Best Equestrian Camping near Swannanoa, NC

Ranger Review: Eclipse Sun Sleeves at Harmon Den Area(Pisgah National Forest) https://www.fs.usda.gov/recarea/nfsnc/recarea/?recid=70836

There are a few dispersed camping sites at Harmon’s Den, and they are spacious sanctuaries beside Cold Springs Creek. Harmon Den is in Pisgah National Forest, and dispersed camping is allowed but only where there is a camping symbol posted along Cold Springs Creek Road. To get to the campsite, you have to get off on Exit 7 along Interstate 40 in North Carolina and travel a gravel road for several miles. You will not want to drive too fast since there are several potholes, washboards, and protruding rocks in the road. At the campsite, there is a fire ring, but there are no other facilities such as bathrooms, showers, electricity, running water, trash cans, camp store, firewood for sale, campground hosts, etc. It is pretty much just a space for camping. With that said, it offers all the exciting activities that national forests offer, such as fishing, biking, hiking, etc. Harmon Den is mostly known as a horse camp, although car camping without horses is a common occurrence. When I was there, I passed by a couple of car campers that did not have horses. I did see a few vehicles with horse trailers pass by on the road. Because it is a popular horse camping area, you have to watch where you step. At our campsite, there was horse poop in several places, and I had to watch my grandson closely so he didn’t step in a pile of horse manure. Expect to encounter horse flies as well. There was also lots of poison ivy, so that was another concern I had about my grandson running freely. Since there are no bathrooms, practicing LNT(Leave No Trace) is important. Unfortunately, there was lots of trash, but that was a teachable moment for my grandson, and we definitely left the campsite better than what we found it. Before it gets dark, make sure you know where you are going to take care of business when you have to get up in the middle of the night. That way, you can avoid stepping in the wrong place. There were also quite a few people fishing in the creek on the way to the campsite since the creek is a popular place for trout fishing. As a matter of fact, a wildlife officer came through our camp with a fishnet full of trout to stock the creek. She asked us if we brought our fishing poles. Unfortunately, that’s one thing I didn’t take camping with me. What was I thinking? Even with the horse poop and the poison ivy, it’s a great area for camping if you like solitude and the sounds of the creek throughout the night. Another reason to camp at Harmon Den is to visit Max Patch while you are there. I would suggest staying at least two nights so you can spend one day just enjoying Max Patch. It is a large mountain bald over which the Appalachian Trail crosses. I have been there in the past when people are having picnics, flying kites, or just lying on a blanket enjoying the magnificent scenery. If you go at the right time of year, one of the trails up to Max Patch will take you by wild blueberries and blackberries. As I stated earlier, the campsites are spacious, and it felt very peaceful just being there. 

Product Review: 

As a Dyrt Ranger I get to occasionally try out outdoor products while camping and this trip I brought Eclipse Sun Sleeves(https://eclipseglove.com/)..) As a stem cell transplant survivor from stage 4 Non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma, I can never be in the sun without adequate protection for the rest of my life. That’s why Eclipse clothing is perfect for me. Even in the middle of the summer, I have had to wear long sleeves and a broad-brimmed hat. I had earlier written a review for the Eclipse shawl, but with the Eclipse Sun Sleeves, I can finally wear my short sleeve shirts again. Since I love the outdoors and have some cool t-shirts, all I have to do is put on my sun sleeves and I am protected. The only thing I could see that might need improving would be to figure out how to keep the upper part to stay up. It wasn’t that much of a problem, and I don’t how the company could solve it, but overall, the sun sleeves are great. I would further like to say that because of sun sleeves, those who are allergic to the sun have one less excuse not to go outdoors in the sun..

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.

Had a nice experience here. Amber, the host, was very kind and accommodating. She showed us around the grounds which has horses, pigs, chickens, a natural spring, and fruits/vegetables/mushrooms growing around the property. The grounds are conveniently located near the city of Asheville and hiking trails. There was a shared gazebo, cozy fire pit, and cold showers. The only downside was that there wasn’t a secluded spot available for car camping, even though Amber did figure something out for us to be able to stay. Would recommend to get away from your typical campground.

One of my best friends invited me to go camping with him here, although I knew it was a horse camp and we didn’t have horses. There are lots of trails for horses, and there are places to tie up the horses. Knowing it was a horse camp, I expected there to be horse manure, but manure was everywhere—even on the tent pads. Other than that, which as I said I expected, it was a good place to camp. The sites are spacious and fairly private with woods between each site. You have to reserve in advance to get a code to get through the gate, so you don’t have curiosity seekers coming in. There was supposed to be access to water, but the only pump in the campground was not working. Fortunately, I brought water with me. There was a pit toilet, but when I first went to it, it smelled terrible and was in need of a big time cleaning. The next morning, when I went, it had been“cleaned”(if you want to call it that). My buddy and I decided to go to Max Patch, a mountain bald, a few miles up the road. Max Patch is a beautiful grassy bald with 360° views, and the Appalachian Trail runs across it. Unfortunately, it is popular. By that I mean TOO POPULAR. When we made it there, the parking lot was full, and there were cars lined up for about a half mile down the road. Having been on Max Patch before, I knew it was not going to be a pleasant experience. Overall, the campground is probably okay for horse campers except that there was no water. The pit toilet needed more attention than it was given, but it was a toilet. There’s a good chance I will not go back to this campground. It’s not that I do not recommend it in general. I just don’t recommend it if you are just camping in a tent without horses. However, I do recommend one of the dispersed camping areas not too far down the road, especially if you want to be close to Max Patch. Just don’t go in the more popular seasons.

South Mountain State Park, NC From I-40 Exit 104, you twist and turn, up and down but keep a sharp eye for the small, brown State Park signs or you’ll pass your right hand turns. 

The South Mountain Visitors Center is very spacious and attractive but doesn’t offer a great deal. There is a cool 3D topo map display of the state park. At present, this is a 23,000 acre State Park...and ever acquiring more land. 

The family campground is a short distance further inside the park on the left side(approx 2 miles) marked by a small brown sign...and is situated at 1400 ft elevation. 

The campground is tiny and narrow, running between a creek and the state park roadway. The sounds of the creek melodious, the road traffic noise-not so much. I would definitely advise selecting the creek side campsites as they lay deeper in the wood line out of sight of the roadway and have the creek noise to cover roadway noise.(note: the roadway dead ends at the trailhead/picnic area, so the only traffic are day visitors and park staff) Be forewarned, Cell service is nonexistent. Your site will have a WiFi password for internet at the Visitors Center, but you need to be at or in the building for it to work. 

PROS:

•Small campground with few amenities

•Mountain/creek location

•Nice modern facilities

•Water

•Adjoining trail network

•No cell service

•80’ Waterfall•Interpretive Hemlock Nature Trail

•Beautiful Day Use picnic area 

CONS:

•Road noise for sites 10-14, during working hours and day use hours.

•No cell service 

Site 13 backs up toward the roadway, and without much understory, passing traffic is very visible and noisy(the high shoals falls and trail network are popular day use attractions). On the sites between the campground roadway and the State Park roadway, you are much closer than the website maps post, and without understory vegetation, you have direct visibility of several neighbors and normal conversations can be heard. Night noise restrictions, on our visit, were observed so it wasn’t an issue. My visit was Wed, Thurs. midweek Oct 7-8. 

Our site was an“leveling,” octagonal, elevated, crushed gravel pad, surrounded by landscape timbers...an elevated fire ring with a swing-over, non-adjustable grate, a picnic table and metal lantern pole. It worked fine but I used a small two-man tent. Depending on wind direction, fire ring embers would present a problem for a larger tent. Our site parking area was 45’ from the raised timber to campground roadway. 

The restroom/shower house is a monstrous, mountain lodge style modern facility...very clean, spacious and well-stocked. 

Walking the Family Camground my future site picks would be 5 or 7. Site 5 is a park and carry but it did not appear to be more than 50’ and it sat on the creek. Site 7 is on that same small loop but had a larger rectangular raised pad, for keeping tents distanced from fire pits. 

Some sites have a deep enough gravel drive for a small camper or popup. And a few have electric. 

Several trails lead from the NW end of the family campground parking lot and vary in length and difficulty. Most notable is the Raven Rock Trail to the High Shoals Falls Trail, which, depending on your level of fitness could be deemed a moderate to strenuous 2.35 mile climb and descent to the upper falls and then wooden boardwalk and steep steps down to the gorgeous 80 ft High Shoals waterfall. Smaller falls and cascades continue on the descent. Our total loop mileage was 5.5 with nearly a thousand foot of elevation gain. 

Park employees both at the Visitor’s Center desk and in the field were very friendly and pleasant. The NC State Park Ranger was very informative and helpful, as well as giving much appreciated suggestions for great and often lesser traveled hiking trails. 

Roughly 16.5 miles of mountain bike trails intermix with hiking and equestrian trails. There is a separate equestrian campground between the Visitors Center and the Family Campground. Note: there are several backcountry backpack-in campsite areas(Upper Falls Campsites offer picnic tables, fire ring and a couple pit latrines).