Joseph B.

The Dyrt Pro

New Bern, NC

Joined October 2021

retired Marine, active musician. planning camping trips with my wife.

Nice Campground, plenty of trails!

Stopped here for 2 days on our way home. Nice sites they have; full hookups, water and electric, some just electric, and they also have boondocks sites near the waterfall.

Bathrooms were good, (as I have posted before, I've seen worse), store had basics, sites were decent size with a nice fire pit. 

They also give a military discount. 

There are trails and gravel roads all around the campground. I received a map at check in, and decided to ride my mountainbike to the top of  "Neely Knob".  It was quite a climb! I came down the east side of Bear Marsh and found out quickly that there were water crossings and deep mud sections. I got a great workout and would definitely explore more of the trails on our next visit.

Big sites, trails, beach, store & more

Stopped here for one night on our way to Michigan. Drove around looking at all the sites, wrote down numbers of sites we’d like to stay at (near bathrooms (we have a teardrop). Decided to come back for 12 days after our trip. Many sites to choose from. Full hook ups are limited, but we were happy with a power site. Plenty of bathrooms and shower facilities. They are not bad, I would consider them to be clean (I’ve seen a lot worse).

Our first site was about 30 yards wide. Our current site is about 20 yards, with an open grass area next to us another 20 yards.

There is a beach here, with a concession stand. It was closed when we arrived. (They close after Labor Day and open back up in May.

Many hiking trails, some allow biking. The trail map does not designate whether you can ride or not. But there are signs on the posts at the trailhead. I descended over 1,000 feet in the first 4 miles. There was a lot of climbing, technical single track, switchbacks, rocky creek crossings and some roots. The trees keep it cool even in 80 degree weather.

Plan to come back and meet family here next year.

Nice campground

Had a nice site and there is plenty to do here. The owners have done a great job fixing this place up. 

Bathrooms were clean and the showers were nice.

There was some trash at the site, not bad, but I expect a clean site for this price.

Store was nice, clean, stocked and had Pizza, Pretzels and ice cream.

Swimming pool was active, but I did not use it.

I did not like the $5 per visitor charge. My family lives in this town and came to visit throughout my stay.

Nice overnight campsite

The site was nice, level, had a small picnic table and wooden deck.

Set up early afternoon, sat in our reclining chairs and enjoyed the breeze. 

The bathrooms are old, run down and not clean. The showers had mold and stains, ceiling tiles missing or hanging down. Toilets had blowouts in both of them (day of arrival and the next day). The sink area had missing caulk and very dirty.

It looks like it was a nice place at one time, but needs some TLC. The pavilion needs paint and some boards replaced.

Decent campground with plenty of activities

Decent site by the stream. Plenty of shade and a huge hill behind our site. Bathrooms were clean.

A lot of unsupervised children running around, in the stream and riding bikes. Didn't have any problems with them, but was concerned they weren't supervised.

There was some trash at our site, a lot of broken water balloons, some bottle caps and wrappers.

One night someone stole fishing poles from our neighbor and a bunch of coolers from other sites. 

Some sites are really not level!

Nice mountain campground

Nice campground, no electric or water at the sites. Rocky, shaded sites, with nice bathrooms and showers.

Only stayed for one night, but will come back here when I have some more time.

Nice Campground on the lake

Really enjoyed this campground.

We stayed here for our annual New Year camping trip. 

Nice big sites, loved the sites on the water. 

The bathrooms were good.

There was also a trail to the Dam, it took you from Georgia to Florida.  

We will come back to this area.

The gate closes at 10pm EASTERN Time. Once in the campground, your phone will go to central time, FYI.

Boondock site

Another nice experience at this small campground. We decided to try the Boondock site this time. No power or water, so we were able to test out our on board solar, and one night used our small generator for the heater (solar can’t run the heater). See my 2022 review for more details on the grounds and the facilities. We were closer to the bathroom and outdoor shower this time. Being in a teardrop, with an outside bathroom and shower, is challenging in cold weather. We used the rocket stove at our site to cook some Field Roast sausages. Awesome. The site was big and away from the other sites. But, with most of the leaves and greenery gone, you can see the back yard of a house nearby. Not bad, but would be better if there was something blocking the view. Plenty of firewood. We had fires every morning and

There is a huge metal pine cone (hollow center, used for burning wood) near the big tree in the center of the property. We asked about if they burned wood in there often, and we had a big fire that night. Had a great visit that night. Will definitely stop by anytime we go through SC on I95.

Great area to relax

Sites are big, pretty open, but they planted bushes and plants all over the property. We stayed in an RV site, but plan to stay in the Boondock site when we return next week. Toilet is liquid in the front and solid in the back, so everyone has to sit down to use the toilet. The shower is outside, with an open bottom. Heated water and changing room with a mirror. Full hookup sites are available. Rock campfire rings, and free wood! Pick Nik table at each site and a rocket grill is available. After our first day here we decided to came back and already booked our stay. Limited sites, so if you’re looking for something different, non commercial, this is the place.
You can read all about what they are doing here on the website.

One of our top 5 campgrounds

We stayed here on the way back from our multi campground Minnesota trip.  On my second day here, I already booked a full week 2 months later!

The sites are a little close, but it is an awesome park with great people; campers and staff.

The bathrooms were amazing, individual bathrooms, very roomy and oh so clean.

It's a little pricey, but worth it for the experience.

When we arrived, we noticed a lot of vintage campers and later found out it was a vintage camper show that weekend. Then on Saturday night, there was a live band!  It was amazing.

There is also a creek running through the back of the property and there are many sites along the creek.

The old barn and silo add to the ambiance of the campground.

When we returned for our next visit in November, we stayed on the creek and brought friends with us for a 7 day stay.  It was very cold, but we still had a great time.  One night I performed an acoustic show for the campground and even though it was freezing, people still showed up and had a good time.

This will be at least an annual visit for us, if not more!

Great park, big sites!

We really enjoyed this park.  Plenty of room for camper and car, big grass area and nice bathhouse.

We stayed for 5 days and will definitely be coming back.

The guard house is only manned for a short period of time. We wanted to get ice and wood when we arrived, but it was closed. 

Plenty of places to visit while here. We did parts of the bourbon trail and just enjoyed our time at the campsite.

Ok for an overnight stay

The sites were separated pretty well.

Our site was not very level, the gravel area (pad) was washed away and needed some repairs.

Decent bathrooms, about 100yds from site.

Good for an overnight stay

Had a decent site, close to other sites, but the park was pretty empty. They were getting ready to close for the winter.

Bathrooms are clean and big. They were far from our site, but it wasn't bad.

There was dog feces near our picnic table and some cigaret butts.

Nothing fancy, but a good place to stay on our way to MN.

No change machine for the laundry, but when the store is open, you can purchase a $10 bag of quarters!

Nice park, good sites

We enjoyed our stay here, but I expect a KOA site to be a little cleaner.  Not terrible, but there was trash at our site.

A little bit noisy from some cars and Quads racing up and down the road (not the highway, but the road near the KOA.

There was a game room with laundry attached, had plenty of room to visit with family during the rain.

Bathrooms were clean and had nice showers.

Nothing too fancy here but, it was an overall good experience.

Hot camping

This is our first time camping here. Upon arrival (Friday, Labor Day weekend) the grass was about 6-8” tall and there was a push mower by our pick nic table. We set up, after about an hour a guy came by on a riding mower and mowed around the area. Leaving a lot of grass near our area. We were in the center section, no tree coverage, so it was really hot and there was no breeze. Our tarp and awning really helped. The bathrooms were not cleaned very well, mold and old clothes left in the shower area. The location is good, close enough to the walk to the beach every day. Would stay here again, but only during the cooler months.

Overnight stop

We were stopping here on our way to another KOA. At the check in area I noticed that the park looked nice. When we arrived at our site (we were escorted), the escort left and my wife noticed trash in the fire pit. I called the office, told them there was a lot of garbage at our site including a lot of cigarette butts. A young man came and cleaned up the trash in and around the fire pit and he said he was sorry about it not being clean. There were also piles of wet dog food. There is a terrible sewer smell that continues to float over to our site. There were many complaints of this on the KOA site. The highway is close and very noisy. (See video) Not worth the money to stay here. It might be worth $10 for an overnight stop, we didn’t even hook up electric or water. Ran fans, lights and water pump off of solar. Not at all what I expect from a KOA.

Great campground

Good sites, drain well, a little close, but will definitely be back. Bathrooms were clean and big. Temperature was very comfortable, didn’t need the A/C in June! Pool was nice, could have had more chairs though. Close to downtown Boone and trails. Great mountain bike park nearby. We really enjoyed the Booneshine brewery after our hikes and mountain biking.

Ok campground

Decent sites, some retained water days after the rain. Bathrooms were clean with individual showers. Close to many trails and waterfalls.

Would not return to this park

Stayed 5 days. Upon arrival grass was long, never cut it the whole time. No shower, brown water. Trail near campground was overgrown also and had dangerous areas. The Highlands Horse trail was very challenging on my bicycle.

I will return !

Great sites. Clean bathrooms, close to many hiking trails and waterfalls.