Best RV Parks & Resorts near Deep Gap, NC

On the Blue Ridge Parkway, nestled in the trees and mountains of North Carolina, this campground has been well maintained. Sites are ample but the asphalt pads were designed for shorter travel trailers, but include an extra pad for the tow vehicle. Many of the sites have upgraded concrete pads for the picnic table and built-in fire pits. There are no showers in the trailer (RV) loop, but does include a couple comfort station with flush toilets. Campground hosts were helpful and friendly. Sites are split between first come first serve and reservations. Payment at kiosk by credit card only.

5/21/23-6/22/23: We stayed a whole month ($500) to recuperate from our previous travels. Owner/manger, Brent Fowler, was a gracious and accommodating host. This is a new 110 acre campground which has only been open a few months (as of this writing). The grounds were well kept and new features are continually being added. There are full-hookups at each site (20/30/50A, water, sewer), high-speed WiFi, and 150 new trees have been planted around the perimeter. While there is presently no water at the dump station, there will be, but water can be used from nearby pull-through sites. Further, a bath-house with showers and laundry facilities are in the works. Mountain City is under 5 miles away and proved to be very convenient. 

Wildlife in the campground and surrounding area was abound with a variety of birds wakening us each morning, and deer that came into camp regularly. Red winged black birds, swallows, and Cardinals are all abundant and quite vociferous. This new campground has the most important quality down pat: Friendly and supportive ownership! We plan to return next year and will likely stay much longer.

We have been staying at Mtn River for about 3 years now and it’s become ‘home away from home’. You have your choice of river or mountainside sites. We prefer the river sites personally for the views & fishing. 

The campground owners are fantastic people who’ve become friends. They live on site and take great pride in the property. The property is always impeccable. They are always working. Such a gorgeous place!! The pond is in the center of the property- yes you can fish(catch& release). 

Areas setup with hammocks, corn hole, seating, etc. The new playground has been a big hit! Oh, and there’s also a dog park area. 

The bathhouses are super clean and have air conditioning. The laundry room is brand new with great units and also A/C. 

They incorporated additional activities this year over at the pavilion which our family has loved! Bingo, tie-dye t-shirts, food trucks, live music, and more! Our grandson loves to join us. Lots of kids and a great area for them to all play. 

Tubing the river is always a fun treat! You can bring your own tubes or rent from the campground. 

The camp store has expanded and features a mix of items- t-shirts, hats, hoodies, koozies, and more. As well as local jams, rubs, and other treats. They’re in the process of building a new office/camp store so we’re excited to see this complete. 

We have a 40’ fifth wheel. No problems every getting in. They accommodate all size rigs. All sites have a concrete pad, fire pit and very nice large picnic table. Sites are spacious and do not feel cramped like we've experienced at other campgrounds. 

Wi-Fi is generally pretty good. We’ve been able to work remote on some of our trips. We even had phone service our last trip(AT&T)! 

Lots to do in the area! Hiking, Linville Winery(yum!), Linville Caverns, Grandfather Mtn and so many other great places. The office staff can certainly provide plenty of recommendations, too. 

There are 2 grocery stores in town about 15min away. There’s also a local dollar store about 5min away. 

We cannot say enough good things about MRFC. We’ve met some great campers there who we now call friends. We truly love this place and already have bookings for next year!

General: Smallish campground (< 70 sites in two loops) with a mixture of water/electric and tent sites with no hookups, and also four yurts.

Site Quality: Some were back-in and some were pull-through. Gravel pads. Not a lot of separation between the sites. Some were more level than others but not a problem to make it work for us. 

Bathhouse: Heated! Clean. One shower in the bathroom plus additional shower rooms. Best place in the campground to catch a fleeting cell signal so it was not unusual to see people in the bathroom on their phones! 

Activities/Amenites: Hiking! Close to the AT. Unfortunately, the best trail IMO was the Cabin Creek Trail (it was also awarded one of the best 25 trails in the US) but it is not accessible directly from the campground. There is also a small country store, but it was not open when we were there. There is a small museum at the Visitor Center and well worth a trip there. There is also a dump station. 

There was an unseasonable cold snap when we were there in October (temps got down to mid-20s with wind chill in the teens) so even though we had planned on two nights there, once we hiked the Cabin Creek and Rhododendron trails, we decided to go to a lower elevation and warm up!

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.

Doughton Park CG: (Scale 1- bad, 5-Very good (70 yr olds in 17’ trailer) Overall Rating: 4.5 Price: $10/ night w senior pass Usage during visit: low due to rain Site Privacy: some, like ours - #9, are very good Site Spacing: some sites are nicely space and some are pretty close. Site surface: Blacktop Reservations: Yes Campground Noise: Very quiet during our stay. A small group of folks, older, play music together on a regular basis. Bring your instrument and join them. One plays a lot of Gordon Lightfoot - they were friends. Low key and quiet. Very, very enjoyable.
Road Noise: Sites 1 and 2 are close to the parkway. The rest of the sites are set far enough back that, maybe motorcycles can be heard. Right now through there is no through traffic as a nearby portion of the parkway is in the middle of a 3 year construction project. Through Traffic in campground: None Electricity: No Water: Availability at the dump station and one faucet.
Sewer Hook up: No Dump Station: Yes Generators: Allowed Bathroom: Small and clean. Showers: No Pull Throughs: Most or all are back in.
Cell Service (Verizon): Good from our site Setting: Deciduous forest on high ground. Weather: Unseasonably wet during our stay. 4 days of almost non-stop rain
Bugs: None Solar: Fixed solar panels might work in sites 1 and 2. Host: Present. Rig size: There are a couple 30 to 35’ rigs here Sites: #9, our site, is one of the best sites we have had in almost 4 years of travel. The regulars call this site the “honeymoon site”, because of the heart shaped large rocks which create a lower terraced picnic area. Best sites: 9 very best, 4, 8, 7. Next best: 5,21,19. Nice but picnic area is not quite as private: 20, 18,16,14,12,11,10. All other sites along the outer side of the loop I would be happy with. The exception are sites 1 and 2. These two sites are along the parkway.

This was our first visit to a Virginia State Park and we were impressed. The campground was really nice as our site was very long, had a huge patio, was level, and water and electric were well-placed. Our site (#43) was on the end of a row with our patio facing a hillside next to a stream that made for a very pleasant rushing water sound. The weather was great for the first few days of our visit so we made the most of being outside and exploring the park. We went for a few hikes which offered great views of the surrounding mountains, gave Spirit plenty of time to swim in the lake, and I paddle boarded around the lake. 

The park itself is over 3,334 acres and packed with recreational opportunities with the centerpiece being Hungry Mother Lake. There is a swim beach, boat launch, hiking trails, restaurant, boat rentals, fishing piers, convention center, nature center, and plenty of camping. The campgrounds are divided into three sections– Creekside, Burston and Royal Oak. All campsites in the Creekside section are reservable while only some in other sections are reservable. The Burston Campground has the largest sites and offers some full hook-up sites and water and electric sites (50 amp) with pull thrus and back-ins. Sites are level and can fit big rigs but the only problem we had were that some of the trees need to be trimmed back and scratched the upper sides of our coach. The Royal Oak section is for tents only (no hookups are provided) and has really cool wooden pads that give you the feeling of hanging over the hillside. 

The restrooms and shower house were very new and really clean. Each shower is in an individual room which makes for nice privacy. There is a laundry with two washers and two dryers costing $1.50/load. Also located here is a dish washing station with two big deep sinks and hot and cold water. There is free wifi at your site that worked fairly well and we were able to get about six over the air antenna television stations (albeit none were from major networks).

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).