Nice low key resort. Only back in spots but still nice. The front desk does close at 4 from what I have found though
It depends on what you want. Nobody else was there when I was there this past summer and so I was able to let my dogs roam freely. If that's what you want, there is plenty of space and since nobody else is there, there is privacy. However, the shower/bath houses that belonged to the camping area have been decommissioned and the only bathrooms, which are new, are therefore quite a distance because they're now in the day-use only area. I have pictures of the campsite somewhere I think. I did get chiggers from the whole experience.
This review starts with the wonky reservation system. If you look at several campsites, it thinks you want to reserve all of them. Even if you de-select campsites, it still thinks you want to reserve all of them! And then, it didn’t like the apostrophe in our last name. I took that out but then it made me wait for two minutes before I could continue with the reservation. Ugh. We were also not happy that there was a two-night minimum on the weekends.
Now for the campground. This is a fairly small campground with only 40 sites. It was full on the first Friday in November but there was no host (and we did not see a Ranger throughout our stay). There would be free firewood (donations encouraged) if a host or ranger were present, so no firewood for us.
Many of the sites are NOT level but the website does indicate this during the reservation process. Fifteen have tent pads, but others do not and would be more suitable for RVs. The driveways are paved but some are crumbling, and pieces of pavement are tripping hazards. All the sites have electric and water. There are two comfort stations that were very clean and the showers (no additional cost) looked reasonable. There is a pack-in, pack-out policy and therefore there is only one dumpster across from the park office, which is quite a distance from the campground, and you are asked to bring your trash there nightly (the distance from the campground makes this challenging if you do not have another vehicle).
There are some nice hiking trails, but they are not on the map that you are given upon check-in. There is a map posted by the camp office, again quite a distance from the campground. This park is also good for mountain bikers, although they are not allowed to use the trails on Saturdays. Dogs are allowed if kept on a leash. Alcohol can only be consumed if out of public sight.
You will hear trains. Many trains. Loud trains. All throughout the night😊
There is a beach and boat rental in season, which looks very nice, but we stayed there out of season, so this was not available.
Stayed at campsite #10. It sits about 50 yards up the hill from the main river running through the valley. It is of note that the trail is right by the river, so you will see people walk by and there isn’t any real greenery to block that, even in summer. It is however far enough from the nearest sites that you won’t hear or see anyone else after sundown unless they are hiking at night. The river is a great soundtrack for a nights sleep.
The pad that has been cleared isn’t perfectly level, but it’s fine. There are however a few large buried rocks that keep it from being as smooth as you might expect.
LOVE !!! 4 Paws Kingdom. The owners are a hoot and have some awesome originality and PR skills! Went here for a Sisters son The Fly event, though I had heard of it before. You can rent a camper, cabin or yurt or bring your camper. BEST of all, all have a fenced in yard for your pup! Then there’s the multiple fenced dog areas. Our favorite was the double pond area. The Boys Loved it! Lake Lure is nearby and Chimney Rock, the whole area if excellent for hiking, shopping and whatever else you want to do.
I am going to preface this review by saying that giving it five stars, three stars, or one star really depends on what you expect from a campground. It might be five stars if you are looking for a real wilderness getaway. However, it might be a one star if you are looking for modern amenities with electric, water, and sewer hookups. For me personally, I rate it as five stars, but I know that people looking for a campground wonder how it can be five stars when it does not have hookups or Wi-Fi. Of all the designated primitive camping areas I have been to, this one seems to be one of the most popular, and for good reason. The Avery Creek Roadside camping sites have raised gravel pads, sturdy fire rings, and lantern hangers. Most designated primitive areas do not have such“luxury.” To get to the sites, you have to turn onto a gravel national forest road and drive for about half a mile before you get to the first campsite. The road continues for quite a way, and you can find several designated sites along the road. I was surprised that there were quite a few campers since it was in December. It is a good thing there are a lot of campsites. One of the best things about camping in this area is that there is so much to do within a short driving distance. For example, three miles down the road there is one of my favorite waterfalls. It isn’t very tall, but it has a lot of volume and is a beautiful waterfall. Five miles from the campsites, there is Sliding Rock, which opens during the warmer months and is very popular. Nine miles away is the Cradle of Forestry in America, and in my unbiased opinion, I think everybody needs to visit there at least once. The campsite itself provided a pleasant stay. You can hear the creek all night long, and you are at least four or five miles from a town. It doesn’t seem like a long distance, but it is far enough that you don’t hear the sounds of traffic. Fly fishing for trout is a popular activity, as well as hiking. There is an abundance of hiking trails nearby, including the Art Loeb Trail, Avery Creek Trail, Andy Cove Nature Trail, and lots more. The Blue Ridge Parkway is also only twelve and a half miles away. The area is also a popular horseback riding area with stables down the road. Unlike another camping area I had reviewed earlier this year, horse manure did not seem to be a problem. There are no bathrooms, except at the group camping area, which has to be reserved. The only water is from the creek, so be prepared and take lots of water or a water filtration system. Overall, Avery Creek is fantastic if you want to get away from civilization. There are no amenities such as swimming pool, game room, etc., but it is an outstanding place for people who just love the outdoors.
We booked a little late here for our trip so our campsite was near the more residential campers with several just overnighters coming in and out beside us. Huge campground with a nice stream flowing through with ducks and geese and a pond. Lots of walking areas, some paved, most not so it can take a beating on a stroller. Extremely golf cart friendly. Beautiful landscaping and gardens maintained by a sweet lady for the managers/employee housing. Cabins scattered about. Playground doesn’t have a infant swing but is in great working condition. Lots for the kids to do including a small arcade. Staff overall were nice and accommodating. Easily accessible to grocery stores and a few restaurants. Laundry area is well maintained and sufficient. They even have rolling baskets to transport wet clothes to dryer and a waiting area if you wanted to read or book adventures while you wait. We traveled here in early fall/late summer (after Labor Day). Had we known the pool was still open, we would’ve taken advantage of that as well of course weather dependent.
This campground won’t blow you away or anything but it’s a good campground that you’ll enjoy. Nice wooded coverage, walking and hiking trails, plus a few lakes to fish. Bath houses are probably the cleanest I’ve seen in all the campgrounds I’ve been too. The only reason I wouldn’t give it 5 stars is because the sites are pretty close to each other and you can hear aircraft traffic from the airport close by. I recommend sites 22,23,25 if you are tent camping.
Wonderful campground, campground host are very helpful, they ask you about what you are looking for and help you pick out your campsite, family owned, took my girlfriend there to get engaged, we are now married and can't wait to go back. One of the owners rides a motorcycle, and is also very helpful with directions for nice rides in the mountains
This campground is perfect if your looking to bike/hike/trail run. There are various trails you can access from the site. Grounds are well maintained. Sites are small but spaced out. Very quiet. Restrooms were clean and showers were hot. Close proximity to downtown Asheville if you’re looking for something to do in the evening or if you want a good meal. I will certainly return to this campground.
Close to Caesars Head and Table Rock. Full hookups, and the staff helps you back in and level up. Great service. Short drive to grocery and fresh produce stands.
Tons to do, including hikes and history. Make sure to go across the street to the Kings Mountain Military site. Better yet, plan your stay when they are doing an event.
Love this place. Next to the lake. Quite, friendly clean. Good bathroom.
Great place to camp. Very quiet,very friendly clean bathroom. Cheap camping.
We abandoned plans to stay at place in Old Fort (see listing for Catawba Falls) and ended up here as a last chance before having to hit a hotel to turn back around to CLT. Boy, were we happy with our choice. Nice bathhouse w/ heated showers, super nice semi-primitive sites, half of them alongside a creek, the others are mere steps away. Lovely homes line the drive up and you are on land owned by Montreat College, a private Presbyterian-affiliated liberal arts college you hope your grandkids are smart enough to get into. Stately buildings, a lake, hiking and walking paths galore. Just the right amount of civilization - wood to purchase, flush toilets. Spotty cell service - if you have T Mobile forget it, if you have Verizon you're golden. I saw trailers in several spaces but it looks like a TIGHT squeeze in many sites. Tent sites are plentiful and lovely. Check in down the hill at the stately Assembly Inn hotel. Like the campground and the surrounding area - the people are total class and you cannot get a better price and location this close to Asheville.
Let's be honest. There's campgrounds and there's places that wish they are something other than what they are. This place reeks of old school charm - if you can look past the lines of semi-permanent RVs, the millimeter wide spacing between the tent sites and the express lack of parking on site. We paid for our site, arrived, looked at the disaster that awaited us, and wisely moved up the road to a real campground - Montreat Campground. Avoid this place unless it is your only option.
We have been a few times and really like it. The staff are very friendly. The bath houses and park are always really clean.
Got there in time to catch a first come first served rv site and glad we did! Nice big site. Helpful staff. Great location. Explored Asheville but would like to check out the area more next time like the trails and such.
We decided to rent a camping cabin for the weekend. The cabin was fine for what we needed for the weekend. I didn’t feel like the people that worked there were very friendly and I didn’t get the sense that they took a lot of pride in the campground. The bathrooms could have been swept and cleaned a lot better. There was trash around the campground that I felt would have been picked up at other campgrounds we have visited. We camp a lot…This campground has so much potential. It just needs a more welcoming staff and a little more attention to details. I’m usually a tent camper, so I’m not very picky. I might return for a quick weekend trip if I can’t find another place, but I can’t see myself staying there for a week.
The first time we stayed at Curtis Creek Campground, we had a great overall experience. We have a Jeep with a rooftop tent, and our friends have a pop-up camper. We shared site 11, and that was really the only site we would consider at this campground as the sites were close together and have no privacy between sites. We parked our jeep on the tent pad, and the pop-up between the jeep and site 10. That way, we had privacy as we were at the end of the loop where one side was wooded. The sites come with a nice fire pit and picnic table, there is water available and the pit toilets were immaculate on that visit. There is good access to Curtis Creek for fishing or hanging out, and the little bit of traffic on the adjacent road was not obtrusive. We liked it so much we returned a second weekend. We gave it a 5 star rating as a group for that site and our experience.
The camp hosts had changed between our first and second visits, and the second time it wasn't quite as pleasant. The amenities had not changed, but the cleanliness of the pit toilets had. They were not filthy, but were not being maintained as well as previously. There was a foul odor that would frequently come from the vents for the pit toilet, making it unpleasant to be at our campsite. I don't know if we were just down wind and it was at the end of its cycle and needing maintenance, but it changed our mind on coming back again as sewer odors just didn't mix with our camp dinners well. We gave it a 3 for that weekend.
It is a small campground, with good parking and RV sites. The road going in was rutted the first time, but had been graded by the time we went the second time - there were a couple of one lane bridges and a turn or two that might be tight for a large RV. Make sure you bring firewood, there is none sold at the site and we couldn't find any to purchase in Old Fort, we had to go to a larger town in order to find some. Overall, it is a good site but not quite our style if we weren't camping with friends as we would have felt like there was no privacy.
I'll admit that I'm not in my best shape ever but also know it's not my worst shape, this was full leg workout for 4 miles up as well as 4 miles back down. I highly recommend in the warmer months you get on the trail as early as possible. It opens at 7am. Bring plenty of water. The views along the way are beautiful and when you get to the top at the main overlook is fabulous too. I say the main overlook as there are a couple spots like right at Governors Rock is deep into the trail…but not the main view.
We were on a site right on the river and loved access to sit on a float and sit - river was low but you could prob tube down a small portion of its high. Pool was nothing extravagant, god playground for all ages. Didn’t like the traffic noise or how tight the sites were but I’d go back for that river! May even try a lake site for easy fishing!
We discovered Riverbend Lodge through AirBnB while looking for a new place to camp. We had been to a number of larger campgrounds this year, and wanted to find a spot where we weren't competing with dozens - or hundreds - of other campers for a good site. Someplace with some privacy and quiet. Riverbend Lodge fit the bill.
Riverbend Lodge is a unique mix of lodge, restaurant, bar, and campsites. The owners are working on renovating the lodge and restaurant, and they have cleared some spots on the Middle Fork French Broad River to accommodate campers. They have tent sites right on the river (more of a creek, great small falls and peaceful sounds). We have a jeep with a rooftop tent, and the site we had was spacious and felt secluded. There was a firepit at the site, and a trash can. The owners live in an RV on-site, and said that they have a second site that has power and water hook-ups for a pop-up or RV. Most of the sites are primitive. There are picnic tables at a couple of areas on the property, but our site did not have a table.
There is a bathroom for campers with a flush toilet, sink, and tub/shower. They also have a hot tub and sauna, and the use is included in the camping fee - a real bargain! Both looked new and were immaculately maintained.
We did not view the lodge rooms for rent. We did enjoy the restaurant the night we got there, the food was very good and reasonably priced for what we got. We also had breakfast the last morning there, it is only served on weekends but it is only $10 for all you care to eat, and it is served to you - not buffet style. The staff were friendly and provided good service. The owners are a young couple, working hard to improve the lodge and offer a great experience. We will definitely return to Riverbend Lodge.
First time staying in a private campground. Sites, although close together, were clean and neat. Wife very happy with clean bathrooms & shower facilities. The top portion has beautiful views but no shade at all. I would be willing to revisit.
This area is near the riding stables in Pisgah. There are several tent spaces that you can drive right up to. The river is within walking distance. Didn't see any areas deep enough for swimming though. There are several hiking trails for hikers as well as mountain bikers riding up the mountain. There is a gate that gets closed off during winter months that continues up the mountain to more campsites. The spots further up are more private. Some you need to take a short hike to. There isn't any amenities up past the gate. There is an area that has three spots near each other. One is designated for camping with a gravel pad. Three other two near it are a short hike. There is a community water source beyond the three sites that you can get water to take back to your site if needed. It's a small trickle waterfall in the edge of the mountain. There's a bit of a bank to climb down to it though. If you choose to get to it's ledge it's a great place to clean up/shower.
Campground Review:
Paris Mountain State Park is just a short drive outside of Greenville, SC, but seems a world away. It is beautiful in all seasons. The campground is a typical state campground. Water, electric, fire ring, and picnic table were at our site. We stayed at #39 which was fine for our needs. If you had any sort of rig, we would NOT recommend this spot. The concrete was in poor shape and would make for a leveling nightmare. We voted we’d stay in #40 next time. It was a pull through with a creek running by the fire ring. The shower house was perfectly adequate and clean. Their reservation system was easy. We enjoyed all of the hiking options and the swimming area in the park.
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Product Review:
As Rangers for The Dyrt, we get to test products from time to time– today we tested Banner & Oak apparel www.bannerandoak.com. We loved their trucker hats. They were breathable, and held their shape under the sweat from a hard hike. We felt they were very attractive as well. As a long torso’d and arm’d couple, we both noticed right away and appreciated the length of the shirts themselves and the length of the sleeves on the long-sleeved shirt. There is nothing worse than washing shirts and having to stretch the heck out of them to try to get them back to looking presentable. We have no fear our Banner & Oak short and long-sleeved shirts will not give us this trouble. They worked well under our packs and we didn’t find ourselves needing to pull down our shirt every few mins or so. As a larger busted woman, however, their Women’s Large ran a bit small in the chest. I normally wear a Large which gives me some room to move around, but I wish I would have ordered my shirt in a XL. It is a tight fit. All in all, we really liked Banner & Oak’s apparel, in style, cut (mostly), and comfort. The shirt material is super soft and we could see ourselves ordering more from their site.
My dads been taking me backpacking ever since I could walk. When my ma wanted to join we went here for the majority of my childhood. That back loop is the best. Nice hosts. Sometimes some squawking children but there is a quiet time. Beautiful swimming hole as well
We had a great time staying here. Some of the sights were rather inclined, but they listed this on the website when booking(it's on a mountain after all). The areas between most of the sites was spacious, we were able to hang 2 hammocks to chill in. The Bathhouses had been remodeled and were kept clean while we were there. (There wasn't hand soap at the sinks that was a little weird for me). The Large trash bins were located back down across from the Park Center, as was the play ground. It would have been more convenient for campers to have these things closer but were convenient for day use visitors. The park center is a gorgeous stone/log cabin type building with a long porch facing the Swimming area. There are Adirondack chairs on the porch, then between the porch and the lake are wooden lounge chairs and benches to relax on while taking a break from swimming or hanging out. There are miles of trails and streams to explore. We had a lovely time and plan to visit again soon.
This was our first camping trip for my wife and I. The staff led us right to our site and helped direct me into our site as it was dark. Knowing that it was our first time they even came back by to check on us a little bit later. It was Labor day weekend, so they were full, but we had no issues with noise or anything. The kids were having a blast between swimming and riding bikes. Plenty of activities were planned by the staff from bingo on Friday night, corn hole tournaments, movie night, and even an ice cream social! They even sell Hunt Bros. pizza from the store and will deliver to your site. Looked amazing and very reasonably priced. We can't wait to go back!
A smaller campsite but very well organized and maintained. Small lake on site. Several hiking trails nearby. You can hike a trail into the NC Arboretum. Very near Asheville and Biltmore Estates. Tent sites, RV sites and Glamping sites. Clean bathrooms and properly supervised. A hidden gem minutes from Asheville