Boating

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

Cove Ridge Marina & Resort

5 RV Sites, 1 Cabin, 2 Houses

Cove Ridge Marina and Resort in Butler, Tennessee, offers five full-hookup back-in RV sites and three cabin and house units in a private cove on Watauga Lake, with 30 and 50-amp service and rigs accepted to 72 feet, behind a gated entrance. A single back-in category joins a marina, boat rentals, boat storage, on-site dining, and food trucks. Five back-in sites carry water, sewer, and electric on 30 and 50-amp with site WiFi, sized to 72 feet. One consistent category and no guesswork, and 72 feet accommodates a long coach with a tow — genuinely generous for mountain lakeshore terrain. Three cabins and houses round out the lodging. A general store, restrooms, boat storage, on-site dining, and food trucks handle the practical side. The marina anchors the property, with boat rentals opening the lake for boating, canoeing, kayaking, swimming, and fishing. A playground fills the rest. Pets are welcome. Watauga Lake is Tennessee's highest-elevation major lake at roughly 1,959 feet, and it is genuinely striking — flanked by the ridges of the Cherokee National Forest, with water clarity that rivals mountain lakes much farther west and almost no shoreline development because the forest owns most of it. The private cove position means protected water and quiet even on a busy summer weekend. The Appalachian Trail crosses the lake at the dam, Roan Mountain and the Doe River Gorge are close, and Bristol and Johnson City are within a short drive. Summer lake season drives the heaviest demand, with fall foliage in the Cherokee National Forest drawing a strong second wave. Reserve well ahead.

Fish Springs at Little Pond Mountain Campground

19 RV Sites

Fish Springs at Little Pond Mountain Campground in Hampton, Tennessee, offers 19 full-hookup RV sites with 20, 30, and 50-amp service, sized for rigs to 45 feet on a big-rig-friendly layout, at the base of Roan Mountain in the upper Doe River valley. An outdoor pool and ball field sit on a property built as a base for southern Appalachian mountain recreation. Nineteen back-in sites carry water, sewer, and electric on 20, 30, and 50-amp, sized to 45 feet, with picnic tables and site WiFi. A dump station, laundry, restrooms, and showers handle the practical side. One vehicle is allowed per site, with an extra vehicle fee of $1 per night on arrival — among the more modest such charges in this batch. An outdoor pool anchors the summer, with a ball field and basketball on the grounds. Boating, swimming, fishing, canoeing, kayaking, snorkeling, hiking, and biking all run from the area, with off-roading and a golf course nearby. The cold, clear mountain streams around Roan Mountain hold some of the finest wild trout water in the East, which is why many guests book. Pets are welcome. Hampton sits in Carter County where the Cherokee National Forest's spruce-fir summits, the Appalachian Trail's high-elevation traverse, and Watauga Lake's shoreline converge — one of the most recreation-rich environments in the southern Appalachians. The campground serves the mountain season. The June rhododendron bloom on Roan Mountain and October foliage are the two peak windows, with summer lake and trout traffic between them. With 19 sites, reserve well ahead for any of the three.

from $20/night

Black Bear Resort

Black Bear Resort in Hampton, Tennessee, offers cottages, cabins, a bunkhouse, tent sites, and RV camping four-tenths of a mile from the Dennis Cove Trailhead, with a breakfast cafe, laundry, and shuttle service to Appalachian Trail access points. It is an Appalachian Trail Passport stamp location, and the section-hiker infrastructure is what the resort has built its identity around. Accommodations span the range. Cottages and cabins provide enclosed lodging, a bunkhouse offers hostel-style dormitory space for thru-hikers and groups, and tent sites and RV sites cover the rest. Laundry and restrooms serve guests coming off multi-day sections, and the on-site dining room handles meals — the breakfast cafe in particular is a fixture for hikers heading out. Pets are welcome. Walking trails run from the property, and the resort's shuttle service to multiple AT trailheads is the practical amenity that sets it apart in this corridor. Hiking, fishing, boating, canoeing, kayaking, and biking are all accessible from camp, and a playground serves families. Firewood is available on site. The Dennis Cove Trailhead, four-tenths of a mile away, enters the Appalachian Trail near Laurel Fork waterfall. Watauga Lake's 6,430 acres provide warmwater and tailwater fishing across the Big Creek inlet, the Laurel Creek embayment, and the Watauga River below the dam. The Roan Highlands' rhododendron balds bloom in June, visible for miles from the surrounding ridges. The resort serves the Carter County mountain season. Thru-hiker traffic peaks in spring as northbound hikers come through, and the June rhododendron bloom and October foliage draw the general visitor market. Reserve ahead for all three.

Lake Ridge RV Resort

84 RV Sites, 20 Cabins, 7 Tent Sites

Lake Ridge RV Resort in Hillsville, Virginia, offers 84 RV sites, 20 cabins, and seven tent sites on a lake in Carroll County's Blue Ridge Mountains, with 30 and 50-amp full-hookup service and rigs accepted to 65 feet. An outdoor pool with water slides, a clubhouse, and a full activity calendar make this a family resort rather than an overnight stop. Sites run from back-in and deluxe back-in with 30-amp water and electric to VIP back-in and pull-through options and super pull-throughs with 50-amp, all sized for rigs to 65 feet. Twenty cabins serve guests traveling without a rig, and seven tent sites cover simpler camping. A general store, snack bar, laundry, propane fills and exchange, and a dump station handle the practical side, and WiFi reaches the property. On-site recreation is extensive. An outdoor pool with water slides anchors the summer, with a lake on the property for fishing, boating, paddle boats, and paddle boarding. Sports courts, basketball, horseshoes, shuffleboard, and gaga ball spread across the grounds, with an arcade and clubhouse indoors and a playground, pavilion, dog park, and walking trails besides. Golf cart rentals make the resort easy to cross, and planned activities run through the season. Pets are welcome. Hillsville sits near the Blue Ridge Parkway close to the Virginia–North Carolina line. Galax and its Old Fiddlers' Convention, the New River Trail State Park, and Grayson Highlands State Park are all close. Roanoke and Winston-Salem are each about 75 minutes; Virginia Tech is 52 miles. The resort runs the Blue Ridge season, with summer families and October foliage driving peak demand. Reserve ahead for both, and check pool and slide operating dates when booking shoulder-season stays.

Lakeview RV Resort

87 RV Sites

Lakeview RV Resort in Bluff City, Tennessee, offers 87 full-hookup RV sites overlooking Boone Lake with 20, 30, and 50-amp service, cable TV, and rigs accepted to 50 feet, open all year. Standard, cable-equipped, and wide back-in categories join a storm shelter, fishing pier, boat docks, and outdoor pool. Eighty-seven back-in sites run in standard, with-cable, and wide with-cable categories, all carrying water, sewer, and electric on 20, 30, and 50-amp, sized to 50 feet, with fire pits and picnic tables. The wide category is worth requesting for larger rigs or guests who want elbow room. Cabins round out the lodging. A general store, laundry, propane fills, restrooms, and firewood handle the practical side, with a storm shelter on site — a genuine safety feature in the Tennessee Valley. Site rates vary by category and date. An outdoor pool anchors the warm months, with a lake, pond, fishing pier, boat docks, and boat rentals giving direct water access for fishing, boating, canoeing, and kayaking. A recreation center, playground, pavilion, dog park, horseshoes, corn hole, biking, and on-site dining fill the rest, with planned activities through the season. Pets are welcome. The elevated viewshed over Boone Lake against the Blue Ridge is the resort's signature. Bluff City sits on US-11E between Johnson City and Kingsport, with the lake's bass and walleye fishery and the South Holston River tailwater close by. Year-round operation makes this viable across seasons. Summer and October foliage are the peaks — reserve ahead.

from $55/night

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

Buck Creek RV Park

31 RV Sites

Buck Creek RV Park in Marion, NC, offers 31 full-hookup RV sites with 20, 30, and 50-amp service and room for rigs up to 45 feet. Sites come in several categories — back-in 30/50-amp with cable, premium back-in 30/50-amp, pull-thru 30/50-amp, and waterfront back-in 30/50-amp without cable — all carrying water, sewer, and electric with a fire pit and picnic table. One booking note: your specific site number is not guaranteed and is assigned at check-in. The park is rated big rig friendly, with laundry, a bathhouse with showers, firewood, a dump station, a community fire pit, and both RV and boat storage. Pets are welcome. The property covers 48 acres with swimming and hiking from the site. Marion sits in McDowell County at the base of the Blue Ridge, where the Appalachian escarpment drops from Mount Mitchell — the highest peak in the eastern United States — toward the Catawba River valley. Rates by site category are on the booking page. Waterfront back-ins are the ones to request, though the exact site is assigned on arrival.

from $59/night

Spacious Skies Hidden Creek

108 RV Sites, 18 Cabins, 26 Tent Sites

Spacious Skies Hidden Creek in Marion, North Carolina, offers 108 RV sites, 18 cabins, and 26 tent sites at the base of the Black Mountains, with 20, 30, and 50-amp full hookups and rigs accepted to 60 feet behind a gated entrance. Premium creek-front pull-through and lakeview categories join standard back-in sites, with a pool, mini-golf, and gem mining. One hundred eight sites span back-in 20/30-amp, back-in 30/50-amp, premium creek-front pull-thru, premium lakeview back-in, and premium lakeview pull-thru categories, all carrying water, sewer, and electric, sized to 60 feet. The creek-front and lakeview premiums are the ones to request. Eighteen cabins and 26 tent sites round out the lodging. A general store, laundry, propane fills, restrooms, and firewood handle the practical side. All guests and visitors check in at the main office on arrival and sign the terms. An outdoor pool anchors the summer, with a lake and creek supporting fishing, boating, and swimming. Mini-golf, gem mining, a jumping pillow, arcade, recreation center, billiards, basketball, volleyball, horseshoes, and corn hole fill the grounds, with walking trails, hiking, golf cart rentals, a playground, pavilion, community fire pit, and dog park besides. Pets are welcome. McDowell County's gem mining tradition is genuine rather than a novelty, and the surrounding hollow-and-ridge terrain marks the Blue Ridge's steepest eastern escarpment. Summer and fall foliage drive demand in the North Carolina mountains. Reserve well ahead for October.

from $25/night

Mammoth Ridge RV Park

20 RV Sites

Mammoth Ridge RV Park and Campground in Greeneville, Tennessee, offers full-hookup RV sites on a lake with its own beach, a dog park, a general store and golf cart rentals. Sites take rigs up to 75 feet with electric hookups, which accommodates most large coaches traveling the Nolichucky valley between Morristown and Johnson City. Full-hookup RV sites with electric service accommodate rigs to 75 feet, and a dump station is on site. RV storage is available for guests leaving a rig between visits. Bathrooms, showers and laundry cover the practical side of a stay, a general store stocks basics and firewood, and WiFi reaches the sites. The lake is the property's center of gravity. A beach gives swimmers direct access, and fishing, boating, canoeing, kayaking and paddle boats put guests on the water without leaving the campground. Walking trails and biking routes run the grounds, volleyball and gaga ball serve the younger crowd, and a covered pavilion handles group gatherings. A fenced dog park is on site and pets are welcome. Golf cart rentals make the property easy to move around, and a golf course is nearby. One practical note: this is bear country despite the populated setting, so store food accordingly. Greeneville is the home of Andrew Johnson, and the National Historic Site downtown preserves his homestead, tailor shop and cemetery. The Nolichucky River Gorge lies 20 miles south in the Cherokee National Forest, where a 14-mile canyon carries Class III–IV whitewater, and Great Smoky Mountains National Park's Cosby entrance is a 45-mile drive southwest. The campground runs spring through fall. Cherokee National Forest wildflowers peak April into May, and October foliage on the northeast Tennessee ridgelines is the busiest window of the year — with the Roan Mountain rhododendron bloom, 40 miles northeast, drawing heavily from mid-June into early July. Reserve ahead for both.

from $60/night

Wilderness Cove Campground

3 RV Sites, 7 Tent Sites, 8 Glamping Sites, 2 Cottages, 1 House

Wilderness Cove Campground in Saluda, NC, offers 3 RV sites, 3 cottage and house rentals, 7 tent sites, and 8 glamping sites, with 20, 30, and 50-amp service and back-in sites for rigs up to 45 feet. Sites come in two categories, 30/50-amp full-hookup back-ins carrying water, sewer, and electric, and 30-amp water-and-electric back-ins, each with site-delivered WiFi, a fire pit, and a picnic table. With 18 non-RV accommodations against 3 RV sites, this is a glamping and cottage property that also takes RVs. The grounds are gated, with a bathhouse with showers, a general store, firewood, on-site dining, and visiting food trucks. Pets are welcome. A zip line, a marina, a beach, inflatable water toys, and walking trails fill the riverfront property, with kayaking, boating, swimming, fishing, hiking, biking, and picnicking on the lower Green River. Saluda sits at the base of the Blue Ridge Escarpment, where the mountains drop dramatically from the Appalachian highlands to the Carolina Piedmont. Rates for every accommodation type are on the booking page. Three RV sites means booking early is essential.

from $36/night

Smith Mountain Campground

20 RV Sites, 2 Tent Sites

Smith Mountain Campground in Penhook, VA, offers 20 full-hookup RV sites and 2 tent sites, with 30 and 50-amp service and room for rigs up to 50 feet. Sites come in three categories — back-in 30-amp water-and-electric, back-in 30/50-amp, and pull-thru 30/50-amp — with full-hookup sites carrying water, sewer, and electric plus a fire pit and picnic table. A bathhouse with showers, a general store, firewood, a dump station, a recreation center, and cabins cover the rest. Pets are welcome. A stocked fishing pond, private hiking trails, a pavilion, sport courts, bocce, corn hole, horseshoes, a playground, and creek frontage fill the family-owned grounds, with boating, picnicking, and dark-sky stargazing. Penhook sits on Liberty Road in the Blue Ridge foothills of Franklin County, less than five miles from the nearest public boat launch on Smith Mountain Lake, with the Booker T. Washington Monument, The Homeplace Vineyard, and The Coves Amphitheater all close. Rates for sites and cabins are on the booking page. Twenty sites near Smith Mountain Lake fill quickly in summer, so reserve ahead.

from $35/night