Best Campgrounds near Hickory, NC

Absolutely beautiful area and one of my new favorite wilderness areas on the east side of the country. I went solo camping for 5 days and stayed at the overlook, got really lucky finding my spot in the middle of the night but nonetheless, I drove the whole road South end to North in my fwd sedan haha and saw plenty of beautiful spots to settle at. Definitely recommend you to come check this out, I met some of the nicest people and another solo traveler that I ended up spending 2 nights with. You definitely wont regret it, and dont worry If you dont have a great car for offroad, I saw alot of reviews about absolutely needing an AWD vehicle with good clearance but I maneuvered my way through the road with my little hyundai. You definitely need to be a confident driver if you do that though. Good luck, hope you enjoy it as much as I did.

Many camping sites are very much in need of leveling. Sites slope from left to right, front to back, and some slope in both ways. Some sites are listed as RV sites but are half as large as they need to be to accommodate a medium size RV. If that wasn't enough, sites are very close to each other and there are almost no plants other than tall trees to offer any privacy. SC Park system needs to take a serious look at making improvements.

The park is lovely, with lots of trails and nature.  Beautiful wooded setting.  So awesome to have hiking trails that lead right out of the campground. That said, there aren't many sites for RVs and some are not level - hard to get trailer level even with max leveling blocks. The tent sites all seem great and it was nice to see many families enjoying camping!

My first time back camping in 20 years and could not have picked a better spot! Close enough to not worry about gear failure, far enough to be surrounded by woods, access to Lake Wylie, CLEAN RESTROOMS and showers with hot water, power even at the Tent sites, super nice staff, and priced right.  Also, the camp was patrolled regularly by the police and I felt very safe.  I can't say enough good things here. I'll definitely be back.

I have camped all across the US and this was the nicest and cleanest campground I have ever been in. Fantastic experience. I highly highly recommend!

I stayed in late November 2024. There are not many camping sites. They appeared to have electrical and water hook ups on every site. There is no sanitation except for one portable toilet. This is a quaint campground. The couple that owns the property are very nice. The surrounding area of the campground seemed very plain and did not have many activities.

I visited in July 2024. This is a great older campground. It has been well taken care of over the years. The Rangers on staff are great. There are no showers on site, but there are flushable toilets. There are a couple of potable water sources on the property. There is easy access to multiple sightseeing areas. Great place to go and camp.

I camped here in June 2023, for the second time. This is a federal campsite. The fee for camping is five dollars a night. Just right outside the federal camping area is disbursed camping. There approximately eight dispersed camping sites. Remember this is bear country. Follow all the bear rules and be cautious. I will come back here next time I’m in the area. It is well worth it.

I stayed at this location for 10 days. The campground is well kept and clean. The staff and the camp host were very courteous. It was a very quiet stay. The bathhouse was new and well maintained. I would recommend this place to anyone.

The views were incredible!! Love the size of the sites and ease to get to them.

Love tent camping here, awesome views and great prices

I recently stayed for 3 nights with my popup in site#10.  The site is a good size for a tent or small camper only.  Overall we were surprised by the campground based on other reviews .  In my opinion The sites are close together, poorly maintained, and most are very small.  The Trading Post is nicely stocked, and open all day.  The bathrooms near my site were the best part…it was modern, clean and the showers were hot with good pressure.  But other than the bathrooms everything felt like it hadn’t been maintained at all. Won’t be coming back.

Peaceful, calm, excellent folks, and very relaxing. I camped here for more than two weeks in August. Site #4, site 19, and site #47. The campground is clean, quiet, and well-maintained. The owners and staff were great and super helpful. Site #4 is on the creek. It was short for my 32-foot RV but manageable. It had full hookups. Site #4 was level and semi-shaded. The WiFi signal was great, and speeds were reasonable. I used the bathhouse showers and laundry. Both were clean. I moved to site 19, which is not on the creek but on the edge of the field. It was very level as well, and all hookups worked fine. The WiFi at site 19 was considerably worse, but the sky was clear, and I could fully use my Starlink service. The central field area is mowed and set up as an RC flying field. A few campers flew their model airplanes. It was fun to watch. I even jumped into the RC hobby, buying a trainer plane at a local Hobby Shop, and began flying. I moved to site 47, which was the best of all three. It’s a good-sized site right on the creek and just up from swimming hole#2. There were two swimming holes along the creek, which were a ton of fun. I swam in both. The water is very clear and refreshing. The campground is close to the Blue Ridge Parkway(about 10 miles). I rode my motorcycle up Route 80 to the Blue Ridge. Route 80 is a great winding road. The campground is very close to downtown Marion and some shops, groceries, and restaurants. Overall, this is a great campground with a great staff, location, and is very relaxing.

I took my horses and grandson to camp in the equestrian campsite. The bathrooms are very clean with AC. There a beautiful creek you can ride your horses in or just play if you want.

 So this is the most unusual place we’ve ever camped. I would call it a‘community where there are campsites’ more than a campground. The majority of the sites are populated by beautifully-kept tiny houses with RVs sprinkled in. The grounds are beautifully planted and tended, evoking a feeling of being in a park. The bathhouse rooms are clean, individual rooms and decorated. The swimming pool is large and clubhouse lodge well provisioned. This is what a camping resort should be(but minus the huge fees)! WiFi is standard; we opted for the Pay version and had great connectivity. You will lose cell service~ 20 minutes from the campground. 

Starlite is a long-term community that evolved into providing a safe and welcoming environment for LGBTQ+ folks looking for a serene mountain experience and this is an exceptional place. If you come with open mind and heart you will feel entirely welcome. My husband and I enjoyed all the people, dogs and kitties we met. We felt so safe and in this setting that we never even locked the RV when we left. Our site(79) was one of two transient camping sites feet away from the creek and a short walk to the lake filled with water lilies. The gravel site has FHU but currently is not level; the hosts have plans to revamp the site and extend the pad.

Follow the websites directions! You do NOT want to venture onto just any road up here, some of the roads are rough. Print directions before leaving home. The shortcut back dirt road between here and Blowing Rock is an adventure for a truck (only); just plan on driving it slow and it’s fine. Shockingly, as we returned from Blowing Rock the long way on Rt 321 our RV GPS program (in RV mode) kept trying to get us to take these mountainous dirt road shortcuts back to the camp. We might well have been stranded if we hadn’t known better.

Main Street Blowing Rock is a boutique shop haven. Great for strolling. Kilwins ice cream and candy shop in Blowing Rock is awesome, as is the spice shop beside it.

From downtown Blowing Rock you can hop on the Blue Ridge Parkway in minutes. South on the BRP you’ll quickly reach Moses Cone and Julian Price parks, both are great places to hike and picnic.