I do a lot of camping in the Carolinas and admittedly, I'm not fond of commercial parks. I much prefer the natural ambiance, beauty and room of government parks in comparison to commercial ones. While that's not everyone's cup of tea, I use US Camgrounds to locate Federal/State/City & County parks I want to visit.
Be sure to look at the "legend" at the bottom of the map. It will quickly provide information of the type of park and it's accommodations. Drag the Google map to an area of interest and zoom in. Government campgrounds will show up as if on a pin-map. The column on the right will list each campground located in the area shown. Clicking on a particular park in that list will lead to a website with additional information.
IMHO, one of the best parks around the Charlotte area is Ebenezer , a County park in Rock Hill, SC. They went up about 160% in camping fees this past year. But, in relation to other parks in the area, it's a good price with FHUs for the casual weekender. My next choice in the area would be McDowell Nature Preserve in the SW section of Charlotte on York RD.
For those who don't mind a few hours drive, look over towards the Savannah River, north and south of I-85. There are a lot of C.O.E./State & County parks on Lake Hartwell, Lake Mitchell, and J. Strom Thurmond Lake near Augusta, Ga. Or, look up near Wilkesboro, NC. Not only is MerleFest a big attraction each year, but there are three C.O.E. parks in the area on the lake. The America The Beautiful "geezer" pass is good for 1/2 price camping at the Federal parks.
Davidson River CG in Pisgah National Forest. Only one small loop has electric - there is a place you can fill your water when you arrive and there are several spigots on each loop. The temperature hardly ever gets to 80 in the summer, so no A/C needed.
There are plenty of trails, there's a swimming hole in the CG, there's an old Methodist church inside the CG that welcomes campers on Sundays, and the river is stocked with trout. Just 3 miles back down 276 you have a 24 hour Bi-Lo and a big Wal-mart (and your cell signal back if you need it). Otherwise, head the other way and there's the fish hatchery, riding stables, tons more trails, and the Parkway. Our favorite CG (and we'll be there twice this summer).
If in the mountains look at Indain Creek Campground The campground has no pool or wifi at sites. But you feel you are out in the middle of the wildlife. Great stream thu the ground and great fishing. On of my favorites in the Cherokee area.
I've done so much with so little for so long, I'm now qualified to do anything with nothing.
Where is the good NC camping? Looking online, the NC State Park system appears to offer next to nothing in the way of RV camping options. So those of you in the Piedmont, where do you go for a weekend? What do you recommend? We'd love to find some spots to use for those three-day weekends.
Thanks in advance.
Scott
Where are you looking online for camping at State Parks? If you are looking at the official state Park website, then you cna check every state park individually. Most of them offer camping. Although you will not find FHU, you will find some with W/E and many without any hookups. But they do offer camping.
Our favorite local place (we are up around Mooresville) is Stone Mountain State Park. It is about an hour north of us, above Elkin. Great place. Pilot Mountain and Hangning Rock, both offer camping as well.
forthefunofit94 wrote: Take a look at Mountain Stream RV Park. Nice and quiet, beautifully landscaped and on the stream. It is in Marion, NC
It's a nice little park, but the owners are a bit much. A lot of rules, which they will elcture you about when you check in. Also, they will walk around with the rules in their hand. And if that is not enough, check out the rules posted on the bulleting board in the middle of the park. That is, if you lost your copy of the rules they give you at check in. Also, if you have dogs, follow the signs and do not let them use the bathroom on the grass, unless they are in the fenced in dog park. They must go on the gravel otherwise. And if you have kids, there is nothing for them to do there. Well except the creek. And then make sure they don't move any rocks.
We won't return back....well maybe when we get hold and crotchety and don't have kids with us...lol
I carry this link around with us all the time. Has good links to camp sites for each of the states. real handy sometimes...
NC is a neat camping experience.. like SC you have beach camping and mountain camping. We prefer the mountains. Seems like all of our camping trails all go through Gatlinburg TN area.
Another neat thing I have been doing of late in searching for pictures of camp grounds. i.e. Type in "STONE MOUNTAIN STATE PARK NC" into the google search but click on IMAGES when it opens up. You will see hundreds of public generated photos about Stone Mountain State park that google finds. Kinda neat to find all of the photos you want see all in one spot.
* This post was
edited 05/10/12 08:32am by RoyB *
My Posts are IMHO based on my experiences - PM me Roy and Carolyn
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forthefunofit94 wrote: Take a look at Mountain Stream RV Park. Nice and quiet, beautifully landscaped and on the stream. It is in Marion, NC
It's a nice little park, but the owners are a bit much. A lot of rules, which they will elcture you about when you check in. Also, they will walk around with the rules in their hand. And if that is not enough, check out the rules posted on the bulleting board in the middle of the park. That is, if you lost your copy of the rules they give you at check in. Also, if you have dogs, follow the signs and do not let them use the bathroom on the grass, unless they are in the fenced in dog park. They must go on the gravel otherwise. And if you have kids, there is nothing for them to do there. Well except the creek. And then make sure they don't move any rocks.
We won't return back....well maybe when we get hold and crotchety and don't have kids with us...lol
We walked Mountain Stream. We didn't care for it for several reasons. One, It's not up the Mountain but at the bottom. ( hot down there). 2. Had very tiny sites. 3 kind of pricey for where it is. 3 fire rings were only a few feet from the next camper over, and then there is that grass thing.
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