. If you’re tent camping the best spot is the far end, I believe number one and two. So secluded and private.
There’s a small beach area that you get kids can use as access to swim and rock throwing.
This campground is only a few miles from Stone Mountain state park. Lots of great hiking. In the summer you have to check out Widows Creek. Sliding rocks and waterfalls and a swimming hole only .2 miles off the road.
We love camping at this clean, simple campground.
Scout
My son and I stayed here for the weekend. He wanted to tent camp. It was late fall and it was pretty chilly. We fished, cooked over the fire, just hung out, and enjoyed each others time together. Very peaceful and guiet. We'll definitely go back.
Legend
Jake from the Dyrt here! Mila's Bunny Farm has a secluded tent site for those looking for a nice escape to this beautiful area. Check them out and share some pics from your stay!
ScoutEverything a small family with very young kids could need. We tent camped for two nights on the lower back end of the campsite, then rounded out our stay with one night in the cabin. The owners were extremely accommodating, since technically the cabin required multiple night's stay.
Scout
Great family campground, with enough separation from other tent sites. Camp here every year with the family and always have a great time. Never have issues with neighbors, bath house is new, and close to plenty of hiking/recreation activities.
Scout
I’ve stayed here several times and its a great little campground with basic amenities and some excellent hiking right out of the campground. I’ve only tent camped, so can’t speak to hook ups, etc but looks like it has all you need. No frills, just good camping near the Blue Ridge Parkway.
Discover the beauty of tent camping near Connelly Springs, North Carolina, where lush landscapes and serene waters create the perfect backdrop for outdoor enthusiasts.
Frequently Asked Questions
Which is the most popular tent campsite near Connelly Springs, NC?
According to TheDyrt.com, the most popular tent campground near Connelly Springs, NC is Mortimer Campground — National Forests In North Carolina with a 4.3-star rating from 10 reviews.
What is the best site to find tent camping near Connelly Springs, NC?
TheDyrt.com has all 41 tent camping locations near Connelly Springs, NC, with real photos and reviews from campers.
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