Roan Mountain Campground – Tips for Finding the Best Spot

We have our 5th camping trip under our belts with Roan Mountain. This was a more challenging camping trip from the very beginning. Roan Mountain is my husband’s favorite place to visit. When I found out the rhododendrons were going to be in full bloom on father’s day weekend I knew I had to book this trip.

Lucky for us there was one campsite left when I went to book a spot. I snatched it up and then realized with the confirmation email that the campsite was in a tricky spot. While the campsite itself is level, it is located on a hill. The description of the site in the confirmation email stated, “Campsites 41-90 are on an incline which may prove difficult for backing a trailer, riding bikes, walking, etc.” Uh oh. That’s not what I wanted to see. We are still fairly new to this whole travel trailer business. Were we really ready for a challenge like this? Should I just cancel the reservation and find another campsite? My husband decided he wanted to keep the reservation and hope for the best.

We got to the campsite and sure enough, we had quite a hill to back up. With the guidance of a fellow camper and the patience of my husband he got us backed into our campsite. I’ve got to say my husband is becoming quite the pro at backing our travel trailer.

The campground is nice and quiet with a little creek running through it. Tons of natural shade from the trees. The downside is that the campsites are pretty small for travel trailers. The loop we stayed at was on a hill as I stated and they are clearly the older smaller campsites. Next time I go back to Roan Mountain I will reserve a spot in the lower level campsites. The lower level is on nice level ground, a closer walk to the pool and other amenities and the sites are a little more spacious.

*A word of warning* Our last day at our campsite a couple with a very large fifth wheel camper tried to back into the site across from us. As I saw them coming down the hill I didn’t think there was any way in the world they were going to be able to back in between the two trees. As it turns out they left their truck in 2 wheel drive mode as they were trying to back in. Between backing in uphill and leaving the truck in 2 wheel drive, they not only were not able to back into the campsite, but they blew out their transmission. OUCH!! I really felt for them. That was a $5,000 mistake. Take that as a precautionary tale to limit those sites to the smaller campers.

Now onto the fun stuff. The hiking. Carver’s Bald is an epic hike that takes you to the top of Roan Mountain. During this hike, you go across 4 balds with gorgeous panoramic views of rolling mountains. It is truly breathtaking. Just watch the weather before you go. There are microclimates all around the mountain. A nasty storm can roll in and take you by surprise. Bring you a pair of good hiking poles to help you get up and down the mountain, a rain jacket just in case and lots of water and snacks and you’ll be good to go.