Reviews

S A

super quiet early august. tons of trails to explore. had the pleasure of renting the mills river house for a week. super serene and secluded

Explore More Just By Living Moment 2 Moment (EMJBLM2M)

7/3/25 Lots of storm damage , but some trails are open from Hurricane and you can only go approx 1 mile after the camping area on yellow gap bottom before Wolf Ford Camp. Although, I have been trying to experience Laurel Mtn trail. Instead I recommend going to Trace Ridge which is the forest road a right turn before North Mills Campground towards Wash Creek Camp - it has the rough road sign, but I believe it’s been improved. They used to have nice spots for fishing at North Mills Campground, however the river is a mess currently. Not sure if it still is , Some parking has fees.

Andrew Touchstone

Campground was clean and staff was very friendly. It was crowded when I went but was around Spring break so that's to be expected. The bathrooms and showers were tidy and clean but the ridiculously super powered shower head actually hurt to stand under. The river can be heard from all over the campground and is quite pleasant to sleep to. While it was only a few miles from town it seems like you are much further out. It's fairly close to the airport so jets flying over was an unwelcome distraction during the day but seemed to taper off for some reason as it got dark.

Eric Davis

What a great way to spend the day. Quick and easy in and out for an all day or half day excursion. Plenty of river access, and many trails. Parking is all over and not very busy. Fish can be challenging because of the pressure, but when stocked it gets easier for sure.

Michelle Belle

I've come to Mills River for picnics since I was a child in the 70's. I remember many good times with family, and swimming in the river with cousins and best friends, and later with my own kids. Still a beautiful place today. I've been looking to see a bear all summer, and finally saw one here! I drove up further past the recreational area to the more remote camp grounds, and there he was! It was exciting! 😀 The only thing I don't like is the $5 fee to park in the main parking lot. I think that's wrong.

NC Traveler

Camped in Site 12 - I had never been to this campground before, so I didn’t know what to expect. We were lucky enough to snag a reservation two months ago for site 12, and stayed the first weekend of Nov. It was cold at night and early morning, but the afternoons were nice. This turned out to be a gem of a campsite as the location is remote enough to enjoy the forest while only being 5 miles away from an Ingles supermarket in case you forget something. The campground caters to families and fishermen, so there wasn’t a lot of noise after the 10pm quiet hour. Site 12 appeared to be one of the larger sites with ample room for two tents and or a trailer. We had two vehicles, two tents, five people. The host did come by to make sure we set up our tents on the gravel. The site also has a steel bear box, trash pole, concrete/wood table and a fire pit (as do all the other sites). The site was very clean, except for wax from arts and crafts melted onto the tabletop from previous campers. I usually duct tape a cheap tablecloth onto the table anyway. The bathroom was very clean, and the shower house had consistent, hot water. I spoke with the host on a few occasions and bought some firewood from him. Hint - the local Walmart had boxes of firewood $2 cheaper that were larger and was drier than the wood I got in the site. There was some vehicle noise/traffic throughout the night as people drove on the adjacent forest service road, but it wasn’t that bad. The fishing on the North Mills River can be good if you have the right gear for trout fishing. I spoke with another guy who was fishing, and he said he has had great luck there over the years. Overall great facilities/location and I highly recommend this campground for families. I have read about a recent trend in State Park campgrounds - people pay for reservations well in advance and never show up, leaving many campsites empty. I counted six sites that were empty and had reservation signs for the weekend, and this is a smaller campground. I don’t know how the Park Service can fix this, but it is a shame because it keeps families from being able to enjoy the campground.