Bird/Wildlife Watching

Barefoot Landing Camping Resort

19 RV Sites, 9 Cabins

Barefoot Landing Camping Resort in Marion, North Carolina, offers 19 full-hookup back-in RV sites and nine cabins near Lake James, with 30 and 50-amp service and rigs accepted to 45 feet behind a gated entrance. A single back-in category means every guest gets the same spec, with an outdoor pool, boat ramp, boat storage, and golf cart rentals. Nineteen back-in sites carry water, sewer, and electric on 30 and 50-amp with site WiFi, sized to 45 feet, with picnic tables. One consistent category and no guesswork. Nine cabins round out the lodging. Restrooms, showers, RV storage, and boat storage handle the practical side. An outdoor pool anchors the summer, with a boat ramp opening the lake for boating, canoeing, kayaking, water sports, swimming, and fishing. A pavilion, dog park, sports courts, volleyball, basketball, gem mining, golf cart rentals, and biking fill the rest, with productive birding and a state park nearby. Lake James is one of the clearest and most naturally beautiful lakes in the southern Appalachians — 6,800 acres in the mountain foothills of McDowell County, fed by cold streams draining off Linville Gorge and the Table Rock massif. Water clarity like that is genuinely uncommon in the Southeast, and Lake James State Park protects a good stretch of the shoreline. Marion sits close by, with the Blue Ridge Parkway, Linville Falls, and the Black Mountains all within a short drive north, and Asheville about 45 minutes west. Summer lake season drives the heaviest demand, with fall foliage in the surrounding mountains drawing a strong second wave. Reserve well ahead for June through October.

from $49/night

WyldStay Greenville

10 Glamping Sites

Occupying 30 acres of working Highland cattle farm near Fountain Inn, South Carolina, approximately 20 minutes south of downtown Greenville, WyldStay Greenville offers a waterfront glamping experience that occupies an uncommonly specific niche in the South Carolina outdoor hospitality market—premium, ensuite tent accommodations on a functioning farm property with a genuine pastoral character that distinguishes it sharply from both traditional campgrounds and conventional hotel lodging in the greater Greenville area. The property's combination of luxury safari-style accommodations, farm setting, and proximity to one of the South's most acclaimed mid-sized urban cultural districts gives it a versatile appeal across a broad range of guest types. Accommodations are premium Bushtec Safari Tents with private ensuite bathrooms—a configuration that delivers the sensory outdoor experience of sleeping in a tented structure alongside the sanitary infrastructure of a fixed building, without requiring guests to share facilities or compromise on comfort. Waterfront site positioning along the farm's water features provides views of the Highland cattle pastures and property landscape that reinforce the rural farm setting, and the secluded nature of the property's layout gives individual accommodation units a degree of private separation suited to the romantic retreat, couples getaway, or small family escape that WyldStay's accommodations are most naturally designed around. The Highland cattle that give the farm its agricultural identity are a distinctive feature of the property's sensory experience—large, shaggy-coated cattle whose docile temperament and photogenic appearance make them a memorable backdrop to a stay that emphasizes genuine farm immersion alongside glamping comfort. The working farm character of the property is authentic rather than performative, and the combination of cattle, pasture, water features, and woodland gives the 30-acre landscape a multi-layered natural quality that rewards guests willing to explore the property on foot across their stay. Greenville, South Carolina, consistently ranked among the South's most desirable small cities for its combination of dining, arts, outdoor access, and walkable urban design, is accessible within a 20-minute drive from the property. Falls Park on the Reedy, centered on a 60-foot waterfall in the middle of downtown Greenville, anchors the city's Main Street dining and retail district in one of the most architecturally successful urban waterfall park developments in the Southeast. Paris Mountain State Park north of Greenville provides hiking, mountain biking, and lake swimming within the city's immediate hinterland, and Lake Hartwell's extensive shoreline on the South Carolina-Georgia border is accessible for boating and fishing within a practical drive from the farm. WyldStay Greenville operates on a reservation basis with accommodations available across the spring, summer, and fall seasons—the periods when the South Carolina upstate climate most rewards outdoor stays in a tented safari tent with ensuite amenities. Spring offers the most comfortable daytime temperatures and the greenest pasture scenery, while fall provides cooler nights and the foliage color of the surrounding upstate woodland. The property's positioning as a couples and small-group retreat means accommodations should be reserved with advance notice, particularly for weekend stays during the spring event season in Greenville and the fall when the upstate South Carolina outdoor hospitality calendar is most active.

Growing Faith Farms

Enjoy all that nature has to offer at our mountainview glamping retreat. Growing Faith Farms is a small farm and glamping retreat located in the Brushy Mountains of NC. We are about 30 minutes from Boone, 15 minutes from Wilkesboro or Lenoir, and 90 minutes from Charlotte. Owned and operated by Joseph and Christina Angott, Growing Faith Farms was established in 2021 to introduce people from all walks of life to a slower pace. There is so much history and beauty in these mountains just waiting to be explored. Come visit and see where humanity and heritage unite to form a magical connection with the land and nature in a unique experience.

from $30/night

Doe River Landing

5 RV Sites, 1 Cabin, 1 Onsite RV/Trailer

Doe River Landing in Roan Mountain, Tennessee, offers six RV sites with water and electric on 20, 30, and 50-amp service, plus a cabin and a travel trailer rental, in the Doe River gorge of Carter County. Sites take rigs to 45 feet with fire pits and picnic tables, and site WiFi reaches the property. At six sites this is a small, modern operation minutes from Roan Mountain State Park. Six back-in sites carry water and electric on 20, 30, and 50-amp, in premium and standard configurations sized to 45 feet, with fire pits and picnic tables. A cabin and a travel trailer rental serve guests without a rig. A dump station is on site for guests without sewer connections, and a general store, firewood, laundry, restrooms, and showers cover the practical side. The property makes good use of its river frontage and mountain setting. Walking trails run the grounds past a community fire pit and a pavilion, with a dog park and playground for families and pets. Fishing, swimming, hiking, volleyball, horseshoes, corn hole, and picnicking all run from the property, and the mountain and creek terrain makes for good birding. A barn on site doubles as a wedding venue. Pets are welcome. Roan Mountain State Park and the Appalachian Trail's Roan Highlands balds are minutes away. Bristol Motor Speedway, Grandfather Mountain, and Sugar Mountain Ski Resort are all within day-drive range, and skiing and snowboarding are nearby in season. Office hours run 9am to 6pm Monday through Thursday and Sunday, and 9am to 8pm Friday and Saturday, seasonally. The June rhododendron bloom on Roan Mountain and October foliage are the two peak windows — with six sites, book as far ahead as you can.

from $57/night

Norwood Campground

25 RV Sites, 10 Tent Sites

Norwood Campground in Norwood, NC, offers 25 full-hookup RV sites and 10 tent sites, with 30 and 50-amp service and room for rigs up to 45 feet. Sites come in two categories, back-in 30-amp and back-in 50-amp, each carrying water, sewer, and electric with site-delivered WiFi, a fire pit, and a picnic table. The campground is open all year, with laundry, a bathhouse, a general store, firewood, propane exchange, a dump station, a recreation center, golf cart rentals, boat storage, and a pet washing station. Pets are welcome. The lake access is the draw: exclusive Lake Tillery beach access, boat docks, and a fishing pier, plus a pond, walking trails, a pavilion, a jumping pillow, horseshoes, corn hole, a playground, and gem panning, with swimming, fishing, boating, birding, and planned activities. Norwood sits at Morgan Mountain on Lake Tillery in Stanly County's Piedmont foothills, with hardwood forest around it. From 24/27 heading west, turn onto Indian Mound Road in South Albemarle just after crossing the Pee Dee. Rates for sites and tent spots are on the booking page. Summer lake weekends fill first.

from $40/night

Meraki Escape

2 Cabins

Meraki Escape in Brevard, NC, offers 2 luxury Nordic Spruce log cabins. This is an adults-only cabin retreat rather than a serviced RV park — no children, and the published record shows no RV sites or hookups, so contact them directly if you're traveling in a rig. Laundry, a bathhouse, on-site dining, a general store, a spa, a hot tub and sauna, a library, a concierge, and EV charging serve guests. Pets are welcome. The property also hosts weddings. One practical note the property makes itself: print or download the driving directions before you set out, because cell and GPS coverage drops through these mountains. Creek frontage, walking trails, hiking, fishing, kayaking, and birding fill the forested grounds, with wine tasting, golf, and a state park nearby. Brevard sits in Transylvania County in the southern Blue Ridge — the self-styled Land of Waterfalls, with Pisgah National Forest, DuPont State Forest, and more than 250 named falls in the county. Rates for the cabins are on the booking page. Two cabins, adults only — book early, and download the directions.

from $319 $278/night

Roan Creek Campground by Doe Mountain

Roan Creek Campground by Doe Mountain in Butler, Tennessee, offers spacious full-hookup RV sites with water, sewer, and electric, alongside tent camping and rustic cabins on Roan Creek in northeast Tennessee. Fire pits, picnic tables, and site WiFi serve guests using the property as a base for the region's outdoor recreation. Full-hookup back-in sites carry water, sewer, and electric with fire pits and picnic tables. Rustic cabins provide enclosed lodging, and tent sites cover simpler camping. A dump station, restrooms, showers, and WiFi handle the practical side. Pets are welcome. The creek is the setting. Walking trails run the property, with fishing, kayaking, canoeing, swimming, hiking, picnicking, and birding all available from camp. The mountain terrain surrounds the campground on every side, and the water is the reason most guests book. Doe Mountain Recreation Area is the headline draw — 8,700 acres of trails and adventure terrain, and one of the more substantial riding and hiking areas in the region. Beyond it, northeast Tennessee's high country opens up in every direction, with the Appalachian corridor's lakes, rivers, and ridgelines all within reach. The campground works equally well for a quiet getaway and an active outdoor trip, which is much of its appeal — guests can ride Doe Mountain all day or spend it beside the creek without leaving the property. The campground serves the northeast Tennessee mountain season. Summer water recreation and October foliage drive the heaviest demand, with riding season on Doe Mountain extending through the shoulder months. Reserve ahead for fall color weekends.

from $20/night

Phoenix Mountain Campground

9 RV Sites

Phoenix Mountain Campground in Lansing, North Carolina, offers nine full-hookup RV sites with water, sewer, and electric service on 30 and 50-amp, taking rigs up to 60 feet, steps from the New River in Ashe County. Site WiFi reaches the campground. At nine sites, this is a deliberately small operation in the Blue Ridge Mountains of North Carolina's northwestern corner. Nine full-hookup sites offer 30 and 50-amp service with water and sewer, accommodating rigs to 60 feet in back-in configurations. WiFi reaches the sites. The small site count is the point: guests get river frontage and quiet rather than a programmed resort, and the campground fills accordingly. The New River is the property's defining feature. Sites sit adjacent to its clear, rocky-bottom flow, putting guests within walking distance for morning fishing, afternoon paddling, and evening time by the water. Fishing, kayaking, canoeing, paddle boats, and boating all run from the property, and picnicking areas serve daytime use. The surrounding hills and river corridor make for exceptional birding — warblers and vireos in the canopy, waterthrushes along the stream edges, raptors on the ridgeline thermals. Pets are welcome. The New River is a National Wild and Scenic River and among the oldest rivers on Earth, an ancient drainage that predates the Appalachians and still runs north and west against them. Lansing's revitalized downtown is walkable and close by, with Pie on the Mountain, Old Orchard Creek General Store, and Molley Chomper Cidery among the local draws. The campground runs through the Ashe County mountain season, with summer river recreation and October foliage driving demand. With only nine sites, weekends book out well in advance — reserve early for any summer or fall stay.

from $65/night

Creekwood Farm RV Park

Creekwood Farm RV Park in Waynesville, NC, offers full-hookup RV sites carrying water, sewer, and electric, with site-delivered WiFi, a fire pit, and a picnic table at each site. Both pull-thru and back-in layouts are available. The park is open all year, with laundry, a bathhouse with showers, a general store, firewood, propane fills, a clubhouse, a recreation center, a pavilion, and a community fire pit. Cabins are available for guests without a rig. Contact the park for site count, amp service, and maximum rig length, since those specifics aren't published here — worth a call before committing a long coach to a mountain road. Jonathan Creek runs alongside the property, and that's the draw: creek-side sites good for fishing and tubing, with a barn, a dog park, corn hole, birding, and planned activities on the grounds. The park sits on Jonathan Creek Road one mile off Interstate 40 at Exit 20 in Haywood County, 30 minutes from both Asheville and Great Smoky Mountains National Park, with Maggie Valley, whitewater rafting, and the Haywood Arts Theater close by. Skiing is nearby in winter. Rates and availability are on the booking page. Fall foliage weeks in these mountains book furthest ahead.

from $48/night

Halls Top Hangout

5 Cabins

Hall's Top Hangout in Hartford, Tennessee, offers five cabins in the Pigeon River gorge, with walking trails, restrooms, showers, and firewood on a mountain property in Cocke County. The setting at the confluence of Big Creek and the Pigeon River puts guests at the launching point for the Upper Pigeon's commercial rafting corridor. Five cabins make up the accommodations — this is cabin lodging rather than an RV park, so there are no sites or hookups here. Restrooms, showers, and firewood serve the property. With five cabins, book well ahead rather than counting on availability. Walking trails run the mountain property, with hiking and birding from the grounds and a creek and river close by. Off-roading and skiing are nearby. The setting is the offering — this is a genuine mountain retreat rather than a programmed resort. Hartford sits where I-40 crosses the Pigeon River in a gap between the Bald Mountains and the Smokies' main ridge. That position gives access to the most intense whitewater rafting in the Tennessee Smokies, and it is also the gateway to Great Smoky Mountains National Park's most remote and least-visited northern access at Cosby — a genuinely different park experience from the Gatlinburg corridor's crowds. The property serves the Smokies season. Summer rafting and October foliage drive the heaviest demand in the gorge, with the Cosby side of the park staying quieter than the main corridor throughout. Reserve well ahead for fall color weekends.

River Falls at the Gorge

70 RV Sites

River Falls at the Gorge in Lakemont, Georgia, offers 70 RV sites along the Tallulah River with 30 and 50-amp full hookups and rigs accepted to 56 feet, open all year behind a gated entrance. River back-ins join premium categories including pull-throughs with decks and sites with private pavilions, 1.5 miles from the rim of Tallulah Gorge. Seventy sites span back-in river, premium, premium end, premium pull-through with deck, premium with pavilion, and pull-through categories, all carrying water, sewer, and electric on 30 and 50-amp, sized to 56 feet, with fire pits, picnic tables, and BBQ pits. The deck and pavilion categories are worth requesting — genuine outdoor living space rather than a pad. Loops A and B are nightly sites; Loop C is for leasing. Cabins, treehouses, a tiny cabin, and tent sites round out the accommodations. A general store, laundry, dump station, restrooms, and firewood handle the practical side. An outdoor pool anchors the summer, with tubing, fishing, kayaking, and river swimming in the Tallulah's clear mountain water directly from the property. A clubhouse, arcade, sports courts, basketball, corn hole, walking trails, hiking, biking, a playground, pavilion, and community fire pit fill the grounds, with a lake and wineries nearby. Pets are welcome. Tallulah Gorge is one of the most spectacular natural landmarks in the Southeast, and this is one of the only riverside RV campgrounds in northeast Georgia. Summer river season and October foliage drive demand. Reserve well ahead.

from $76/night

Camp Leconte Luxury Outdoor Resort

18 RV Sites, 5 Tent Sites, 7 Glamping Sites, 2 Treehouses, 3 Vintage RV Rentals

Camp LeConte Luxury Outdoor Resort in Gatlinburg, Tennessee, offers 21 RV sites, two treehouses, seven glamping sites, and five tent sites four miles from downtown, with 20, 30, and 50-amp full hookups, cable TV, and rigs accepted to 42 feet. Named retro campers — Glamping at Tiffany's, Miss Daisy, and The Ruby Slipper — join European safari tents in a curated lodging mix. Twenty-one sites carry water, sewer, and electric on 20, 30, and 50-amp in back-in and pull-through configurations, sized to 42 feet, with fire pits, picnic tables, BBQ pits, cable TV, and site WiFi. Note the 42-foot cap before booking a larger rig. The lodging is the distinguishing feature: two treehouses, seven glamping units including European safari tents, and the three named retro campers give guests genuinely unusual options in a corridor where most properties offer standard cabins. An outdoor pool and hot tub anchor the warm months, with a playground, pavilion, and ping pong on the grounds. The mountain setting and creek nearby round it out, with birding productive across the property. Pets are welcome. Gatlinburg's downtown Parkway is four miles away, with Great Smoky Mountains National Park access adjacent and the full Smoky Mountain entertainment and dining infrastructure within minutes. An amusement park and wine tasting are nearby. The resort has run since 2013 as a family-owned boutique property. Summer and October foliage drive the heaviest demand in one of the most visited tourist corridors in the country — reserve well ahead for both.

from $35/night