Gorgeous campgrounds w lakeside Mountain View. Spacious campsites and moderate hiking trails around the lake.

This campground is located along the beautiful Blue Ridge Parkway. We saw wildlife when we woke up in the mornings and before we went to bed in the evenings. The bath house in the tent only loop has private bathrooms with showers. The bath house is also cleaned daily.

There are a LOT of sites at this campground. First come first served sites are available on the lake and thought the campground. Many sites are reservible as well. There is hiking and fishing within the campground. Additionally, it is convenient to the towns of Blowing Rock and Boon as well as Moses H. Cone Memorial Park. The sites on the lake are small but fairly private. Many of the sites a cross the street from the lake are larger and some are fairly private as well. Showers and restrooms can be a bit dirty at times, but showers are hot

Julian Price Campground is part of the Julian Price Memorial Park, which is along the Blue Ridge Parkway in the northern part of North Carolina. I have heard about this park for many years, so I wanted to finally camp there. It is an older park, and it shows. We stayed at site A4, and I chose this site for a few reasons. It was close to the lake, but unfortunately, we couldn’t see the lake from the site. Many of the sites in the A loop are reservable, and they have been reserved for several weeks(maybe months) in advance. They are the best sites as far as seeing the lake and sometimes because they are larger. The worst part I discovered about sites in the A loop is that you can hear traffic from the Blue Ridge Parkway all day long except for two to three hours in the middle of the night(about 1:30 to 4:30). On average, you can count on about twenty-five vehicles every five minutes(I know because I counted). It doesn’t help that the parkway is under construction and the road is gravel, which makes the sounds of vehicles even louder. The restrooms in A loop are old and need updating. There are no showers in A loop. The only showers are between B and D loops, which are on the other side of the Blue Ridge Parkway. On the positive side, the showers in a new bath house, and they are private shower/restroom units. We rode through all of the loops to see what the other sites were like, and some of the sites are seldom used if the picnic tables and surrounding vegetation is any indication. Some of the picnic tables are covered in moss. Those were mostly in the sites that were small or sloped. For that reason, it is a good idea to look at the photos on the website for each site before reserving. Many of the sites are walk-in sites and you can set up before the 3:00 time for reservable sites. As far as activities, there is no swimming, but fishing is allowed. There is also a boat ramp, and you can rent canoes, kayaks, and SUPs. The lake is hatchery supported, and I did witness someone catching a fish as we walked along the lake trail. While we were in this area, we saw several small deer, including one that came through our campsite. Our campsite was spacious, and it had a concrete picnic table, a fire ring, a lantern pole, and a tent pad. The tent pad needed some maintenance since the dirt had washed onto it and made it slightly sloped. Not until later did I discover that there was a tall dead tree next to our tent. Only the top part was dead, but it could be a potential danger. The site next to ours was sectioned off because of a dead tree. If you are staying in A loop, I give it two stars, especially since the sites and bath house need maintenance, and because of the road noise. If you are staying in B or D loop, I would give it three or four stars. The sites in E loop are mainly for RVs and have less shade. One section in the A loop also is an open field and has limited shade. Overall, it’s not a bad choice for a campground, but it needs updating. What it has going for it is location. It is along the Blue Ridge Parkway, and Cone Memorial Park is down the road, which is a great destination in itself. There are lots of hiking trails and the beauty of the mountains is spectacular.

Julian Price is one of those hidden gems. There are 6 loops with about 50% being reservable. What this means is that if you get there you will normally be able to find a campsite. Now if you happen to be a truck camper that doesn’t mind off level and out of the way (yeah, like that’s the go to norm for most TC’ers we know.) there is a dump and water fill at the entrance and you can use generators till 10 for those that need to. They have put showers into loop B but I’ve never used them so I can not speak about them. The roads in the campground have been repairs and are all in much better shape than past years.

Just upgrade the sites. Night woody dark and quit. Kayak put in fishing is good some spots on the water.

You can’t beat the location of this campground, located right off the Blue Ridge Parkway. We stayed in Loop D which has a brand new bath/shower house with six individual stalls with a bath/shower combo. The only thing missing was soap dispensers (I had to remember to bring soap every time I used the bathroom). Very nice and large dishwashing sink. Loop D is for tents so the driveways were small. We were able to fit our 17’ camper van but anything larger might not fit. Park personnel were very friendly and helpful. Wish firewood was available to purchase at the park as we didn’t buy any ahead of time. (You are permitted to pick up downed branches which was new to us). No electric sites and spotty internet but great hiking trails. Recommend the Boone Fork Trail but be prepared for many stream crossings!

The campground has everything one needs to enjoy camping. The tent sites are level and great for people with difficulty walking any distance. They have clean and updated restrooms along with a huge outdoor steel sink to your dishes. You are off the Blue Ridge Pkwy but don’t hear the traffic. You are not far from several walking trails, not including the ones in the park, and other attractions. There are stores within a half hour drive for those items you have forgotten. We were able to completely relax while we were there.

I'd suggest buying wood in town.

The poles sticking out of the ground were there to hang up old-school latterns back in the day.

It gets COLD at night in October even if it's warm during the day.

This park is right on a gorgeous lake. There is a spot within the park to rent kayaks which was great. There is a hiking trail that goes around the lake. There's also a trail that you can access from the park that leads to Hebron Rock Colony which is an incredible hiking trail. The trail follows a river with lots of great swimming holes and the rock colony is incredible. Awesome place to camp! Some sites you can reserve, but others are first come first served.