Camping near Nantahala National Forest

I highly recommend this campground. I stayed at site 38 in Loop 1. The host is a very friendly man, he greeted me every morning. At site 38 there is more privacy than in others and I liked that. It is next to a hill so it is easy to find wood for the bonfire. It is very close to the entrance and the bathroom. The bathrooms are very large and there is hot water, in the three days that I bathed it did not run out, it lasts a long time. The bathrooms are very clean and there is a garbage container outside. I recommend going to the Angel waterfall. And to the lake that is in front of the entrance of the camp. It was from October 24 to 27, 2024 and it was already fall. But on the 27th it was much more intense than the first day.

We traveled in a Class C, so I chose this CG because the bus stop is just outside the CG. Unfortunately, the bus route was suspended due to a lack of drivers just 2 weeks before we arrived. (Not the CG's fault, but it did complicate our trip a bit.) The CG is nice, sites are regularly spaced somewhat close to each other but level. There are many seasonal campers here. Restrooms are clean, laundry is convenient. There are many things to do in the CG, pools, arcade and lots of kids. There is a gas station/convenience store on the property. Staff in the office can answer questions about the area.

We would stay here again if the bus is running.

Horse cove was a gorgeous campsite. There are two “areas”, the campground near the check in station and dispersed camping along the road. We stayed in May 2025.

We chose to camp in the campground. It had a picnic table, fire ring, and lantern poles. It was a rainy weekend so we didn’t have many neighbors which made it perfect. The campground use to have two sections to camp but one has been closed down for quite a bit of time (there have fallen trees). There were only about 6-8 campsites all close to each other on the campground along the river.

The other option is to find campsites along the river. There were maybe 3-4 rv friendly sites from the campground to the boat dock (mostly tent options). There’s probably more past the boat dock but we didn’t check.

There’s probably river was loud but beautiful. No electric. There was a water pump but I didn’t see if it worked. There was an abundance of firewood in the campground and along the road. We decided to go hike Joyce Kilmore Forest which was a small trek from the campground. Felt like we were camping in a rainforest!

Toilet: enclosed toilet with thin toilet paper just like a porta potty. Smelled bad.

This is the "meet up" point for us and many of our camping friends. The sites are fairly level and they have added more gravel to the roads. The bathrooms are kept clean and most necessities can be found in the camp store. We usually pull our camper, but we have stayed in cabin 116.

Cabins 116 and 117 have dishes, cookware, etc. furnished.

135 and 135A are Jack and Jill sites, which we have used often with close friends. Sites along the river go fast, so make your reservations early.

If you can get by with 30 amp service, site 25 allows you to face your camper towards the swimming hole.