Arrowhead Campground lies in the Badin Lake Recreation Area, a hub for outdoor activities in central North Carolina's Uwharrie National Forest. The variety of sites in the campground offer a comfortable stay for both RV and tent campers. The facility is open year-round and provides easy access to hiking, off-road vehicle riding, horseback riding, mountain biking, fishing and boating.
Recreation
Badin Lake Recreation Area offers many ways for campers to enjoy the lake. Popular activities include picnicking on the shore or swimming, boating or fishing on the water. About 40 miles of non-motorized trails are available for horseback riding, mountain biking and hiking, as well as 17 miles of motorized trails for off-road vehicle riding. The surrounding land offers both big and small game hunting.
Facilities
Campsites are organized into one large loop with plenty of space for RVs or tents at each site. A few tent-only sites are situated on a smaller loop to the side of the main campground. Electrical hookups (50-amp, 30-amp or 110-volt outlets) are available at sites 12-45. Most sites are accessible.
Sites are equipped with picnic tables, tent pads, lantern posts and campfire rings with grills. The facility also provides hot showers and flush toilets. A dump station is located across from the pay station. A campground host is available for visitor assistance.
Natural Features
The campground lies in a dense forest of pine, oak and hickory near the shore of 5,000-acre Badin Lake.
Winter temperatures range from the low 30s to upper 50s, while summer brings temperatures in the upper 80s and 90s and high humidity. The weather is pleasant in spring and fall, with high temperatures in the 60s and 70s.
Nearby Attractions
A theme park with a petting zoo, nature center and mini golf course lies just under an hour away and makes a fun day trip for families.
ADA Access: N
Uwharrie National Forest-Arrowhead Campground
https://www.fs.usda.gov/recarea/nfsnc/recarea/?recid=48934
https://www.fs.usda.gov/Internet/FSE_DOCUMENTS/stelprdb5368418.pdf
Uwharrie National Forest is fairly vast, but several camping areas are located in one general area. Equestrian campgrounds, hunting camps and then Arrowhead and Badin Lake campgrounds, along with the boat launch area. Arrowhead Campground has had a bigger budget compared to its lesser sibling Badin Lake Campground.
Campground roadways are paved, as well as the campsite parking pads, The restrooms are newer, larger and offer paved parking for users.
Sites are reasonably large and offer a picnic table, firepit, charcoal grill and metal hanging pole for lanterns, etc. some foliage exists between Campsites, but you still have a visual of your neighbors.
It appeared during my visit that most users were off-roaders with either 4x4’s or quads. The onsite host advised that it is very popular with the off-road enthusiasts. Enclosed and flatbed trailers filled most of the sites.
Caution: During hunting season, the National Forest is open to hunters…wear brightly colored or hunter orange clothing especially dawn and dusk.
Reserve well in advance if you desire a site…these campgrounds fill quickly.
Arrowhead also offers an inner-campground paved walk/bike/stroller trail…and the drive down to the boat launch(which has a fairly sizable paved parking lot and latrines). You can also pick up the lake loop trail by the Boat Ramp.
Being located so closely to the Raleigh/Durham area…and the Fayettville area…I can see this being filled to capacity most days and definitely weekends. Mid-week it was filled.
We have been coming to Arrowhead for about 4 years now. We make time to come at least twice a year. Camp hosts are very accommodating. Very family friendly! I love how close we are to the lake for when we bring the boat.
Clean bathhouse. Plenty of hot water for shower. Camp host flexible and takes seriously the safety of the campers. Pull through pad was paved. Badin Lake was beautiful at sunset. My car is small and I had to drive very slowly on the dirt road (1.3 miles to the campground) as it had many large rocks (softball sized) and holes. A Jeep or SUV would be better equipped than a car that runs low to the ground. A speed of 5 to 8 mph was fine. Campground road was nicely paved.
We really liked this campground we had a double site that was huge it was minutes from uwharrie national forest and badin lake. We'll defiantly go back.
The campground and bathhouse was very clean. There is room for a couple tents at each site. There are quiet hours after a certain time of night. The camp host yelled at us twice for TALKING at a low volume after quiet hours. Unfortunately we somehow ended up at the sites right next ti his, so maybe it would be better a little farther from the camp host… but needless to say, we wont be back. We will be going somewhere that we can actually ENJOY camping.
First visit this past weekend for an off-road weekend at Uwharrie. We had a crowd of 12 and booked one of the "double" sites, which was well worth it.
Massive fire ring, two picnic tables, flat ground for 6 tents and surprisingly clean bath house. Great campground and, if you like Jeeps, FJs, Broncos, you'll be in heaven.