Best Equestrian Camping near Nantahala National Forest

Equestrian Camping Reviews near Nantahala National Forest

417 Reviews of 41 Nantahala National Forest Campgrounds

• M

  Megan B.

  Legend

  Sep. 21, 2016

  Cataloochee Campground — Great Smoky Mountains National Park

  Yes!!! Great Smokey Mountains...Yes!!

  Not the biggest fan of the Gatlinburg/Tennesse part of the park. The North Carolina part has a slightly different feel. Less of a circus and less crowded and more laid back. Loving it! Beautiful. Just wish there were showers here....lol.

• 

  Myron C.

  Legend

  Jun. 8, 2019

  Big Creek Campground — Great Smoky Mountains National Park

  Campground near Rafting Excursions on the Pigeon River

  Even though the sites are walk-in sites, when I was there it was pretty crowded since the sites are close together.  At night, you can hear the distant sounds of the creek … if the other campers can stop talking.  This is not a campground for RVs.  There are no hookups and there are no places for RVs to park.  The thing I like best about this campground is its proximity to the Appalachian Trail and several other trails, including the Benton MacKaye Trail.  Midnight Hole, which is a 1.5 mile hike, is a great place to cool off.  Once you get there, you can swim to a big rock and jump off into a natural pool.  I believe this is the same place I took Boy Scouts many, many years ago and they loved it.  You just have to be careful because it is deep and COLD.  The trail to Mount Cammerer is quite strenuous, but the view is worth it.  Other than the great trails, the other attraction is the whitewater rafting.  There are a few outfitters just over the state line, and they shuttle rafters to the starting point beside the power station.  The one I used was NOC.  When I first came here years ago, I thought the river looked low, but by the time we put our raft in, the river was raging.  I think the most fun, besides the rafting, at this campground is playing on the rocks in the creek.  There is also a group camping area, which is separate from the family campground.  That is because they release the water just for rafting.  This campground is conveniently located off of Interstate 40 near the Tennessee and North Carolina state line. Once you get to the national park road leading to it, it is a 1.2 mile drive on a gravel road.

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• 

  Courtney T.

  Guide

  Mar. 11, 2019

  Cades Cove Campground

  All time favorite campground!

  This is my favorite campground! It could be because I’ve been camping in Cades Cove every year since I was 5. I’m 30 now & married my husband at the missionary baptist church in cades cove in 2014. Many good memories have been made in this campground. It’s primitive $20 a night no hook ups large wooded sites. One loop generators are allowed & another loop they aren’t so that’s nice. It’s peaceful & very quiet. There’s a river that runs a long the outside of the campground. Good swimming holes. A store that sells food (the best ice cream), firewood & camping supplies. They also have bike & helmets for rent. They’re very strict about bear proofing your campsite. All my years camping there I’ve seen many bear walking through the campground. So it’s for your safety & the bears that you obey the rules. The rangers walk around frequently & make sure no ice chest or grills have been left out so before you leave your campsite make sure to pick those items up or they will get confiscated & you will get a little ticket. Again it’s all for your & the bears safety. The 11 mile loop is closed for vehicles on wed & sat mornings until 10:00 am so bikes can ride through. I highly recommend walking or riding your bike through early in the morning or in the afternoon. There is a halfway point to use the restroom & buy some souvenirs. Also there is a road called parsons branch most of the time it’s closed but we’ve been lucky a few times & it’s been open. Definitely need a suv or truck to drive down it bc you cross over water a few times. EXTREMELY PEACEFUL! All 3 times we’ve driven it we never saw anyone else. It’s a narrow road & you end up on the dragon in North Carolina so you’ll have a nice drive down the foothills parkway to get back. Also rich mountain road is beautiful to drive down in the fall. It will bring you back out in townsend.

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• 

  Shelly S.

  Legend

  Sep. 23, 2019

  Bristol Fields Horse Camp

  No horsin around

  I visited Bristol Fields for a planned primitive camping event with a group. I’m glad I arrived in daylight because my first drive in on the approximately 4 mile stretch of dirt and gravel road was a little nerve racking. Mostly because I wasn’t 100% sure I was going the correct way and second because there are some nice drop offs from the road. It is a wide road (about 1 1/2 lane)but passing in some areas would be interesting. Stay right and you will find the sign. The campground is primarily for horse oriented camping. It is split into three areas. The first section to the right as you pull in is the area we set up in. Then there is a long field that is obviously for horse trailer parking and camping with tie out poles included. There is a small tree break prior to the last area which has the pit style latrine and a large field for camping use. This whole area is bordered by a nice cold stream that is excellent for soaking your sore muscles in after a horse ride or hike. There is direct access to horse and hiking trails that are not extremely scenic (as in no long views until you get to the top) but will give you a good vertical workout. You can run or bike ride on the road too. There are several large fire pit areas throughout and a fire circle with wood chairs in the main area. There were five of us, three tent campers and two in vans and we had plenty of room to set up. The gravel center with picnic table worked well as our “kitchen” and dining area. Once parked my vehicle didn’t move again until it was time to leave. Total black at night meant excellent star gazing and the creek was the loudest thing out there. It did seem to be a young adult destination in the evenings, but they left when they saw that the site was occupied. A nice feature someone created was a “dam” of rocks with a round pool to sit in. Excellent get away with no electronics to speak of.

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• 

  Olivia W.

  Guide

  May. 19, 2024

  Trackrock Campground & Cabins

  Perfect campground tucked in the mountains

  Good sized campground tucked into the mountains. I brought my dog with me and had a great time. There is a lake that you can fish in, stables to ride horses, and hiking trails on the campground. We heard some people on dirt bikes on the trails too.

• 

  Suzie F.

  Ranger

  May. 4, 2019

  Trackrock Campground & Cabins

  Beautiful mountain park.

  This park has amazing views of the surrounding mountains. Lots of shade. It has an equestrian area where you can book horseback rides. The people that run the park are very friendly and accommodating. Lots of hiking trails both in the park and outside of the park. There were only 2 negatives that we had on this trip. One was our first encounter with "stink bugs". They were everywhere and you couldn't keep them out of the RV. When we got home to Florida we were still killing them inside the RV for almost 5 months! The other negative is that hurricane Micheal was barreling for Florida before our stay was up at Trackrock. We had to cut our stay short so that we wouldn't be driving through a hurricane.

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• J

  Joseph C.

  Guide

  Dec. 3, 2020

  Trackrock Campground & Cabins

  Tranquility

  This place has absolutely breathtaking views, nice lake, well stocked little office store, nice game room, did not do the equestrian part, but I’m sure it’s well worth it.. town is not far and has some good shopping and local restaurants. Definitely worth the trip...

• 

  Maddi P.

  Guide

  Sep. 30, 2018

  Whetstone Horse Camp

  Riding on the chattooga river

  I unfortunately haven’t been able to return to this location for quite some time now but I remember it fondly. Spent many nights and days here during middle school with my local horse club. Trails were clean although a little to narrow in some spots, especially when needing to pass another horse and rider but there is plenty of wide open areas that allow for the perfect opportunity to stop and rest. If you ever have time I also recommend stopping by stump house tunnel which is near by its 2 adventures for the price of 1! Writing this review makes me want to go back!

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  Mark C.

  Scout

  Sep. 6, 2018

  Willis Knob Horse Camp

  Equestrian

  Some of the best Horse Camping in the Mountains, Great Horse trails that follow the Chatooga River.