Lake Powhatan Campground

We loved our stay here so much we stayed 2 additional nights. We started off in site 5 in the Big John loop. This was a nice roomy site with electric only. After 4 nights we moved to site 55 in the Lakeside loop. This site had full hookups and was also a great site. We loved walking the trails to the lake each day and the close access to Asheville.

We loved our 4 night stay in July. Friendly camp hosts, clean bath houses. Wooded camp spots with privacy. Close to the NC Arboretum that we LOVED exploring and spent 2 days there, and even found a trail from the campground into the Arboretum if you don’t mind a minor hike. Close enough to Asheville to enjoy restaurants and attractions. Nearby grocery stores (less than 5 miles). Close to tubing and paddling on the French Broad.
We had no cell service so you are off the grid. We went into town for service. We loved site 35, but I also would love to stay on 44, 48 and 10 but lots of other good ones.

This is a beautiful wooded campground with private sites. Don't expect to use your phone, we had zero coverage until we drove back to the highway.

We visited downtown Asheville, drove the Blue Ridge Parkway to enjoy the mountains, and toured the Biltmore. Our neighboring campers said they saw bears early one morning on our camp circle, but we slept through it.

The bathrooms were clean and the campground host was helpful.

Our site was pretty level, but others looked uneven.

I’m new to “camping” at drive in camp sites, having backpacked for decades in the outdoors, but this was advertised as a “tent site”, and it was NOTHING but GRAVEL. Having viewed the poor selection of pictures of this site, I assumed their was a tent pad not shown. Luckily, I had my hammock but the only trees to suspend it from at this site- without destroy undergrowth, was to suspend it over the gravel, which is also not satisfactory. Secondly, Verizon signal was completely non-existent- another false claim about connectivity. This “campground” is otherwise beautiful otherwise and designed for car and RV camping ONLY.

This is a beautiful campground that is close to the interesting sights of Asheville, NC. We visited the Biltmore Estate and North Carolina Arboretum while here. There is no cell reception in the Lakeside loop, however, there is cell reception very close by on the trails or on the road just outside the camp boundary. The adjacent trails are great for hiking or easy mountain biking. We hiked to the arboretum, and save the parking fee as a result. The hike is easy and beautiful along side a stream. The bathhouses are very clean, but have limited hot water for showers. The sites had fairly good privacy. This camp is highly recommended.

Date of Visit = March-April 2021 We stayed in two sites, #5 and then we had reservations to move to a dry site but after checking with the hosts about an empty host site, we were allowed to move to that one with FHU which saved us during a deep freeze. The hiking opportunities are seemingly endless right out of the campground. You can access the Blue Ridge Parkway and the North Carolina Arboretum (which is gorgeous and has miles more trails) on foot, and all the city amenities of Asheville are a half-hour drive away. Most of the trails are multi-use, so plan to share them with lots of mountain bikers. Verizon was almost non-existent, and we could only get 1-2 bars with it propped in our very back window. The showers were clean and new-looking with plenty of hot water, though they were push-button. Good OATV reception despite the trees.

Critters Spotted: Eastern Swallowtail butterflies (everywhere!), red-spotted newts, painted turtles, Eastern Towhee

I paid $22 with the senior parks pass, otherwise would be $36. I never used the restrooms so I'm unable to review those. Campground hosts are consistently friendly and informative (you gotta love southern manners and hospitality).
Sites are in the woods...big, clean and well serviced. It's about a 25 minute drive into Asheville. Trash service and RV dump is available.
The road is paved, a little narrow and at times curvy getting to the campground. My short trailer is not a problem. Bigger rigs drivers should be aware is all. Very passable.

Verizon coverage is slow but works. One bar only but never went out.