Stargazing

Cumberland Falls RV Resort

25 RV Sites

Cumberland Falls RV Resort in Parkers Lake, Kentucky, offers 25 full-hookup RV sites with 30 and 50-amp service and rigs accepted to 45 feet on a big-rig-friendly layout, at the gateway to one of the Appalachians' most extraordinary natural wonders. Premium WiFi, golf cart rentals, a lake, and a fishing pier serve guests exploring the Daniel Boone National Forest. Twenty-five sites carry water, sewer, and electric on 30 and 50-amp in back-in and pull-through configurations, sized to 45 feet, with fire pits and picnic tables. A general store, restrooms, showers, firewood, and both standard and premium WiFi handle the practical side. Pets are welcome. A lake and fishing pier sit on the property, with a river and creek running nearby. Sports courts, pickleball, horseshoes, corn hole, walking trails, a pavilion, and a dog park fill the grounds, with golf cart rentals to cross the property and planned activities through the season. Hiking, whitewater rafting, canoeing, kayaking, stargazing, and birding all run from the area, with boating and a casino nearby. Cumberland Falls is the reason to come. The 125-foot-wide curtain of the Cumberland River plunges 68 feet through a sandstone gorge and produces a moonbow visible by full moon light — a phenomenon found in only a handful of locations worldwide. The state resort park, the Daniel Boone National Forest, and the Big South Fork National River and Recreation Area all converge here, with SomerSplash Waterpark and Wildcat Off-Road Park nearby. Full moon weekends draw moonbow viewers specifically. Reserve well ahead for those dates and for October foliage.

from $69/night

Yeary Valley Farms

4 RV Sites, 4 Tiny Houses

Yeary Valley Farms in Speedwell, Tennessee, offers four full-hookup RV sites and four tiny houses on a working farm in the Appalachian highlands, with 50-amp service and rigs accepted to 45 feet on a big-rig-friendly layout. Themed cabin rentals, farm animals, and a pond make this a farm stay rather than a conventional campground. Four back-in sites carry water, sewer, and electric on 50-amp, sized to 45 feet, with fire pits. Four tiny houses and individually themed cabins serve guests without a rig — the themed units are much of the appeal here. At four RV sites, availability is genuinely limited, so book well ahead. Pets are welcome. The farm setting carries the experience, with farm animals on the property and a pond for fishing. Hiking, boating, and stargazing run from the area, and the dark rural sky at this elevation is worth an evening on its own. The position is unusually good for outdoor recreation. Norris Lake — Tennessee's finest fishing lake — has a public boat launch two miles away, and the Royal Blue Wildlife Management Area's extensive ATV and UTV trail network is 12 miles out. Off-roading is nearby, which draws a steady share of guests. The farm sits right off Highway 63 in Speedwell, with Flat Hollow Marina, Blue Springs Hollow Boat Dock, Powell Valley Resort, a Sunoco fuel station, and a Dollar General all within short distance. Summer lake season and fall riding weather drive demand. With four RV sites and four tiny houses, reserve as far ahead as you can.

from $40/night

The Barlow RV Elk Park

4 RV Sites

The Barlow RV Elk Park in Elk Park, North Carolina, is a boutique mountain RV park with just four full-hookup sites in the Blue Ridge Mountains of Avery County — an intimate, carefully curated camping experience near Banner Elk in the high-country corridor where Beech Mountain, Sugar Mountain, and Grandfather Mountain sustain the most concentrated alpine and ski resort environment in the southern Appalachians, giving guests the specific high-elevation mountain character and the dramatic Blue Ridge scenery that this northwestern North Carolina corner delivers at a density unmatched anywhere else in the eastern United States south of the White Mountains. The four-site scale gives the Barlow its boutique identity and its guests the genuine privacy and quietude that larger campgrounds structurally cannot provide. Four full-hookup RV sites give the campground its defining intimate character — a camping experience defined by the mountain setting and the proximity to the Avery County high-country attractions rather than by on-site amenity density, reflecting the specific appeal of a small, well-positioned boutique property where the surrounding landscape is the primary attraction and the campground infrastructure is the comfortable base from which to access it. The Elk Park location in Avery County's high valley gives guests the 3,000-foot-plus base elevation that distinguishes the Banner Elk corridor's summer climate from the piedmont heat below. Pets are welcome. Beech Mountain, five miles north of Elk Park at 5,506 feet, is the highest elevation incorporated town east of the Rocky Mountains — a ski resort community whose Beech Mountain Resort ski area sustains winter skiing and snowboarding, whose summer mountain biking trails on the ski slopes and the Beech Mountain Parks and Recreation trail network give the resort its four-season outdoor recreation character. The mountain's elevation gives it measurable temperature advantages over the valley communities below, and the Blue Ridge Parkway access via the Linville area and the parkway's high-country corridor near Beech Mountain provides the summit ridge driving and hiking experience that parkway travelers specifically seek in the Avery County section. Grandfather Mountain, 12 miles southeast of Elk Park via U.S. 221, is one of the most ecologically significant mountains in the southern Appalachians — a 5,946-foot summit in the Blue Ridge Mountains privately managed as a nature preserve and state park hybrid, whose Mile-High Swinging Bridge suspension footbridge, museum of natural history, and native wildlife habitats housing black bears, white-tailed deer, bald eagles, and river otters give it the character of a natural attraction of extraordinary quality. The mountain's eight distinct ecological communities from cove hardwood to boreal spruce-fir forest represent the most compressed elevation-driven ecological succession gradient in the eastern United States. The Barlow RV Elk Park serves guests through the Avery County mountain seasons — summer from June through August delivering the high-country cool and outdoor recreation, the fall foliage season from mid-October through early November bringing the most dramatic color display in the high-elevation spruce-fir and hardwood forest, and the winter ski season from December through March serving the Beech Mountain ski market that specifically values the walking-distance or short-drive proximity to the resort lifts. Sugar Mountain Resort, adjacent to Beech Mountain, extends the ski and snowboarding options with its own terrain and lifts. Reserve sites well ahead for the fall foliage peak and ski season weekends, when Avery County's limited boutique campground inventory fills against strong demand from the Charlotte, Raleigh, and Triad markets.

from $110/night

Fireside Resort Campground

15 RV Sites, 1 Cabin, 2 Onsite RV/Trailers

Fireside Resort Campground in Greenville, Ohio, offers 17 RV sites and a cabin in Darke County's western Ohio farmland, with 30 and 50-amp water-and-electric service and rigs accepted to 50 feet. A pond with a beach, a jumping pillow, and — unusually — an on-site storm shelter round out a small wooded resort, with RV rentals available for guests without a rig. Seventeen sites carry water and electric on 30 or 50-amp in back-in and pull-through configurations, sized to 50 feet, with fire pits and picnic tables. Note there are no sewer hookups at the sites, though a dump station is available. Transcend and Zinger RV rentals plus a cabin serve guests arriving without equipment. A general store, laundry, restrooms, showers, and firewood handle the practical side, and a storm shelter is on site — a genuinely reassuring feature in western Ohio. An emergency phone sits in the camp store hallway by the restrooms. Check-in is 3pm and check-out 11am; all guests must stop at the camp store before going to their site. A pond with a beach anchors the on-site recreation, with swimming, fishing, and a jumping pillow for families. Sports courts, basketball, walking trails, hiking, biking, and picnicking fill the grounds, with a community fire pit for evenings, on-site dining, and planned activities through the season. The dark rural sky makes for good stargazing, and the property also serves as a wedding venue. Pets are welcome. Greenville sits in the upper Great Miami River valley, with Annie Oakley heritage sites, Fort Jefferson, and Fort Recovery all within day-trip range. Summer is peak — reserve ahead for weekends at a 17-site property.

from $36/night

Nantahala Ridge Campground

3 RV Sites, 5 Cabins

In the deep river canyon where the Nantahala flows cold and clear through a corridor of rhododendron and hemlock in the heart of the Southern Appalachians, Nantahala Ridge Campground occupies a prime position just minutes from both the Nantahala Outdoor Center and the town of Bryson City in Swain County, North Carolina. The campground serves as a gateway to whitewater paddling, mountain biking, trout fishing, and hiking in one of the most scenically concentrated outdoor destinations in the Eastern United States—a corner of the mountains where the Nantahala National Forest and Great Smoky Mountains National Park converge within a short drive of every campsite. Five cabin rentals provide roofed alternatives to RV and tent camping for guests who want the mountain setting without the gear. Full-hookup RV sites with 50-amp, 30-amp, and 20-amp electrical service, water, and sewer connections serve motorized campers, with Wi-Fi keeping guests connected throughout the grounds. Each site includes a picnic table and fire ring, and laundry facilities support extended stays in the canyon. The five tiny-home-style cabins are equipped with high-speed Wi-Fi, private fire pits, and all the essentials for a comfortable mountain retreat—a polished alternative for guests who prefer a roof and a bed over a sleeping bag and a slide-out. The Nantahala River is the campground's defining natural neighbor—a federally designated Wild and Scenic corridor whose eight miles of continuous Class II and III whitewater draw hundreds of thousands of paddlers, tubers, and rafting guests annually. The Nantahala Outdoor Center, less than a mile from camp, provides guided rafting trips, kayaking instruction, and rental equipment for the full spectrum of river experience from complete beginner to competitive paddler. Mountain biking on the Tsali Recreation Area trails—nationally recognized singletrack loops above Fontana Lake—adds a complementary high-speed dimension to the river-focused itinerary. Bryson City, the charming county seat of Swain County five minutes east, has grown into one of Western North Carolina's most beloved mountain towns, anchored by craft breweries, local restaurants, and the Great Smoky Mountains Railroad, whose excursion trains wind through the Nantahala Gorge on a route that reveals the canyon from a perspective inaccessible by road. Great Smoky Mountains National Park, the most visited national park in the United States, begins just north of Bryson City at the Deep Creek trailhead—one of the park's quieter and most scenic entry points. The Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians' Qualla Boundary and cultural center lie minutes west, providing a living introduction to the history and artistry of the mountain's original inhabitants. Spring and early summer bring peak whitewater conditions as snowmelt and rain fill the Nantahala to its most dynamic levels, while fall delivers the spectacular foliage that turns the gorge walls gold and crimson from mid-October through early November. Summer is the busiest season at the river and in Bryson City's dining district, making early reservations essential for cabin sites and the most desirable full-hookup pads during peak holiday weeks. The campground's proximity to both the river and downtown allows guests to park the vehicle, walk to the put-in and the brewery on the same evening, and wake up to the sound of whitewater the next morning.

from $49/night

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

Nashville Shores Lakeside Resort

49 RV Sites, 23 Cabins

Nashville Shores Lakeside Resort offers 49 RV sites and 23 cabins on Percy Priest Lake in Nashville, with 20, 30, and 50-amp full hookups, cable TV, and rigs accepted to 45 feet, behind a gated entrance. Lakefront premium and lake view categories join a water park, zip line, lazy river, and marina. Forty-nine sites span standard, lake view, lakefront premium, and pull-through categories, all carrying water, sewer, and electric on 20, 30, and 50-amp with cable TV and site WiFi, sized to 45 feet, with fire pits and picnic tables. The lakefront premium category is worth requesting early. Twenty-three cabins round out the lodging. A general store, boutique shop, laundry, restrooms, showers, firewood, and boat storage handle the practical side. Recreation is extensive. A full water park, lazy river, and zip line anchor the summer, with a marina, beach, boat rentals, and kayak rentals putting guests on the lake for boating, fishing, paddle boarding, and water sports. A library, walking trails, sports courts, volleyball, horseshoes, corn hole, a playground, pavilion, dog park, on-site dining, and a snack bar fill the rest, with live music and planned activities through the season and strong stargazing over the water. Pets are welcome. One practical note for RV arrivals: GPS often routes you onto Mills Road after Exit 221 (Old Hickory Boulevard). Avoid that turn and follow the resort's posted RV directions instead. Summer is decisively the season. Reserve well ahead.

from $81/night