North Carolina State Fairgrounds Campground

Come here for the convenience of location, full-hook-ups, first-come-first-parked, and relatively decent pricing - not to 'camp'.

Pull in, pick a campsite, hook-up (15/30/50A, H2O, Sewer), and call the camp-host/security to pay up (if they don't greet you on the way in!)

Since the Coronavirus Pandemic took hold of the U.S. in March 2020, this location has put a moratorium on their '14 day limit'. Currently, those in self-contained rigs are welcomed to stay for as long as they can pay.

Sites are mostly level - especially towards the back of the camping area. However, many of the water hook-ups were broken when we pulled in - and ours broke while we were staying. The staff here is welcoming and amenable and suggested we run our hose to a neighboring site's water so we did not have to move.

We snagged a site in the back row and found it to be pretty darned quiet - especially considering it's in a city. There were a few nights that featured a 'train party' - about 5 minutes of incessant horn blowing. Otherwise - pretty peaceful.

Enjoyed running from the fairgrounds on sidewalks and a roadside 'trail' to Umstead State Park (~4miles away) and to the Art Museum's Sculpture Park (~1.5 miles away). A few horse shows were hosted while here during our stay, which provided great entertainment in the form of ponies frolicking around arenas a short walk from the rig.

Verizon had blazing 5G speeds, but calls tended to drop or cut-out on Verizon. AT&T provided more stable data - but Verizon was definitely usable for 4G/LTE.

We have stayed at the NC State Fairgrounds on several occasions to take care of family business in Raleigh. You really can't beat the location! And full hookups! YES! But it is definitely a utilitarian campground. There are some semi-permanent sites and long-term campers who are working in the area. There are no bathhouses, no fire rings, and very little space. There is also a lot of coming and going at all times, so there is vehicle noise often; trains run nearby, as well. However, the power, water, and sewer work well and it is near everything. They also offer free Wi-Fi - if you'd like to use it, choose a site as close to the access point as possible. It is mediocre Wi-Fi - but free!

Stayed here to visit the Raleigh RV Show. The campground is a .8 mile walk to the show. Park was clean abs about 3/4 full. My site, #25, was level and considered of a gravel drive and well groomed grass. An empty trash barrel was located every 3 sites or so. Did not visit the restrooms. Park was quiet and felt safe.

The rate was $30. No reservations accepted. Roll in, pick a site, call security. They come out and take your money and give you a receipt. Get this: checkout time is midnight the NEXT DAY.

This is the most convenient full hook up spot in the area. We were here quite a while because we travel for work. They say 2 weeks max but if you are working in the area they are very nice about working with you on a longer stay.
They don't take reservations. You drive in to your spot and then call them and let them know you're there, the number is posted on the fences.
This park is basically a big parking lot. It is gravel and grass with full hook ups but no other facilities. They drive through with a water truck regularly to keep the dust down.
It was an interesting place to stay because people attending events at the fairgrounds stay there; during our stay there was a big dog show and a major bass tournament so it was fun seeing all those people. We also enjoyed some events at the fairgrounds: Indiafest, flea market, Easter Sunday services, etc.
This location is also very close to beautiful walking areas at the art museum and the arboretum.

We live about 5 miles away from here and needed to empty our tanks, so we thought we'd make a weekend of it. It's not easy to find, make sure you look at the website and put their recommended street address into your GPS. There are 52 newer sites on the hill by Horse Gate 7, those are what you're looking for. It's run by the Fairgrounds Public Safety Dept, so you just call them when you're near, they'll tell you if there are spots free and then you call them again when you pick your spot and they come and take your cash/check/credit card. There's usually something going on at the Fairgrounds every weekend -- there was an Arabian Horse show when we went, so we spent some time checking that out. There's also an awesome flea market on Sat and Sun mornings that we go to a lot, so definitely check that out-- it's worth it. It was very quiet, and we had incredibly fast internet -- we even streamed some shows at night. Plus you'll get about 30 tv channels since you're in the city. Also, if you pay for one day, you have essentially 48 hours at the campground. We called at 9am on Sat, they said we could come anytime and we weren't required to leave until midnight on Sunday, so you don't have to worry about early check-out times!