Hard time finding the right RV parks for NC/GA/TN trip

[dcoutts]

Hello all (or Hey Y'all as we say here),

We've locked down the dates (July 16th - August 1st) and put a deposit on renting an RV (32' Forest River Sunseeker 3170DS). I'm now in the process of planning our stops and I'm having a hard time finding the right spots.

We're looking for places as close as we can find to things you see in these cheesy commercials:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wZvW03AXI18
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XT4cvhQVQ74

We don't care about staying in a park with lots of activities and man-made things to do. In fact, we'd rather not. We plan on hiking, biking, exploring, swimming, tubing, fishing, etc, etc, depending on where we are.

We're new to this so boondocking isn't something we're going to tackle. With that said, we'd like to get as close to the feel of boondocking as we can but have hookups and at least a little infrastructure 🙂 We want to have space around us and ideally a great view straight out of our door.

We'll have 16 nights so I'd like to make 4-5 stops. I realize that some people like to settle in one place for more than a few days but for us, seeing new locations and the drives in between are part of the fun.

The leading candidates for general areas to camp are:

Pisgah National Forest
Great Smoky Mountains NP
Chattahoochee National Forest
Big South Fork
Daniel Boone National Forest
Cherokee National Forest

I have found 1 place that looks almost ideal for what we're looking for. It's the Campfire Lodges near Pisgah/Asheville. Big spots overlooking the mountain range. THIS is close to what we're looking for. http://www.campfirelodgings.com/

So I feel like I have Pisgah covered but I need help with the other locations. Researching the higher rated RV parks, I keep coming up with the ones that have the most amenities/activities. Can anyone recommend other places to go?

Thank you!

[Markiemark32]

Went to Big South Fork, here is the action there:

Big South Fork

Markiemark:C

[martinto]

Dcoutts, we've stayed at Campfire Lodgings several times. Premium sites with valley overlooks...beautiful. A bit of a steep drive up the access road. Perhaps you should call before you start up the climb in case a rig is coming down...it could get a bit tight. Make reservations.

[Markiemark32]

Pisgah National Forest - Davidson Campground

Davidson River

Great Smoky Mountains NP Elkmont or Smokemont (No hookups, but cool temps & you can run generator small amount of time some for food, prep, etc.)

Elkmont
Smokemont

or hookups totally necessary

Cherokee NC lots of RV parks (Entrance to Great Smokey Natl Park) – we had good stay with River Valley Campground

River Valley

Cherokee, NC nice way to go into GSMP, also go to Bryson City, NOC, TSALI…..lots outdoor adventures!



Chattahoochee National Forest


Vogel State Park - go visit Brasstown Bald and Helen.

Vogel

Big South Fork – Bandy Creek Campground

Bandy Creek

Daniel Boone National Forest N/A have not done this one, yet!

Cherokee National Forest

Stone Mountain State Park - NC

Stone Mountain


Markiemark:C

[Dick_B]

Sounds like you are a good candidate for a Campground Directory with which you can search for hours at your leisure. We use the Good Sam directory. The campgrounds are rated so you have a choice from 10 down.

[wecamp04]

You can try grayson highlands state park,grindstone campground and beartree lake campground all are in southwest Virginia just across the line from both tn,nc ,roan mountain state park in North east tn Boone nc just up the mountain from Ashville has several nice campgrounds all have full hookups

[fla-gypsy]

Check out the state park and COE campgrounds

[Bob_Shaw]

In Georgia you may want to look at Vogel State Park. The park has one of the entrance trail to the Appalachian Trailhead on Springer Mountain, a nice lake, and there are activities nearby in Helen. There's also Unicoi State Park, and Moccasin Creek State Park is on Lake Rabun, next to the trout fish hatchery. Moccasin Creek is a trout stream. If you're over 65 or handicapped (or under 15) you can fish the portion of the creek that borders the park and the fish hatchery. In my opinion, any of the Corps of Engineer parks in Georgia would be a good bet.

[dcoutts]

DavidP wrote:
Two favorites in Pisgah are Davidson River CG and Cascade Lake.

I've seen both these and they look great. I like Campfire more because of the mountain view.

But something like any of these in one of the other locations would be great. Too bad they are all near Pisgah!

[Merrykalia]

Take a look at Natural Tunnel SP in Virginia, about a 2 hr drive from the Great Smoky Mountain NP.

They offer canoeing, snorkeling in the Clinch River, cave tours, hay rides, a great swimming pool, etc.


Clicky for their website

[DavidP]

Two favorites in Pisgah are Davidson River CG and Cascade Lake.