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Camping in North Carolina is uniformly fantastic, from the coastal islands and the rolling hills of the Piedmont to the high-flying peaks of the Western NC mountains.
North Carolina is home to 3 massive national forests and the 2 most visited national parks in the United States.
So many of the best NC campgrounds are located in (or near) some of the most popular places in the country.
Of course, theNC state parks are also phenomenal, and some of the best campsites in North Carolina are in iconic places like Hanging Rock and Lake Norman.
Multiple towns offer beachfront campgrounds in North Carolina, and the lakeside camping opportunities in NC are also primo.
But in our admittedly biased opinion, North Carolina camping is arguably at its best in the Blue Ridge Mountains.
As a longtime resident of the state and an ardent camping enthusiast, I’ve been exploring these places for years now. Read on for my list of the 10 Best Campgrounds in North Carolina!
READ MORE:The 40 Best Camping Gifts and Hiking Gifts
Places to Stay near North Carolina Campgrounds
- The Inn on Pamlico Sound (Buxton waterfront boutique hotel and restaurant)
- Carolina Beach Inn (Pet-friendly quiet boutique hotel walking distance to beach)
- Holiday Inn Express (Brevard hotel near Pisgah NF w/outdoor pool & breakfast)
- Folkestone Inn (near Deep Creek, excellent farm-themed chef driven B&B)
- Bees B&B (Mt Airy historic Victorian home w/ wonderful breakfast)
- Hyatt Place Chapel Hill (12 miles from Jordan Lake, upscale near UNC)
- Azalea Garden Inn (rustic rooms and a cozy cabin on Blowing Rock’s Main Street)
10 Best Campgrounds in North Carolina Guide
- Cape Point Campground (Cape Hatteras National Seashore)
- Carolina Beach State Park Campground (Carolina Beach NC)
- Cheoah Point Campground (Robbinsville NC)
- Davidson Campground (Pisgah Forest NC)
- Deep Creek Campground (Bryson City NC)
- Hanging Rock State Park (Danbury NC)
- Jordan Lake State Park (Pittsboro NC)
- Julian Price Memorial Park Campground (Blowing Rock NC)
- Lake Norman State Park (Troutman NC)
- Lake Powhattan Campground (Asheville NC)
READ MORE: The 15 Best Campgrounds in the North Carolina Mountains
1. Cape Point Campground (Cape Hatteras National Seashore)
46700 Lighthouse Road, Buxton NC • (252) 475-9018
Cape Hatteras National Seashore has several campgrounds, but the Cape Point Campground is most centrally located to the attractions.
This campground is cozied between a huge maritime forest and rolling sand dunes. It’s just a short walk to the beach for some of the best surfing in the state and the best fishing on the coast.
The Cape Hatteras Lighthouse (the tallest brick lighthouse in the USA) is less than 2 miles away. In the shadow of the lighthouse, The Museum of the Sea shares info about the Outer Banks’ history, both natural and otherwise.
Campsites at the Cape Point Campground include standard non-electric and tent-only non-electric sites.
Campground amenities include flush toilets, drinking water, showers, and paved parking/roads. There are also BBQ grills, a picnic area, and paved parking.
READ MORE:The 10 Best Campgrounds in Virginia
2. Carolina Beach State Park Campground
1010 State Park Road, Carolina Beach NC • (910) 458-7770
Campgrounds on the beach in North Carolina are a great way to visit on a budget and still make the most of these amazing places. Carolina Beach State Park is about 12 miles south of Wilmington NC, and it’s a super cool spot!
The park is home to the famous Venus flytrap, the massive Sugarloaf Dune, and 3 lime-sink ponds whose extremely unique ecosystems boast abundant (and rare) plant life.
Carolina Beach SP also has a marina that provides access to Cape Fear River and the Intercoastal Waterway, so it’s ideal for boaters and anglers.
All campsites here have fire rings with grills and picnic tables, and sites with electric hook-ups are available. The grounds have flush toilets, drinking water, and showers.
Within the park, there’s also a lounge area with Wi-Fi, a marina store, and a boat launch ramp.
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3. Cheoah Point Campground (Nantahala National Forest)
1373 Thunderbird Mountain Road, Robbinsville NC • (828) 479-6431
Located in Robbinsville NC, the Cheoah Point Campground is a personal favorite because it offers stunning views over a mountain lake and quick (walkable) access to a swimming beach with an impressive picnic shelter.
Additionally, this location puts you close to theJoyce Kilmer Memorial Forest, a 3,800-acre tract of old-growth forest with massive poplar trees. It’s an amazing hike, and a magical place a la the redwood forests of the West Coast.
All Cheoah Point campsites have the standard tent pad, fire ring and grill, and picnic table. Flush toilets and showers are available at the campground, as are standard electric sites for RVs.
This North Carolina campground is a loop on a peninsula jutting into Lake Santeetlah, and the sunsets are stunning over the lake.
If you’re looking for more luxury, check out the nearby Historic Topoco Lodge Resort, near the Tail of the Dragon.
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4. Davidson River Campground (Pisgah National Forest)
1 Davidson River Circle, Pisgah Forest NC • (828) 577-4558
The southern Pisgah Ranger District of Pisgah National Forest is incredibly special to me because I’ve spent a lot of time there. When I visit, I always love camping at theDavidson River Campground.
NC camping doesn’t get much nicer than this. It’s huge and family-friendly, but also wooded and cozy. It has a sweet swimming hole in the river and lots of choices for campsites, including full hook-ups and tent-only loops.
Davidson River Campground is close to the park Visitor Center, the Cradle of Forestry, and Looking Glass Falls.
Also nearby are popular trails like Pink Beds, Sliding Rock Falls, and tons of other waterfalls near Brevard NC.
The town of Pisgah Forest is just a couple of miles away, right at the entrance to the forest, and tasty Brevard restaurants and breweries are less than 15 minutes away by car.
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5. Deep Creek Campground (Great Smoky Mountain National Park)
1912 East Deep Creek Road, Bryson City NC • (828) 488-3184
Located in one of the most remarkable sections of Great Smoky Mountains National Parkand renowned for an amazing 3-waterfall hike, Deep Creek is a fantastic campground inNorthCarolina.
One of my personal Top 5 favorite NC waterfalls—Tom Branch Falls— is here, and the other two waterfalls on the main trail are Indian Creek Falls and Juney Whank Falls.
The Deep Creek section of GSMNP is only a few minutes outside of Bryson City, home to the Great Smoky Mountains Railroad. It’s also a short, 20-minute drive from Cherokee NC and the Oconoluftee Visitor Center.
This campground has flush toilets, drinking water, and sinks, but not showers.
As with most of these North Carolina campsites, they also have a picnic table, a fire ring with a grill, and a tent pad. Non-electric RV sites are available as well.
READ MORE:The 15 Best Great Smoky Mountains Campgrounds to Visit
6. Hanging Rock Campground (Hanging Rock State Park)
1790 Hanging Rock Park Road, Danbury NC • (336) 593-8480
Located 30 miles north of Winston-Salem and 28 miles southeast ofMount Airy, Hanging Rock State Park is a longtime favorite getaway for locals.
It has great North Carolina hiking trails, a lake with a beach, and an impressive collection of waterfalls. It’s also one of many first-class NC State Park campgrounds.
The namesake feature of the park is a stunning rock outcropping that requires a great moderate-level hike (ideally with good hiking shoes) to reach, and an awe-inspiring place to have a picnic.
Other attractions at the park include 20+ miles of hiking trails, as well as mountain bike and horseback riding trails. It also has a small lake and access to the Dan River for boating, fishing, and river tubing.
This campground is a bit beyond typical North Carolina state campgrounds, with several cabins available for let. Warm showers are also available, and seasonal concessions are open in Summer at the lakeside beach.
READ MORE:10 Wonderful Yadkin Valley Wineries Worth Visiting
7. Parkers Creek Campground (Jordan Lake State Recreation Area)
Parkers Creek Recreation Road, Pittsboro NC • (919) 362-0586
Jordan Lake State Recreation Area is a huge local attraction for Raleigh, Durham, and Chapel Hill, with 1,000+ North Carolina camping sites to accommodate visitors from those cities.
With nearly 5,000 acres of lakeside woodlands and nearly 14,000 acres of lake, the area is beloved for its 15 miles of hiking trails, great paddling and swimming opportunities, and primetime fishing.
Jordan Lake is also one of the largest summertime nesting areas for Bald Eagles, so spotting the national bird is very common here.
Parkers Creek is one of three large campgrounds on the lake, with over 250 campsites spread between four different lakeside loops. There’s also a boat ramp in the campground.
The campground loops have trails linking them, and there’s even a children’s loop south of Loop 1.
READ MORE:The 25 Best North Carolina Music Festivals
8. Julian Price Campground (Blue Ridge Parkway)
Milepost 297 Blue Ridge Parkway, Blowing Rock NC • (828) 963-5911
My wife Emma and I stayed here during our trip on theBlue Ridge Parkway in Fall, and we were immediately smitten with this North Carolina campground and Julian Price Memorial Park.
This park has a magnificent mountain lake at its heart. So canoeing, kayaking, and paddleboarding are a huge draw, and equipment is for rent within walking distance from the campground.
The hiking trails at Julian Price are also great, with the most notable being the 5.5-mile Boone Fork Trail, which features awesome Western North Carolina waterfalls, rocky outcrops, and several types of forests.
Julian Price Campground has just under 200 sites, over half of which are available on a first-come, first-served basis. All offer conveniences like flush toilets, showers, picnic tables, and dump stations.
Julian Price Memorial Park is just a couple of miles away from Moses H. Cone Memorial Park, which is another must-see while visiting the NC High Country.
READ MORE:The 13 Best Blue Ridge Parkway Campgrounds to Visit
9. Lake Norman Campground (Lake Norman State Park)
759 State Park Road, Troutman NC • (704) 528-6350
As the largest city in the state, Charlotte NC may not inspire thoughts of camping. But there are several nice options an hour or so away from downtown.
Located just 40 miles north of Charlotte, the Lake Norman Campground is probably the top choice.
Lake Norman is the largest man-made lake in North Carolina. It’s fed by the Catawba River and empties into yet another lake, offering over 500 miles of shoreline and over 50 square miles of surface area.
The state park is located at the northern end of the lake, offering over 30 miles of hiking and biking trails, kayaks and paddleboards for rent, and a swimming area. It’s also home to over 25 Great Blue Heron nests!
Camping options there include tent sites, trailer sites, RV sites, and camper cabins that can sleep up to six people. The campground has flush toilets, hot showers, and shared potable water spigots.
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10. Lake Powhattan Campground (Pisgah National Forest)
375 Wesley Branch Road, Asheville NC • (828) 877-3265
A true Asheville campground in thePisgah National Forest, the Lake Powhattan Campground is one of the most popular campgrounds in the North Carolina mountains.
In addition to being on the lake, it’s adjacent to one of Asheville’s favorite hiking trails, the Hardtimes Loop.It’s surrounded by some of the tallest peaks in the Eastern US, close to numerous waterfalls, and concealed in dense forest.
The lakehas a sandy beach for swimming, and fishing is permitted. However, personal watercraft are not allowed on the water in order to protect the riparian ecosystem.
This campground has standard and tent-only non-electric sites, standard and RV electric sites, as well as 12 glamping tents.
Hendersonville NC is just 20 minutes away, as is Downtown Ashevilleand the Sierra Nevada Brewery.–by Jonathon Engels
