Best Glamping near Jonas Ridge, NC

Jake from the Dyrt here!  I had the opportunity to talk with Kimberly about her amazing farm and she is looking forward to welcoming more campers to stay in this great area of North Carolina.  Check out the farm and please post some pictures and a review on The Dyrt about about your experience!

Julian Price Park is a beautiful campground just off the Blue Ridge Parkway in North Carolina. We enjoy this campground on the weekends throughout the fall and spring as it is less occupied. Reservations can be made on-line or walk up to the small building in the front of the loop. The campsites are separated into several loops. One loop is closer to the lake, the other loop has more availability and quite a range of campsites.

Bathrooms are available here (upgrades coming soon!) as well as drinking water.

My stay in the yurt was an amazing experience! Waking up to the Blue Ridge Mountains in the morning over a nice cup of Juan Valdez is unmatched!! The trail to the waterfall and peacefulness in the air is something I will come back to visit for years!

This campground was dreamy! The ambiance is perfect, the streamside campsite was music to our ears, the bathrooms immaculate and the yurts looked pretty great too! I could stay forever. We visited Chinney Rock and Linville Falls during our stay and they were both amazing sights to see.

While it is close to a highway it is far enough away not to hear it but convenient to many places to visit including Asheville, The Blue Ridge Parkway and many national Forests and Parks. It is situated on a small river which makes a wonderful backdrop noise to the experience and your sleep. A short not overly strenuous hike to beautiful Catawba Falls to enjoy the beauty of the North Carolina mountains. The staff is helpful and the facilities are more than adequate. Highly recommend this campsite

Be prepared for an encyclopedia of reading all the rules. I found the yurts and cabins to be way too close together for any type of privacy. Maybe they have it set up that way for big groups to come in at once? But it was so noisy with kids and dogs echoing in the valley, and we could even hear the neighboring cabins talking while sitting around their campfire. I suppose if I was there with a group of close friends it would be okay but it seems with all the land they have that they could have given each person more privacy in their spaces. One more thing that may help is we hiked all of the trails and noticed in several places there were 3-4 inch protrusions where small trees where cut down but not cut all the way back to the ground and I almost sprained my ankle. They all did spray paint some of the roots and had the trails nice and cleared but the exposed ends of the small trees throughout the trail are a real hazard. I’m super fit and have good eyesight and hike a lot so I was able to dodge many of them but I’m sure the kids and the older adults may get hurt. Other than the close proximity of the cabins/yurts/RVs and the exposed tree stubs I think they have a great concept (for large group events) and we enjoyed our stay. One more thing the shower handle falls off in the small yurt.

Truly a dog-oriented campground, there are tons of activities and plenty of room to roam for the dogs.

No camper? No problem. They have campers, yurts and tiny cabins for rent.

Everyone is extremely nice and the grounds and facilities (bathrooms, laundry, dog wash, etc) are very clean.

LOVE !!! 4 Paws Kingdom. The owners are a hoot and have some awesome originality and PR skills! Went here for a Sisters son The Fly event, though I had heard of it before. You can rent a camper, cabin or yurt or bring your camper. BEST of all, all have a fenced in yard for your pup! Then there’s the multiple fenced dog areas. Our favorite was the double pond area. The Boys Loved it! Lake Lure is nearby and Chimney Rock, the whole area if excellent for hiking, shopping and whatever else you want to do.

From the moment we arrived at the campground the manager "Larry"  ( a workamper) signed us in, show us our site on Wagging Tail Dr.  We arrived on their opening weekend the Owners provided BBQ meal and live music "Jose Wales" band.   It was a wonderful time.  As for the "Dog Retreat part - 18 acres of wonder open areas fenced in to keep you furry friends from running away, there is agility park, puppy park, the main dog park, a private park (single or you can invite), a Lure run, a Ball Park, and a Pond for those watery dogs.

Price for Fire wood - a little expensive and 10 lbs of Ice was reasonable.  There are fully fenced sites, a couple of sites with a fenced area.  The larges rig I saw in there was a Solitude at  38 ft.

Over all, if you want the peace and quiet in the North Carolina foot hills with your furry friend and have a good time.  This is the place to be.

One other note:  It is the only park in NC that is a dedicated dog campground.

The views from this campground are spectacular! If you can get a site along the edge of the drop off, you will be able to witness a beautiful setting. It is a small campground and fairly remote, but it does have a variety of accommodations for such a small campground. What surprised me most is that it even has yurts. The tent sites are rather primitive, but it is only a short walk from the tent site to the bath house. 

My favorite place at the campground is an outdoor area overlooking the French Broad River. There are picnic tables, and if you take your comfortable chair, you could sit there for hours looking at the view. Apparently, there must be Wi-Fi since I saw a man with his computer and earplugs working diligently. There is also an activity field, which can be used for a variety of activities including cornhole. 

The bath house has private shower/toilet facilities, but the shower was a little too small. I am not a big guy, but I could only imagine how difficult it might be for somebody who is a lot larger than I am. 

There is a store, but you cannot go inside(because of the pandemic, maybe?). Instead, there is a list of supplies on the wall outside the office. Firewood can also be purchased at the campground, especially since the name and their promotional information mentions having campfires. 

I would recommend this campground for anybody looking for spectacular views and for anyone who wants to camp some place close to Asheville.

Julian Price Campground is part of the Julian Price Memorial Park, which is along the Blue Ridge Parkway in the northern part of North Carolina. I have heard about this park for many years, so I wanted to finally camp there. It is an older park, and it shows. We stayed at site A4, and I chose this site for a few reasons. It was close to the lake, but unfortunately, we couldn’t see the lake from the site. Many of the sites in the A loop are reservable, and they have been reserved for several weeks(maybe months) in advance. They are the best sites as far as seeing the lake and sometimes because they are larger. The worst part I discovered about sites in the A loop is that you can hear traffic from the Blue Ridge Parkway all day long except for two to three hours in the middle of the night(about 1:30 to 4:30). On average, you can count on about twenty-five vehicles every five minutes(I know because I counted). It doesn’t help that the parkway is under construction and the road is gravel, which makes the sounds of vehicles even louder. The restrooms in A loop are old and need updating. There are no showers in A loop. The only showers are between B and D loops, which are on the other side of the Blue Ridge Parkway. On the positive side, the showers in a new bath house, and they are private shower/restroom units. We rode through all of the loops to see what the other sites were like, and some of the sites are seldom used if the picnic tables and surrounding vegetation is any indication. Some of the picnic tables are covered in moss. Those were mostly in the sites that were small or sloped. For that reason, it is a good idea to look at the photos on the website for each site before reserving. Many of the sites are walk-in sites and you can set up before the 3:00 time for reservable sites. As far as activities, there is no swimming, but fishing is allowed. There is also a boat ramp, and you can rent canoes, kayaks, and SUPs. The lake is hatchery supported, and I did witness someone catching a fish as we walked along the lake trail. While we were in this area, we saw several small deer, including one that came through our campsite. Our campsite was spacious, and it had a concrete picnic table, a fire ring, a lantern pole, and a tent pad. The tent pad needed some maintenance since the dirt had washed onto it and made it slightly sloped. Not until later did I discover that there was a tall dead tree next to our tent. Only the top part was dead, but it could be a potential danger. The site next to ours was sectioned off because of a dead tree. If you are staying in A loop, I give it two stars, especially since the sites and bath house need maintenance, and because of the road noise. If you are staying in B or D loop, I would give it three or four stars. The sites in E loop are mainly for RVs and have less shade. One section in the A loop also is an open field and has limited shade. Overall, it’s not a bad choice for a campground, but it needs updating. What it has going for it is location. It is along the Blue Ridge Parkway, and Cone Memorial Park is down the road, which is a great destination in itself. There are lots of hiking trails and the beauty of the mountains is spectacular.

This is an absolute top-notch campground.  It just opened in the spring of 2020 and I can already tell this is going to be a very popular place.

First, the staff is incredible.  Everyone is friendly, helpful, and goes out of their way to make you feel at home.  The owner was onsite every day and checked in on us several times.

The camping options are very unique and diverse.  They have your typical RV sites (all full hookups) and tent sites, all of which have green space around them.  Our site backed up to a beautiful stream with some trees for hammocks and shade.  The tent sites are clustered together next to a stream in the woods, providing tons of shade on hot days.  Nearby are a few treehouses that you can rent, similar to old school sleep-away camping cabins.  Around the corner from the tents are several vintage RVs, many from the 50s, that have been completely renovated with beautiful interiors and modern updates.  They each have their own deck, fire pit, and grill.  My mom stayed in one of these while we were visiting and loved it!  There are also camping pods - basically an igloo shaped cabin that is good for a couple people.  Yurts are just up the hill from those, alongside two beautiful tiny homes that are some of the most unique campground rentals I've ever seen.  Book these early - we were here in late June and they were already full until October!

The amenities are very nice as well.  There is a resort style pool with built in seating almost all the way around.  It's next to a pavilion area with picnic tables, corn hole, a community fire pit, outdoor movie screen, and performance stage.  Nearby is an inflatable jumping pad and volleyball net.  I spoke with the owner and he has plans to add many other game such as bocce ball as well as complete construction on a playground and wooded play area for kids.  You can also rent many campground games at the camp store such as spike ball and ladder ball.  More hiking trails are being added, and a large dog park made exercising our pup easy.

Oh and the wifi is off the charts for a campground.  Total coverage everywhere you go.  I was getting 30/30 speeds at my site.  I work remote so it was very important to have good internet, and Emberglow did not disappoint here!  They obviously invested heavily in a quality network infrastructure and it shows.

The location is nice - off the main roads so you get plenty of peace and quiet, but only 20 minutes to Lake Lure and Chimney Rock.  It's easily accessible from Charlotte, Asheville, and Spartanburg, SC.

Every campground owner needs to come take a look at this place.  This is what campgrounds should be aiming for - clean, modern, lots of nature, friendly staff, good prices, and fun activities.  I was not paid or asked or endorsed in any way to do this review, I simply think this is an awesome place that you should come check out!

Ranger Review: Primus New Primetech CampFire Utility Sack at Black Mountain Campground, NC.

Campground:

Black Mountain Campground in the Pisgah National Forest, is nestled in Burnsville, NC but you must work at it to get there. https://cfaia.org/black-mountain-briar-bottom-campgrounds-in-north-carolina/

The Black Mountain Campground is an extremely popular campground. During season, the summer month weekends and holidays...book your reservations online, because they don't do it by phone when calling the campground. We chanced it, traveling 8 hours from the backwoods of W.VA to this location, in a bit of a panic as they only had two sites available on a Sunday night. Fortunately for us, we captured the last available site. With only 46 sites, it fills up quick.

I'm sure Black Mountain Campground is popular to different folks for different reasons, but the reasons are many!

I'm not a weekend campground camper by choice...I prefer the backwoods primitive sites during those peak times...but I enjoy campgrounds during the week when the rest of the world is hard at work earning a living.

Black Mountain Campground was jam packed on a Sunday night...and initially more noisy than I like, but by 11 p.m., all you could hear were owls and the South Toe River serenading their sweet sounds.

As stated, we landed on the last available site #9, though conveniently located between the water spigot on one side and the showerhouse/restrooms on the other...not only is it the hub of "activity" all hours of the day and night...the lights remain on all night inside the restrooms and shine out glass peak windows into site #9. Plus it was one of the small sites in the campground. Nonetheless, we had a place to lay our heads...and I was grateful.

The site itself, is a tent only site, with gravel parking along the campground loop roadway. The site is elevated above the roadway and grass and outlined by timbers...a fine chip gravel base for both the picnic table/fire ring area and the separate tent pad area (as are most tent sites in this loop). Most of the sites along the river are tent only sites. The tent sites directly along the riverside are all nice... on the second night we pulled up stakes and moved directly across the campground loop road to site #6 on the river...and a much larger site with trees for hammocking...and great views of the river below (about a 8 foot drop).

The hosts do a marvelous job of keeping this campground spotless and attractive. Three different couples work tirelessly to provide a great camping experience for all-comers. There was not a moment that I did not see at least one of them picking up trash, emptying trash containers, scouring showers and restrooms or inquiring if you had need of anything. The showers and restrooms are impeccably clean and supplied...and there are several throughout this small campground. The service they provided was more hospitable than most five star hotels I've been to. May their tribe increase! They'll deliver firewood ($5) to your site by golf cart, they even will collect your site fees as they drive around.

Here are a few reasons I find this campground so popular: Trails...and lots of them...in every direction. You can begin the Mountain to Sea Trail here...the start of the Mt. Mitchell Trail (11.2 roundtrip) begins in the campground with non-campground hikers having a parking lot just across the bridge. Interesting sidenote: non-campground hikers can use the restrooms, but must pay $5 if they desire to utilize the showers. That's fair. There is a nice trail to SetRock Falls, right on the campground property...and several other foot trails to keep you busy and hiking.

Interestingly, the gravel forest road up to the Blue Ridge Parkway, that most people will take to drive to Mt. Mitchell, is lined with several pull-off primitive campsites. Most are situated either on a water source (the South Toe River) or close by where you can access water for filtration and use. No other facilities. Those tenting areas are marked with a brown (mile marke style plastic post) sign with a "tent emblem" at the top. These are free spots, so they fill pretty quick. Note that the gravel road is steep at times and minimally maintained, it is more a forest service road, so washboard and pot holes abound. I might drive your Lexus sedan on it, but I wouldn't drive mine ...if I owned one.

Also note that the trails are just that...trails...heavily traveled trails...so use proper footwear...rocks and roots abound. I'd even recommend trekking poles for sure-footedness and stability.

Another highlight closeby the campground is the Roaring Fork Falls, a short half mile walk back from a side road parking lot. The parking lot is small, so arrive early. The trail is also a forestry service road of some sort, but the trail to the falls is marked by a blue diamond blaze. Its a bit of a root infested scamper, but worth it.

There is a swimming hole on the South Toe River in the campground just beyond the end of the riverside sites. It has a small sandy "beach" area and a neck deep refreshing hole.

The campground office is tiny, but they sell ice cream bars for a buck! Say what?! Its true...I capitalized.

The Black Mountain Campground was a relaxing highlight during our travels, one which I look forward to returning to.

Product Review: Primus New Primetech CampFire Utility Sack

The New Primus Primetech CampFire Utility Sack is an 8 liter watertight, roll-top, rip-stop poly/cotton dream!

I purchased the Primetech CampFire Utility Sack from their website specifically for a backcountry backpacking trip. I figured if Primus' claims of watertightness and durability were accurate, this Utility Sack would be just what I was looking for. At $25, it wasn't going to break the bank if it was a disappointment.

When the Primetech CampFire Utility Sack arrived, I was suspect because it appeared so small in its packaging, so I immediately thought it was neither large enough or tough enough. The spoiler: I was wrong.

The ripstop poly/cotton material is stout and durable. I'd use the term bombproof, but no sooner do you say that...it fails...but I beat this sack up and it still looks new.

Its my favorite backcountry color...black...so it won't show stains with extended use and abuse.

The interior utilizes a heavy waterproof seam sealed coating. Stitching is heavy duty too. The roll-down closure is rimmed with webbing for added durability and a sturdy metal hook closure.

My thoughts of use were several...but main usage for the trip fell into gathering water to cook and filter, away from the water source...and one that perhaps Primus did not consider...a bear bag. Yep! I put five days worth of meals (for 3) and trail snacks...and some scented sundry items...secured the rolltop...ran paracord around the handle and hoisted it high into the air each night (well, except one night where the only trees were small tundra confiers). Not sure if the bears saw or smelled it...but it served the purpose with flying colors. Bonus: because of the CampFire Utility Sack's watertightness...when used as a hung bear bag...the contents remained dry despite the deluge we endured.

An unexpected but delightful use, that I'm sure disclaimers will now follow, because of its watertightness, durability and looped handle...it makes a wonderful buoyancy float when cruising lazy river currents on your back. Of course, I never saw anyone attempt this craziness...um...but it works.

Do realize that 8 liters of water is 16.74 pounds...so you don't want to haul it a long journey, but you could. Even resting the CampFire Utility Sack on the ground when filled, the contents stay contained within...in equal parts the tough exterior material, watertight interior coating and rolldown closure, and a flat bottom. When empty the New Primetech CampFire Utility Sack folds up surprisingly small and flat.

The Primus New Primetech CampFire Utility Sack is a very welcomed addition to my backpacking and campground stable of neccessities.

Absolutely stunning. Well marked trail's. Never a dull moment. The falls were breath taking. I definitely will make an effort to return to venture further. No handicap access.