Searching for the best camping near Mills River, NC? Mills River is an adventure-filled destination for those who love the outdoorsy camper lifestyle. But it's also great for those who prefer to spend time near the city, exploring and sightseeing. You're sure to find the perfect spot for your North Carolina camping adventure.
"Small campground with level sites. Plenty of space and areas to walk our dog."
"Close to Asheville and other local sites. Quiet, peaceful. Sites are quite close together. No great views, but very functional."
"I stayed at Rutledge Lake RV Resort July 7-9, 2023. The site was pretty level and the staff was friendly. The sites are packed in fairly close together but my neighbors were all extremely quiet."
"This campground was decent
Fishing pond has a lot of ducks and seaweed
Laundry room was nice and large - easy and quick to get 3 loads done
Waterfront site was fairly level and loved being able to"
"The good- The proximity to downtown is the best you can get in a campground. If you choose a Riverfront site, you are literally 5 steps from the back of your RV from the French Broad River."
"Close to town to go check things out. Not a far drive to get to many great restaurants, breweries or cideries. Right on the river. Concrete sites, not extremely level, but good enough."
"Some sites are 30amp only and accommodate only 20-foot trailers or less. Other sites are longer, and some are pull-through.
BATHHOUSE: 3 bathhouses are kept clean."
"Nice location close to west Asheville, pet friendly!"
$35 - $299 / night
"The tent camping is not quite"roughing it": there's pretty reliable WiFi and the bath house is air conditioned and kept very clean."
"Very clean, small, quiet campground. Tents only, they do have some cabins for rent. Nice clean bath house. Was able to access wifi near the tubing office. Prices are extremely reasonable. "
$25 - $50 / night
"Great campground for RVers near downtown Franklin, NC. The campground itself is not very large but it is well maintained and provides a great option to camp with an RV."
$60 - $85 / night
"Had a great weekend at this small peaceful RV park. Clean, beautiful landscaping. Full hookups, shady spot on site 4. A short drive to local waterfalls, rafting and tubing. A short drive to Brevard."
"The Gatlin Ridge RV Park is the perfect basecamp for those looking to explore the area and return home to their RV with full hookups. Check them out and make sure to leave a review on the Dyrt!"
$50 - $60 / night
"This campground is located 15 minutes to Brevard and Pisgah National Forest and 20 minutes to Hendersonville. DuPont State Park is nearby as well. Easy access to hiking trails and outdoor activities."
"This campground is in an awesome location: 25 minutes to downtown Hendersonville, 12 minutes to downtown Brevard, and 10-15 minutes from all the trails at DuPont and Pisgah!"
RangerGreat campground, fair amount of sites on creek, park like setting. Pull through sites for big rigs interior, full hookups include, cable, good wifi, good cell service. Great location to explore the quieter side of the smokies, Maggie Valley, Waynesville, Cherokee, Blue Ridge parkway, etc.
TravelerMany creek side spots. All are back in. 30,50 amp power, sewer and cable TV hookups.
Reliable wi fi and good cell service. Spotless bath house with private shower,toilet sink.
laundry and community dining area with themed events. Premium sites have a permanent fire ring, concrete patio and fire wood for first night.
TravelerThis campground is located 15 minutes to Brevard and Pisgah National Forest and 20 minutes to Hendersonville. DuPont State Park is nearby as well. Easy access to hiking trails and outdoor activities. Peaceful and quiet campground that is very well maintained. Camp hosts are very friendly and helpful! Check in and payment is all online. Dog friendly! Roomy sites with picnic tables and fire pits. Open year round. Stayed from November through April
ScoutOVERVIEW
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
RangerHaving lived in South Carolina most my life, I haven't seen it all.. but have seen a lot of it. Mile Creek Campground is a string of 3 islands connect by narrow straights and surrounded by water. It's hard to get a spot here without great views of Lake Keowee and the Blueridge Mountains.
The spaces a are a mix of full concrete pads or gravel sites. We've stayed in several sites and while some are very close together (that RV park feeling), there are many which have lots of breathing room, and things feel more natural. The pics in this review are for site 51, which is on the "3rd island," which is the furthest out and offers the best views. This is a very level concrete spot and we only had to use the electric tongue jack on our trailer to level front to back. Got set up in under 5 minutes.
There is one oddity to some of the concrete sites. Because it's concrete, your fire pit is off to the side. And since most of the sites are raised, your fire pit may be level with the concrete pad, but you can't sit next to it as there is too much slope.
It's a county park and is well maintained. Bath houses are clean. With it having a public day use area with a nice boat dock, you can expect almost every morning @ 6am to hear the diehard fishing folks blasting out of the boat launch area.
We have Verizon and our cell signal has always been 4 to 5 bars on the outside third island.
All sites have 30amp electric and water hookups. Dump station at the front of campground entrance up on a hill. BE AWARE, pulling into the dump station is easy, but the steeper exit will have longer RV's and Trailers dragging their bag end on the asphalt.
We've always felt safe and relaxed here. And though we prefer more dispersed camping with less neighbors, this is still one of the best and most affordable ($25 in off season) places in South Carolina to camp.
We rarely give 5-stars, but due to the awesome views, trees between the sites and being well wooded & surrounded by water... it really is a very nice place.
From what I can tell, all but two sites are back in. We had no problem backing in our 23'8" (total length) camper in.
GuideThis campground sets on a peninsula into Lake Keowee and offers gorgeous views of the lake and mountains in the distance. While possible for big rigs, it can be a challenge in some areas. The sites are mostly in the 30-35 foot range and most are back in, fairly level and offer 30/20 electric and water. Picnic tables and fire rings are on the sites, but unfortunately most of the sites do not offer a lot of usable area around the site. A few sites near the boat ramp are unparalleled in their view of the lake and mountains and reservation planning is a must if these are wanted. Being far out in the country the cell service isn't so good and according to where you are even over the air TV is spotty. A nice boat ramp and swimming beach are available, as are bath houses centrally located. The camp store was closed due to Covid when we stayed, but there are kayak and canoe rentals. The dump station was easily accessed and very clean. There are cabins, but we did not look at them. All in all, this is a very nice campground for families or couples wanting a getaway.
GuideWonderful small campground w less than 50sites. Most are creekside back ins. Full hook up including cable. Smoking wifi. Level gravel sites with concrete patios. Some with yard swings. Very clean. Clean bathhouses. Cute camp store. Free library. Pool and other rec. Propane refills and wood$ delivery to site. Trash pick up. Great hosts. Campground is easy to get to and tucked into the woods.
LegendPROS
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
GuideStayed here for more than a week in early January and enjoyed it. There's a bunch of nice state parks in upstate SC - this one is about 10 minutes from both Table Rock and Devil's Fork. Nearest town with major stores is Pickens, SC. Greenville is about 45 minutes.
*Navigation*
The state park website mentions that rigs over 40ft will have trouble. I think 40ft is conservative, but 50ft+ could definitely be problematic. My truck plus trailer is 43ft and it was tight but manageable. The problem area for larger rigs will likely be the curves before and after the dump station/restrooms (sharp turns plus elevation drop). It will be difficult to fit in dump station area with a larger rig as well.
*Internet*
Verizon 5G was blazing fast here on my Pepwave - literally over 100mbps download. Starlink was able to connect, but obviously wasn't very useable due to trees.
*Site*
I stayed in #3 which was definitely one of the better sites there. Easy back in with very private views looking out towards Lake Keowee & Jocassee. In summertime you probably won't be able to see much with the foliage. Used levelling blocks, but it wasn't bad.
*Facilities*
Restrooms were older but clean. Showers had hot water. As mentioned, dump station is right in front of bathrooms. No laundry.
RV camping near Mills River, North Carolina, offers a blend of scenic beauty and convenient amenities, making it an ideal destination for outdoor enthusiasts and families alike.
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