Stargazing

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

The Barlow RV Elk Park

4 RV Sites

The Barlow RV in Elk Park, North Carolina, offers 4 full-hookup RV sites in the Blue Ridge Mountains, with 30 and 50-amp service and rigs accepted to 70 feet on a big-rig-friendly layout, open all year behind a gated entrance. Each site is named individually — In The Trees, The Granddaddy, The Mountain Wall, and The Rock — with a general store, community fire pit, walking trails, and on-site dining. Four sites are named rather than numbered, all carrying water, sewer, and electric on 30 and 50-amp with site WiFi, sized to 70 feet, with fire pits, picnic tables, and BBQ pits. Naming each site tells you exactly what you are booking — trees, a rock face, a mountain wall, or the big one — which is a level of specificity no tiered system achieves. Seventy feet accommodates a long coach with a tow. A general store, firewood, RV storage, and on-site dining handle the practical side. Pets are welcome, with a maximum of two per site. A community fire pit, walking trails, and dog park fill the grounds, with mountains all around and genuinely dark skies for stargazing. Wine and beer tasting is nearby, and planned activities run through the season. Four sites is boutique by any measure, and the curation shows. Avery County sits in the North Carolina high country near Banner Elk, with Beech Mountain, Sugar Mountain, and Grandfather Mountain all close — skiing in winter, the Mile High Swinging Bridge and Linville Gorge in summer, and the Blue Ridge Parkway running along the ridgeline. Fall foliage and ski season both drive demand. Reserve as early as you can.

from $110/night

Smith Mountain Campground

18 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

Outside Inn Campground

25 RV Sites, 1 Glamping Site, 1 Onsite RV/Trailer

Outside Inn Campground in Santee, SC, offers 25 RV sites and 2 glamping units, with 50-amp service and room for rigs up to 70 feet. Sites are named for where they sit and sized individually: Farm Back-In full-hookup sites to 42 feet, Forest Back-In to 38 feet, Farm View and Forest Pull-Thru sites to 70 feet, Farm View Pull-Thru Buddy sites to 70 feet for two rigs traveling together, a Back-Out full-hookup site to 28 feet, and one water-and-electric back-in to 30 feet. Full-hookup sites carry 30/50-amp power, fresh water, and sewer. The campground was built to save as many trees as possible, which means no two sites are the same size — read the individual site descriptions, and you can lock in a specific site at booking if you have one in mind. Laundry, a bathhouse with showers, a general store, and firewood cover the rest. Open all year, big rig friendly, pets welcome. The farm is what makes this one different. Guests meet a Highland cow, goats, sheep, pigs, rabbits, and chickens, with nearly two miles of walking trails across 55 acres, a playground, birding, hiking, biking, stargazing, and planned activities. Santee sits near Lake Marion in the South Carolina Lowcountry, with a state park, a national park unit, and golf all close. Nightly rates run roughly $45 to $69, with discounts for weekly and monthly stays. The two glamping units, The Canopy and The Homesteader, are one-of-one — book those early.

from $45/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

Oak Island Campground

52 RV Sites, 2 Onsite RV/Trailers

Oak Island Campground in Southport, NC, offers 54 full-hookup back-in RV sites with 30 and 50-amp service and room for rigs up to 50 feet. Sites come in four categories — deluxe full-hookup, premium full-hookup, and two named sites, Flounder and Wahoo — all carrying water, sewer, and electric with site-delivered WiFi. The campground is rated big rig friendly. Laundry, a bathhouse with showers, a boutique shop, on-site dining, a pavilion, a community fire pit, and cabins cover the rest. Pets are welcome, with a dog park. Creek frontage, beach access, corn hole, live music, and coastal dark sky for stargazing fill the grounds, with swimming, fishing, boating, and picnicking. Southport is a postcard-pretty waterfront town just south of Wilmington on the Brunswick County coast, and the campground sits within a mile of the beach. The Southport trolley, the ferry, the Oak Island Lighthouse, and downtown are all close. Rates by site category are on the booking page. Summer on the Brunswick coast books early — deluxe and premium sites go first.

from $77/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