Crabtree Falls Campground — Blue Ridge Parkway

At milepost 339 on the Blue Ridge Parkway is another typical National Park Service campground. At this one, there was someone to greet and check us in at 4 pm, which was welcome especially as it was mere days before the campground closed for the season. We did not make reservations for a weekday so late in the season, but I would recommend you do so at peak times. There are three loops in this campground: one for RVs (but no hookups), and two for tents/vans. We drove around the tent/van loop, which was much more sparsely occupied, but not all of the pads were level. Many of the pads were meant to be shared with multiple campsites, making them more optimal for tent campers, but not out of the question for our van. We settled into Site 22 in the A (RV) loop, which was a pull-in side pad(making it easy in and out). 

Restrooms are typical of what I’ve come to expect in NPS campgrounds– functional but not luxurious. Three stalls plus what looked to have once been a fourth. Two sinks but the water was sparse in one and dripped from the other. No showers but there was a soap dispenser, garbage receptacle, and lights, things not always found in NPS campground bathrooms! 

The biggest draw to this campground is the 2.5-mile loop hike to Crabtree Falls. I recommend you hike in a clockwise direction, starting from the B loop and ending in the A loop. This leaves the bulk of the strenuous climbing for the end, rather than descending sharply at the beginning. The waterfall was beautiful, likely made more so due to recent rains.

Nice, quaint campground off the BRP, near Little Switzerland {which offers the lovely Little Switzerland Cafe, open 11am to 4pm, with an adjacent general store, next to that is a cool eclectic bookstore with art, coffee & treats.}

Campground is non electric, no showers - flush toilets. The bathroom is usually rather unkempt - but tolerable.

Rv loop, tent loop - one car per tent sight. Extra cars must park in the overflow.

There’s a picnic area to the right and up a ways as you exit the campground. It’s lovely and offers a bit of a look out.

There’s an open area in the tent site loop with inner and outer sites, the outer ones seem more private.

Small picnic table and fire ring at sites, across to water.

Dog friendly, alcohol prohibited. $20 a day.

Be warned: Tent pads are small.. and you must keep tents on the pad so if you have a large family sized tent the pad may not accommodate.

You can hike to the stunning Crabtree Falls from the campground.. it’s about 45 mins to an hr round trip.

Walmart is in nearby Spruce Pine for fuel and supplies as well as a farm stand & BK.

NC Gem museum is closeby as well as Grassy Creek Falls, one of my favorite waterfalls.

Roaring Fork Falls is close, off the 80.

There’s plenty of look outs on the BRP..

It’s definitely worth a stop.

This review (just as future reviews to this page should be) is about the Crab Tree Falls Campground that is in North Carolina along the Blue Ridge Parkway and is managed by the National Park Service. There is another Crabtree Falls Campground quite a ways away in Virginia. Google Maps recognizes this campground as Crab Tree Meadows Campground (which is the name of the area along the Parkway that the campground is located in) but the Parkway's Crab Tree Meadows and Crab Tree Falls campgrounds are one and the same. It's all a little confusing.

This is a wonderful stop along the Blue Ridge Parkway. There are few campgrounds that are a park of the Blue Ridge Parkway National Park area. This campground passed by more often than some of the bigger Parkway campgrounds which means that it doesn't fill up as quickly. That doesn't mean that it won't full up. I visited in late October and the campground was pretty darn full by early evening.

This is one of the few national parks where you can collect firewood. However, campers are prohibited from bringing their own wood in, especially from out of state, unless it was been properly treated.

There are picnic tables, fire pits, and running water in the bathrooms. It's a little but funny that many of the campsites share parking with neighboring sites. It was occasionally challenging to tell which parking went with which site. Many of the sites are a little removed from their parking spot which help create separation between the sites.

Loop A is for RVs while Loop B is for tents (Loop C was closed when I visited)

The campground hosts were very friendly. If you have time take the short but very steep hike down to the actual falls.

This review (just as future reviews to this page should be) is about the Crab Tree Falls Campground that is in North Carolina along the Blue Ridge Parkway and is managed by the National Park Service. There is another Crabtree Falls Campground quite a ways away in Virginia. Google maps recognizes this campground as Crab Tree Meadows Campground (which is the name of the area along the Parkway that the campground is located in). It's all a little confusing.

This is a wonderful stop along the Blue Ridge Parkway. There are few campgrounds that are a park of the Blue Ridge Parkway National Park area. This campground passed by more often than some of the bigger Parkway campgrounds which means that it doesn't fill up as quickly. That doesn't mean that it won't full up. I visited in late October and the campground was pretty darn full by early evening.

This is one of the few national parks where you can collect firewood. However, campers are prohibited from bringing their own wood in, especially from out of state, unless it was been properly treated.

There are picnic tables, fire pits, and running water in the bathrooms. It's a little but funny that many of the campsites share parking with neighboring sites. It was occasionally challenging to tell which parking went with which site. Many of the sites are a little removed from their parking spot which help create separation between the sites.

Loop A is for RVs while Loop B is for tents (Loop C was closed when I visited)

The campground hosts were very friendly. If you have time take the short but very steep hike down to the actual falls.