Best RV Parks & Resorts near Mars Hill, NC

KOA I-40/Crossville, TN - We stayed one night in October, full hook ups, 50 amp, good wifi until the evening but our cell service was good. $59.87 per night, $53.88 with KOA discount. Nicely maintained park with level concrete sites in the front with grass, fire rings and picnic tables that were in excellent condition. Friendly, welcoming staff with a nice gift shop/store. Hand dipped ice cream is available along with freshly made pizza and wings if you don’t want to cook. It does sit right next to Highway 70 into Crossville and can be noisy but it didn’t bother us. Each bathroom is a private toilet and shower, very clean, nicely tiled and plenty of hot water. Small laundry, two washers and two dryers but there may have been additional laundry towards the back of the park. The park seems to be broken down into three sections, concrete pad pull throughs in the front, then the office area, then a second section of sites with gravel pads and these are closest to the bathrooms, then further out is another area with a pond or small lake for catch and release fishing. Well manicured property. Would definitely stay again and the ice cream was really good.

OVERVIEW

• No Water/Sewer Hookups on Any Site

• Electric Hookup Sites Limited 

• WiFi/Cell Signal Limited[Booster Recommended]

• Kid Friendly

• Dog Friendly

• Bath Facilities On-site

LOCATION

The location is incredible! We enjoyed the accessibility of hiking, biking and fishing right from the campground. ART LOEB trailhead is right outside the campground entrance and is excellent for hiking and mountain biking. Several loops and even sites provide access to the river for fishing. Just outside the campground are endless trails and several beautiful waterfalls that can be accessed within a 5-15 min car ride. Convenient to a few restaurants, grocery stores and even a Walmart (which is slightly dodgy so be warned).

SITE

014 WOAK site is an RV site. It’s spacious and very private. We loved how much room we had to spread out and entertain as we were traveling with several other camping families. Our site was the go to spot! Backing in wasn’t difficult. It was convenient that the pull through site across from us was vacant, this made backing in super easy. There are no hookups on this site. So be sure you have a generator! One bonus on the location of this site is the water access just feet away. We needed to fill up and had forgot to do so when we pulled in to the campground. What a relief to see a water access just steps from the campsite! The only downside was that generator hours are very limited. If you are traveling during warmer months or must have AC, this is not the site for you. We felt that the tree coverage really provided us protection from the heat and did very well without AC in early August.

ACTIVITIES

• Slide Rock is a natural water slide that is fun for the whole family. Yes… it’s COLD and honestly worth every moment of chilly suffering.

• Hiking is abundant and all levels are accessible within minutes to a few miles of the campsite. Our favorites are: Looking Glass Falls (steps going down make this a breeze), Moore Cove Falls is a MUST and an easy trail that leads to the perfect waterfall for a good photo, Looking Glass Rock is a moderate to difficult hike and worth it. Looking Glass Rock is a long hike so be prepared to go early and bring a rain jacket.

• Fishing right within the campground makes it perfect for an early morning or late afternoon activity. The hatchery is nearby and offers some wonderful opportunities to catch and release. Be sure to look in to a guided tour for a hands on experience filled with lots of educational info on local fish.

• Biking is a top activity for lots of overnight and day campers. The Art Loeb Trail provides endless miles that proves fun for the whole family.

• Ice Cream at Dolly’s should make your list if you love a refreshing treat. This iconic little stop if right by the entrance to the Pisgah Forest and just around the corner from the campground. Also a great spot for a cell signal!

• Breweries aren’t hard to find nearby. Small microbreweries are within a few minutes and Sierra Nevada Brewery is 25 minutes away.

DON’T FORGET

• Generator (in case your site doesn’t offer electric)
• Headlamps and Flashlights (tree coverage is heavy so it gets darker faster)
• Fishing Poles
• Rain Jackets (it rained almost daily in the afternoon)
• Cordless Leaf Blower (for removing leaves from slide outs)

PROS 

Discounted camp fee with senior pass 

Reserved 169 days prior to arriving 

Friendly and helpful gate attendant 

Nearly 100% shade at each site 

Excellent dark sky viewing 

Private sites with large space along with vegetation between sites 

Very quiet 

Asphalt parking pad surrounded with bean size gravel 

Concrete picnic table 

Metal fire pit with cooking grate 

2 hook lantern pole 

Electric at water connection for heated water hose connection 

Recycle bins in campground loop 

Trash dumpsters immediately out of campground loop 

Firewood for sale but gate attendant told us to buy at Ingles (grocery store) where it is $3 bundle cheaper and we did! 

Next to North Carolina Arboretum 

Close to Asheville Outlet Mall and Camping World 

CONS 

3 bear sitings a day prior to our arrival in campground, according to gate attendant 

No overnight gate closure even tho RULES proved at check-in stated gates closed at 10pm, but no open hours in RULES

 Lakeview site 38 not level 

Up hill sewer connection at Lakeview site 38 

Fire ring not cleared of ash upon our arrival 

Non-moveable concrete picnic table and beyond camper awning 

2 toilets and 2 showers for entire Lakeview Loop (21 campsites). There were lines! 

Low hanging tree branches over roadways and roadside tree branches over roadways so it was a maneuvering obstacle challenge to not scrape camper roof and sides Campground roads narrow with tight curves along with roadway asphalt dropped off to steep shoulders; could be challenging to novice rig drivers (as we witnessed that more than once) 

Two-and- a-half-mile drive on a twisty hilly road through residential neighborhood to get to the campground 

No WiFi 

1 bar Verizon

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!

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!

This campground was one of the cleanest campgrounds we've been to. It had the cleanest laundry room I've even seen at a campground and we are full timers so have been to many places. Washers seem new and large enough for a full load-$2 and dryer$1. The grounds are clean. There is a dog run area. 

The customer service was very friendly and professional and a nice gentleman escorted us on a golf cart to our site. The roads are uphill and a little narrow, but nothing too difficult if you go slow. Our site was level so easy to pull up and set up smoothly. They have a fitness center, shower rooms, picnic tables and fire pit at every site.

WIFI/ AT&T: Campground wifi was excellent and quick. We work remote and usually have to hotspot our phone for video calls, but didn't have to here because it worked so well. AT&T was 1 to 2 bars at our site, but it worked just fine for calls and never had an issue, including video calls and streaming.

The pine trees help with a little privacy because you are tucked in pretty tight to one another. This is the only reason I'm not giving a 5 star.

Good sam partners. Accessible to Asheville, Blue Ridge Parkway, and many other mountain towns for exploring.