Carolina Hemlock Campground is a short distance off The Blue Ridge Parkway on 80 towards Micaville. The backcountry mountain roads wind and twist but are purely enjoyable.

Traveling from Linville Falls, we ventured off the parkway and reentered Pisgah National Forest through Micaville. Stopped and picked up a bundle of firewood on 80…what a deal!…$5 for clean, dry firewood.

Though relatively small in size Carolina Hemlock Campground is a highly desirable campground with the lower loop section(1-20) situated directly on the Toe River., and an upper loop(21-37) directly across Rt 80. The Toe River is trout stocked, so it’s a fisherman’s haven. Tubing is also a huge draw. If you desire to camp here, reserve 11 months out or you best arrive early for“first come, first serve”(FCFS) sites middle of the week during the shoulder season. I tend to fly by the seat of my pants and it was fairly empty on a Tuesday morning, mid October after three days of hurricane induced storms. We were in a quandary between site 4 on the River(FCFS) or the upper loop reservable site 30 across Rt 80. We were only staying one night, so we were able to secure site 30 before the reservation arrives on Wednesday.

Ed and John we’re campground hosts. Ed, the lower loop and John the upper loop. Great hosts, no nonsense and expect everyone to abide by the rules so everyone enjoys a good time. The way it should be.

The hosts run the campground office and phone reservations. They do offer a limited selection of camping essentials. They offered the best T-shirt I’ve seen this year, unfortunately pick-ins were slim at year end and they were just for kids.

The lower loop has the modern facility restroom/shower house(two men’s individual restrooms, two men’s individual showers and two women’s individual restrooms and two women’s individual showers) but the upper loop only has two women’s and two men’s individual bathrooms. The lower loop also has a day use picnic area, swimming area and fishing. Day use fees apply. I was advised this campground is sold out between June and end of August…and every weekend from opening mid April to October 30 when they close.

The trail along the river through the campground is flat and peaceful(in mid October), taking you by spectacular scenery, great fishing holes and a particularly nice swimming area. Even mid-October I was tempted to jump in. I can see why this campground is so popular.

PROS:•Beautiful River setting

•Small and comfortable

•Great tubing, fishing and swimming

•Modern facilities

•Cell Service(two bars for T-Mobile)

•Close to Mt Mitchell, BRP, and multiple gorgeous waterfalls

CONS:

•Cell service

•Appears NFS dollars don’t make it here

•Rt 80 traffic noise

I’m not being negative, but it appears Carolina Hemlock Campground is the proverbial “red-headed stepchild” when it comes to funding. This campground has so much potential! You can tell this was a gem in its day and needs a simple overhaul to bring it back to its former beauty. It’s not for lack of popularity or natural beauty.