CAMPING SEASON
Mount Pisgah Campground is one of eight campgrounds on the Blue Ridge Parkway that is operated by the National Park Service. It is typically open from late May until the end of October, though the official opening and closing dates change each year. Be sure to get the latest schedule on the official Operating Hours and Seasons web page for the Blue Ridge Parkway.
TYPE OF CAMPING
Mount Misgah Campground can accommodate tent campers, RVs, and other self-contained sleeping vehicles. Maximum vehicle lengths for each campsite are given on the reservation website, Recreation.gov.
There are two campsites reserved for disabled visitors in Loop A and two in Loop B. There are no group campsites.
If a campsite has a tent pad, all tents must be pitched on the pad. I’m not sure of the pad size, but they are at least 10′ x 10′. This should allow one large tent or two small tents. If you have more tents than can fit on the pad, you must pay for another campsite. Tent pads are pre-leveled areas of earth that are enclosed in a wood or concrete frame, so regardless of hilly or sloping terrain, you will have a level area on which to pitch your tent.
NUMBER OF SITES
Mount Pisgah Campground is comprised of four loops. Loop A is for RVs of all sizes. Loop B is for small RVs and other self-contained sleeping vehicles such as pick-up truck campers, vans and other Class B RVs, and pop-up campers, and some sites allow tent campers. Loops C and D are for tent campers only. Overall there are 125 campsites, each accommodating up to six people. Most allow guests to bring two vehicles, though many of the C and D sites have driveways that are only large enough for one passenger vehicle. All vehicles must be parked on the pavement.
While sites are close to each other, many have some sort of brush between them, which allows for a little privacy. Also keep in mind as far as privacy is concerned that sites on the outside of the loops don’t have any sites to the rear of them as do the sites on the inside of the loops.
Loop A
There are 32 sites reserved for RVs, 21 of which can be reserved. Parking spaces range from 25′ to 90′ long, with about two-thirds being shorter back-in spaces and the rest longer pull-through spaces. The shorter back-in sites have a double-wide parking area, so if you are pulling your RV, you can unhook it and park your truck next to it. As mentioned, when making a reservation, Recreation.gov lists parking sizes, so choose appropriately. All sites have a picnic table and grill / fire ring.
Loop B
There are 29 sites in Loop B, 19 of which can be reserved. Parking spaces range from 15′ to 32′ long, with most being on the smaller side. All but one are back-in parking spaces. Some spaces are double wide, so you can unhook your pop-up camper and park your truck next to it. All sites have a picnic table and grill / fire ring. Eleven sites have tent pads, and these sites allow tent campers or small RVs. Tent sites also have bear boxes for storing food.
Loop C and D
There are 64 sites designated specifically for tents, 31 of which can be reserved. The camping area has a tent pad, picnic table, grill / fire ring, lantern post, and a bear box to store food.
Like nearly all campgrounds on the Blue Ridge Parkway, the Mount Pisgah Campground is located on the side of a mountain. This means that tent pads and picnic tables may be located up- or downhill from the parking spaces. For RVs, this is not much of a concern, and even for those with tents it’s just a minor hassle to lug your equipment up or down a hill. The sites are, however, next to the parking spaces. Most all sites are in the shade.
AMENITIES
The Mount Pisgah Campground is hands down the most convenient of all campgrounds on the Blue Ridge Parkway. It is one of only two that has hot showers (the other is Price Park Campground), though showers are only in the Loop B and C bathrooms (anyone can use them). Across the street at the Pisgah Inn is a laundromat and a camping supply store. You can even get a meal at the Inn if you don’t feel like cooking. However, like all Parkway campgrounds, it does not have electricity or water hook-ups, though there is a dump station just inside the entrance.
Each loop has at least one restroom building with modern toilets and sinks. I found, however, that not all have hand dryers or paper towels, and in some restrooms the lighting is very bad. There may be a light over the sinks, but not over the restroom stalls. Be prepared to bring your own hand towel and a lantern of some sort when it is dark outside.
There is also a “bear box” at each site. These are large, metal containers in which you can store your food and cooking equipment so that bears can’t get to it. However, not all of them are usable. At site D5 where I camped, the box loads from the top, and the top is three feet off the ground. There was no way that I could lower a heavy cooler into the box and raise it out later, especially with a bad back. Bear boxes should have doors on the front that open like a kitchen cabinet. On top of that, I don’t want some bear sniffing around for food at a bear box a few feet from my tent. Even a bear may figure out that whatever is inside the tent is easier to eat than what’s in the box. Keep your food in your vehicle if possible.
The campground is also the starting point for the Frying Pan Trail. This moderate to strenuous 4.2-mile round-trip hike leads to the top of Frying Pan Mountain where you will find a U. S. Forest Service fire tower. You can’t climb all the way to the top of the tower, but you can climb high enough to get a clear view of the surrounding mountains and valleys. For information on all of the trails in the Mount Pisgah Recreation Area, see the Mount Pisgah Hiking Trails web page.
RESERVATIONS
Select campsites at Mount Pisgah Campground can be reserved up to six months in advance online at Recreation.gov or by calling (877) 444-6777. The rest are taken on a first come, first served basis. Current fees are listed on Recreation.gov. Holders of the Interagency Senior, Access, Golden Age, or Golden Access passes are entitled to a 50% discount on campground fees. Passes can be obtained at all campgrounds.
For those arriving at the campground without a reservation, select sites are available on a first come, first served basis, and sites that can be reserved but are not taken are available for that night only. To tell the two types of sites apart, look on the campsite post for a diamond. Solid diamonds are first come, first served sites, and diamonds with an R on them designate sites available for reservation.
When you arrive, drive around and pick out a site. Unoccupied first come, first served sites are yours for the taking for up to 30 days. If there are none left, you can get an open reservable site for one night only. However, don’t assume that just because it is 10 PM and nobody is at a reservable site that it hasn’t been reserved because the person may show up at midnight. Rangers put yellow tags on the posts of sites that have been reserved, so look for R-Diamond posts with no yellow tag. If the campground office is open, you might want to double check before setting up at a reservable site.
Once you have a site, return to the camp office and self-register. You can pay with cash, check, or credit card, though regardless of whether there is a Ranger or camp host on duty, you do not make payment to them. Instead, get a self-registration envelope, provide the required information (pen or pencil required), and then place cash or check into the envelope, or if paying with a credit card, write the card information on the envelope. When done, tear off your receipt (which you attach to the camp post) and drop the payment envelope in the secure payment box.
If you have a reservation and arrive after hours and there is no tag on your site post, you must get one in the morning at the campground office.
CAMPGROUND RULES
- Camping is limited to a maximum of 30 consecutive days in any one campground and/or 30 days total per calendar year across all Parkway facilities.
- A maximum of 6 people may occupy a site.
- Checkout Time is 12:00 PM.
- Camping is permitted only at designated sites. Sites are for use by a single family or parties not exceeding six people.
- Hammocks may be used within established campsites. An established campsite is defined as within 50 feet of the existing grill/fire pit. They must be at least 20 feet from any public use areas such as trails, water spigots, restrooms, or other facilities. Hammocks may not be connected or tied to any facility. If tied to a tree, the tree must be at least 4 inches in diameter, and anchor ropes/webbing must be ½ inch or greater in width. Padding must be used if less than ½ inch in width. Trimming of trees and underbrush is prohibited.
- Campground speed limit is 15 mph. Vehicles are to be parked on the pavement of an assigned site or in designated parking areas. No more than two vehicles may be parked in each site (i.e., trailer and car, two cars, two motorcycles).
- All food, coolers, equipment used to cook or store food, and anything that may smell like food (such as toothpaste) must be stored in a closed vehicle or a camping unit made of solid, non-pliable material. Food may also be stored in food lockers provided in some campgrounds.
- Only charcoal can be used in any grill provided. Gas grills and stoves are allowed. Extinguish all fires before leaving the campground or picnic area. Do not leave any fire unattended. Only heat-treated firewood that is bundled and certified by the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) or a state agency may be brought onto the Parkway.
- Wood gathering for use in park campgrounds is limited to dead material on the ground lying no more than 100 yards from the camp or picnic site.
- Respect quiet hours between 10:00 PM to 6:00 AM. Use of generators is prohibited between the hours of 9:00 PM and 8:00 AM. Please keep in mind that continuous, loud generator or audio equipment noise, at any time of the day, disturbs other campers.
- Do not drive nails into trees or strip bark, leaves, or branches from trees or shrubs. Use the lantern posts provided at each site. Do not hang lanterns from trees or loop them over branches or vegetation; these practices always damage and sometimes kill trees and vegetation.
- All dogs, cats, and other pets must be on a leash no longer than six feet or under physical restraint at all times. Do not leave pets unattended in the campground or your car. Please prevent excessive barking and properly dispose of pet waste.
- The use of skateboards, roller skates, and other coasting devices is not permitted in the park or campground. Bicycles are permitted on roads only. NC law requires persons under 16 years of age to wear an approved bicycle helmet when operating a bicycle. In Virginia, bicycle helmet regulations vary by county.
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Last updated on November 28, 2023