Standing Indian Campground

My family (my husband, 7 year old twins and myself) love staying here. Great place to escape the summer heat! My kids love walking around the loops and playing in the river. My kids always make sure to stop by the little store to get an ice cream cone. Our dog loves it too! I enjoy staying in loop 1 and loop 5.

we loved this campground. the location is fantastic. secluded with access to awesome hiking but close enough to town to get supplies. the staff here is incredibly friendly. my only complaint is the use of generators. it was cold while we were there so i understand the need but it could get loud. we changed sites after our first night due to the noise. it wasn’t an issue after that.

Standing Indian is wonderful. Our site was about 30 feet away from the Nantahala river. The bathrooms and showers were spotless. Keep in mind that it’s far from any store or restaurant so bring food along. No cell service.

NOTE, do not use Google or other maps to find Standing Indian from the south with the address provided. It will take you to a dirt road (trail?). Follow the printed directions and enter from the north.

Beautifully laid out into separate areas for RV, small pull-behind campers and tents. Must take the hike to top of Standing Indian Mountain to appreciate the legend behind the campground name. There's a small, convenient "store" for forgotten essentials. Really striking creek separating the first 2 areas above.

Come for the camping with big sites as well as creek walking. Stay for the family environment with some hosts playing live music and fellow friendly campers. Bathrooms were amazing with all individual bathrooms and showers.

We stayed here for three nights and loved it!  Beautiful location in the Appalachians with trails and streams all around.  Lots of fine back country drives too; up to the Albert Mtn lookout on the AT and lovely waterfalls. Nice quiet campsites, we got lucky with site #78 and hope to return.

Surrounded by water, clean facilities with hot showers well maintained grounds, and so many different directions for hiking.

The entrance to this park is right across the street to an entrance to the Appalachian Trail. A beautiful trout stream runs through the park, close to all the campsites. Bathrooms and showers are clean. Wonderful place to tent camp, van camp, or tow a SMALL trailer to (a pop-up would be perfect). The road to this campground is very narrow, the hill is very steep, and there is at least one very tight hairpin turn. Unless there is another way into this lovely park that I am unaware of, I would not attempt to tow a 5th wheel or other large trailer to this location. Place is beautiful though. Tow your pop-up or pitch a tent. You'll be glad you came.

I stayed for 3 nights on Loop 5. I would definitely stay again, but only during the week. I like to camp to find a bit of solitude and quiet. The first night I was there, the loop was fairly empty, only a few campers. It was very peaceful and we were able to see a ton of stars. I even heard a pack of coyotes running through the mountains that night. 

The next two nights were a Friday and Saturday, and all the site were booked for those nights. You could hear generators running in the distance and lots of dogs barking. The site right next to ours had people up playing music and singing until midnight. 

The bathrooms were clean and you had plenty of water pressure. The bathhouse on loop 5 had two stalls, one with a toilet and large shower and the other with just a toilet. Bathrooms in the other loops were all private, (separate area for toilet and your own shower room).

We stayed with friends at Kimsey Creek Group campground, part of Standing Indian Campground, Site A. This was a beautiful, secluded spot for a small group with a rushing creek right beside it and its own bathroom(no showers right there but showers weren't far). We were able to pull our travel trailer easily into the parking area, while our friends tent camped. Other sites- Group sites B and C are on the other side of the creek and require a drive over some running water. C was much more isolated(back of the campground area) than B. Those two sites share a bathroom(again, no shower). Driving around, through the other campground part I really liked loop 1 as it seemed to have the most private sites with large trees.

If you’re looking for a more primitive setting, this is it. Beautiful area with lots of nature to explore. We were tent camping and a little far from restrooms and showers but it wasn’t bad. My only negative thing would be no lighted areas to walk to restrooms in the dark (but it’s primitive so I understand why) and would love to have had an electrical outlet in the bathroom area where we were. Would definitely stay here again though.

Bring tubes for the kids. My 9 and 10 year old kids spent the better part of a hot August day tubing the river that runs by the campground. Mostly RVs in loops 1-3 and tents in 4. Bathrooms were very clean. They only sell wood by the golf cart load or half load, which was more than we wanted for one night.

Russel of creek helps sleep! Bathrooms are clean! Grounds well kept with natural environment preserved! Sign to campground helpful! Small shop with most needs! I would recommend this campground to anyone wanting natural enviorment! Back road is great and lovely!

We could hear the stream from our site at night. Exactly what we were looking for but beware of the walk up sites because they do not update which ones are available online so your spot may be taken when you get there. Strictly first come and you can get there much earlier than I thought. Trails all around the site and longer ones further down the road. Hiked on the Appalachian and went to take the blue trail that takes you to the summit of Standing Indian Mountain but that trail was really overgrown so since I had my 3 littles, we decided to head back after already hiking 1hr 45mins. 😣 Some of the tent sites and nicely secluded. Overall, was a nice place.

No electric, no cell service. Branch of Nantahala river offers trout fishing with NC fishing license.

Beautiful campground. Not extremely private as the sites are beside each other without trees and anything to seperate. Creek runs throughout park. Bathrooms are clean and accessible. I like the area the campground is located in.

This is my favorite campground for escaping the heat in August. If you must have electricity stay home. This is a beautiful family friendly campground with great facilities. I love my hot shower each morning. The headwaters of the Nantaha River flow through the campground providing a gathering place for families to enjoy playing in a cold mountain stream. During late June and most of July the rhododendrons are quite showy. I’ve been camping at Standing Indian since I was a child and plan a two week trip every summer. I’ve also taken numerous friends up there through the years. I don’t think anyone has ever been disappointed. Last summer we had the added thrill of seeing the total eclipse in all it’s splendor from one of the best locations in the US.

Standing Indian is located at 4000+ feet , 20 minutes from Franklin,NC. It’s a hikers dream with the Appalachian Trail skirting the campground and several other trails crossing through the campground. The campground can accommodate a pup tent or a 45ft motor home. No electricity or water is available per site, but each loop does have 2 community water faucets and a bathhouse with flush toilets and push button showers, bathhouses are clean and modern. Each site has a concrete picnic table and combination fire ring/grill. Loops 1-2 & 3 have a mix of sites , wooded and open that can accommodate tents or motor homes. Loop 4 is wooded, offering lots of privacy but is more suitable to tents or small (

This campground is very spacious and in the beautiful NC mountains right outside of Franklin. Each site has a firepit, picnic bench, and leveled gravel space for pitching a tent. While there we noticed that the site is most used by RVs but that there is plenty of space to get your own private site. They have a nice bathroom building and regularly spaced out water pumps. If you visit make sure to drive a little further down the road and take some of the many hikes along the river. I suggest the Laurel Falls trail to a gorgeous secluded waterfall where you can take a dip on a hot summer day. I will warn you the water is very cold though but well worth it. - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - Gear Review: As a Dyrt Ranger, I also get products to test and review in the field. I recently got to test Cotopaxi's Inca 26L Backpack while I was at Standing Indian Campground. The pack was a really nice size for day outings and I love having the seperate compartment in the back for a hydration bladder. My water stayed cold all day which is impressive in the southern summer heat. We were able to fill the bag with 3 towels, swimsuits, water, and plenty of snacks for the day and room to spare. They have also included a handy pocket on top for sunglasses and other small items you dont want to get lost. I am excited to try this pack out on a longer trek soon! Check out the pack here: https://www.cotopaxi.com/collections/technical-packs/products/inca26l