I wish I had read some of these reviews before booking my reservation so I would have been prepared for the fact we would have had to park our campervan on the road ABOVE our campsite. On the other hand, I’m glad I didn’t know because it might have prevented me from staying here. And this campground is in a fabulous location. When you stay here, you are tucked in a lush green mountain about a mile above sea level. A simple walk down the road is a delight, with many wildflowers. Also a delight is a ride down the mountain into the town of Cheroke on a curving, two- lane road studded with rock formations and densely lined with trees. Numerous overlooks offer amazing views. Part of that route includes the famed Blue Ridge Parkway. There also a number of trails near the campground. In addition to the short trail from the campground, there is a trail head not too far away that includes several lovely trails.

Back to the road situation. We adjusted to sleeping in our campervan in the road. It’s a quiet one-lane road through the park and seemed safe enough to sleep on. But it’s definitely cozier when your RV, picnic table and fire ring are all together! I think the campground would be pretty nice for tent campers. The sites, at least in our section, are a decent size, with large, level gravel tent pads. As others have noted, they are rather close together, though. Our fire pit was a few feet away from our neighbor’s, making it hard to have a private campfire conversation.

The camp hosts when we were there were very friendly and took good care of the place. There were fresh flowers at the check-in table and in one of the bathrooms. Now that is a nice touch! Altogether our stay at Balsam Mountain was a delight, one we will always remember.