Cardens Bluff Campground

Booked site 13 online for the last weekend before the season ended in October 2021, but the hosts caught us at check-in and moved us to site 32, which was right next to the water. It was really nice and the kids could go splash around in the lake, which they loved. Several groups game by to launch kayaks. 

No firewood on-site, but found a guy selling wood a little drive down the road. Said "everyone from Cardens Bluff comes here." Logs were pretty green and big, but we chopped them down to a more workable size. Pretty hard to start a fire with (it had been raining a lot recently), but we made do.

Lots of yellow jackets! Thankfully no stings :) Bathrooms were nothing to write home about, but functional. Water pump right next to the site. Hosts were chatty and a little wacky, but kind and present.

A nice trip overall!

This campground was perfect to bring a smaller RV to be right next to the Watauga lake Marina.

Bathrooms + a shower house was available. 

Gate to enter closes from 10pm - 7am and parking is limited if you have multiple cars. 

Overall great place to go with kids.

Campsite was clean and bathrooms were clean. The noise in this campground carries and makes for a restless night. Ok for one night but would not stay again.

We showed up last minute and we’re able to secure a site. Toilets/ wet baths are available, and the water was hot. There was a trail right across from our site that lead out to a scenic view of the water, is kayak accessible.

Large sites. clean hot showers. Close to the marina, boat launch and day use area.

Beautiful wooded campground with a few sites on the water. Perfect for canoeing. Showers were clean and bathrooms too.

• The female hostess went crazy on us last year when we were asking questions about the reservation process. Just very, very hateful. This year our 3rd person that was coming to camp with us got off work late & was pulling in at a few mins after 10. My daughter told the male host that shed be pulling in any minute and that she had driven a long way. He said “ the gate closes at 10pm, I don’t give a “s___” if she drove 10hrs! He proceeded to lock the gate right in her face as she pulled up. Rain pouring down and struggling to get her 2 dogs, tent, and bedding “around the gate” and into my daughters car, he came and “jiggled” the lock to make sure it was locked, I suppose. Two days after that he & the female hostess pulled up in their little golf cart & began getting hostile with me, then my husband who had came to visit on fathers day because we had taken more than 2 spaces at that point. There were about 6 open spaces and we were preparing  to leave and drive over to the beach area but the hostess starting literally screaming at us about the “2 vehicle rule”... she pulled out driving the golf cart looking back at me (while driving) cursing and calling me names! She honestly needs medication. I have never in my life experienced such people. We’ll never be back.

Situated on a peninsula, Cardens Bluff has great views and access to the lake for the outer campsites. The interior campsites are nice as well, with vegetation giving enough privacy between campsites. Access to lake is limited for the interior sites, but there are many spots within a 5-10 minute drive that are great for day use with access to the lake, and picnic areas.

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 .

Great place to camp and fish.

Amazing lake front camping. rock bed lake creates a dark blue color instead of the brown many lakes in the area have. Great place to rent a pontoon boat for the day and explore the lake!

I love this campground. They have a nice bathhouse and plenty of great sites right on the water. The camp hosts are helpful. it can get a little crowded in the summer months, but it’s a great place!

Only in for a night. Easy to find. Didn't see a bad site here. Tents only. Site 041 is the best - I was right on the lake. The weather was perfect so I slept with the rainfly off and the stars and still of the lake are wonderful.

This campground deserves five stars. The sites were awesome, and right on the lake. The hosts were fantastic. Everyone we met was awesome.

But the showers were disgusting - not because they weren't clean, but because other campers used them to smoke in, since there was no smoking allowed in the campground. The thick, stale smoke made the shower facilities unusable and this was very disappointing as it was quite hot in August and a shower would have made my stay more pleasant.

I have camped here 3 times and I loved it every single time! If you get a spot close enough to the water it's easy water access for kayaking/swimming. Nice picnic tables and fire pits, most sites are drive up with a short walk. Bathhouse has lots of bugs & could be better but you're camping not glamping!

Great camp sites right on Lake Watauga with nice little coves and private beaches. The Appalachian Trail runs by the lake and not far from the campsites. The public accesses around the lake gets crowded in the spring and summer but there are plenty of spots inside the park or just reserve a site that's right on the water. Our dogs loved this lake can't wait to go back.

Lots of water to explore by boat, including coves to kayak into. Aside from the water, not much to do right at the campsite but convenient to many other parks and national lands. Campground juts out into water. Wooded sites, we got one of many with a great lake view and good privacy. Everything as expected.