$70 / night

Camper submitted image from Carolina Hemlocks Rec Area - 1

Camper submitted image from Carolina Hemlocks Rec Area - 2

Nature

Camper submitted image from Carolina Hemlocks Rec Area - 3

Roads

Camper submitted image from Carolina Hemlocks Rec Area - 4

Activities

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Facilities

Established Camping

Carolina Hemlocks Rec Area

11 Reviews

About

National Forest

National Forests in North Carolina

Overview

Carolina Hemlocks Recreation Area sits in the scenic mountains of Pisgah National Forest. This is a great place for small to medium-sized groups to swim, fish, tube, hike, camp, picnic and simply relax in the cool shade of the forest.

Recreation

The river provides endless hours of fun for families and water enthusiasts, including swimming and tubing. Anglers can also try their luck for trout and smallmouth bass from the shore. Picnickers will enjoy relaxing in the shaded picnic shelter set amidst the deep woods. After eating, visitors can take a leisurely walk along a one-mile trail or get a workout on a 3.8-mile trail.

Facilities

Carolina Hemlocks Recreation Area offers 35 primitive campsites, sites equipped with picnic tables, tent pads, lantern posts and campfire rings with grills. The facility provides hot showers and restrooms with flush toilets. Campers can purchase firewood, ice, tee shirts, souvenirs.

Natural Features

As the name suggests, Carolina Hemlocks Recreation Area is shaded by a thick hemlock forest with a mix of deciduous trees and rhododendrons. The facility is adjacent to the South Toe River and sits at an elevation of 2,900 feet.

Nearby Attractions

Visitors can enjoy scenic driving along the Blue Ridge Parkway or hiking in Mount Mitchell State Park.

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Location

Carolina Hemlocks Rec Area is located in North Carolina

Directions

From Asheville, North Carolina, take I-26 west to exit 9, onto 19 east toward Burnsville. Follow 19 to Micaville and turn right onto Highway 80. Follow 80 south approximately 8 miles to the Carolina Hemlocks Recreation Area.

Address

8516 HIGHWAY 80 SOUTH
Burnsville, NC 28714

Coordinates

35.8044444 N
82.2044444 W

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Access

Drive-In
Park next to your site
Walk-In
Park in a lot, walk to your site.

Stay Connected

WiFi
Unknown
Verizon
Unknown
AT&T
Available
T-Mobile
Unknown

Site Types

Tent Sites
RV Sites
Standard (Tent/RV)
Group
Tent Cabin
Yurts

Features

For Campers

Trash
Picnic Table
Firewood Available
Phone Service
WiFi
Drinking Water
Electric Hookups
Toilets
Pets
Fires

For Vehicles

Pull-Through Sites

SEE WHAT'S AVAILABLE

$70

/ night

First Come - First Served

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Contact

General Info

Reservations

(877) 444-6777

Leigh C.

Scout

Reviewed Sep. 12, 2021

Weekend Getaway

Great getaway! Very relaxing place to escape; lots of outdoor activities for grand kids.

Site36

Month of VisitOctober

Alexis

Traveler

Reviewed May. 6, 2021

Great Location for family and hikes!

Beautiful campground! Right by the river, which makes for wonderful sleeping at night. There is a swimming hole and a fishing hole, both well-maintained. Campground hosts were very nice. Lots of trees for some cool coverage from the sun. About a 30 minute drive from Mount Mitchell, and it's a beautiful drive on the parkway. Knocked a star because the campground hosts got a little too excited cleaning out campsites and scooped up all of our firewood and cleaned out the fire pit, even when we had already paid for our spot for Sunday night and had our tent up. It's tough to get a spot as first come first serve on the weekends, so be aware. Bathrooms and showers are kinda gross, but it is what it is and that wasn't a huge deal for us. If you like looking for wildflowers, soooo many pretty ones blooming in early May. Check the photos for all the ones we found on the campground!

Site3

Month of VisitJune

(10) View All

Michael H.

Guide

Reviewed Oct. 19, 2020

Great Campground

We stayed at the Carolina Hemlocks campground while taking a road trip down the Blue Ridge Parkway. Very private campground that borders the South Toe River. Nice tubing put in and a great swimming spot directly in the campground. The bathrooms and shower was well taken care. Very friendly camp hosts. We stayed in site 31, which was a nice wooded private spot in the back of the campground.

Site31

Month of VisitAugust

(4) View All

Lindsay W.

Guide

Reviewed Oct. 17, 2020

Great Location

We stayed for two nights, a little away from the main camp area but was kinda glad for it. Had a great spot tucked into the woods near the water. Great path to skip rocks and just enjoy. Fire pit was a little weird but made it work. We were close to the road which was kind of a bummer but as I mentioned, not in the main area so probably can’t fault it for that.

When driving through the main area though, spaces were pretty tight, very full, and not all seemed friendly for a camper/RV though there were some. It was truly beautiful though, gas station on the way in and downtown Burnsville/grocery store wasn’t too far away.

Todd R.

Guide

Reviewed Aug. 5, 2019

Very clean and secluded with good river access.

Sites are limited and can’t be reserved in advance.

(4) View All

Mary R.

Traveler

Reviewed Jul. 16, 2019

Really nice river to tube on

We stayed four days, the river was beautiful and the camp site nice. We stayed on the river side of the road and our site was layer out very strangely but it had a nice space for the fire and picnic table, our tent was partially on the asphalt driveway as there was literally no where else to put it. We enjoyed experience there. We had so much fun tubing on the river, there were several people fishing and catching trout. I recommend that if you go that you stay on the inside sites, not the ones by the river. The bathrooms were pretty bad, most days they were out of toilet paper for part of the day, they were not really clean at all. One shower out of four would stay on for 9 seconds and then you had to push the button again, that was a very frustrating shower. The second shower would stay on for more than an hour so the rest of the showers were only slightly warm. Multiple people reported that the one shower was staying on for more than an hour, the camp hosts said they were aware that there was a problem with the timer. All and all the sites are nice, the river is awesome and the bathrooms were not good.

(6) View All

Kimberly L.

Scout

Reviewed Jun. 9, 2019

Beautifully situated by the river

Great spot tucked in a bend of the South Toe River. The reservable sites are MUCH smaller than they look online, particularly site 7, which is the perfect size for a motorcycle and a one-man tent. We reserved the site and our car was barely out of the street when parked!

We moved to site 18, which was not on the river, but delightful regardless. If your site is not by the river, you run the risk of being near Hwy 80. I can confirm that Hwy 80 is used 24x7 -- it's not terrible, but it's not Silent Night either. The tent pad was slightly elevated with excellent drainage, which was a good thing or we couldn't have stayed dry for two nights.

The hosts were friendly and hard-working, getting firewood delivered and keeping the facilities clean, which was a miracle given the wet weather. I would not drink the water without boiling it; could have been the weather during our visit, but the water was an interesting golden yellow color.

The campground is beautifully wooded, although there was a fair number of recently felled trees lying about. The host said the forest service came in and cut them down because they were too close to the campsites. Huh? Regardless, they did not clear the trees away, so one has to clamber over them going from site to site.

We had planned a 4-day stay with a 15-person group spread over 5 sites. Unfortunately, what seemed like the first hurricane of the season parked itself over the NC mountains and dumped at least 6 inches of rain in 48 hours and, since there was no improvement in the forecast and we couldn't do any of our planned activities, we made for home early.

The reservable Pavilion is beautifully situated and was a nice respite from the rain for our group one evening.

We did visit the Penland School and had lunch at DT's in Spruce Pine -- both highly recommended.

I plan to return at the first opportunity to enjoy Carolina Hemlocks and the surrounding area in better weather.

Site18

Month of VisitJuly

Miranda J.

Scout

Reviewed Sep. 10, 2018

Great vibes, super clean. Leave no trace y'all! C: great job!

Super clean, respect it just as others have. Plenty of space, bring the family. Dog friendly!!!!

Gay P.

Scout

Reviewed Jul. 16, 2018

Family fun, friendly, great camping experience

This campground is an awesome place beside a river. Great camping sites. Tubing, swimming and fishing. Family friendly. No electricity. Cool at night. Just a wonderful place to get away. We have been going for over 30 years. We still love it.

Rachel V.

Traveler

Reviewed Jul. 13, 2018

First come, first serve Campground and day use area next to river.

This campground has spacious sites that are on a first come basis. There is also a day use area with spots along the river. In the summer you can swim and tube down the river. There’s also a beautiful 1 mile river walk. The bathrooms aren’t always the best hence the reason for 4-stars.

Month of VisitNovember

(4) View All

Tommy J.

Traveler

Reviewed May. 22, 2018

Tucked in by a beautiful river

This campground is small and comfortable. It is tucked in next to the South Toe River with an excellent swimming hole, rapids for tubing, great trout fishing, and a good launching off point for hikes into the Black Mountains and Mt Mitchell.

Month of VisitOctober