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

Smith Mountain Campground

20 RV Sites, 2 Tent Sites

On Liberty Road in Penhook, Virginia—in the rolling Blue Ridge foothills of Franklin County less than five miles from the nearest public boat launch on Smith Mountain Lake—Smith Mountain Campground operates as a family-owned RV facility with full hookup sites, a stocked fishing pond, private hiking trail, and the quiet country character that the lake region's residential neighborhoods have preserved across the decades since Appalachian Power dammed the Roanoke River to create what has become Virginia's second-largest lake and the surrounding community's defining natural asset. The campground's private pond, four-unit bathhouse with individual tiled rooms, and boat parking give guests who came to fish and be near the water the specific combination of amenities that lake-country camping specifically demands. Full hookup sites with 30 and 50-amp electric, water, and sewer connections, picnic tables, and fire rings serve both back-in and pull-through configurations across the property's site inventory, and complimentary high-speed WiFi keeps connected guests online through the site footprint. A four-unit private bathhouse with individually tiled rooms—each containing a shower, sink, toilet, and electrical outlet—provides a level of bathroom privacy that the typical campground shower-house arrangement doesn't supply. A dedicated laundry facility handles the practical needs of extended stays. Dedicated boat parking accommodates the trailered watercraft that lake-bound guests consistently arrive with, and a pavilion available for private reservation serves the group gathering needs of family reunions and organized camping events. A playground and outdoor recreation area serve families with younger campers and children in tow. The private hiking trail and stocked fishing pond are the property's most distinctive natural amenities—giving guests who want to fish without launching a boat an on-property option that the lake's five-mile distance doesn't otherwise provide. Smith Mountain Lake's character—a 20,600-acre reservoir on the Roanoke and Blackwater Rivers at the base of the Blue Ridge, with 500 miles of wooded shoreline and an elevation of 795 feet—provides the fishing and boating programming that organizes the Franklin County camping calendar from spring through fall. Striped bass, largemouth bass, crappie, and bluegill populate the lake in numbers and quality that have established Smith Mountain Lake among Virginia's premier fishing destinations, and the shoreline's development as a residential and resort community has produced a marina and restaurant infrastructure that gives boating guests on-water dining access that few Virginia lakes match. Smith Mountain Lake State Park, on the Halesford Arm of the lake's western reach, provides the hiking, swimming beach, boat rental, and educational programming that bring non-boating visitors specifically to the state park when a day on the water doesn't require owning a vessel. The park's mountain bike trails and the lake's kayaking and paddleboarding resources extend the recreational programming beyond powerboating into the quieter water-access categories. Roanoke—Virginia's largest city in the western part of the state, with the Taubman Museum of Art, the Virginia Museum of Transportation, and the Blue Ridge Parkway access via the Roanoke Valley—is accessible for the urban cultural programming that a lakeside camping base supplements naturally. Smith Mountain Campground is open seasonally through the Virginia camping calendar, with the prime season running from April through October when Smith Mountain Lake's fishing, boating, and outdoor recreation are at their most active. Fall foliage on the Blue Ridge foothills surrounding the lake creates one of the most visually rewarding shoulder-season camping opportunities in western Virginia. Reserve your site with boat parking early for the spring bass season and let the Franklin County lake country earn the reputation that Virginia's recreational community has assigned to it for decades.

from $35/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

Outside Inn Campground

Immerse yourself in farm life while you camp at Outside Inn Campground, a one-of-a-kind getaway in Santee, South Carolina, near beautiful Lake Marion. Nestled on 55 acres of peaceful countryside, our family-friendly campground offers 25 full hook-up RV sites, glamping accommodations, complimentary Wi-Fi, and nearly 2 miles of scenic walking trails. What makes Outside Inn special is our interactive farm experience, where guests can meet and enjoy friendly animals, including our beloved Highland cow, goats, sheep, pigs, rabbits, and chickens. Whether you're looking to slow down, reconnect with nature, or create unforgettable family memories, there's something for everyone to enjoy. From relaxing around the campsite to exploring the farm and surrounding attractions, Outside Inn is the perfect place to unplug, unwind, and experience the charm of country living. Join us year-round and discover why so many guests return to make lasting memories at Outside Inn Campground.

from $45/night

Oak Island Campground

52 RV Sites, 2 Onsite RV/Trailers

The Brunswick County coast delivers sun, sand, and Southern charm, and Oak Island Campground puts campers within one mile of it all. Positioned in Southport, North Carolina — a postcard-pretty waterfront town just south of Wilmington — the campground bridges the best of both worlds: uncrowded family beaches on one side and a walkable historic downtown on the other. With a trolley stop on the property, guests can reach Oak Island's sandy shore and Southport's shops and restaurants without ever moving the rig, making this a particularly practical base for families who would rather spend time at the beach than shuttling between parking lots. The campground hosts 51 full-hookup sites with 30- and 50-amp electric service, water, and sewer connections, and pull-through options accommodate big rigs up to 50 feet. A two-story pavilion with ample seating serves as the social heart of the property, and community fire pits, outdoor ping pong, and a dog park give everyone room to spread out between beach runs. Practical amenities — Wi-Fi, on-site laundry with washers and dryers, and clean bathhouses — keep longer stays comfortable, while a camper storage facility less than a quarter mile away handles oversized gear and boats between visits. Oak Island itself stretches nearly 14 miles of Atlantic coastline with uncrowded beaches and calm, family-friendly surf backed by maritime forests of live oaks and sea oats that provide habitat for shorebirds and loggerhead sea turtles during nesting season. Anglers can drop lines from the Oak Island Pier, one of the longest on the North Carolina coast, while kayakers and stand-up paddleboarders enjoy the calmer waters of the Intracoastal Waterway on the island's north side. Multi-use paths trace the island from end to end, making cycling a practical way to cover ground between beach access points without a car. Southport, three miles from camp, rewards an afternoon stroll with a waterfront promenade, eclectic dining, and the North Carolina Maritime Museum at Southport. The ferry from Southport to Bald Head Island runs year-round, putting that car-free, golf-cart island within easy reach for a day trip. For a genuine adrenaline jolt, Skydive Coastal Carolinas operates adjacent to the campground and offers tandem jumps with ocean views. The North Carolina Aquarium at Fort Fisher, about 25 miles north, and the historic districts of Wilmington round out the regional options for days when the beach takes a back seat. The campground operates year-round, with spring and fall offering mild temperatures ideal for cycling and exploring Cape Fear's historic sites without peak-season crowds. Summer brings full beach season — arrive during turtle watch weeks in July and August for a chance to witness hatchlings making their way to the sea. Winter stays are quieter, popular with snowbirds and those looking for an off-season retreat along the Carolina coast. Book well ahead for summer and holiday weekends; the combination of beach access and on-site trolley convenience keeps Oak Island Campground in high demand throughout the season.

from $77/night

Dogwood Family Campground

52 RV Sites

Dogwood Family Campground in Newport, North Carolina, offers 52 full-hookup RV sites with 20, 30, and 50-amp service and rigs accepted up to 110 feet on a big-rig-friendly layout — one of the most generous length allowances on the Crystal Coast. Sites are numbered individually, including pond and pond view categories, on a Dark Sky Friendly property open all year. Fifty-two sites carry water, sewer, and electric on 20, 30, and 50-amp in back-in and pull-through configurations, sized to 110 feet, with site WiFi. Categories are listed site by site — including pond back-ins and pond view back-ins — so you can pick your exact spot rather than a general type. RV storage, firewood, and a playground handle the practical side. The property is deliberately quiet and dark. A pond sits on the grounds for fishing, walking trails run the coastal plain forest, and corn hole and birding fill the rest. The Dark Sky Friendly designation is the distinguishing feature — genuine stargazing on a coast where light pollution usually washes it out. Pets are welcome. Newport sits at the inland edge of the Crystal Coast in Carteret County, which gives the campground unusual dual access: the Croatan National Forest's freshwater recreation and wildlife begin immediately north, while Beaufort's waterfront and the Cape Lookout National Seashore's barrier island beaches are 15 minutes east. A beach and state park are nearby. Open year-round, with summer beach traffic the peak and mild shoulder seasons drawing steady demand. Reserve ahead for warm-weather weekends.

from $67/night