Carolina Hemlocks Rec Area in NC -- Campground & RV Camping

Carolina Hemlocks Recreation Area sits at 2,900 feet elevation along the South Toe River, shaded by hemlocks, hardwood trees, and rhododendrons. The site features 35 primitive campsites outfitted with tent pads, picnic tables, lantern posts, and campfire rings with grills. On-site facilities include hot showers, flush toilets, and a shaded picnic shelter. Visitors use the adjacent river for swimming, tubing, and trout fishing, with access to a one-mile nature trail and a 3.8-mile hiking route directly from the grounds.

Getting there: 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.

• Little separation from through roads or other sites here, a 35-site campground with the nearest through road 0.1 miles off.
• Potato Hill stands 3,691 ft above the map pin, 2.7 miles west.
• South Toe River runs 0.1 mi off.
• 3 hike-in sites, with 4 on the water and most of them shaded.
• Estimated night sky: Bortle 3, a dark rural sky.

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