Best Tent Camping near Hickory, NC

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.

We 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.

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!

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.

Primitive tent camp site. Water but no electric. Nice grassy area around the gravel tent pad. We had one tree for shade. Fire ring and table. Clean showers and bathrooms. We stayed here specifically for the sliding rock at widow creek falls. But we did hike Stone Mountain falls trail. There are 432 steps going up to the parking area from the bottom of the falls. Beautiful shaded trail. Mountain to sea trail runs through for a little bit. Dogs welcome leashes. Fairly busy trail.

The tent sites are built into a hill that provides an abundance of trees to hang hammocks and to keep well protected from the sun. The RV spots are located out in the open area and one loop sits right on a creek. The RV spots are sunnier with limited trees to shade from the sun during the summer months. For a NC state park, the bathroom and shower amenities are clean, warm and well stocked with toilet paper. The tent spots are a perfect place to hang hammocks and the tent pads are pretty sizable!

I am giving this review a 5 based on 2 different elements: 1) cleanliness of the camp site was beyond expectation. Not all campground hosts clean out the fire pit on a daily basis. When arriving, there was no trace of the former camper at all. No micro trash, no left over spikes and the campsite was freshly raked and all coals/ash were swept out of the fire ring. 2) welcoming personalities of the camp ground host and and employees. The campground host stopped to ask if we needed anything and to remind us the program that was taking place the next morning.

For tent camping, choose the following sites if you need to park 2 cars at the campsite: #7, #9, #14 and #18. The other campsites have enough space for one car at each site.

Love tent camping here, awesome views and great prices

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.

Friendly host, close to lake and well shaded, clean bathrooms, large enough tent sites, great for families.

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!

Beautiful nature preserve with large 50+ site campground. Tent sites around $28. Within 6 miles of stores and amenities. Helpful camp hosts know which sites may be best for certain equipment.

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.

I carefully scouted online and got a great site for our tent camping (wouldn’t have been great for RVs) but there were definitely some awful sites to be had. Restrooms were clean and well stocked. Nicely stocked store. Living history farm was disappointing - not much to look at and not enough signs.

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.

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.

It has tent sites, camper, and cabins. The people who own it are great. It has a store where you can get your basic camping things, also has a place to do your laundry, wash dishes and has a few showers plus family shower area. They have a playground for kids.

Nice campground for hiking, historic buildings nearby and a great camp store. Lots of regulars it seems. Sites are close but not a negative. Lots of loud neighbors the weekend that we were there. Beautiful water areas, great places to take photographs lots of friendly people. Our site was private and not too far from the tent camping area. Bathrooms were nice and kept well.