Best Equestrian Camping near Sparta, NC

Equestrian Camping Reviews near Sparta, NC

123 Reviews of 11 Sparta Campgrounds

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  Kirsten J.

  Legend

  Aug. 5, 2018

  Julian Price Park Campground — Blue Ridge Parkway

  Wooded, shady campground near a lake!

  Julian Price Park is a beautiful campground just off the Blue Ridge Parkway in North Carolina. We enjoy this campground on the weekends throughout the fall and spring as it is less occupied. Reservations can be made on-line or walk up to the small building in the front of the loop. The campsites are separated into several loops. One loop is closer to the lake, the other loop has more availability and quite a range of campsites.

  Bathrooms are available here (upgrades coming soon!) as well as drinking water.

• 

  Kaitlyn F.

  Traveler

  Oct. 16, 2020

  Stone Mountain State Park Campground

  Absolutely beautiful

  We came here as our second ever camping trip and it wasn’t exactly what we were expecting but it was definitely an adventure. It was beautiful and quiet and relaxing. The only thing we were not happy about is the insane amount of bugs in the bathroom. But, ya know North Carolina summers.

• 

  Jean C.

  Legend

  Jun. 30, 2021

  Old Virginia Group Horse Camp

  Equestrian campground group site in national forest

  This is a group equestrian camp that can be reserved via Recreation.gov for$50/night for up to 25 people. There is no potable water available, so plan to bring your own. There is a stream at the site where the horses may drink. There's enough space for a number of trailers, including large ones, and up to 25 horses. There's a fair amount of grassy area and it's lined with rhododendron. Dumpster provided. No cell service.

  There are a number of horse trails that connect, starting with the Virginia Highlands Horse Trail nearby, so you don't need to trailer your horses to get to the trailhead

• 

  Jean C.

  Legend

  Jul. 1, 2021

  Chestnut Hollow Horse Campground — Grayson Highlands State Park

  Equestrian campground in beautiful Grayson Highlands

  This equestrian campground in a beautiful state forest allows for other campers to make reservations no more than 30 days in advance; priority is for campers with horses. This state park has wild horses of its own, but has numerous multi-use and equestrian trails and connects with additional trails in the area for up to 66 miles of riding. Chestnut Hollow is distinct from the Hickory Ridge campground.

  The campsites are back-in along a single spur with turn-around at the end. There are  bathrooms with showers and a sink for laundry. Fees are $20-23/night, slightly higher for out of state campers. There are open and closed stall options for an additional fee. These were clean and in good repair. Although the official season runs May - October, it is open for primitive camping March, April, and November.

  Site are long, gravel, relatively level with water/electric.

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• 

  Michelle I.

  Traveler

  Apr. 25, 2021

  Stone Mountain State Park Campground

  Beautiful park, nasty facilities

  I went back and forth on whether I should give this rating two stars or three. In the end, I chose three stars because the mountain itself is so amazing. Geologically this was great place to visit and the trails were well marked and maintained. Beautiful hike. The campground was beautiful but the facilities were run down and dirty. It had, by far, the nastiest park/campground facilities I’ve seen in Kentucky, North Carolina or Virginia this year. I know this park is mobbed on the weekends, but I checked in on a Tuesday and stayed for two nights. The facilities, including the campground bathhouse and the park’s “comfort stations” were dirty, smelly and had bugs in them. The trash in the bathhouse was not emptied in the two days I was there. There was not a single exterior light to the bathhouse, not even something as reasonable as a motion sensor light that would be more energy efficient than a constant lighting option.
  Compared to New River State Park, despite the giant Stone Mountain, this was the bottom of the barrel.

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• 

  Myron C.

  Legend

  Aug. 9, 2019

  Julian Price Park Campground — Blue Ridge Parkway

  Older Campground with Great Location

  Julian Price Campground is part of the Julian Price Memorial Park, which is along the Blue Ridge Parkway in the northern part of North Carolina. I have heard about this park for many years, so I wanted to finally camp there. It is an older park, and it shows. We stayed at site A4, and I chose this site for a few reasons. It was close to the lake, but unfortunately, we couldn’t see the lake from the site. Many of the sites in the A loop are reservable, and they have been reserved for several weeks(maybe months) in advance. They are the best sites as far as seeing the lake and sometimes because they are larger. The worst part I discovered about sites in the A loop is that you can hear traffic from the Blue Ridge Parkway all day long except for two to three hours in the middle of the night(about 1:30 to 4:30). On average, you can count on about twenty-five vehicles every five minutes(I know because I counted). It doesn’t help that the parkway is under construction and the road is gravel, which makes the sounds of vehicles even louder. The restrooms in A loop are old and need updating. There are no showers in A loop. The only showers are between B and D loops, which are on the other side of the Blue Ridge Parkway. On the positive side, the showers in a new bath house, and they are private shower/restroom units. We rode through all of the loops to see what the other sites were like, and some of the sites are seldom used if the picnic tables and surrounding vegetation is any indication. Some of the picnic tables are covered in moss. Those were mostly in the sites that were small or sloped. For that reason, it is a good idea to look at the photos on the website for each site before reserving. Many of the sites are walk-in sites and you can set up before the 3:00 time for reservable sites. As far as activities, there is no swimming, but fishing is allowed. There is also a boat ramp, and you can rent canoes, kayaks, and SUPs. The lake is hatchery supported, and I did witness someone catching a fish as we walked along the lake trail. While we were in this area, we saw several small deer, including one that came through our campsite. Our campsite was spacious, and it had a concrete picnic table, a fire ring, a lantern pole, and a tent pad. The tent pad needed some maintenance since the dirt had washed onto it and made it slightly sloped. Not until later did I discover that there was a tall dead tree next to our tent. Only the top part was dead, but it could be a potential danger. The site next to ours was sectioned off because of a dead tree. If you are staying in A loop, I give it two stars, especially since the sites and bath house need maintenance, and because of the road noise. If you are staying in B or D loop, I would give it three or four stars. The sites in E loop are mainly for RVs and have less shade. One section in the A loop also is an open field and has limited shade. Overall, it’s not a bad choice for a campground, but it needs updating. What it has going for it is location. It is along the Blue Ridge Parkway, and Cone Memorial Park is down the road, which is a great destination in itself. There are lots of hiking trails and the beauty of the mountains is spectacular.

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• K

  Kelly C.

  Guide

  Jun. 14, 2018

  Chestnut Hollow Horse Campground — Grayson Highlands State Park

  Bobcats, Black Bear, & Wild Horses

  Lot s of wildlife! We camped at an equestrian campgrounds, chestnut ridge perhaps? Saw a Family of black bear about a mile from camp then a bobcat in camp later that day! Great facilities and located very close to Wilbur ridge where the wild ponies are! The AT is very close and waterfall hikes can be accessed from camp.also lots of great bouldering in the area

• K

  Kim S.

  Traveler

  Jul. 19, 2021

  Julian Price Park Campground — Blue Ridge Parkway

  Lovely campground with lake access

  Stayed in site A31, a pull-through site. No sites here have hook-ups. This campground is on a beautiful lake. There is no swimming on the lake(its pretty shallow) but awesome for kayaking and paddleboarding. There is wifi at the boat rental area, an easy walk from all parts of the campground where you can rent kayaks, get snacks, etc. All sites are well spaced out(A loop, I didn't see the other loops) but non- lake side sites don't have a ton of tree cover so aren't very private. Tent sites next to the lake are closer together and DO have more trees/ privacy. Several good trails within the campground- the 2.5 mile lake loop which winds around the lake was nice, flat and beautiful.

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• R

  Roxanne M.

  Guide

  Aug. 17, 2021

  Julian Price Park Campground — Blue Ridge Parkway

  Peaceful campground on the Blue Ridge Parkway

  We stayed at Site E14 during a weekend in July. The campground is in an excellent location, just 5-10 minutes away from downtown Blowing Rock and of course it’s right on the beautiful Blue Ridge Parkway! Our site was peaceful and shaded, easily fit our 14 foot teardrop with screen room and our truck. After walking through the other loops, I preferred ours as it was not as crowded and quieter. Great access to trails, Price Lake trail and Boone Fork trail access is within minutes. Our site was very shaded. The picnic table seating is extremely low to the ground so if you have mobility issues that could be an issue. The bathrooms were old but clean and served the purpose. Overall, I recommend this campground it is so peaceful and perfect location. We can’t wait to come back!!

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