Camping near Cherokee National Forest

Campsite was great for our two day stay. Dog friendly, they delivered firewood to my site after I paid, and the staff was very friendly and helpful.

We often camp in and around the Linville Gorge area, mostly in the primitive campsites down in the Gorge on Linville River.

We stayed before Hurricane Helene but haven't been back since then.

There are primitive sites along the foot trail (Linville Gorge Trail) but you still need to call to let the park ranger/main office know when you're planning to camp and provide how many people will be camping.

There are not great tent sites along the trail since it's at the bottom of the Gorge (not much flat ground and rocky). But there are some nice spots further south from Linville Falls. We usually hammock camp and trees hanging has more options.

Hiking out is moderate to hard as it's straight up through switchbacks and good elevation gain.

Pack everything out and practice LNT in this area. You may also be able to trout fish in Linville River if it's trout season and you're licensed. Speckled and Rainbow trout are beautiful in this area. Most fall within the 8-12 inch range. Check bait restrictions. It's almost always no live bait allowed when we've camped there.

Creekside Stayz is a clean, well maintained facility.  There is a porta-potty available, or you can use the bathroom/shower across the road at the owner's house for a fee.  Water and electricity are available for a fee.  (If you park on the grass, also a fee...)

The general area is on the edge of town, so there are buildings around you.  You are on a narrow strip of land between a road and the creek.  There are four named camp sites.  "Del Linnea" has a glamping setup, "Happy Camper" has a permanent travel trailer, and the one between them "Rio Relaxing" is large enough for an RV or a travel trailer.  From what I could see, any of these would be good.  

The fourth camp site, "Rio Rustic" is where I pitched my tent.  It is the closest to the road.  My vehicle was 10 paces off the road.  It was 40 paces or less from the road to the creek. So on one hand, I was camping next to a creek.  On the other, I was camping on the edge of town next to a road that had traffic somewhat late and then again early in the morning. So I really can't recommend "Rio Rustic".

We thoroughly enjoyed staying on the river. The Manager, Deb, is so sweet and helpful! The area came alive with Spring Beauty & yet the storm damage is still very evident. On one hand, it was a bit depressing to see all of the loss - on the other hand, it felt good to give back to the local community.

Easy to reserve a spot and tent section had lots of choice. No electric at tent spot but water on every site. WiFi!

Absolutely beautiful area and one of my new favorite wilderness areas on the east side of the country. I went solo camping for 5 days and stayed at the overlook, got really lucky finding my spot in the middle of the night but nonetheless, I drove the whole road South end to North in my fwd sedan haha and saw plenty of beautiful spots to settle at. Definitely recommend you to come check this out, I met some of the nicest people and another solo traveler that I ended up spending 2 nights with. You definitely wont regret it, and dont worry If you dont have a great car for offroad, I saw alot of reviews about absolutely needing an AWD vehicle with good clearance but I maneuvered my way through the road with my little hyundai. You definitely need to be a confident driver if you do that though. Good luck, hope you enjoy it as much as I did.

Stayed a night out here while traveling, scary narrow rocky trails, but beautiful streams and mountains

We stayed for six days in March. We loved everything about this campground. The sites are spacious and well spaced, offering more privacy than many locations. The showers and bathrooms were very clean. There are numerous hikes that are on the grounds or just outside. The staff was very helpful and friendly. The campground is 15 minutes from downtown Asheville and 5 minutes from the North Carolina arboretum.

Open May-September, this property is located on Cherokee Lake. There are four glamping tents (two with king beds and two with queen beds) and the newest addition is a Micro A-Frame with a king bed. This used to be a dedicated campsite and can still be used as one as the A-Frame is on wheels and can be moved. We stayed in the A-Frame which has a private fire pit and picnic table. 

The A-Frame is cozy with the bed taking up 95% of the space. There is also a small beanbag-type chair, dorm fridge, coffee maker, and two charging pads. There is electricity and light, but it is not bright enough to read in the evening. One of the nicest features is the window side that faces the lake can be opened, making it an open-air accommodation. However, despite it being on the lake, you will also hear almost constant road noise. 

The glamping tents are located further away from the lake in the woods so I imagine the road noise would be less or non-existent here. 

Ben and Kim, the owners, are still working on this property and they recently completed a very nice bathhouse with two toilets, two sinks, and two outdoor showers. Towels are provided. They are currently working on a boat dock. 

We chose the SUP n Stay package (middle price option); included in our reservation was the rental of either a SUP or kayak. The Stay package includes accommodations plus a floating lake mat. The Stay n Play reservation includes the SUP or kayak rental plus a two-hour lake excursion. Unfortunately, it started to rain after we had been out on the lake for about a half hour. The rain resulted in a very muddy area around the A-Frame and Tennessee mud is no joke. We accumulated about an inch of the thick gooey mud on our shoes. 

Ben and Kim were very welcoming and gracious hosts. Communication was great and they made sure we had no questions. Our stay in the micro A-Frame was a very unique stay. The only reason for four stars and not five was the mud and road noise.

Open May-September, this property is located on Cherokee Lake. There are four glamping tents (two with king beds and two with queen beds) and the newest addition is a Micro A-Frame with a king bed. This used to be a dedicated campsite and can still be used as one as the A-Frame is on wheels and can be moved. We stayed in the A-Frame which has a private fire pit and picnic table.

The A-Frame is cozy with the bed taking up 95% of the space. There is also a small beanbag-type chair, dorm fridge, coffee maker, and two charging pads. There is electricity and light, but it is not bright enough to read in the evening. One of the nicest features is the window side that faces the lake can be opened, making it an open-air accommodation. However, despite it being on the lake, you will also hear almost constant road noise. The glamping tents are located further away from the lake in the woods so I imagine the road noise would be less or non-existent here. 

Ben and Kim, the owners, are still working on this property and they recently completed a very nice bathhouse with two toilets, two sinks, and two outdoor showers. Towels are provided. They are currently working on a boat dock. 

We chose the SUP n Stay package (middle price option); included in our reservation was the rental of either a SUP or kayak. The Stay package includes accommodations plus a floating lake mat. The Stay n Play reservation includes the SUP or kayak rental plus a two-hour lake excursion. Unfortunately, it started to rain after we had been out on the lake for about a half hour. The rain resulted in a very muddy area around the A-Frame and Tennessee mud is no joke. We accumulated about an inch of the thick gooey mud on our shoes. 

Ben and Kim were very welcoming and gracious hosts. Communication was great and they made sure we had no questions. The Micro A-Frame was a unique way to spend the night. The only reason for four stars and not five was the mud and road noise.

On a road trip with my adult daughter, we had planned to stay at this campsite just one night, but we loved it so much that we ended up staying a second night.

The prices were reasonable, and many of the campsites were generously sized, many of them with lots of trees shade. Ours was right next to the river, which meant we could watch the water go by as we were sitting there at the picnic table enjoying a meal. 

Maybe we got lucky, but all the neighbors were reasonably quiet and some of them were quite friendly. 

We appreciated the fact that there are a few trails right there on the property and that there is also a museum on the property where you can learn lots about the history of this famous Tennessean for which the campsite and park were named.

I have visited This little Gem in East Tenn. For the Best part of my life. I have seen this place change from the small little campground & Swimming Pool , with the little Cabin starting in the mid 80's. As a Family Reunion was always Scheduled there for the Nickles,Hicks,Dykes, Edwards clan.And the best memories of my Crazy Partying Parts & Aunts .But always respected the other Members 

 This has included some of my best Fishing Memories,catching a Monster of. CatFish in the back honey Hole! Made my Father so proud.

So of course as a Father of 3 sons,who now are having children of their own. I of course made sure they had there fill of this great place.

I visited in July 2024. This is a great older campground. It has been well taken care of over the years. The Rangers on staff are great. There are no showers on site, but there are flushable toilets. There are a couple of potable water sources on the property. There is easy access to multiple sightseeing areas. Great place to go and camp.

I camped here in June 2023, for the second time. This is a federal campsite. The fee for camping is five dollars a night. Just right outside the federal camping area is disbursed camping. There approximately eight dispersed camping sites. Remember this is bear country. Follow all the bear rules and be cautious. I will come back here next time I’m in the area. It is well worth it.

The views were incredible!! Love the size of the sites and ease to get to them.