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Within the Pisgah Ranger District there are 65 disbursed roadside camping sites that are available on a first come - first serve basis. These campsites are located alongside gravel roads throughout the district and include a parking area, tent pad, and fire ring. Toilet facilities and drinking water are not available. Trash pick-up is not provided. Trash must be collected and disposed of properly. Failure to remove or properly dispose of trash is a crime and law enforcement officers will issue citations for littering if trash is strewn about or not properly disposed of. The following regulations must be adhered to and are strictly enforced by Law Enforcement Officers. • Roadside camping is allowed at designated campsites only. Signs designating a legal campsite show a camping_ symbol and a site number (for example "AC-3" for Avery Creek site 3). • The National Forests in North Carolina have a policy which allows for campers to occupy a roadside campsite for a maximum of 14 days out of a 30 day period. If a camper changes locations or moves to another campsite, it cannot be within 10 miles of previous site, the maximum stay limit of 14 days applies to all sites occupied. • All vehicles must be parked along road shoulders without blocking traffic. • Campfires are allowed only within the metal fire ring provided on the site, Building of additional fire rings is not allowed. AJJ camping equipment and tents must remain on the designated tent pad. • Collecting 'dead and downed' :firewood in the forest is permitted for camp fires. It is illegal to cut, chop, or saw live or standing trees or other live growth. Do not chop into or drive nails into live trees. • It is illegal to establish and set up a campsite for the purpose of reserving a camping place. The campsite must be occupied on the night it is set up by a minimum of one person. • It is illegal to leave a camp unattended for period of more than 24 hours. • It is illegal to fail to remove all camping equipment, personal property, trash, and refuse from a campsite when vacating or leaving that area or site. • It is mandatory that all human waste be buried at least 6 _inches deep and a minimum or 200 feet from a stream. trail, or campsite. • Alcoholic beverages are prohibited on Avery Creek Road (FSR 477) and Lickstone Road (FSR 97). Prohibition is 1000 feet to either side of the road, campsites, trails or roads leading off of either of the aforementioned. Warning: Unattended property and equipment in these areas can be an easy target for criminal activity. Protect your property by locking valuables out of site. Access to these campsites is easy by any vehicle. If you see anyone stealing anything from a roadside campsite or parking area near a public trailhead, picnic, or recreation area please call 911 to report it or call USPS Law Enforcement at the Pisgah District Ranger Station at 828-877-3265
Within the Pisgah Ranger District there are 65 disbursed roadside camping sites that are available on a first come - first serve basis.
Toilet facilities and drinking water are not available. Trash pick-up is not provided. Trash must be collected and disposed of properly. Failure to remove or properly dispose of trash is a crime and law enforcement officers will issue citations for littering if trash is strewn about or not properly disposed of.
Dispersed camping in the Blue Valley area. Approximately 22 dispersed sites are available, and most have fire rings and picnic tables. A pit toilet is available. Please pack in and pack out. Wilson Lake is a short distance away offering fishing, swimming, a short trail, and wildlife viewing and birding.
Within the Pisgah Ranger District there are 65 disbursed roadside camping sites that are available on a first come - first serve basis. These campsites are located alongside gravel roads throughout the district and include a parking area, tent pad, and fire ring. Toilet facilities and drinking water are not available. Trash pick-up is not provided. Trash must be collected and disposed of properly. Failure to remove or properly dispose of trash is a crime and law enforcement officers will issue citations for littering if trash is strewn about or not properly disposed of. The following regulations must be adhered to and are strictly enforced by Law Enforcement Officers. • Roadside camping is allowed at designated campsites only. Signs designating a legal campsite show a camping_ symbol and a site number (for example "AC-3" for Avery Creek site 3). • The National Forests in North Carolina have a policy which allows for campers to occupy a roadside campsite for a maximum of 14 days out of a 30 day period. If a camper changes locations or moves to another campsite, it cannot be within 10 miles of previous site, the maximum stay limit of 14 days applies to all sites occupied. • All vehicles must be parked along road shoulders without blocking traffic. • Campfires are allowed only within the metal fire ring provided on the site, Building of additional fire rings is not allowed. AJJ camping equipment and tents must remain on the designated tent pad. • Collecting 'dead and downed' :firewood in the forest is permitted for camp fires. It is illegal to cut, chop, or saw live or standing trees or other live growth. Do not chop into or drive nails into live trees. • It is illegal to establish and set up a campsite for the purpose of reserving a camping place. The campsite must be occupied on the night it is set up by a minimum of one person. • It is illegal to leave a camp unattended for period of more than 24 hours. • It is illegal to fail to remove all camping equipment, personal property, trash, and refuse from a campsite when vacating or leaving that area or site. • It is mandatory that all human waste be buried at least 6 _inches deep and a minimum or 200 feet from a stream. trail, or campsite. • Alcoholic beverages are prohibited on Avery Creek Road (FSR 477) and Lickstone Road (FSR 97). Prohibition is 1000 feet to either side of the road, campsites, trails or roads leading off of either of the aforementioned. Warning: Unattended property and equipment in these areas can be an easy target for criminal activity. Protect your property by locking valuables out of site. Access to these campsites is easy by any vehicle. If you see anyone stealing anything from a roadside campsite or parking area near a public trailhead, picnic, or recreation area please call 911 to report it or call USPS Law Enforcement at the Pisgah District Ranger Station at 828-877-3265
Dispersed campsites are primitive camping areas that don't have bathrooms or many of the other amenities you will find at developed campgrounds. Dispersed camping is only allowed at designated areas.
To limit impact, dispersed camping is only allowed at designated sites in these areas on the Pisgah National Forest: Pisgah Ranger District along the following corridors: Cathy’s Creek, Courthouse Creek, Wash Creek, Headwaters, Yellow Gap and Avery Creek; in corridors along Big Ivy Road, Cold Springs Creek and River Road/ French Broad River in the Appalachian Ranger District; and along the Curtis Creek corridor in the Grandfather Ranger District. Areas closed to dispersed camping include Bent Creek Experimental Forest; the Cradle of Forestry in America; the Wilson Creek corridor; Silvermine Creek; developed day-use sites and campgrounds; and many wildlife openings. For site specific information. call the ranger districts.
Traveler
Right off 276 on the right as you are going down the mountain. Hard gravel road. As soon as you turn in there is a spot on the left and a little further up there is a bigger spot right on the little creek just before the gate. Not 100% sure it is a spot as it is not marked but signs may have been damaged and it does show a tent symbol on the forest service map. There is a lot of back and forth traffic in the morning but it dies down around 9 pm. There is a fall a few miles up the road and connects to other service roads hence the traffic . We made it down the road in a 30' class A motorhome and made a 180 and was able to level the rig no problem and it's well off the road Did not see any fire rings in this spot or the first one ( pictured in the first image). No cell service, starlink worked enough to stream tv and post this.
Traveler
I went in July and it was cool in day and cold at night nice , secluded
Traveler
I actually cannot stop thinking about my weekend camp here. So beautiful and lots of places to camp. Not a hard hike in either. A lot of day hikers through out the day. Lots of flies bc of dog poop but it’s worth it.
Traveler
Great spot with room to turn around. Shaded and at trailhead of a trail down to creek and near a second trail to a waterfall. Had a few people during the day but evenings were totally quiet. A bit of extra vehicle clearance is helpful...slow and steady gets you to a great spot. No services here but good dispersed spot.
Guide
Clean and large. Creek below
Scout
Beautiful, quiet campsites
Traveler
Road is a little rough but not terrible. 3-4 spots to park around this hairpin with 3 camping spots lotuses in the middle. Little runoff creates a creek that is nice to listen to but only deep enough to get feet in.
ScoutThis is a great first-come-first-serve location with several sites.
Guide
Right next to the Chattooga river. You're on the beach.
Traveler
They have a long term camper they refuse to run off and he will steal from you. Camp at your own risk, watch your stuff like a hawk. I'd really recommend Sunburst or Big Ivy instead of North Mills really.
LegendAlthough this is not an official camp site, I arrived later than intended and with no other campsites open, I stayed the night here. There’s a stream that runs along the clearing, making some great natural white noise for sleeping. The forest road is very bumpy and narrow, but high clearance is not needed. Very low light pollution and the bare trees allowed for some great star gazing.
Traveler
It is a roomy site immediately off the road, a surprisingly well maintained gravel road. My class C had no problems making its way along and fitting in the roomy semicircle next to the tent and fire pit pad. There is a babbling brook next to the site for great ambience. We were able to fit our 30ft motorhome and car into the site with no problem. But avoid blocking the emergency access road to the side. Also, be prepared to completely disconnect from civilization since you can't even make calls here. Beautiful site to relax!
Guide
There is room for two vehicles and multiple tent spots. Very secluded and fairly level. Overall a great spot. If it had an epic view I would have it at 5 stars. River is about .6 mile hike away and the road is not bad getting in. Basically 2 track forest road.
Traveler
First the sight is beautiful and most have a beautiful trout stream close by when navigating if using Apple Maps pay attention to where it is routing you mine wanted me to walk through the woods for an hour to get here it’s easier to find if you navigate to north mill’s campground first second there are signs about being a high crime area and they are not kidding while I was out picking up a few things at ingles someone came by and took my tent and sleeping bag that was inside I wouldn’t leave anything valuable to mark it as your sight and I have T mobile and I lost service about 10 mins from the campground and had no signal while staying there
Scout
It was a great site, although there are only a few campsites on the road to it. We ended up driving to the top and someone already claimed it, so we had to go back down to a less convenient spot. The campsites are very secluded and quiet.
ScoutBeautiful free group camping area with large parkinglot. All dirt roads back here. Beautiful waterfall (whaleback falls I think?) just a quick 15 minute walk across the river and up the trail (follow Daniel ridge trail loop from parking lot). Not much free fall action for nature bathers, though there is enough water flow to lean in and get all that grease out of your hair! Big boulders to climb on at the base of the falls.. be careful as wet rocks are slippery. Serene and gorgeous forest all around you.
Zero phone connection whatsoever (T Mobile 5g / LTE). Greater earth love connection a thousandfold. Highly recommend.
<3
ScoutI love Pigah. It doesn't seem to matter what season! With that said:
*clearly marked spots. I am actually located at ucc-2. ** The Dead End spot.
*Creek is located very close nearby. But not on the clear spots for tents.
*Not for big rigs, RVs, etc. It's a tent or as I use the tree tent.
Traveler
Spent 20 minutes trying to find this campground from where the GPS took us. Never found it
Guide*this is just for the free campsites- there appears to be paid campsites and maybe RV hook ups very close by.
Pros:
Cons:
TO NOTE: Google maps incorrectly told me to take a right once I was on the dirt road that doesn’t exist. Just ignore it and keep going forward.
Explored up to campsite 4 the next day. Campsite 3 is a larger group site and a bit further off the road.
It’s not true “dispersed” camping because they have designated site you are supposed to stay at. Im not sure how many there are, but I only got up to #4, driving about 5-10 min down the dirt road.
GuideThe sunset was breathtaking and the hike was very fun but if you are camping overnight, expect wind gusts that are capable of snapping tent poles. There is very little wind coverage at the top of the mountain.
Guide
Couple things to know you don't need 4wd to get to the campsite. I do want to say though that the road down to the spot is a little wonky so be prepare for bumpy road. I will like to say there is a road literally 300 feet next to the campsite doesnt seem that busy but you might get a car once every 45 mins. Other wise the campsite is nice there was a good bit of trash thrown around. I tried cleaning up the best I can but be aware pls clean up after yourself. There are two campsite on opposite side of the road if the main one is taken. One of the nice things is if you have a tent you can get right next to the water definitely say beautiful area. Will go back.
GuideI saw the campsite it's a beautiful campsite but someone was already there I decide to camp at the top. The cords where I camped at the time they had roads closed off due to weather. If you take the parkway rd up to the Beech Gap you can park to the side of the road just be aware it's not a designated campsite so be respectful of the area. Woke up to beautiful views.
GuideI stayed two nights during Labor day weekend so might of been a bit more busy that weekend. Seems to be about 5 sites. 3 on the water and two more towards the road. you have to cross the river to access the other two and the terrain is a bit bumpy so many more hammock camping there. At night it’s a bit more peaceful than during the day since there isn’t any people parking to hike then. Even if people are camping near you the stream creates a nice sound barrier so you don’t really hear them. Very nice to fall asleep to the sound of the stream. I stayed for 2 nights and my stuff wasn’t messed with when i was gone hiking even though there’s a lot of foot traffic during the day. I will be returning to camp here again. Absolutely no cell service though. Some pictures included are photos from a nearby hiking spot at waterrock knob
ScoutJust fine. Nothing great and nothing bad for what you pay.
GuideLots of places to set up camp. We set up below the mountain, but there are spots at the top as well. The clouds are amazing you are basically in them or above them. Definitely worth the trip!
Also recommend checking out skinny dipping falls it is about 5 miles away and about a mile round trip. Lots of fun and cool rocks to climb on. 
TravelerWe have camped at 3 sites at this campground and have loved all of them. We were very secluded and there was very little traffic on the dirt road. Love hearing all the wonderful sounds of nature and nothing else. Wonderful creek/river by every campsite we went to. Some have picnic tables but all have fire rings and lantern posts. There's only about 10-15 sites that you can actually drive up to but I'm sure there's more if you hike in.
GuideDecent site(s) near chatooga river. Moderate clearance vehicle required, (or hike it).
Frequently Asked Questions
Which is the most popular dispersed campsite near Slater-Marietta, SC?
According to TheDyrt.com, the most popular dispersed campground near Slater-Marietta, SC is Blue Ridge Roadside Campsites with a 3.6-star rating from 8 reviews.
What is the best site to find dispersed camping near Slater-Marietta, SC?
TheDyrt.com has all 28 dispersed camping locations near Slater-Marietta, SC, with real photos and reviews from campers.
