Best Glamping near Newton, NC

We stayed in the new glamping cabin #2. Very clean, comfortable bed, nice AC, lovely porch to relax on. All cabins are in walking distance to the bathrooms and showers. Those as well were pretty clean for a camp ground, I was pleasantly surprised. The path to the bathrooms light up at night so you can find your way very easy in the dark. Camp ground itself was very clean and I often saw the staff working on cleaning it and interacting with the campers. The designated swimming area was like a piece of heaven. Small not to overly packed, very clean beach. We plan on coming pack to do tent camping with our dog, fantastic family or romantic couple retreat.

While there's a few dozen great places to stay in and around the Blue Ridge Mountain Parkway, there are few campgrounds as prized as Julian Price, which has plenty to explore just steps from your tent's front door (er, flap!). 

After a 3+ hour drive from nearby Raleigh, my very great friend Gary (or'Gariatica' for short) and I landed at the D Loop, which is one of four campgrounds you'll find here. What's important to know about the'Big Letter D Barrio' as the locals refer to it as, is that the campground perches up almost immediately after entering it, so you'll be first met with a few of the lower campsites (which must receive a decent amount of noise from the passing traffic that is only 30-40 feet away from them) before coming to the ground's bathhouses (while just mediocre and not the cleanest, there are bonus points here for providing 'no coin required' individual, private stalls (8 in all), so no group showers, which will be disappointing for some, I suspect). 

After passing the communal bathing facilities, you will circumnavigate the D Loop in counter-clockwise fashion (although many tried to swim upstream and go in the opposite direction, which I don't recommend, as apart from being hit from oncoming traffic, even if there was none, you would need to conduct a 17-point turn-around to park your car in the provided parking spot) to tour the 40 or so campsites. 

While there were only a few free slots to chose from at the time of our booking (about 3-4 weeks in advance, so book early if you can!), we did get relatively lucky with our campsite, good 'ol D20, which had plenty of space for our behemoth 24 person tent cabin (OK, so you can't really sleep 24 in this sucker, but it sure would be fun trying!). 

I would actually recommend the sites that were located directly across from ours - while ours slanted upwards(revealing our entire site), those on the other side of the road sloped downwards so had a solid amount of privacy. Basic amenities were had at most sites we saw- solid (yet aging) picnic tables, fire rings (with pull down grill) and wooden-encased tent platforms. Warning: no nearby running water (to clean dishes, you'll have to load them up in a bucket and trudge back and forth to the bathhouse (donning a towel is optional). 

Also, I would suggest if you are looking at campsites here or in the other areas of this campground, do look at whether or not a trail cuts through or by your campsite. I don't know how you feel about 100's (this is a popular campground with loads of people hiking trails when we were there, so I'm not overestimating here) of strangers passing by your front door (dang it, I meant'flap' again!), but you might want to avoid the heavy foot fall traffic. 

Also, unlike any other campground I've ever visited (I lost count after the first 100), I've never stayed at a campground where it was so easy for anyone to simply drive up and around the campground (usually, you have to persuade someone at the front gate that you belong there, right?) as this location has an EZ access point that avoids the ranger at the gate(who left promptly at 5pm anyway), which made me a bit uneasy, although we had no problems to speak of. 

Last tip? My buddy who knows the area fairly well took me to Gamekeeper's Inn [https://gamekeeper-nc.com\\\\\\\] for one of the best meals of my life. This oversized log cabin chalet has an outstanding bar, simply fantastic staff, upscale smarts and feature exotic meats and rare game, so while I would have preferred hot dogs and beans fireside, followed by endless amounts of s'mores, I was instead dining on grass-[hand]-fed Bison and dungeon-free Emu, the likes of which I had never savored before. Quite delish, washed down by very fine Sauvignon Blanc from Marlborough in the land of kiwis and finished off by, what else? You guessed it, a fantastic creme brûlée. Very nice and quite expensive, but hey, you only live once, right?!. 

Happy Camping!

Another lovely campground along the BRP, close to Linville Falls and gorge, picnic area and visitor center.

Erwin’s View Trail: Moderate Linville Gorge Trail: Strenuous {amazing view of falls}

Get a map at the visitor’s center.. redundant: the gorge is rather crowded on the weekends.

Check online for road closures when visiting the parkway.

$20 per night

There are 70 sites, some reservable sites and walk ins -and an RV loop {dump station} All sites non electric, generators permitted before quiet hours.

Lovely rangers and camp host that I found to be pleasant and helpful.

Open field sites, with decent sized pads, fire pits & picnic tables. Some of the sites are more secluded, the ones nearest to the parkway road.

Dog friendly for leashed puppers 🐾 Kid Friendly

There are bear lockers, keep food and supplies in the locker and in car at night.

Alcohol is prohibited

No showers but access to clean water and flush toilets.

You may collect dead wood or bring in HEAT TREATED firewood that is certified with a federal seal.

Local stores that sell wood and/or other supplies: Linville Falls Visitor Center/Park store Linville Falls General Store {8896 NC-183, Linville Falls, NC 28647- trinkets, camp supplies, cold drinks, non perishable food, Hunt Brothers Pizza etc} Walmart Supercenter, Spruce Pine, Ingles Food Store, Newland

Nearby Attractions

Linville Falls Linville Gorge “Grand Canyon of the Southern Appalachians”

Falls Trail - 1.6 mi RT/easy The Gorge Trail - 1.4 mi RT/ strenuous. The Plunge Basin Trail- 1mi RT/ moderate. Leashed dogs permitted 🐾

BRP Linville Canverns Crabtree Falls, Burnsville Grassy Creek Falls NC Gem Museum

The campground is laid out well, spacious, clean and located near awesome trails, falls, look outs and shops and restaurants.

We go back here multiple times each season. Very family friendly. Sites are relatively clean, easy to park at, bath house is clean& easily accessible. They even have a"coffee shop". The staff here are amazing! The campground is tucked away outside of Boone, but not so far that if you really need something you cant get it. The staff does a great job making sure the quiet hours are really quiet and no craziness happens. After looking around at other campgrounds, we really love this one. Most of the sites are shaded so in the heat of the summer it is really pleasant to hang out at the campsites(usually with a nice breeze). The location is also not far from the Blue Ridge Parkway and lots of great hiking.

I loved the area we stayed at in Grandfather Mountain Campground. I've been multiple times throughout the summers and have always enjoyed staying at one of the campsites right by the river. The campsite is always clean and friendly staff are there ready to answer questions on where to hike, eat and about the wildlife that's in this area of Western North Carolina. If you're lucky enough to catch one of the beautiful sunsets, I would recommend sitting in the grassy field (also on option to camp there) and take in the mountains laced with purples and pinks as the sun sets. And of course you'll have to hike grandfather mountain and walk across the swinging bridge. I finally went this last trip and was not disappointed! There is an intense hike that included climbing up latters and leads to beautiful views!

This campground is also close to Boone, NC. It is a cute little town that has a sweet downtown area to walk around in and grab a beer. If you like breakfast food I would highly recommend trying Melanie's. There food is to die for, and also very earth conscious.

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.