Great spot, really calm and quiet and right on the lake. Perfect for non-partying types (no alcohol allowed). Showers, bathrooms, trash, fire pit, and grill all available. The host was professional and kind to us, even brought us some extra fire wood.

Awesome location, very remote and the sites are Huge so no need to worry about a neighbor being close. I stayed at site 11 easy access to the water and great views. Lost of fishing and hiking paths close by. Great camp overall. Highly recommend.

These lakeshore sites within the forest were simply stunning. We spent three nights enjoying our campground on Badin Lake. The sites were large and could accommodate most sizes of trailers in addition to tents.  No hook-ups, so BYOS (bring your own solar).  Water spigots are scattered throughout the campground.

The bathrooms are perfect for our pandemic times because they are single use, both toilets and showers. We found them clean and comfortable, and even heated during the early spring -- not something we expect for less than $20 a night.  They take reservations, but could easily accommodate walk-ins as well.

While the area offers so many different kinds of recreation, the Uwharries are known for OHVing and can get very busy during the summer.  There are trails for days within these stunning mountains that serve as the foothills for the Appalachians. Horse trail riding is second on the list of activities within the park judging by the number of trails. Sharing these trails with horses isn’t difficult if you’re just hiking, but remember to be kind to those riders since horses can be skittish. Moutain biking is also not to be left off the list, and there are some great trails through here as well, that you don’t have to share with the motorized enthusiast. Boating is another great way to enjoy the lake, we kayaked right from our campsite and didn’t experience a lot of motorized traffic.

Uwharrie National Forest-Badin Lake Campground, New London, NC.

https://www.fs.usda.gov/recarea/nfsnc/recarea/?recid=48934 

https://www.fs.usda.gov/Internet/FSE_DOCUMENTS/stelprdb5368418.pdf

Campground Overview: 34 sites, two loops…upper loop and lakeside loop. Relatively large sites with vegetation that blocks constant view of neighbors. 

Each site has a gravel parking pad and separate gravel tent pad, a standing charcoal grill, firepit with adjustable grate, a picnic table and a metal pole for hanging lanterns, etc. I would advise securing online reservations, but they do have an Iron Ranger to drop your payment in should you find an empty site. Note: There are warnings that online reservations take precedence, so if you use the Iron Ranger payment drop chute and someone reserved the same campsite…you will be required to move to a different location when the online reservation campers arrive. Just so you know.

No electric. 

Oddly, no firewood for sale…although scrounging produced plenty of things and fallen branches to keep a fire going.

I preferred the lower loop as nearly every outer site was on the lake with great views and lake access and sites are spread out. The inside sites of the lower loop are pretty spacious and deep. Water spigots were spaced out around the loop, so a short walk as we were equal distance between two. 

Restroom/showerhouses were quad door buildings. Separate men’s and women’s restrooms and two separate shower rooms. Facilities were kept clean and stocked by resident hosts. 

With Verizon, I never lost signal…a plus for a National Forest!

The upper loop appeared to offer a little more solitude than the lower lake loop…but no lake views. 

The lake loop trail crosses the main campground roadway between the two loops. This trail is relatively flat and meanders around the lake and it’s many fingers…offering lovely lake views and some nice fishing locations. 

During my midweek visit it was quiet day and night. The sunset across the lake was gorgeous and relaxing. Loud powerboat noise was minimal as only a couple bass boats thought it essential to travel at high speeds from location to location. Next visit my canoe and mountain one will accompany me. 

What I enjoyed: as much as I dislike tree rats, I was entertained by two feuding squirrels that chased each other relentlessly and knocking each other out of tree tops. Woodpecker and Turkey wake up calls. 

For a National Forest, I was surprised by the level of daytime industrial noise nearby. 

Overall, a fantastic location relatively close to Raleigh/Durham and Fayetteville for a great camping getaway. I was only able to stay one night as the campground was booked, all reserved in advance. So plan ahead.

We went fishing for part of the day here. My son thought he was cool because he was the only one to catch fish. The dog was not thrilled!!

I camped here with a friend and the dogs over the weekend. I've been multiple times at Badin Lake before and always wanted to camp here. We had campsite 002 which was nice and shady and very private. It's a short walk over to the lake where the dogs enjoyed their swimming. The camp hosts were fantastic. Multiple times they made sure we have everything we need. Only the bathrooms need a little update. They seemed pretty run down and very buggy. Overall we would definitely stay here again. It's a beautiful and quiet piece of nature.

We have stayed at Badin Lake campground a couple times and would recommend it to anyone that likes to kayak and fish. Being able to camp on the water and just slide the kayaks in and out is great. There are trails around the lake to explore and the sites are nice size so you don’t feel like you are on top of other campers

This is an awesome campground. Great access to Badin Lake for kayaking, swimming and fishing. Our group explored the the trails which were scenic and easy to transverse. The bathrooms are well maintained and good freshwater source. The sites do not have power but we were able to work around it!

I rented my site online and was pleased by the low price for a campsite on a lake. The road in is a little rough but not too crazy. There is not an office or anything once you arrive (so no last minute supplies) but there is a paystation if you show up and want to camp. The camp host puts out signs of when the sites are rented so that you can find an empty site for a night.

Bathrooms were clean and well lite. There is a trail that takes you around the lake edge, easy walking. Not a lots if fishing right from the edge by the campsites due to tall grasses but there is a great fishing area with docks in a short drive or 20 min walk.

Was on site 18…we had 2 tents and 2 cars and plenty of room.

I was with a rather large group who took up 5 sites. We were in the area for a Land Rover Rally. This camp was perfectly clean. The group bathroom and shower were clean. The grounds were clean. Great little trails down to the beautiful lake. We go there every year and absolutely love the place.