Lake Powhatan Glamping
We don’t think it should be. Every campground should hold some sites for whoever drives up.Tell your representative →
- Right now
- Taking bookingsSites offered on 30 of the next 30 nights read 14:11 UTC
- A night
- $100From, per site
- Sites
- 12All of them booked ahead
The place
the agency’s own description · what’s there · 12 notices
In the agency’s own words
Located just minutes from the popular city of Asheville, North Carolina, Lake Powhatan Glamping is the perfect, all inclusive getaway. The campground is convenient to a variety of cultural and natural attractions, including art and music venues, shopping, breweries, restaurants, and scenic drives on the Blue Ridge Parkway. Onsite you'll enjoy numerous hiking and biking trails as well as lakeside recreational opportunities. Learn more to prepare for your trip HERE . The custom designed glamping sites are brand new at Lake Powhatan! Choose one of 12 fully furnished canvas platform tents in the heart of the national forest for your next mountain adventure. Experience nature and outdoor recreation without sacrificing the comforts and luxuries of home. Learn more about glamping near Asheville . Keep reading
Recreation
Visitors have a number of different activities to choose from. Kids love the lake's sandy swimming beach and anglers enjoy the calm waters for trout fishing. The French Broad River, popular for fishing, wading and tubing is also nearby. The use of personal watercraft in the lake is STRICTLY PROHIBITED due to potential introduction of foreign material to the Lake Powhatan riprarian ecosystem. The forest is known for its hiking and mountain biking trails (44 miles of them!), several of which are located near the campground.
Facilities
Check-in time begins at 4pm. Check-out time is 11am. Glamping check-in is two hours later and check-out an hour earlier than regular campsites. This is to ensure proper cleaning of the glampsites. The shaded, private campsites are organized into four loops, all within walking distance of the lake. The 12 glamping sites are available in the upper Hardtimes Loop. The facility provides fully furnished platform tents, picnic tables, charging station, lantern posts and campfire rings with grills, in addition to restrooms with hot showers and flush toilets. Visitors can purchase ice and firewood at the gatehouse. The power units have approximately 1000Wh (12.0V, 1,000Ah). They are excellent for recharging phones, laptops, and tablets, illuminating small lights, etc. They are not intended for heavy uses of heaters, large fans, cooking equipment or other heavy electronics. Units cannot be recharged quickly (once the power unit is drained it takes 18 hours to re-charge), so guests should use the power available conservatively. Charge times for various devices are located on the units and if damage or impairment of the normal operation of the unit occurs guests will be liable. Group parties or special events are not permitted. Be aware that quiet hours begin at 10:00 p.m. Due to the natural outdoor environment and the fabrics and canvas of the tent, as well as comfort for future guests, we do not allow smoking inside the tent or on the tent porch. Please also be considerate and remove dirty/muddy shoes or boots on the tent porch.
Natural Features
The campground is situated in a heavily wooded area on the banks of Lake Powhatan in the Appalachian Mountains of western North Carolina. The elevation is 2,200 feet. The surrounding land boasts mile-high peaks, cascading waterfalls and slopes thickly forested with hardwoods and conifers. Contact Info For facility specific information, please call (828) 577-7278.
Nearby Attractions
Among the more popular nearby destinations are Sliding Rock, Looking Glass Falls, the scenic Blue Ridge Parkway, The NC Arboretum and the Biltmore Estate.
What the agency tells you
Sleeping & Site Capacity Each glamping tent sleeps 3 people (1 queen bed + 1 cot). Sites accommodate up to 6 guests in keeping with Lake Powhatan's campground-wide policy. Additional sleeping arrangements beyond 3 are not included with the tent. For groups larger than 3, you're welcome to bring your own cot, air mattress, or sleep in your vehicle. An extra cot may be requested in advance but is first-come, first-served and not guaranteed. Site limit: 6 people & 2 passenger vehicles (no trailers or travel trailers). Review site and driveway dimensions carefully — some sites fit only one vehicle.
Quiet hours are from 10:00 pm - 7:00 am. Group parties or special events are not permitted. Be aware that quiet hours begin at 10:00 p.m.Gate closes, but is not locked, at 8 p.m. and opens at 8 a.m.
The power units have approximately 1000Wh (12.0V, 1,000Ah). They are excellent for recharging phones, laptops, and tablets, illuminating small lights, etc. They are not intended for heavy uses of heaters, large fans, cooking equipment or other heavy electronics. Units cannot be recharged quickly (once the power unit is drained it takes 18 hours to re-charge), so guests should use the power available conservatively. Charge times for various devices are located on the units and if damage or impairment of the normal operation of the unit occurs guests will be liable.
Everything else this campground posts · 9
Due to the natural outdoor environment and the fabrics and canvas of the tent, as well as comfort for future guests, we do not allow smoking inside the tent or on the tent porch. Please also be considerate and remove dirty/muddy shoes or boots on the tent porch.
Pets are allowed on-site. Dogs must be kept on-leash or contained and supervised for the duration of your stay. Dog fences are not allowed in the campground. Pets are not allowed on the beach.
Campground hosts are available to glampers, and their sites are clearly marked. Hosts are present to provide assistance and guidance to visitors at any time.
Fires are only permitted within established fire rings. DO NOT burn material which could contain metal objects such as nails, screws, etc...
No personal boats are allowed on the lake.
This campground is managed by Naventure.
Don't Move Firewood. Help protect our forests! Prevent the spread of tree-killing pests by obtaining firewood at or near your destination and burning it on-site. Moving firewood is illegal in some states. Visit dontmovefirewood.org to learn more.
Swimming area open from 10 a.m. until 8 p.m., Memorial Day to Labor Day.
Lake Powhatan is located in black bear territory. Visitors are expected to keep all smellable items locked away inside a camper, vehicle, or provided bear box. Visitors who do not comply with this rule may be asked to vacate the facility due to an increased risk of public safety.
Tents and rigs
- Sites
- 12 · 12 cabin
- Hookups
- None
- Longest rig
- 26 ft
- Accessible sites
- None listed
- Pets
- Allowed
- Campfires
- Allowed, barring fire bans
- Shade
- Every site
Facilities
- Toilets
- Flush Toilets
- FLUSH TOILETS on 12 of 12 campsite records
- Showers
- Yes, the record doesn’t say what kind
- SHOWERS on 11 of 12 campsite records
- Drinking water
- Yes
- DRINKING WATER on 10 of 12 campsite records
- Dump station
- Yes
- recreation.gov lists “Dump Station”
- Firewood
- Sold here
- Camp host
- On site
- recreation.gov lists “Host”
- Stay limit
- 14 nights
- recreation.gov facility rule maxStay
Around the campground
- On the water
- Waterfall, Lake, River, Beach
- Accessible Swimming
- Antiquing
- Biking
- Fishing
- Hiking
- Mountain biking
- Mushroom Picking
- Picnicking
- Scenic drives
- Stargazing
- Swimming
- Wilderness access
- Night sky · 82nd darkest of 84 in NC
- Bortle 4
- Fall color · reported 4 days ago, 15 km away
- Patchy color
Full this Saturdayread 14:11 UTC
How full the weekend is nationally.
OpenBooked
Every one of the 12 sites on offer is taken this Saturday. 12 are free on Wed, Oct 21. read 14:11 UTC Why the weekend fills and the week doesn’t
Watch for a cancellation
Watch this campground
One email when a night opens, plus More Than Just Parks dispatches. Unsubscribe any time.
We read recreation.gov once an hour, at 40 minutes past, and write the first time a site in your window is free for the nights you asked for.
Scanners that check every few minutes exist, and most of them charge. This one is free, it reads the same calendar, and it won’t always be first.
Tell me when the season opens
Watch for the season to open
One email when the season goes on sale, plus More Than Just Parks dispatches. Unsubscribe any time.
We check once an hour, at 40 minutes past, and write the first time the agency has that season on sale.
Scanners that check every few minutes exist, and most of them charge. This one is free, it reads the same calendar, and it won’t always be first.
We make nothing when you book. The link goes straight to the government.
Every line of the receipt · 13
What you actually pay
Derived by CAMPANAC: the agency’s published rate for this season, $100 a night, plus one $8 recreation.gov reservation fee for the booking, plus the agency’s published $30 weekend rate on Friday and Saturday. A weekend here means Friday and Saturday night, booked once. Optional charges (an extra vehicle, a second tent, a dump-station fee) are listed separately and aren’t in this total.
Who keeps the booking fee
The agency’s own policy text says the reservation fee and the cancellation processing fee are “retained by the reservation service contractor”, and that a campground concessionaire will decline to refund them because “they did not receive these fees”. Recreation.gov is run under contract by Booz Allen Hamilton. What share of your booking fee the contractor keeps isn’t published in any federal dataset we can read, so we print no number for it. Our reporting on the contract →
How we know this receipt · 5
recreation.gov availability, read 14:11 UTC · rules read Sep 9, 2026 · rates Sep 10, 2026 · How we know all this
The sites
12 sites
Getting there
the map and the coordinate · the agency’s directions · the phone number
Where it is
Lake PowhatanPisgah National Game Refuge · 0.0 mi
Wash Creek Horse CampPisgah National Forest · 4.3 mi
North Mills RiverPisgah National Forest · 5.2 mi
Mount Pisgah CampgroundBlue Ridge Parkway · 9.0 mi
Wolf Ford Horse CampPisgah National Game Refuge · 9.4 mi
White Pine South Group CampPisgah National Game Refuge · 14 miFrom Asheville, take I-26 to exit 33. Go south approximately 2 miles on State Route 191 to the Lake Powhatan Recreation Area sign. Turn right and follow signs to the campground.
The agency publishes this point for 2 campgrounds; it’s likely a district office, not the campground. Use the agency’s own page for directions.
The weather
the next four days · the thirty-year normal
Next four days, and the thirty-year normal
Forecast
NWS forecast for Bent Creek, NC
Typical weather
Typical October night 42°F, day 68°F.
Coldest month of the year: typical January night 25°F, below freezing. Bring a bag rated colder than that, and expect ice in the water bottle.
Daily high and lowDays with 0.10 in or more
A normal is the 1991-2020 average for the month, not a forecast: about half of all Julys are colder than the July line. The seven-day forecast above answers the other question.
The land, and who answers for it
what threatens it · who answers for it · a letter you can send
What threatens this place
You’re camping on ground somebody wants. We track the threats and the comment deadlines.
Who answers for this land
Lake Powhatan Glamping is in North Carolina’s 11th congressional district. Its representative, Chuck Edwards (R), votes on the laws that decide what happens to this land. Public-lands grade so far: F. See every public-lands vote →
Who can change it · 3
Two offices, two different asks. The draft to the agency asks it to set aside a published share of the sites here for whoever drives up. The draft to Congress asks why that share is zero and presses for a published minimum at the campgrounds it funds.
- The member who votes the moneyChuck EdwardsU.S. Representative · North Carolina’s 11th district
- Your senator, on the same appropriationTed BuddU.S. Senator · North Carolina
- Your senator, on the same appropriationThom TillisU.S. Senator · North Carolina
Read the draft, or change the wording
For the camper who turned up, or tried to book, and couldn’t get in. Every draft is written from this campground’s own record (its agency, its unit, its site count and its own weekend) and the buttons above copy whichever wording is selected here.
Asks them to put the question to the agency in writing, and to press for a published minimum share of walk-up sites across the campgrounds they fund.
Subject Walk-up camping at Lake Powhatan Glamping, Pisgah National Game Refuge, North Carolina
Dear Chuck Edwards, I’m a constituent in North Carolina’s 11th district. I tried to camp at Lake Powhatan Glamping, Pisgah National Game Refuge, North Carolina, and couldn’t. All 12 sites at Lake Powhatan Glamping are reservable, and the agency's own record lists none held back for somebody who drives up. On Saturday, October 17, all 12 sites recreation.gov was offering there were already booked. 1,623 of the 7,647 federal campgrounds in this country still keep at least some sites for whoever arrives first. Lake Powhatan Glamping keeps none, and that’s a choice somebody made rather than a rule. I’m not asking you to run Lake Powhatan Glamping. I’m asking you to put it to the U.S. Forest Service in writing: why is the share of first-come sites there zero, and what would a published minimum share cost? Please press for that minimum at the federal campgrounds you fund. The people who open these campgrounds, collect the fees and keep the water running are seasonal positions. At GS-5, base pay plus the government's own 36.25% benefit factor, one costs about $47,414 a year. One percent of the $13.3 billion the USS Gerald R. Ford cost to procure would pay for about 2,800 of them for a year. Both figures are the government's own (a Congressional Research Service report and an OPM pay table), and I’m glad to send them. Sent about Lake Powhatan Glamping (Pisgah National Game Refuge, North Carolina) via campanac.com
Asks them to put the question to the agency in writing, and to press for a published minimum share of walk-up sites across the campgrounds they fund.
Subject Walk-up camping at Lake Powhatan Glamping, Pisgah National Game Refuge, North Carolina
Dear Ted Budd, I’m a constituent in North Carolina. I tried to camp at Lake Powhatan Glamping, Pisgah National Game Refuge, North Carolina, and couldn’t. All 12 sites at Lake Powhatan Glamping are reservable, and the agency's own record lists none held back for somebody who drives up. On Saturday, October 17, all 12 sites recreation.gov was offering there were already booked. 1,623 of the 7,647 federal campgrounds in this country still keep at least some sites for whoever arrives first. Lake Powhatan Glamping keeps none, and that’s a choice somebody made rather than a rule. I’m not asking you to run Lake Powhatan Glamping. I’m asking you to put it to the U.S. Forest Service in writing: why is the share of first-come sites there zero, and what would a published minimum share cost? Please press for that minimum at the federal campgrounds you fund. The people who open these campgrounds, collect the fees and keep the water running are seasonal positions. At GS-5, base pay plus the government's own 36.25% benefit factor, one costs about $47,414 a year. One percent of the $13.3 billion the USS Gerald R. Ford cost to procure would pay for about 2,800 of them for a year. Both figures are the government's own (a Congressional Research Service report and an OPM pay table), and I’m glad to send them. Sent about Lake Powhatan Glamping (Pisgah National Game Refuge, North Carolina) via campanac.com
Asks them to put the question to the agency in writing, and to press for a published minimum share of walk-up sites across the campgrounds they fund.
Subject Walk-up camping at Lake Powhatan Glamping, Pisgah National Game Refuge, North Carolina
Dear Thom Tillis, I’m a constituent in North Carolina. I tried to camp at Lake Powhatan Glamping, Pisgah National Game Refuge, North Carolina, and couldn’t. All 12 sites at Lake Powhatan Glamping are reservable, and the agency's own record lists none held back for somebody who drives up. On Saturday, October 17, all 12 sites recreation.gov was offering there were already booked. 1,623 of the 7,647 federal campgrounds in this country still keep at least some sites for whoever arrives first. Lake Powhatan Glamping keeps none, and that’s a choice somebody made rather than a rule. I’m not asking you to run Lake Powhatan Glamping. I’m asking you to put it to the U.S. Forest Service in writing: why is the share of first-come sites there zero, and what would a published minimum share cost? Please press for that minimum at the federal campgrounds you fund. The people who open these campgrounds, collect the fees and keep the water running are seasonal positions. At GS-5, base pay plus the government's own 36.25% benefit factor, one costs about $47,414 a year. One percent of the $13.3 billion the USS Gerald R. Ford cost to procure would pay for about 2,800 of them for a year. Both figures are the government's own (a Congressional Research Service report and an OPM pay table), and I’m glad to send them. Sent about Lake Powhatan Glamping (Pisgah National Game Refuge, North Carolina) via campanac.com