Campsites near Franklin, NC
Every site is named for a national or state park and numbered by where it sits on the mountain. Sites 1 through 6 climb the shared road up from the gate. Above 6 the road forks: 7 through 10 run up the right side, 11 through 17 up the left. Every site has a fire ring, a charcoal grill and its own well water, nearly all have wooden decking, and most sit at least 100 feet from the nearest neighbor, with trees and elevation in between.
A red dot on the number means the site has a long-range view. Larger version and a key.
All 16 sites, bottom to top
The whole mountain in order, from the gate to the summit. Tap any photo or name for that site’s own page — or use the sections below to narrow by what fits, how much room there is, and which sites have the views.
Know your dates? See which sites are open →
01 · Blue Ridge
Up to 25 ft · 3 vehicles · In the trees
Blue Ridge 1 is the closest site to the entrance and one of the largest we have. It’s open overhead and ringed by trees on all sides — spacious and private at the same time. No long view from here. Room for several vehicles and more than one group. A full-size Class B or a rooftop-tent rig fits here, with room to turn around and leave the way you came.
02 · Shenandoah
Up to 25 ft · 2 vehicles · In the trees
Shenandoah 2 sits in a small clearing that feels like its own room in the woods. Off to one side is a pile of large rocks tumbling down the slope — not a wall or anything to climb, more like a few rough steps you can walk down. It gives the site a bit of shape. After a good rain you can sometimes hear a creek running somewhere below.
03 · Everglades
Up to 25 ft · 2 vehicles · In the trees
Everglades 3 is a short way in from the gate, tucked in under tall trees where the driveway opens out. There’s room for a second vehicle in the long driveway and space alongside for a second group.
05 · Yosemite
Up to 25 ft · 3 vehicles · In the trees
Yosemite 5 has no deck, just a large open bowl of level ground and straw. It’s one of the three largest sites on the mountain. Very large trees stand around about two thirds of it, and the bowl opens out on the rest. It has the shortest walk to Gleason, the community rendezvous spot between sites 4 and 5, where there’s WiFi. It feels private, though you can see the full-time camper trailer at site 4 from here in the distance. The approach is easy and the ground is open, so it is one of the three that take a full-size van with room to turn.
06 · Glacier
Up to 25 ft · 3 vehicles · In the trees
Glacier 6 sits up on its own rise, ringed by trees — one of those sites that feels like a pedestal. It’s among the three largest on the mountain, with room for several vehicles in the driveway and space enough for two groups. The entry is wide enough for a full-size Class B, with room in the driveway to get turned around.
07 · Rockies
Cars only · 1 vehicle · In the trees
Rockies 7 is the budget pick and a better site than the price suggests. A line of rock along the curve makes it distinctive and trees wrap around three sides. A private path leads off the site to an open view north, long-range and running for miles. Small — two decks and not much room to spare — and you park right alongside them.
08 · Zion
Up to 20 ft · 2 vehicles · In the trees
Zion 8 sits ringed by trees — a medium-sized site on flat ground with a 16 x 16 deck and room for two vehicles. No long view; what you get is green on every side.
09 · Katahdin
Up to 20 ft · 2 vehicles · Long view
Katahdin 9 has one of the best views on the mountain: a cleared opening to the north that runs out over 40 miles toward Balsam. It sits high on the mountain, with room for two vehicles and space enough for two groups to camp together.
10 · Nantahala
Up to 20 ft · 2 vehicles · In the trees
Nantahala 10 sits at the end of a long driveway that leaves it well out of everyone else’s way, with trees standing close on every side. Every site here has room and trees between it and its neighbors — this one is for anyone who wants more privacy still.
11 · Sequoia
Up to 20 ft · 2 vehicles · In the trees
Sequoia 11 sits more than 150 feet in, out of sight of the main road. It’s a medium-sized site with a 16 x 16 deck and room for two vehicles. A 20-foot van fits here if you don’t mind a K-turn on the way out.
12 · Redwood
Up to 20 ft · 2 vehicles · Long view
Redwood 12 is a short pull-in off the main road, a medium-sized site with a 16 x 16 deck and room for two vehicles. Mostly in the trees, with an opening that looks out to the tiered ridges of the Blue Ridge. Leaving means a K-turn on the road.
13 · Arches
Up to 22 ft · 2 vehicles · Long view
Arches 13 sits just below the switchback with an open view north, and three decks laid in a line for a long 8 x 24 platform.
14 · Big Bend
Up to 20 ft · 1 vehicle · Long view
Big Bend 14 sits right at the switchback with the longest view on the property and the only stone fire pit we have. Unlike every other site here you don’t feel closed in by trees — it’s wide open, with full sun and open sky above, which is exactly what some people come for. Guests at site 15 walk through to reach theirs. If you want the premium site and don’t mind neighbours a little closer than elsewhere on the mountain, this is the one.
15 · Acadia
Cars only · Walk in 120 ft · 1 vehicle · In the trees
Acadia 15 is the tucked-away one: private, quiet, screened on every side. Two decks. You park at site 14 and walk in about 120 feet, so it suits tent campers arriving in a car.
16 · Pisgah
Up to 18 ft · 2 vehicles · In the trees
Pisgah 16 is the quiet one, high on the mountain, well away from the other sites and set back off the road. No open view in summer; what you get instead is the feeling of a room with the door closed.
17 · Smokies
Up to 18 ft · 2 vehicles · Long view
Smokies 17 is the top of the mountain — the highest site we have, with an open view east through the trees. Private, and high enough that it feels like being on top of the world. The pavement runs the whole way up.
Will my vehicle fit?
Up to 25 feet, drive-in
Sites 1, 5 and 6. This is where to book a full-size Class B or a rooftop-tent rig — and not by coincidence, these are also our roomiest sites. Drive in forward, turn around at the site, and leave the way you came.
Up to 25 feet, no turnaround
Sites 2 and 3. Same length limit, but there’s nowhere to turn a van around once you head in, so you’ll reverse one direction or the other. Most people back in on arrival. Straightforward if you’re comfortable backing a van.
Up to 22 feet
Site 13. The longest limit after the 25-foot sites — most full-size Class B vans will make it.
Up to 20 feet
Sites 8, 9, 10, 11, 12 and 14. Tents, cars, and shorter vans — a 136" ProMaster or 144" Sprinter is right at home.
Sites 11 through 17 need a K-turn to leave. There is no room to turn around at the site itself, so you use the wide spots on the road to get pointed back downhill.
Overlanding through? Vans, rooftop-tent rigs and self-contained builds up to the lengths above are what these sites are set up for. We’re 6 minutes from US-64 and 8 from downtown Franklin, with well water at every site and level ground to stop on — a real stop on a long drive rather than a lot to park in. Nothing towed, though, and there are no hookups anywhere on the property.
Not sure? Length is only half of it — wheelbase and turning radius matter just as much on a mountain road. Tell us what you drive and we’ll tell you which sites work.
Room to spread out
Most sites give you a 16 x 16 deck and a comfortable amount of ground around it. Three are considerably bigger: Blue Ridge 1, Yosemite 5 and Glacier 6 are the three largest on the mountain. Blue Ridge 1 and Glacier 6 have decks with a great deal of space left over; Yosemite 5 is a wide expanse of flat open ground with no deck at all.
If you’re traveling as a group or bringing more than one tent, start with those three.
Bringing more than one vehicle? Most sites take two vehicles. Sites 1, 5 and 6 take three vehicles, and 7, 14 and 15 have room for one vehicle.
Which sites have the long-range views?
These five: Katahdin 9, Redwood 12, Arches 13, Big Bend 14, Smokies 17. The rest sit in the trees. Both are good ways to camp — but if the view is what you came for in summer, book one of those.
Worth knowing that the five above are the ones that hold their view through summer. Once the leaves come down, the views from the mostly wooded sites open up too.
Pick your side of the mountain
Lower sites have the most room to maneuver. Higher sites have longer views and, of course, higher elevation. There is no bad site here.
Tent campers in a car can take any site on the mountain. If you’re driving something longer, the panels above say what fits where.
Right fork · sites 7–10
The road splits above site 6
↓ Entrance & gate
Before you book
What’s here, and what isn’t
Here: wooden decks, fire rings, charcoal grills, well water at every site, 5G, portable restrooms, and WiFi at Gleason, the community rendezvous spot between sites 4 and 5.
Not here: electric or water hookups, a dump station, trash bins.
The rules
Fires, firewood, quiet hours, alcohol, pets, food storage and the 7 mph speed limit.
Getting here
The turns off Patton Road, what the entrance looks like, and how to find your site.
The whole property
A larger map, the elevation profile, and how the sites sit on the mountain.