Davidson River CG - Pisgah National Forest - North Carolina

[Morin]

We've just finished our week long camping trip from Hampton Roads VA to the Pisgah National Forest ( 8 hour trip). This is our first time using our New2Us *used* PUP and were very pleased with it - NO LEAKS.  This was also the 1st of many for our 1 year old son. It was fun to have him out there for the week but I tell ya it is a lot of work keeping the little ones out of the fire - poison ivy - road ways - river LOL!  Our DD has been there before and is getting old enough to entertain herself around the campsite.

We had about 40% rain which keeps things nice and wet but never had a washout until our departing day.  Lots of fun breaking camp down in the storm...  great fun!  Especially with little ones..

This is a review of the campground and Items will be rated on a scale of 1 - 10 with 10 being the BEST and 1 Being obviously not so good.

Categories: Staff, Camp Sites, Bathrooms, Activities

Staff = 8

We've read a few posts on the internet that campers thought the staff at Davidson River was rather rude.  I can not agree with that statement at all.  The staff was really great. You have staff members in every loop of the campground and they are pretty friendly.  They are older couples and they do a nice job keeping the camgrounds in order. Our particular camp hosts were very nice and kept to themselves most of the time.  I did see them patroling the area to ensure that things were in order but never saw an incident were they were rude to anyone.  They seemed to be very nice people that really enjoy the environment that they are in and want to keep it a nice experience for everyone.

Camp Sites = 10

These campsites are wonderful.  Because of the amount of people we had in our party we got a double site but i spent a lot of time looking at other single campsites.  Yes, they are close together but they are seperated very nicely by trees, bushes, brush so it does not feel like you are on top of each other. All of the campsites looked nice and level with easy access for RV's of all sizes as well as tents and other makeshift shelters. Each loop has 2 bathrooms, one on each end.  We'll get to the bathrooms later but I never had an issue gaining access to a shower or commode so that was great.  There are many campsites that run right along the Davidson River and it is great hearing that water run during the quiet night.  Caution to those that do not like to hear running water, get a campsite off of the river.  I personally love it and that where we were.  

Each campsite also has a fire ring and heavy duty picnic table in addition to crush and run for drainage and elevatedtent/camper pads with crush and run.

Price was reasonable I would say.  We had a premium double lot (no hook ups at all) and it cost us $285.00 for 8 days (35.00 a day).  We had three couples at $95 each.

Bathrooms = 8

There are two bathrooms to every loop.  Each loop has about 25 sites in it (approximately??).  The bathrooms were cleaned daily and were pretty nice.  Inever had a cold shower though some in our party stated showers were luke warm.  Now these are not the Ritz but they are better than average I would say.  The last loop in the Campground had the nices showers.  They were individual showers seperate from the commodes and were above average.  My guess is that last loop is hard tom come by as they were booked sold about 8 months ago!  The only thing I didn't like was that the showers were pus button and only lasted about 30 seconds each blast.  This is most likely to elimionate waste and is needed but I would have liked to turn the water on and off once.  We were 1 site from the bathrooms so it made it very convenient.

Activities = 10

Davidson River Campground is smack in the middle of everything.  This is an ideal campground for a family or for singles that like to get out and be active.  

For families thay have the River.  This is a great river that allows for swimming, fishing and tubing.  I warn you that the water is cold but it is a great time.  There is a swimming hole located right off of the Last Loop in the campground and that is fun for the kids.  

The river is also great for Fishing.  Here you are not under any lure restrictions which are typical in that area.  many of the fishing areas are fly fishing only but at the Davidson River Campground you do not have ANY lure restrictions so your alowed to cast as most people do. You'll be required to have at least one adult with a fishing licence but they can be purchased right down the street at WALMART.

Tubing is another one of Davidsons fun family activities.  The river was a bit low so we could not do it this year but some people were still trying to have that fun.

The Cradle of Forestry is a nice activitie for families to check out as well as the Trout Hatchery.  We especially like the hatchery because it has a nice little nature walk and exhibit that was perfect for our four year old and one year old.

Sliding Rock is within minutes of the campground and offers a lot of fun for the family.  For those that have never heard of it, Sliding Rock is a large series of smooth stone where the Davidson River runs.  You can use it like a giant water slide and it dumps you into a pool of water at the bottom.  it is a lot of fun to watch and participate in.  I reccomend it to all but note there is a $5 parking fee (doh!)

Looking Glass Falls is also within minutes.  It is "o.k" - nothing crazy special but something neat for the kids to look at and get into

The Biltmore Estate is also pretty neat and within 20 minutes of the Campground.  It does have a pretty heafty fee but it is definately worth it for the first time.  We did not go back this year but thought it was worth the mention.

Asheville is also within 20 minutes and is a neat little town.  This can be either a family activity or an adult activity.  Plan on spending the day there so you can hit all the little shops.  my personal recomendation for food is a place called PICNICS.  Great homestyle food with the BEST PIES I have ever had.  Pies meaining Apple Pie - Peach Pie...  It was featured on Food Networks $40.00 A Day so we decided to give it a try.  Definately worth the short trip.  if your thre look it up..  neat little place with awesome food.

The Grove Street Inn is also a Biltmore type of place on a smaller scale.  I liked this place more than the Biltmore.  Nice - really nice with a pretty good looking golf course hagning off of it for those that tee it up (but I doubt many people go camping to find a tee time...).

The town of Brevard is like a very small scall Asheville.  They have some neat shops and a great toy store called O.P. Taylors.  it is definately worth walking around down there during some of your trip

There are a lot of hiking trails in this area as well.  A couple that went with us this year avidly hike so they went on over 30 mjles of trails during the week.  They liked them a lot and the trails offered a varies degree of difficulty. I personally hiked the John Rock trail which was about a 4 mile hike.  Pretty decent first time hike and I worked up a good sweat (bought the T-shirt..  lol.)

Davidson Campground also offers daily activities for children whcih was great.  We were able to take advantage of some of these for our daughter.  She really enjoyed the time there and they offered like 3 different activities during the day for the kids, each one about 1.5 hours..  usually at 1000 - 1200 - 1400.

You can also rent a Bike at the campground to ride around as a family of individual to different spots. Additionally right before you enter the CG there is a little area that rents tubes and other items called Dolly's.  They are supposed to have great ice cream too but we never tried it.  I guess it would be great for our kids when they get older

Overall = 9

This really is an excellent campground at a primo location.  You're within minutes of everything and have access to a grocery mart and a Walmart should the "UH OH's" occur.  We had a few of those and it was nice to be able to go right down the way to get items that you forgot or just plain didn't bring. The atmosphere is great and the grounds are kep extremely well.  this is one of the niocer CG's that I have visited and will definately go back again.  if you are looking for a nice getaway than this is probably one of the best places to go.  Situated right in the Mountains you get awesome views and it reeally is a great time for all walks of life.

[sacrawf]

I really enjoyed reading your review.  I just visited the Pisgah National Forest Campground just outside of Asheville at Lake Powhatan as a potential future camping spot.  I was not too impressed with the campground, but the close proximity to Asheville and the North Carolina Arbouretum which is attached, makes it a nice location.  Calling Lake Powhatan a "lake" is a bit of a stretch, however.  More like a healthy pond.  

A trip to Asheville is not complete for me without stocking up at the huge Farmer's market, where you can get not only great fruits and vegatables, garden and landscape plants, but meats, cheeses, jams and jellies, crafts, and mountain dulcimers.

Thanks for the great and detailed review!

[Morin]

I have never even seen "lake" Powhatan in the 2 trips there - that pretty funny.  Was it the Davidson River CG you were not impressed with or another one?

Thanks for reading the review.. hopefully it helps others.  I will post pics of the CG and sites when i get my photos dowloaded to my PC at home that way people can see the sites and CG...  got some good ones...

[sacrawf]

The campground we weren't particularly impressed with was the Lake Powhatan campground, which is a Forest Service campground about 7 miles South of Asheville on 191. There entire area consists of three campground loops, and a combined picnic/swim beach area, fishing dock on the pond, and a short drive to a dumping station.  There is no boat ramp. The campsites appeared pleasant enough, with plenty of spacing and privacy between sites. but the wooded views were nothing special.  I didn't check out the showers. Although it was a drizzly rain, we went down to the picnic area to enjoy a lunch.  The swim beach was quite busy and noisy, with a busload of young kids being brought to the swim beach from a daycamp in Asheville.

The hiking trails are very easy, and attach to the trails of the NC Arbouretum, so you would not have the per car entrance fee charged to the Arbouretum if you hiked in from the campground.  Also the cafe in the Arbouretum is great. The campsite would be a great place for a weekend, and would also probably be a good base camp if one was principally going to be pursuing activities in Asheville or along the Blue Ridge Parkway.  But, as a destination campsite in itself, I didn't think it worthy of a drive from Illinois.

It sounds like the Davidson River CG would be more to my liking.

I have never even seen "lake" Powhatan in the 2 trips there - that pretty funny.  Was it the Davidson River CG you were not impressed with or another one?

Thanks for reading the review.. hopefully it helps others.  I will post pics of the CG and sites when i get my photos dowloaded to my PC at home that way people can see the sites and CG...  got some good ones...