Best Glamping near Catawba, SC

I gave this campground four stars, but only for RVs and travel trailers. I would not give it four stars for tent campers. Tent campers would have a hard time finding a suitable site that would not be too rocky. When I checked in, the lady was nice enough to find a site with grass behind the gravel so I could set up my tent. She didn’t warn me that it was sloped. With that said, it is a campground in a beautiful setting. The lake and the sitting area beside the lake are both beautiful. There is a paved walkway down to the lake to a sitting area and a dock. The bath house was air conditioned, almost too much. It is a shock to the system moving from the intense South Carolina heat into the bath house. However, it was a nice break from the heat. Be aware that when you take a shower, you may have to wait a few minutes for the hot water to start. When I first turned it on, I wondered if there was any hot water. Eventually it came, and it was HOT, so I had to adjust it quickly. Also, take your own hand soap with you. There are paper towels but no soap. There are several trails, and you can rent boats, peddle boats, canoes, and kayaks. There is also a disc golf course. If I had known beforehand, I would have taken my own discs. That’s my fault for not doing the research. My favorite part of this camping experience was waking up early in the morning and sitting by the lake. Unfortunately, I wasn’t able to capture a photo of the ducks taking off and flying in a perfect v-formation, but it was so peaceful there. Overall, this is a great campground to get away from civilization.

If you want to get away from civilization, this might be the place to camp. However, it is beside a road, but the road is not used very much since it is a national forest road. 

I was glad to see that it had running water and one of the cleanest pit toilets I think I have ever seen. The Palmetto Trail runs through it, so if you are thru-hiking, this would be a good place to camp for the night. I was at campsite 5, which was the one farthest from the road, and I could tell it was the most popular. I picked up a small bag of trash left by previous campers before setting up. There are trash receptacles nearby, but alas, some people leave their trash at the campsite anyway. 

There is a spacious grassy area in the middle of the campsites for whatever activities you want to engage in. There is also a large, separate grassy area for group camping. It includes a communal fire pit. 

Overall, it is a great area for primitive camping and for dry camping if you are in a small RV.

I camped here with a women’s hiking group and was impressed.

There are lovely trails, a large playground, nature center, the beautiful lake Wylie {no swimming, NC fishing license required}, geocaching, clean bathrooms and shower rooms, electric sites with large tent pads, good sized fire pit area, picnic table.. there’s even a loving gate with a code for a more secure camping experience..

We could fit 3 tents in one pad AND had a hammocker camper too.

If you are wanting some nature near the city, this is a good option - especially if you are checking out city things in Charlotte.

You can hear traffic at night when camping here so bring ear plugs, headphones or a white noise fan if that bothers you.

Pet friendly 🐾

I saw both dogs and camping kitties

There’s 56 camp sites: these include tent, RV hook ups and some primitive.

There’s group camping at Copperhead Island.

I highly recommend, especially for families with children, lots to do and a safe, secure feeling.

We stayed 3 nights in a 31' travel trailer at site 80. Staff at counter was very friendly and provided all the information needed. Site was level side to side and paved with asphalt only wide enough for the camper. The hookups were standard location and heights no issues. Our steps come out to a large level dirt pad, not grass. Lots of trees providing shade which is nice. It had started raining after setup and the dirt quickly became mud. The bathhouse is close and clean, all tile. I wish there were curtains separating shower from dress area though. The shuttle to Carowinds was frequent and convenient. All in all, the campground was nice, we would stay again.

Overall: 2.5-3

Bathrooms: 2

County park that offers 67 campsites. Offered bathroom with showers (2 locations only), water and electric hookup, sewer hookup, fire pit, picnic table, boat ramps, and playground. We had spot 9 which was an end spot that was roomy for our teardrop trailer (T@G XL). This spot was closer to the water but not in wooded area. Many spots were in an open field with the RVs on top of one another. Other spots were in more of a wooded area but they were close together.  

Campground was good if you were into fishing. Many campers had their boats plus in early morning trucks were trailering their boats to place in the lake.  

There were no trails to explore at the campground. Does offer swimming in the lake starting around Memorial Day. Not much else to do unless you were going to fish for bass or other fresh water fish.  

Bathrooms: One set for campground (67 sites) and another by the marina. Very outdated, dingy, and dark. Women’s - stall was out of order, some didn’t lock, in evening - messy - papers and other garbage on floors. Showers were the darkest area of the bathroom - icky looking. Woman who had just used it said only the last one really worked. Mens - shower handle was broken, did have hot water but were icky and run down.  

Overall - convenient for a stop over - near highway, good access to lake for fishing.