Hanging Rock State Park

This is a beautiful campground with sites (all non-electric) laid out on a wooded mountainside. For tent campers, it’s perfect, with nice level pads. For those pulling campers or with RVs, there can be issues. Some sites don’t have much length, are far from level, are narrow or have difficult angles if you’re backing a trailer. In my estimation, the best sites for those with RVs or trailers under 25’ or so are 8,11,13,17, 24,26,27,32, 34,39,45, 53,57,55 (handicapped) and 58. I can’t vouch for bigger rigs. The restroom facilities on the first loop are old and need attention. The second loop restrooms are very nice and the showers are actually, genuinely HOT! Friendly staff, too. There’s a tremendous network of hiking trails, also mountain bike trails and rock climbing.

This is a gem of a campground. But it's not RV friendly. At least many sites are not. We had site 57 and were able to get level very easily. But if rv camping study a satellite image with topo when choosing. There are a lot of sites that would work. Another consideration is orientation of the site. Our door opened on the opposite side of the campfire ring and sitting area. Our fire ring and sitting area was in rough shape, not cleaned well. When we were here, there was one working spigot. Next to our site. Many of the tent campers washed their dishes at the spigot, which made it a mess. Other than water, there are no hookups. In March, the wash houses were still winterized and closed. There was one outhouse (portapotty). Generators are allowed until 10pm. Be prepared to dump tanks elsewhere. It is beautiful and quiet here. Trails and views are amazing. Which totally makes it worth the effort.

Perfect for smaller trailers, RVs, and camping vans. Sites are super spacious, shaded, and most have great privacy. We were here in June during heatwave. Hottest it got during the day was 90. It’s doable without AC. Due to lack of hookups, using bathrooms is key. Bathrooms are old, bit dirty, but are air conditioned, have hot water, and power outlets for driers. Plenty of water spigots throughout campground and a cute general store just outside the park. Almost everyone was tent or hammock camping. Nice and quiet at night. During the day, one c class had generator on for a couple of hours but we could barely hear it because of space and vegetation. From our site, 72, you can walk to lake. You can also hear all the lake fun from the kiddos at summer camp, so if you want complete silence, consider the other loop. Pro of our loop was that there’s barely any traffic and we oversaw pure forest :) There were bugs, but thermacell kept them at bay (except the tics, tons of deer so load up on deet). Tons of hiking trails all around, fairly rated so read description carefully. Lake is very small so great for swimming but not much else. River area has private outfitters for kayak or canoe. Gorgeous river.

Rate does not reflect discount and booking fees. Cooler weather is the only time we'd tackle camping where there are no hookups, and we were very lucky to hit perfect temperatures. Mostly tent campers here, and only small RVs can fit the sites or maneuver the roads.

Quiet campground with large site. However, a low-hanging limb at the very front of the site was very hard to keep from hitting the top of our RV. If the site is to be rated for an RV, that limb needs to go...a 5 minute job! The multiple trails are great for hikers, but may be rated a little easier than they really are. The Hanging Rock trail may start out as moderate, but it's definitely strenuous toward the top, especially for older folks.

Cell service was essentially nonexistent, although texts managed to get through and you might be able to make a call during the moments when there is one bar. Great TV reception though!

I look forward to coming back and checking out the other trails.

The state park is great the trails are clearly marked and we had a great time hiking up to some amazing views.

The campground is very rustic, the sites are not really intended for campers, RVs, make sure to read the descriptions carefully it’s more of a tent camping facility - if you have a towable there are several that you will be fine with as long as you are no more than 27 foot - if you have a fifth wheel or class A this is not the campground for you. Lots of low hanging branches and sites are very narrow - the camp host here for the month of October were great

Our nightly price included a military discount

We really enjoyed Hanging Rock! I’ll get to the Pros in a minute, but first here is the one thing we wish we had known as RVers before we drove there.
There is a pretty steep grade into and out of the park. We have a 23ft airstream towed by a Tundra and we were a little nervous about our truck making it uphill. And downhill our brakes were definitely smoking- we wish we had known earlier to check our brakes.

Another thing to know is there is NO cell service around the park, so download all your maps and directions ahead of time. The visitor center was closed when we went (June 2021) so we couldn’t get paper maps either. There were a few posted that we took photos of on our phones.

Apart from that, the park was great!! Lots of tent campers in June and not really any RVs.

Highlights:
- lots of hiking trails and 5 different waterfalls
- By far the best waterfall was Lower Cascades because it had a larger swimming area at the bottom.
- Hike to Hanging rock was great but so were other less popular trails
- Hike EARLY on weekends, it gets crowded. We finished our hikes by 11am and it was perfect- plus we beat the heat.
- There are mountain biking trails but we didn’t bring our bikes.

Campsite info:
- dry camping only (no hookups)
- Very shaded sites so we stayed pretty cool with windows/fans open
- Not much cell service (kinda nice)
- Lots of trees for hammocks!
- Wouldn’t suggest an rv larger than ours (23 ft) as we were pretty tight.

Hanging rock sp

Beautiful and quite state park in NC at an elevation 1800ish . We were here at beginning of May, it was breezy but already getting warm. We arrived after office closed and there was a list of available sites for that night. If you’re looking for a site for a couple of nights you will have to check Reserve America and see what’s available. Ranger came around later and collected cash for the site. He also had fire wood for sale.

There are some great moderate hikes to various rock formations and waterfalls. There is a lake with a “beach” for swimming in summer. Kayaking on the nearby Dan River is an option also.

Bathhouses are old and probably need updating but fairly clean. Behind bath house on the lower loop there are four concrete sinks for dishes. Double check which loops have hot water during winter months.
Visitor center and check in closed at 4:45.
Park gates do close at night and do not open back up till morning. No gate code.
WiFi is available inside visitors center.
Verizon 3g. To 1-2 Lte Sometimes you could get a text through and sometimes you could surf slowly in the on the internet.
73 sites no electric - no water
10 cabins

3 stars for cleanliness is for the bathrooms. Campsite and park would be 5

Notes:
Google says closest grocery store is approximately 7 miles away.

Daytrips
* Mount Airy “Mayberry” town that inspired the Andy Griffith Show. There’s a museum, soda shop ect..

* Pilot Mountain State Park. You can hike to top if birds are not nesting or you can drive to a vantage point and look across and see the mountain.

* Danbury: The Artist Way, Coffee, ice cream and art.

We stayed for one night at Hanging Rock in June 2017. We stayed in site 72, which is at the very end of the loop so it was very private. Tons of wooded area on the back side of the camp site. Fire ring with grill, picnic table and a tent pad also on the site. No electric or water hook ups. The restroom and showers were clean, there's even an industrial sink behind the bath house for washing dishes. Lots of beautiful hiking options, a lake, and a large picnic area if you are only there to hang out for the day. We loved this park!

This was one of my favorite camping trips to date. The park is beautiful with many great hiking trails including to the top of Hanging Rock. The educational programs for the kids are great. Our daughter earned her first Junior Ranger badge.

The restrooms/showers are older but clean. Campsites are spacious.

No cell service which ensured a relaxing weekend unplugged.

Highly recommended!