Lake Powhatan Campground

PROS
Discounted camp fee with senior pass
Reserved 169 days prior to arriving
Friendly and helpful gate attendant
Nearly 100% shade at each site
Excellent dark sky viewing
Private sites with large space along with vegetation between sites
Very quiet
Asphalt parking pad surrounded with bean size gravel
Concrete picnic table
Metal fire pit with cooking grate 2 hook lantern pole
Electric at water connection for heated water hose connection
Recycle bins in campground loop
Trash dumpsters immediately out of campground loop
Firewood for sale but gate attendant told us to buy at Ingles
(grocery store) where it is$3 bundle cheaper and we did!
Next to North Carolina Arboretum
Close to Asheville Outlet Mall and Camping World

CONS
3 bear sitings a day prior to our arrival in campground, according to gate attendant
No overnight gate closure even tho RULES proved at check-in stated gates closed at 10pm, but no open hours in RULES
Lakeview site 38 not level
Up hill sewer connection at Lakeview site 38
Fire ring not cleared of ash upon our arrival
Non-moveable concrete picnic table and beyond camper awning
2 toilets and 2 showers for entire Lakeview Loop (21 campsites). There were lines!
Low hanging tree branches over roadways and roadside tree branches over roadways so it was a maneuvering obstacle challenge to not scrape camper roof and sides
Campground roads narrow with tight curves along with roadway asphalt dropped off to steep shoulders; could be challenging to novice rig drivers (as we witnessed that more than once)
Two-and- a-half-mile drive on a twisty hilly road through residential neighborhood to get to the campground
No WiFi
1 bar Verizon

We were pleasantly surprised with this campground. We didn’t have any issues getting to the campground as far as directions (we had them pre loaded on the phone) or the roads being too narrow, we did have to avoid one low tree branch though.

I booked a little last minute so we ended up with site 004 in the Big John loop. It had electric but that’s it. It was big enough for our 34ft camper but we were barely able to squeeze the truck horizontally in front of it to keep it out of the road but also not in our way. It was pretty far from the 2 side neighbors but the one across was somewhat close. That campsite is one of the hosts so they were at least nice. Behind the camper was just woods which was nice for our dogs to potty and they loved watching the chipmunks out of the window. The bathrooms were right across the street but not close enough to be annoying. We ended up using the facilities the entire time because they were so nice and convenient. There are 2 separate bathrooms with just toilet and sink and then there are 2 separate shower rooms. There is no water temperature control and you have to keep hitting the button to keep it running but the temperature is nice and warm. There are also heaters in all the rooms.

There was basically no cell service for us with Verizon. Every once in a while if we put the phone in the right place in the window we could get the tiniest amount of signal. We did however also have a tablet with FirstNet and it worked well enough to download videos to watch and we also used it as a hotspot to browse the internet on our phones.

The best part about this campground is how close it is to so many trails and to downtown Asheville. You can walk to many trails and make a day of it. I would definitely come back and try to snag a more secluded campsite with full hookups next time. But even still, it was peaceful enough to sit out and drink coffee in the mornings with little disturbance in the campsite we had. We would have stayed longer if we could have!

The access roads to this park are somewhat harrowing, but definitely doable for RVers who know what they are doing. The tree maintenance within the park and the road leading up to the park is not great so if you have a taller rig, as we do you will have to dodge some errant branches. The roads in the Lakeside Loop where we camped were very narrow and we did have to pull partially into the site across from us to get into our site. Once in our site we loved the beauty and the privacy that the dense forest afforded us. The site itself was clean and spacious. There are some lovely trails to the small lake and into the forest that you can access from right inside of the campground. There are also plenty of other popular hiking trails right outside the boundary of the park. Be sure to do all your research before you get here though, because you will have zero cell coverage inside the park. You might get a text to go through but no calls or web browsing. We did however get most of the local OTA TV stations since we were right in the heart of Asheville. This campground is in a good location for visiting Asheville. West Asheville is about 15 minutes away, downtown and the South Slope area are only about 20 minutes away. There is also a large outlet mall only about 5 minutes from the park where you can get a bus downtown if you want to avoid the parking and traffic hassles. We really loved our time in Asheville but would probably look for another park if we went back in our 35-foot fifth wheel because of the road conditions and lack of connectivity. However, if I was in a Class C or small trailer I wouldn’t hesitate to stay here again.

We enjoyed our stay here. It was very peaceful and the sites were spacious. We were pleasantly surprised that our site had sewer. (site 48) This campground is conveniently located near the Blue Ridge Highway and The Biltmore Estate. Like stated in previous reviews, there is no cell signal here, although it is so close to Asheville. With our WeBoost we got sporadic, very weak AT&T signal. Some campers said they couldn’t even make a phone call. We loved the Biltmore, which was only 20 minutes away, and were surprised at how ginormous it was, so if you go I recommend planning a whole day. The admission is pricey, but it was worth it.

Let me first state getting to this park is a little anxiety inducing with a larger rig.The beginning of the road is residential. The road coming in are very narrow and have very sharp turns. Cars park along the side of the road near the trail heads too and have no care for RVs so watch out!

Now for the park it self …
If you need cell service this is NOT your park. We had no service on our phones … we got a little spotty signal after we hooked up our booster but it’s not consistent and you can’t stream or anything. So unless you have a booster you’ll have no service what so ever.
We were originally reserved to stay at site 51 in lakeside loop. While the pad is long it’s at a decent incline (they say slight grade - I say not really so slight) and also at a tight curve AND on a embankment making backing in with a somewhat larger rig impossible and dangerous . You could see were others gouged the cement with their hitches trying to get in. If you’re pulling anything over 30ft I’d say skip this site for safety reasons.
The camp hosts(who were super nice) helped me get my original reservation canceled (I had to pay a fee of course 😑) and get us booked at another site. It was slim pickings it being the last week of the year.
Thankfully he got us in site 62 in hard times loop which is a full hook up.

It was pretty easy to get in and out of. The hardtimes loop was very quiet while we were there. Most of the time we had most of the loop to ourselves. This loop only has a few spots an RV could pull in. 62 being the only big rig friendly in that loop.

Something to note - 62’s sewer is at the very rear and requires a very large amount of hose to reach if your Connection is near the front of the rig like normal.
I believe this is a first come first serve site.

The lake is small but very pretty. Lots of bike trails all around the park.
I have to save it was a very relaxing stay in hard times loops and the park in general.

Everything is clean and tidy, well cared for by the camp hosts.

The park boarders the North Carolina Arboretum. So it’s a quick drive over to visit and hike the trails. We love going there.

Asheville is a short drive away and the entrance to the blue ridge parkway is also near by.

Everything you need in a campground location is here!