Well, one mile above the rest. Such a sight to see. Check your tour cd to verify it works before driving away from the gate. It is helpful as you drive through and not all function correctly. Plenty of hiking trails but some close in the winter months. Picnic and play areas. Educational spots for the little ones. Breathtaking views.
One of these days, A 0 stars rating is critical to the overall scoring process. Honey Bear should be thankful for the scoring process because the single star at least gives some advantage to the overall score. Let me begin by saying that the pictures do not match the grounds. Well, one of them may match hit the rest are seriously filtered. Turning into the grounds from the main road, there is a series of make-shift goat pens made from old wooden pallets. Each standing on its end and side-by-side attached however but not well enough for the one escape artist who is actually one of the better sites you will enjoy during your stay! To the right, an empty (seemingly also abandoned) commercial building that houses empty office locations. The old sign team still stands with no signage but one fluorescent bulb still burns at night. Further ahead, on the left are two open roll off dumpsters for trash. If that is not cause for rodents and other vermin, nothing is. Beyond those are travel trailers that others are being stored. The office is nothing near as clean as you are going to expect. The coffee house is closed but the only way you will know that is if you follow them on Facebook. Hope you have Facebook. The bathhouse and laundry facilities are also closed. We reserved a double site. One hour prior to arrival, we received a call regarding being transferred to a different site. When we arrived to the site, it was a small site and not what we paid for. I spoke to Marsha and indicated that we wanted a different location. We were supposed to be in B section however due to below freezing temperatures, we were moved to A section where they have a few frost free water connections. We paid and we are here! Let's make the best of it. Once set up and stabilized, we plugged i to the power connection which shorted out our power cord and our unit receptacle. Because she has no maintenance personnel, I had to test the power supply myself which determined that all three legs were hot. Serious problem especially when the temperature was 29°. I called to let her know what was going on and she did not have a solution. Our options were dependent on whether or not the grounds keeper was still on site. It is now after 8:00 pm. On Sunday. We had enough battery power for basic functions and enough gas for heat so we did it old school. Monday, we headed straight to a dealer to purchase a new cord as well as the receptacle. I called at 12:02 pm to verify if the supply had been repaired but was told that she was not at the office yet because she does not come in until noon and was unsure of the grounds keeper was there. I said it is after noon but no response given. It was after 1:00 pm before the supply connection was replaced and once we had our work completed, we were back in business. I hope you know some handyman basics because you are going to need them. Not once did she follow up to make sure our stay was going better. Not once did she offer to make good on anything. I spent my first two days of vacation working because Marsha does not work at all when it comes to maintaining the grounds, water, power and such. I will be furthering this with appropriate sites, social media outlets and local bureaus/chambers.
I DO NOT RECOMMEND THIS LOCATION!
I loved the area we stayed at in Grandfather Mountain Campground. I've been multiple times throughout the summers and have always enjoyed staying at one of the campsites right by the river. The campsite is always clean and friendly staff are there ready to answer questions on where to hike, eat and about the wildlife that's in this area of Western North Carolina. If you're lucky enough to catch one of the beautiful sunsets, I would recommend sitting in the grassy field (also on option to camp there) and take in the mountains laced with purples and pinks as the sun sets. And of course you'll have to hike grandfather mountain and walk across the swinging bridge. I finally went this last trip and was not disappointed! There is an intense hike that included climbing up latters and leads to beautiful views!
This campground is also close to Boone, NC. It is a cute little town that has a sweet downtown area to walk around in and grab a beer. If you like breakfast food I would highly recommend trying Melanie's. There food is to die for, and also very earth conscious.
As far as campgrounds go , it wasn't bad . Just something is it's a self service check in which I didn't know , and when I asked for help one of the camp host wasn't vary helpful but since I had a reservation I just needed to go to the site( which was not posted ) . Our neighbors had a generator going ( which is posted that it's prohibited) which was on for the 1st day before someone finally told them to turn it off . Our site was beautiful and overlooked the lake , but you couldn't get to the water from our site , there was about a 6 ft cliff so for kayaking you have to go down the road from the campground and pay $2.00 for a day pass . It's not a bad place to stay just don't know if I'll ever go back .
Incredible spot that we will return to for sure.
We drove about 10 miles down NC105 to find a good spot that was available. Be sure to have 4WD (preferably a off-roading vehicle) to make it up some parts of the road.
The spot was massive and could easily fit 5+ vehicles and sleep 20 comfortably. The view was nice and we were able to see Lake James in the distance (due to being far down the trail).
First photo is at night, second is in the morning, third is a pull off further down the trail on the way to the exit.
Woke up in the morning to hunting dogs barking and a few gunshots. This didn’t bother us however but it’s something to note incase it would impact you.
Dirt site by the River all hook ups. They also have small cabins and tent sites. Walking distance to trails and town. Spa with hot spring hot tubs across the street.
It doesn't even deserve the 1 star. The sites are too close to each other. No privacy…people walking through your site to get to the bathrooms and loud about it. Updated bathhouse is nice but the wait for the showers can be down right ridiculous. If you are in the lower tent sites, it can be quite a little hike at 3 am to get to the bathroom. I don't recommend making reservations too far in advance. We had to cancel our last reservation because my daughter is having surgery and they were NOT nice and we didn't even get a partial refund.
There are MUCH nicer campgrounds close by. I will never stay here again.
One of the best small campgrounds to spend time with your family. Very quiet and relaxing. Great fishing with access to river for kayak or conoe. Can enjoy fire with your own fire pit or the community fire pit.
Our camp spot was a little small but they do have bigger options available. We loved the lake area and enjoyed fishing there. The location on the Blue Ridge Parkway was beautiful and very secluded. The bathhouse was spotless everytime I went to shower. It also smelled freshly clean and always had plenty of hot water (not always the case when camping). The camp store employees were super friendly and helpful. We will go back again but will book a bigger spot to have more privacy.
The park is very nice , very clean. There are shower facilities there . We hiked there, the mountain were cold even in July. Beautiful place !
30 minute drive to Mount Mitchell State Park - our hiking destination. The campsites closer to Mitchell were reserved. This campground has 20 rv spots & 70 renting spots. $20 per day. There’s a great 2.5 mile hike to Crabtree falls within the campground.
Nice campground with full amenities. Have stayed here at least 2 X per year the last several years. Restrooms/Bathhouses are always clean. This is a small Park, but they always have something going on in season.
Our family really enjoyed the this park , there are many interesting structures at the park. The staff was very friendly . The park is very clean there are informative facts .
A couple buddies and I went camping on table rock, found a cave, crawled through it for about 100 feet and found the most beautiful camping spot we have ever seen. 10/10 would never tell the spot
This campground is located along the beautiful Blue Ridge Parkway. We saw wildlife when we woke up in the mornings and before we went to bed in the evenings. The bath house in the tent only loop has private bathrooms with showers. The bath house is also cleaned daily.
One the best run parks in the state. Forget TV and phone service is spotty but who cares, the park is great. Hike, fish or just relax
Friendly staff, immaculate facilities, easy access off of I-81. Can’t say enough about this place. Would’ve stayed longer if I’d known how nice it was.
We stopped here at zero dark thirty enroute to Hungry Mother State Park. It was dark, very quiet and sorta creepy. NO ONE was in the primitive camp area which is located off the main campground road , down a gravel road into the trees. This would be an excellent group site because all six tent pads surround this huge fire ring and there’s a nice pavilion with water, power and plenty of picnic tables. I was not interested in getting too comfortable just for a few hours sleep so I aired up my small mattress and crashed in the truck. We were up at the crack of sunlight and exploring. Two, small, nice full service campgrounds with a small store and playground. CCC style hiking trail up around the Natural Tunnel that offers some pretty views. There is a chairlift , gift shop and other attractions , BUT…don’t plan to do anything before 10 am, that’s when everything opens. So we hiked and then got on our way up the road.
Under new management, Kaiser is one of the best managers this place has had. It is one of the best campgrounds around. Priced right, clean, fantastic scenery, ideally located. Make a reservation you won't regret it
The area is beautiful and the staff friendly. I drive a Kia Soul (low profile vehicle) and the roads to the campground were challenging due to the deep ruts and wash out. They advertise restrooms and showers but they were in very poor condition. the first night I checked out the showers, which open to the outside, there was a giant bullfrog inside. Taking trash off is another trip down poor roads. Some of the tent sites were very small with small tent pads. It was beautiful but the sites are pretty close so when it filled up there was lots of noise. You have to bring your own firewood and the office is just that, a place to check in and out- not a camp store. But Walmart is only 4 miles away. If you have a more rugged vehicle and lower facility expectations then you might like this, but it wasn’t for me.
We’ve primitive camped in the Linville Gorge Wilderness for many years and absolutely love it. It’s peaceful and secluded and the views are absolutely gorgeous. My photos are from the Linville Falls side of the old highway that goes past the falls parking lot. Spaces are first come, first served dispersed camping. Leave no trace! We clean up after folks every time we camp up here and it’s just too sad that people will leave their trash. This area used to be the best kept secret in the NC mountains but is quickly gaining popularity.
This is a wonderful family campground with amazing people running the campground close to Boone and Banner Elk. There is a beautiful creek that runs through the property. Campsites are level. Bathhouse is adequate but they could use an additional restroom facility on the cabin/tent side of the creek. Only downside is the road noise from Hwy. 105 which can be extremely noisy.
I’ve stayed at Blue Bear twice and booked my third stay as I was leaving. Wonderful campground - you can’t beat any aspect of it.
The sites are well spaced so you don’t feel on top of other campers. Remote sites provide that extra sense of privacy.
The owners are so helpful and friendly. Providing wood and also have devices to haul your gear to certain remote sites.
Location is a great jumping point for tons of hiking and other activities. We went to Ashe County Park to play disc golf, and into Boone to walk around and look at shops.
Bathhouse is very clean and well kept. There is nothing negative to say about Blue Bear. It is our favorite site by far, and keeps us coming back.
We had a riverside camp site at Hot Springs campground. The site was huge, our friends have a pop-up camper and we have a jeep with a roof-top tent and we shared one space. We had room to spare and didnt feel at all crowded. All sites have fire pits and picnic tables. The bath house and bathrooms wer very clean - the staff checked on them many times a day and kept them well stocked for the Labor.day holiday weekend. There are lots of outfitters nearby that offer rafting, tubing, an kayaking on the river, or you can bring your own and put in the t one of the many access points. We will definitely go back!
Great spot with tent camping on the water. We stopped in on short notice for one night. Would definitely stay again.
16, about to be 17 sites. The 5 upfront are walk in, and more private. The about to be 12 in the back are pull in and much closer together. Two shower houses, one on both ends, no hookups. Host should be on site weekends from April til the end of October. Previous last three seasons host kept things clean in the bathrooms, new host will happen sometime soon or next season. 9 miles, minimum, of dirt roads getting in, so pack accordingly. Quick trips don't happen. Lots of near by trails, the river and multiple swimming holes. Creek and waterfall in and near by the campground.
Stopped here southbound to devils bathtub, so it worked perfectly being so close. Not much to say about the campground, offers little amenities.
This is a privately owned and operated small campground that's been in the family for years. When I say its quiet, there were only 5 others camping there. My spot was literally on the Shanendoah River. Most of the spots have RVs that folks keep there as their weekend get-away. Tent sites offer electric, have picnic table, a fire ring, and even wood provided for you! Cash or check only. No credit cards even accepted. The small local store across the street offers basics. Bathrooms are clean and there is a shower. Stan, the owner is super friendly and comes around to visit campers. Highly recommend!!!!