So this is the most unusual place we’ve ever camped. I would call it a‘community where there are campsites’ more than a campground. The majority of the sites are populated by beautifully-kept tiny houses with RVs sprinkled in. The grounds are beautifully planted and tended, evoking a feeling of being in a park. The bathhouse rooms are clean, individual rooms and decorated. The swimming pool is large and clubhouse lodge well provisioned. This is what a camping resort should be(but minus the huge fees)! WiFi is standard; we opted for the Pay version and had great connectivity. You will lose cell service~ 20 minutes from the campground.
Starlite is a long-term community that evolved into providing a safe and welcoming environment for LGBTQ+ folks looking for a serene mountain experience and this is an exceptional place. If you come with open mind and heart you will feel entirely welcome. My husband and I enjoyed all the people, dogs and kitties we met. We felt so safe and in this setting that we never even locked the RV when we left. Our site(79) was one of two transient camping sites feet away from the creek and a short walk to the lake filled with water lilies. The gravel site has FHU but currently is not level; the hosts have plans to revamp the site and extend the pad.
Follow the websites directions! You do NOT want to venture onto just any road up here, some of the roads are rough. Print directions before leaving home. The shortcut back dirt road between here and Blowing Rock is an adventure for a truck (only); just plan on driving it slow and it’s fine. Shockingly, as we returned from Blowing Rock the long way on Rt 321 our RV GPS program (in RV mode) kept trying to get us to take these mountainous dirt road shortcuts back to the camp. We might well have been stranded if we hadn’t known better.
Main Street Blowing Rock is a boutique shop haven. Great for strolling. Kilwins ice cream and candy shop in Blowing Rock is awesome, as is the spice shop beside it.
From downtown Blowing Rock you can hop on the Blue Ridge Parkway in minutes. South on the BRP you’ll quickly reach Moses Cone and Julian Price parks, both are great places to hike and picnic.
This is an enjoyable State Park with a lot to offer. The rangers and staff may be the nicest we’ve encountered. They have a full docket of activities, ranger-led hikes, games, crafts and wildlife lectures offered throughout the day. In addition to camping they have a full marina with canoe, kayak and paddle board rentals. It houses an acclaimed mountain bike trail area. Nearby you can golf and ride horses. Cell coverage varies from LTE to 5G all over the park.
The main camping section was laid out long ago, with older style short sites and water/electric only. Many of the sites are narrow and some have challenging access. Be sure to read site descriptions and check the suggested trailer size- they seriously mean the max size!! Each site has a fire ring, and small grate grill and a picnic table. The sites up on the ridge are probably sized only for tents and Class B units; many are sloped. The newly updated section, Moody Bluff, has FHU and a number of pull-through sites. It only has trees around the edge of one side giving it an open field feeling.
The main campground has its own boat ramp for access to the reservoir. The camp store has a small offering of RV accessories and ice for$2.00. The main campground shower units are individual and separate from the bathrooms. There are ADA shower stalls, bathrooms, and ramps. While the bath house is older and could use fresh paint it was meticulously clean all week.
We spent a long weekend with several other RV couples. Nearby Bays Mountain Park and Planetarium provides engaging planetarium shows, a herpetarium, wildlife sections with bobcats, foxes, gray wolves, and raptors, as well as hiking trails. Restaurants, grocery stores and big box retail stores are 10 minutes away in Kingsport.
Our site(62) was narrow and a little short for our 23’ trailer. We had to park the truck sideways at the entrance. Our stairs opened right on the concrete pad for the table and we had very little room for our chairs. Our group host had enough room on their site(58) that they could erect two shelters for our meals. The forest was right up to our sides and we had lovely birdsong to awaken us every morning. I would definitely return, especially if the larger sites were available.
We found Dixon Landing in their initial opening phase and it is lightly booked at this point (they even have openings for the upcoming summer holidays). This is a very secluded campground right on the wide Goose Creek/Neuse River, with access to the ocean varying from 25-50 miles.
Every RV site is pull-through with both “waterfront” and “water view” (more of a view of the marsh along the river) sites. Site layout is long, very wide(you have to actually walk over to talk to neighbors) and mostly level side-to-side. Front-to-back was easily compensated with blocks. The road in and the sites are a combination of compacted sand and grass that drained well after a storm. Many sites have shade or afternoon shade. The electric pedestal was new and tall, making it easy to connect the surge protector, and topped with a solar light.
Hosts Steve and Joan were themselves RV’rs and park details reflect their experience. Since they are in their opening season they currently offer basic services with electric/water, a dump site(no water) and free on-site pump-out service, picnic tables, firepits, a dog park, kayaks, and a fishing pond for kids(C&R). More services are in the planning or permitting stage. Today they offer a bathroom and just got permits for the full bathhouse. Fiber-optic cable should be run to their area this year. We were amazed at how many TV channels we picked up just on antennae. Verizon, ATT and Sprint service are known to be good. They will have an ice machine, laundry, and a pier eventually.
Today you will go to enjoy the absolute quiet, waking up to sunrise glinting off the wide river in every window, fishing from the banks, land and sea wildlife, gorgeous sunsets over the river, and hearing whip-or-wills serenade after sunset.
It was about 90 minutes (including 2 ferry rides) to reach the Cape Lookout National Park and lighthouse. The ferry dropped us off for 2 hours to walk the beach, hike and view the wild horses on Harker’s Island. Gary’s, the local seafood restaurant, was a find! So good we ate there twice. I’m already looking at the calendar to go back.
This was just an overnight passing-through stay. Will be happy to return and stay longer in the future. A couple of miles off the Interstate but in its own lovely mountain-lake setting. The staff we interacted with were very accommodating, taking our reservation over the phone. We arrived at nearly dark but the site manager was super helpful, even allowing us to swap sites to one that accommodated our hookups better. Hardy “doesn’t tolerate malarkey in the campground” said with a wink and we found it very quiet. The sites are built on a terraced hill with lots of trees. We had a beautiful view onto the lake. The parking area is an asphalt slab and many have a slant to them and will require leveling. There are a mix of short-stay and longer stay sites. The picnic tables and grills for our area were up a set of stairs above the RV, the pads opposite were down steps from the RV. Serious speed bumps. Some sites do not have sewer but there is a dump station at the pull-out. The signage for the main dam road which also leads into the campground looks new and does not indicate the campground is on the road. Just ‘Melville Dam, Shipping/Receiving’. We were on the road before the office/store opened so cannot comment there. Older camping design but we liked it.
We were on a sudden, urgent 1200-mile family-related trip, not recreational. This campground came recommended by family and we are giving it high recommendation. The location is near a large KY dam and lakes recreation area. No surprise that the majority of sites are permanent residents with wooden decks, patio furniture and ferns. These permanent sites are close together with basically the width of the wooden decks separating them. Very, very well maintained facilities. Clean bath house. Level asphalt pads with good hook-ups. Most sites have some shade. Nice store in the office (groceries, RV equipment and fishing supplies). They have play equipment for kids and a pool. Our plans were uncertain based on the family situation and they penciled us in for a site the next night, accommodating us with short notice both nights with no fuss. We learned the owners are new and they obviously know how to manage a facility like this. The entire family was friendly and personable. We were escorted to our site and he assisted us with hook-ups. This campground closes for a few months in Fall. Nearby food: The Daily Bread is exceptional for breakfasts, desserts, pizza and sandwiches.
We were on an sudden, urgent trip with minimal pre-planning and no reservations. We contacted Spring Lake an hour before arrival and they were super helpful, providing a level overnight pull-through site reservation. We were arriving an hour after the office closed and they made arrangements to help us get settled. We were so appreciative of the consideration. Overall we felt the amenities and the setting were the nicest of this 1200 mile trip. Pretty, very well maintained. Level sites with picnic table and convenient hook-ups. The sites are built around a small lake. I suspect most of the leases are long-term. Friendly manager and friendly residents. We walked around the lake and found they had sitting areas and gazebos where you could relax during the day or at night. A couple of miles off the interstate so no road noise and very quiet at night. You can pick up fast food dinner on the way to the park.
We were hesitant based on the reviews of “steep grade” but found this entirely manageable (24’ motor home RV). The grade is 7% and is managed through a long gentle slope in/out. The only time I’d be concerned about the entrance would be in a driving rain. Beyond that there is a central area of RV spots with nice distance between them. There are some trees but mostly around the perimeter. We were just overnight, so did not acquaint ourselves with the amenities. I would echo there are no bath houses. Friendly manager and friendly campers, most of whom appear to be permanent. They have only a small number of available slots and she would not allow me to reserve the day before — I had to call the day of to see if they still had an opening, which added to our trip insecurity. They did not take cards, we paid cash. They are in the middle of expanding with a set of new RV spaces ‘up the hill’. This was more of a grade than the entrance, but quite manageable. The long spot (# 33) was pull-through, very level, gravel, with all hookups. One RV pad per terrace. Close enough we could talk with our near neighbor but had loads of privacy. Up that high on the hill we heard a whisper of Interstate noise but that did not detract from the whip-or-will song at dusk. Overall a very nice RV park, one we would definitely stay at again.