Smokemont is a typical national park campground. There are no showers and only cold water in the restrooms. Since I have oily hair and must wash my hair daily I wish for warm showers. The campground is clean and well kept. Campsites are pretty close together, but this is ok since campers were friendly and followed the rules. It’s a beautiful setting with plenty of hiking trails nearby. Elevation is low here so it gets rather warm in the summer. I was interested in seeing “Unto These Hills” down in Cherokee so this was a perfect location for that outing. The Oconaluftee Visitor’s Center is nearby, as well.

This park is known for its archeology, but don’t miss the beautiful waterfalls. The restrooms could use some updating, but are adequate. I’m always happy when I can get a warm shower. I was there in October when the leaves were changing. Beautiful! Be sure to enjoy the museum and the hiking trails. The ranger was especially nice. This was greatly appreciated since I arrived after dark in a strange place.

Just off the Blue Ridge Parkway this campground is built among the rhododendron thickets. Sites are very private. The elevation is high so expect cool temperatures in the hot summer months. It’s also not terribly unusual to be fogged in on Mt. Pisgah. The restrooms do have showers which is fairly unusual in national park campgrounds. The restrooms could use some cosmetic upgrades but they are adequate. This is also bear country so keep your campsite clean and store food in your vehicle. It is typically a very quiet campground.

This is a typical national park campground. Restrooms do not have showers. You must leave the campground and go down near the store to pay for a shower. It amazes me that national parks charge more than national forest campgrounds having showers. Campsites are fairly close together, but adequate. The setting is wooded. The campground is very family oriented with plenty of friendly campers.

Each site was spacious and not jammed up against other sites. It is very family oriented with plenty of friendly campers. The restrooms could use a facelift, but were clean and adequate. I camped in the north loop and enjoyed the beautiful forest setting. The campground is just off the highway, but I never heard any road noise. I enjoyed hiking the trail between the North and South loops.

Van Hook Glade is a small national forest campground. The restrooms are very nice. The elevation in the area makes this a great place to go during the heat of the summer. There are many sites to visit nearby. Western North Carolina is hard to beat for natural beauty. The campground is rarely full these days which surprises me since we could never get in when I was a kid. The only negative I saw was that you do hear some road noise from Hwy. 64.

On the banks of Lake Altoona is a great setting for a campground. The restrooms in the tent area are rather old, but at least I had a warm shower. The campsite was nice and spacious with a good distance between most sites. I have very good ears, so I was disappointed to hear road noise from I-75.

We enjoyed exploring the park, but were surprised not to find tent pads. We had to pitch the tent in the grass on a slope. What happens to the grass if you stay a week or so? Those of us sleeping on mats woke up with wet hair from sliding into the tent wall or totally off the mat from sliding downhill. Restrooms were adequate. I also prefer more privacy than the sites have in this campground. We were ready for bed long before our neighbors. They weren’t particularly loud, but the light made it hard to sleep.

We had reservations, but didn’t figure out how to check in. The site numbers were very hard to see and figure out. The numbers didn’t appear to be sequential. The worst part for us was that there were no tent pads for pitching the tent. We were there during a very rainy time and had to pitch the tent in a ditch. Water flowed under the tent so we had quite a bit of mud on the bottom of the tent when we packed up. Luckily our tent kept us dry inspite of its location. Space was extremely limited. The picnic table was on the driveway. There was poison ivy less than a foot from our tent. Restrooms and showers were adequate, but toilet paper rolls would fall in the floor if you weren’t careful. All three showers drained into the middle stall making it difficult to keep thing dry.

This is my favorite campground for escaping the heat in August. If you must have electricity stay home. This is a beautiful family friendly campground with great facilities. I love my hot shower each morning. The headwaters of the Nantaha River flow through the campground providing a gathering place for families to enjoy playing in a cold mountain stream. During late June and most of July the rhododendrons are quite showy. I’ve been camping at Standing Indian since I was a child and plan a two week trip every summer. I’ve also taken numerous friends up there through the years. I don’t think anyone has ever been disappointed. Last summer we had the added thrill of seeing the total eclipse in all it’s splendor from one of the best locations in the US.