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Camping Information |
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Lodging and Camping
- Mountain
Express Guide to Accommodations
- Bent
Creek Lodge. The place to go if you're willing to pay to eat
and sleep in style. Owned and operated by paddlers and cyclists.
Located about 15 minutes from downtown Asheville in a great area for mountain
biking. To get to there from downtown Asheville, take I-240
West to I-26. Take Exit 2 (NC 191). Turn left at the
bottom of the ramp and then left again onto NC 191, and head south
about three miles. You'll be turning right onto a gravel road
marked with a large stone bearing the words "Bent Creek
Lodge." This road is approximately seven-tenths of a mile
past the turnoff to the North
Carolina Arboretum and the Blue
Ridge Parkway. Continue up the road to the lodge.
- Campground Marilyn & Jim recommend
- Lake
Powhatan USFS Campground (photo).
Sites are $14 / night. Located about 15 minutes from downtown
Asheville in a great area for mountain
biking. Open from April 1 to October 31. Requires
reservations a minimum of four days in advance during peak season
(mid-May to October 31; click the Lake
Powhatan link to make a reservation online), and requires a
two-day minimum stay on weekends (three-day minimum stays holiday
weekends). Includes hot showers and flush toilets. To get
to the Lake Powhatan campground from downtown Asheville, take I-240
West to I-26. Take Exit 2 (NC 191). Turn left at the
bottom of the ramp and then left again onto NC 191, then head south
two miles to the stoplight on Bent Creek Ranch Road. Turn right
and follow the signs and this road to the Lake Powhatan Recreation
Area.
- North
Mills River USFS Campground. Sites are $8 / night.
Located about thirty-five minutes from downtown Asheville in a great
area for mountain
biking. Open from April 1 to October 31. Requires
reservations a minimum of four days in advance during peak season
(mid-May to October 31; click the North
Mills River link to make a reservation online), and requires a
two-day minimum stay on weekends (three-day minimum stays holiday
weekends). Does not include hot showers or flush toilets.
To get to the North Mills River campground from downtown Asheville,
take I-240 West to I-26. Take Exit 9 (Airport / Brevard
Connector), turn right off the ramp and head South on NC 280.
Just past the intersection with NC 191 make a right at the stoplight
onto North Mills River Road and follow it about five miles to the
North Mills River Recreation Area.
-
Mount Pisgah NPS Campground. Sites are $12 / night per
site for two adults plus $2 for each additional adult. Located
on the Blue Ridge Parkway about forty minutes from downtown Asheville.
Open from early May to late October. Campsites are first come,
first served. There are seventy tent sites and sixty-seven RV
sites. To get to the Mount Pisgah campground from downtown
Asheville, take I-240 West to its merger with I-26. Continue on
I-26 East to Exit 2 (191 / Blue Ridge Parkway). Turn left at
light onto NC 191 South and drive 2.6 miles to the Blue Ridge Parkway
entrance. The campground is located at mile marker 408.6.
Additional information is available on the Blue
Ridge Parkway Camping Page and the NPS
Camping Page.
- Davidson
River USFS Campground. Sites are $15-18 / night.
Located near Brevard, about forty-five minutes from downtown Asheville
in a great area for mountain
biking. Open from April 1 to October 31. Requires
reservations a minimum of four days in advance during peak season
(mid-May to October 31; click the Davidson
River link to make a reservation online), and requires a two-day
minimum stay on weekends (three-day minimum stays holiday weekends).
Includes hot showers and flush toilets. To get to the Davidson
River campground from downtown Asheville, take I-240 West to I-26.
Take Exit 9 (Airport / Brevard Connector), turn right off the ramp and
head South on NC 280 all the way to its intersection with US 64 / 276
on the outskirts of Brevard. Turn right at the stoplight onto US
276 and drive into the National Forest.
- Free camping along the dirt road between Bent Creek and North
Mills River. 15 to 45 minutes from downtown Asheville.
No showers, no toilets, no running water, lots of questionable
company. Follow the directions to the Lake
Powhatan USFS campground, but instead of turning into the campground,
continue on toward North Mills River.
- The
Duckett House. Located in Hot Springs, about 45 minutes from
downtown Asheville. One of many rustic bed and breakfasts in Hot
Springs. Hot Springs is a popular place for weddings. I
know several paddlers who have been married at the Duckett House, for
example, and another couple who were married on Max
Patch but had their reception at the Rock House (). The most
unique bed and breakfast, however, has to be Elmer Hall's Sunnybank
Inn (828-622-7206). Extremely popular with AT through
hikers, a stay at Elmer's includes a family-style vegetarian dinner
and breakfast and a chance to converse with an extremely eclectic
assortment of guests. In a former life Elmer was a Methodist
minister at Duke University; his library is extensive.
Most find the Sunnybank Inn through word of mouth. Here are some
of those words: Google
Search on Elmer and the Sunnybank Inn. And for the two of
you who are chomping at the bit for pricier accommodations, here are a
couple additional
Hot Springs lodging options.
- Rocky
Bluff USFS Campground (828-622-3202; open the Rocky Bluff
file with the free adobe
acrobat reader). Sites are $8 a night. Located outside
Hot Springs, about 50 minutes from downtown Asheville. Open May
1 to October 31, this campground has a short nature trail running
alongside Spring Creek. To get to the Rocky Bluff Campground
from downtown Asheville, head north on US 19/23. Take the US
25/70 (Marshall) exit. Follow US 25/70 all the way to Hot
Springs (this will require making a left turn to cross the Big
Laurel). Keep going straight when 25/70 turns and three miles
out of town on NC 209 South. To learn more, check out Gorp's
Rocky Bluff page. Other campgrounds in or near Hot Springs
include the Hot
Springs Campground, conveniently located on the French Broad just
below the French Broad, Barnard to Hot Springs
take-out, and the Silvermine Group USGS Campground (828)
622-3202.
- Big Creek GSNP Campground. Sites are $12 / night.
Located just upstream of the Upper
Big Creek take-out and the Lower
Big Creek put-in, about an hour from downtown Asheville. The
campground is also minutes away from the Pigeon
River Dries take-out and the Pigeon
River Gorge put-in. Open from mid-March to the beginning of
November. There are only twelve campsites and they're very nice,
so they're in high demand. To get to the Big Creek campground
from downtown Asheville, take I-240 West to I-40 West. Follow
I-40 all the way to the first TN exit (Exit 451, Waterville).
Turn left at the bottom of the ramp, pass under I-40, follow the road
over the bridge, turn left and head up the Big Pigeon. The road
will turn to follow Big Creek at its confluence with the Big Pigeon,
crossing Big Creek twice. Continue on to the parking lot at the
road's end. The campground has its own parking lot just upstream
of the main parking lot. For more information visit the NPS's
Great Smoky Mountains Camping Page.
- Cataloochee Creek GSNP Campground. Sites are $12 /
night. Located about an hour from downtown Asheville. Open
from mid-March to the beginning of November. There are
twenty-seven sites at the main campground and three sites at a nearby
group campground that hold twenty-five people each. The group
campsites book very early every year. To get to the Cataloochee
campground from downtown Asheville, take I-240 West to I-40 West.
Follow I-40 to . . . For more information visit the NPS's
Great Smoky Mountains Camping Page. Though about a half hour
further from Asheville, another option is the Cosby GSMNP
Campground, which is much larger than either the Big Creek or
Cataloochee campgrounds (175 sites). It too is open from
mid-March to the beginning of November; sites are $14 a night.
-
Linville Falls NPS Campground. Sites are $8 / night
per site for two adults plus $2 for each additional adult in the
winter (November 1 - April 30, campground closed when the Blue Ridge
Parkway is closed) and $8 / night per site for two adults plus
$2 for each additional adult in the summer. Located just
upstream of the Linville
Gorge put-in, about 75 minutes from downtown Asheville.
Campsites are first come, first served. There are fifty tent
sites and twenty RV sites. To get to the Linville Falls
campground from downtown Asheville by the quickest route, take I-240
East to I-40 East. Follow I-40 East to Exit 81, then Sugar Hill
Road toward Marion. Be alert for the right turn onto the on ramp
leading to US 221 North. Follow US 221 North to right onto NC
183 in the "town" of Linville Falls. You'll know
you've gone too far if you cross under the Blue Ridge Parkway.
Take NC 183 to the Blue Ridge Parkway Spur (less than two miles).
The campground entrance will just past the left onto the spur.
The most scenic route from Asheville to the Linville Falls Campground
is on the Blue Ridge Parkway. Take I-240 to exit 7. Turn
left when you can to head east on the ramp down to Tunnel Road.
Follow Tunnel Road east about two miles to the Blue Ridge Parkway
entrance. The campground is located near mile marker 316.3.
Additional information is available on the Blue
Ridge Parkway Camping Page and the NPS
Camping Page.
-
Mortimer USFS Campground. Located 5.3 miles upstream
of the Wilson Creek
Gorge put-in, about 100 minutes from downtown Asheville.
Sites are $4 / night from April 1 to October 31, free during the
winter. Twenty-three sites, no reservations or minimum stays
required. Vault toilets, running water in season (4/1-10/31).
From Asheville, take I-40 East to Exit 100 (Jamestown Road). Turn left
off the exit ramp and drive 3.4 miles to the "T"
intersection with NC 181 North (the name of the road you'll be on will
change from Jamestown Road to Independence Boulevard at a stoplight
just beyond a very impressive carbon mill). Turn left onto 181
North and drive 10.7 miles to Brown Mountain Beach Road. Bear
right onto Brown Mountain Beach Road. Drive 5.0 miles to the
Adako Road Bridge over Wilson Creek (I believe the name of the road
you are on changes to Adako Road at this bridge!). Turn left
onto USFS 1328 and
-
Carolina Hemlocks USFS Campground
- Curtis Creek USFS Campground
Camping regulations
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