Boating

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 $31/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

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

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

Nantahala Ridge Campground

3 RV Sites, 5 Cabins

Nantahala Ridge Campground in Bryson City, NC, offers 3 full-hookup RV sites and 5 cabins, with 20, 30, and 50-amp service. Sites come as back-ins and pull-thrus, each carrying water, sewer, and electric with site-delivered WiFi, a fire pit, and a picnic table. Maximum rig length isn't published, so call with your dimensions before booking — the roads in this canyon are narrow and it's worth the minute. Laundry is on site, and the five cabins give guests without a rig a place to stay. Pets are welcome. Three RV sites in a river canyon is the appeal: hiking from the property, dark-sky stargazing, and no crowd. Bryson City sits in Swain County where the Nantahala runs cold and clear through a corridor of rhododendron and hemlock, minutes from the Nantahala Outdoor Center and the southern entrance to Great Smoky Mountains National Park. Rates for sites and cabins are on the booking page. Confirm your rig's fit when you reserve, and book early for rafting season and fall color.

from $49/night

Gorgeous Stays

5 Cabins, 3 Tent Sites, 2 Glamping Sites, 1 Yurt, 3 Vintage RV Rentals

Gorgeous Stays in Bryson City, NC, offers 3 RV rentals, 5 cabins, 3 tent sites, and 3 glamping sites and yurts. The RV accommodations here are the point and they are not ordinary: a double decker bus called The Crown Jewel, a converted school bus billed as the Travel-Inn Skoolie, and a vintage Shasta camper. These are rentals rather than sites for your own rig — if you're towing, contact the property directly about hookups and fit before booking. A bathhouse with showers, a general store, firewood, a community fire pit, and a pavilion serve the grounds. Pets are welcome. Glamping here means the conveniences of home without the distractions, and the property leans into that: billiards, ping pong, picnicking, planned activities, creek frontage, and fishing, with biking and a casino close by. Bryson City sits in Swain County in the western North Carolina mountains, minutes from Great Smoky Mountains National Park, with the Nantahala, Fontana Lake, and the Great Smoky Mountains Railroad all nearby. Rates for every accommodation type are on the booking page. The vintage rentals are one-of-one — book them early.

from $30/night

The Cabins at Long Branch

3 Cabins

The Cabins at Long Branch in Topton, NC, offers 3 handcrafted two-bedroom cabins at 3,500 feet above the Nantahala Gorge. This is a cabin property rather than a serviced RV park — the published record shows no RV sites or hookups, so contact them directly if you're traveling in a rig. WiFi covers the property, and there's a playground. The elevation and the seclusion are the product. A lake, creek frontage, and mountain forest surround the cabins, with fishing, kayaking, boating, whitewater rafting, and birding all close. Topton sits high above the Nantahala River's Class III and IV whitewater corridor in the southern Blue Ridge — one of the most-run stretches of whitewater in the eastern United States, with the Nantahala Outdoor Center and Great Smoky Mountains National Park nearby. Rates for the cabins are on the booking page. Three cabins in peak rafting and fall color season book out early — and call about RV accommodation before you tow.

from $169/night

North Shore Landing Resort

Lake Oconee — Georgia's longest lake, stretching 374 miles of forested Piedmont shoreline across Greene and Morgan counties — consistently ranks among the Southeast's most desirable recreational waterways, and North Shore Landing Resort occupies a 55-acre prime lakefront position just 90 minutes east of Atlanta in the Greene County town of Greensboro. What distinguishes the property immediately is the campus: 13 historic railroad cars, repurposed as resort amenities and unique rental accommodations, give North Shore Landing a one-of-a-kind character that no conventional campground can replicate. The railroad-themed campus sets the visual tone from the moment of arrival, and the resort's full-hookup RV sites and tent areas complement the repurposed-rail lodging options with more traditional camping infrastructure alongside the lakefront. Lake Oconee waterfront access provides boating, bass fishing, kayaking, and waterfront relaxation directly from the resort's shoreline, and the community-oriented atmosphere — where neighbors quickly become familiar faces across many seasons — gives the property a warmth that distinguishes it from purely transactional campground experiences. Pets are welcome throughout. Lake Oconee itself is a superlative natural backdrop: consistently clear water in a setting where the rolling Georgia Piedmont countryside descends to the shoreline in forested ridges and coves that create hundreds of sheltered inlets for boating and fishing. The lake's calm waters are ideal for pontoon cruises and wakeboarding, and largemouth bass fishing on Lake Oconee is among the most productive in Georgia, drawing tournament anglers and recreational fishers from across the region. The surrounding hardwood forests light up spectacularly in October, when the combination of lake views and fall color makes the resort particularly beautiful. Harbor Club on Lake Oconee, 15 minutes from the resort, is one of Georgia's premier lake communities, featuring a Tom Weiskopf-designed championship golf course, fine dining, and sweeping lake views that make the surrounding area worth exploring beyond the campground. The historic town of Greensboro, seat of Greene County, offers antique shops, local restaurants, and a genuinely preserved small-town Georgia downtown character. Reynolds Lake Oconee, one of the most acclaimed resort communities in the South, encompasses multiple championship golf courses and lakeside dining in the broader Lake Oconee corridor. North Shore Landing Resort is open through the camping season, with summer on Lake Oconee being the clear peak for boating and water activities. Spring and fall bring comfortable temperatures for exploring the lakeside community and Greene County's broader landscape, and the fall foliage window in October makes these months particularly compelling for guests who haven't seen the Georgia Piedmont in autumn. The fall foliage window in October adds a visual dimension to Lake Oconee that surprises guests who associate Georgia primarily with its coast or metropolitan areas — hardwood color reflected in the lake's clear surface creates a photographic opportunity that regional visitors travel specifically to experience each year. Reserve waterfront sites and railroad-car accommodations as early as possible — they are consistently the first options to fill each season, and for very good reason.

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.

Camp Margaritaville RV Resort & Lodge - Pigeon Forge

91 RV Sites

Camp Margaritaville RV Resort and Lodge in Pigeon Forge, Tennessee, offers 91 full-hookup back-in RV sites with 30 and 50-amp service, cable TV, and rigs accepted to 60 feet at the foot of the Great Smoky Mountains. Super, premium, deluxe, family, and standard categories join a lazy river, pool, hot tub, and bar minutes from Dollywood. Ninety-one back-in sites span standard, family, deluxe, premium, and super categories, all carrying water, sewer, and electric on 30 and 50-amp with cable TV and site WiFi, sized to 60 feet, with fire pits and picnic tables. The five-tier structure gives real range, and the family category is sized for groups. Cabins round out the lodging. A general store, restrooms, and showers handle the practical side. Check-in is 2pm; arriving earlier may mean waiting, and an early check-in fee applies where the site is ready. A lazy river is the anchor, with an outdoor pool and hot tub and sauna alongside. A craft room, arcade, billiards, ping pong, tennis, pickleball, a playground, pavilion, dog park, snack bar, and bar fill the grounds, with live music, boating, and planned activities through the season. The Margaritaville brand's tropical energy against a Smoky Mountain backdrop is an odd combination that works. Pets are welcome. Dollywood and the Great Smoky Mountains National Park entrance are both minutes away. Summer and fall foliage drive the heaviest demand in Pigeon Forge. Reserve well ahead for June through October.

from $42 $36/night

Rolling Meadows Family Campground

1 RV Site

Rolling Meadows Family Campground in Murphy, North Carolina, offers a water-and-electric back-in RV site alongside cabins and tent camping in the far western corner of the state, with 20, 30, and 50-amp service and rigs accepted to 35 feet. A brand-new heated bathhouse, disc golf course, and laundry serve a Cherokee County property still finding its way onto the maps. The RV site is water-and-electric back-in, carrying 20, 30, and 50-amp service, sized to 35 feet, with a fire pit and picnic table. Plan around the hookups — water and electric rather than sewer, with a dump station on site — and note the 35-foot cap. Contact the campground for current availability of additional sites; the property is new and expanding. Cabins and tent camping round out the lodging. A dump station, portable toilets, and a new heated bathhouse and laundry handle the practical side. One navigation note the campground states plainly: the campground and its road are so new that many GPS applications do not have them yet. Try 195 Hampton Church Road — their radio station neighbor — and follow signs from there. A disc golf course, bocce ball, corn hole, and horseshoes fill the grounds, with boating nearby. Pets are welcome. Murphy sits at the far western tip of North Carolina where the state meets Georgia and Tennessee, surrounded by the Nantahala National Forest. The Hiwassee and Valley Rivers, Lake Hiwassee, the Tail of the Dragon, and Harrah's Cherokee Valley River are all close. Spring and fall foliage drive demand in the western mountains. Reserve ahead for October.

from $39/night

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