Standing Indian Campground
We don’t think it should be. Every campground should hold some sites for whoever drives up.Tell your representative →
- Right now
- OpenThe agency lists it open
- A night
- $26–$52Across the site types the agency prices
- Sites
- 81All of them booked ahead
- Season
- April 1 – October 30Open April 1 through October 30
The place
the agency’s own description · what’s there · 6 notices
In the agency’s own words
Whether traveling with an RV or tent, Standing Indian Campground is a prime place to stop for a night or spend several days in the picturesque Nantahala National Forest. The campground's many amenities provide a comfortable home base for exploring this fun and historic section of the forest. Standing Indian is located within a 20-minute drive of Franklin, North Carolina. Keep reading
Recreation
The Standing Indian Basin is a premier hiking destination. The campground provides access to numerous trails, including the world-famous Appalachian Trail, which journeys from Georgia to Maine. Visitors who wish to get their feet wet can experience the Nantahala River, well-known for whitewater rafting, kayaking and trout fishing (fishing license required). Big and small game hunting is available in the surrounding area.
Facilities
The campground has four loops with sites available first-come, first-served or by reservation. Sites are equipped with campfire rings, grills, lantern posts and picnic tables, and are in close proximity to drinking water, flush toilets and showers. A dump station is nearby. The campground also has a group camping area, Kimsey Creek.
Natural Features
The campground is surrounded by 5,000' peaks and crossed by several natural streams. It sits at an elevation of 3,880 feet at the headwaters of the scenic Nantahala River, amidst lush forests of evergreen trees and rhododendrons.
Charges & Cancellations
There is not a premium type site available but there is some nonelectric double site that is $40.00 per night.
What the agency tells you
For any questions about the campground please call the Store: 828-369-0442
No electric, water or sewer hookups available
This campground has first-come, first-served sites; reservable sites may also be available on a first-come, first-served basis outside the reservation season
Everything else this campground posts · 3
Cash or Check only. Credit cards are not acceptable.
Click here to learn more about the National Forests in North Carolina
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.
Tents and rigs
- Sites
- 81 · 3 group
- Hookups
- None
- Longest rig
- 50 ft
- Paved pads
- 64 of 81
- Accessible sites
- None listed
- Pets
- Allowed
- Shade
- Every site
Facilities
- Toilets
- Flush Toilets
- “…in close proximity to drinking water, flush toilets and showers. A dump station is nearby. The…”
- Drinking water
- Yes
- “…tables, and are in close proximity to drinking water, flush toilets and showers. A dump station is…”
- Dump station
- Yes
Around the campground
- On the water
- River, Creek
- Fishing
- Hiking
- Hunting
- Night sky · 10th darkest of 84 in NC
- Bortle 4
Full this Saturdayread 15:15 UTC
How full the weekend is nationally.
OpenBooked
Every one of the 34 sites on offer is taken this Saturday. 16 are free on Thu, Oct 22. read 15:15 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 · 15
What you actually pay
Derived by CAMPANAC: the agency’s published rates for this season, $26–$52 a night, plus one $8 recreation.gov reservation fee for the booking. 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.
“There is not a premium type site available but there is some nonelectric double site that is $40.00 per night.” · this campground’s own terms
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 · 6
recreation.gov availability, read 15:15 UTC · rules read Sep 9, 2026 · rates Sep 10, 2026 · How we know all this
The sites
81 sites · which ones have room · the site map
The sites, ranked
from 74 mapped sitesAll 81 sites
The price is derived by CAMPANAC, not published per site: the per-night rate this campground publishes for each site’s own site type. 81 of the 81 sites listed carry one, and a site whose type has no published rate sits out of the price rather than being called free.
| LOP1 | 001 | standard nonelectric | 50 ft | 105 ft | 231 ftLong Branch | $26–$52 |
| LOP1 | 002 | standard nonelectric | 50 ft | 95 ft | 324 ftLong Branch | $26–$52 |
| LOP1 | 003 | standard nonelectric | 50 ft | 99 ft | 291 ft | $26–$52 |
| LOP1 | 004 | standard nonelectric | 50 ft | 80 ft | 413 ft | $26–$52 |
| LOP1 | 005 | standard nonelectric | 50 ft | 91 ft | 335 ft | $26–$52 |
| LOP1 | 006 | standard nonelectric | 50 ft | 80 ft | 445 ft | $26–$52 |
| LOP1 | 007 | standard nonelectric | 50 ft | 91 ft | 404 ft | $26–$52 |
| LOP1 | 008 | standard nonelectric | 50 ft | 77 ft | 550 ft | $26–$52 |
| LOP1 | 009 | standard nonelectric | 50 ft | 77 ft | 477 ft | $26–$52 |
| LOP1 | 010 | standard nonelectric | 50 ft | $26–$52 | ||
| LOP1 | 012 | standard nonelectric | 50 ft | 93 ft | 144 ft | $26–$52 |
| LOP1 | 013 | standard nonelectric | 50 ft | 93 ft | 96 ft | $26–$52 |
| LOP1 | 014 | standard nonelectric | 50 ft | 96 ft | 212 ft | $26–$52 |
| LOP1 | 015 | standard nonelectric | 50 ft | 96 ft | 201 ft | $26–$52 |
| LOP1 | 016 | standard nonelectric | 50 ft | 97 ft | 197 ft | $26–$52 |
| LOP1 | 017 | standard nonelectric | 50 ft | $26–$52 | ||
| LOP2 | 019 | standard nonelectric | 50 ft | $26–$52 | ||
| LOP2 | 020 | standard nonelectric | 50 ft | 209 ft | 650 ftKimsey Creek | $26–$52 |
| LOP2 | 021 | standard nonelectric | 50 ft | 92 ft | 482 ftKimsey Creek | $26–$52 |
| LOP2 | 022 | standard nonelectric | 50 ft | 92 ft | 395 ftKimsey Creek | $26–$52 |
| LOP2 | 023 | standard nonelectric | 50 ft | 56 ft | 329 ftKimsey Creek | $26–$52 |
| LOP2 | 024 | standard nonelectric | 50 ft | 102 ft | 362 ftKimsey Creek | $26–$52 |
| LOP2 | 025 | standard nonelectric | 50 ft | $26–$52 | ||
| LOP2 | 026 | standard nonelectric | 50 ft | 85 ft | 420 ft | $26–$52 |
| LOP2 | 027 | standard nonelectric | 50 ft | 85 ft | 463 ft | $26–$52 |
| LOP2 | 028 | standard nonelectric | 50 ft | 134 ft | 317 ft | $26–$52 |
| LOP3 | 029 | standard nonelectric | 50 ft | 80 ft | 269 ftKimsey Creek | $26–$52 |
| LOP3 | 030 | standard nonelectric | 50 ft | 56 ft | 276 ftKimsey Creek | $26–$52 |
| LOP3 | 031 | standard nonelectric | 50 ft | 68 ft | 191 ftKimsey Creek | $26–$52 |
| LOP3 | 032 | standard nonelectric | 50 ft | 71 ft | 214 ftKimsey Creek | $26–$52 |
| LOP3 | 033 | standard nonelectric | 50 ft | 118 ft | 268 ftKimsey Creek | $26–$52 |
| LOP3 | 034 | standard nonelectric | 50 ft | 152 ft | 396 ftKimsey Creek | $26–$52 |
| LOP3 | 035 | standard nonelectric | 50 ft | $26–$52 | ||
| LOP3 | 036 | standard nonelectric | 50 ft | 144 ft | 211 ftKimsey Creek | $26–$52 |
| LOP3 | 038 | standard nonelectric | 50 ft | 144 ft | 267 ftKimsey Creek | $26–$52 |
| LOP3 | 039 | standard nonelectric | 50 ft | 118 ft | 130 ftKimsey Creek | $26–$52 |
| LOP3 | 040 | standard nonelectric | 50 ft | 81 ft | 51 ftKimsey Creek | $26–$52 |
| LOP3 | 041 | standard nonelectric | 50 ft | 81 ft | 133 ftKimsey Creek | $26–$52 |
| LOP3 | 042 | standard nonelectric | 50 ft | 68 ft | 122 ftKimsey Creek | $26–$52 |
| LOP3 | 043 | standard nonelectric | 50 ft | 134 ft | 116 ftKimsey Creek | $26–$52 |
| LOP4 | 044 | standard nonelectric | 50 ft | $26–$52 | ||
| LOP4 | 046 | standard nonelectric | 50 ft | 128 ft | 110 ft | $26–$52 |
| LOP4 | 047 | standard nonelectric | 50 ft | 76 ft | 68 ft | $26–$52 |
| LOP4 | 048 | standard nonelectric | 50 ft | 76 ft | 88 ft | $26–$52 |
| LOP4 | 049 | standard nonelectric | 50 ft | 81 ft | 43 ft | $26–$52 |
| LOP4 | 050 | standard nonelectric | 50 ft | 81 ft | 115 ft | $26–$52 |
| LOP4 | 051 | standard nonelectric | 50 ft | 87 ft | 184 ft | $26–$52 |
| LOP4 | 052 | standard nonelectric | 50 ft | 97 ft | 177 ft | $26–$52 |
| LOP4 | 053 | standard nonelectric | 50 ft | 97 ft | 234 ft | $26–$52 |
| LOP4 | 054 | standard nonelectric | 50 ft | 108 ft | 220 ft | $26–$52 |
| LOP5 | 055 | standard nonelectric | 50 ft | 79 ft | 426 ftKimsey Creek | $26–$52 |
| LOP5 | 057 | standard nonelectric | 50 ft | 79 ft | 429 ftKimsey Creek | $26–$52 |
| LOP5 | 058 | standard nonelectric | 50 ft | 71 ft | 432 ft | $26–$52 |
| LOP5 | 059 | standard nonelectric | 50 ft | 71 ft | 496 ft | $26–$52 |
| LOP5 | 060 | standard nonelectric | 50 ft | 80 ft | 533 ftKimsey Creek | $26–$52 |
| LOP5 | 061 | standard nonelectric | 50 ft | 80 ft | 522 ft | $26–$52 |
| LOP5 | 062 | standard nonelectric | 50 ft | 80 ft | 588 ft | $26–$52 |
| LOP5 | 064 | standard nonelectric | 50 ft | 68 ft | 508 ft | $26–$52 |
| LOP5 | 065 | standard nonelectric | 50 ft | 68 ft | 463 ft | $26–$52 |
| LOP5 | 066 | standard nonelectric | 50 ft | 112 ft | 505 ft | $26–$52 |
| LOP5 | 067 | standard nonelectric | 50 ft | 75 ft | 395 ft | $26–$52 |
| LOP5 | 068 | standard nonelectric | 50 ft | 72 ft | 407 ft | $26–$52 |
| LOP5 | 069 | standard nonelectric | 50 ft | 75 ft | 330 ft | $26–$52 |
| LOP5 | 070 | standard nonelectric | 50 ft | 72 ft | 340 ft | $26–$52 |
| LOP5 | 072 | standard nonelectric | 50 ft | 99 ft | 153 ft | $26–$52 |
| LOP5 | 073 | standard nonelectric | 50 ft | 75 ft | 155 ft | $26–$52 |
| LOP5 | 074 | standard nonelectric | 50 ft | 58 ft | 221 ft | $26–$52 |
| LOP5 | 075 | standard nonelectric | 50 ft | 58 ft | 250 ft | $26–$52 |
| LOP5 | 076 | standard nonelectric | 50 ft | 89 ft | 225 ft | $26–$52 |
| LOP5 | 077 | standard nonelectric | 50 ft | 89 ft | 313 ft | $26–$52 |
| LOP5 | 078 | standard nonelectric | 50 ft | 89 ft | 299 ft | $26–$52 |
| LOP5 | 079 | standard nonelectric | 50 ft | 90 ft | 384 ft | $26–$52 |
| LOP5 | 080 | standard nonelectric | 50 ft | 96 ft | 365 ft | $26–$52 |
| LOP5 | 081 | standard nonelectric | 50 ft | 95 ft | 382 ft | $26–$52 |
| LOP5 | 082 | standard nonelectric | 50 ft | 94 ft | 279 ft | $26–$52 |
| LOP5 | 083 | standard nonelectric | 50 ft | 94 ft | 342 ft | $26–$52 |
| LOP5 | 084 | standard nonelectric | 50 ft | 95 ft | 262 ft | $26–$52 |
| LOP5 | 085 | standard nonelectric | 50 ft | $26–$52 | ||
| STANDING INDIAN CAMPGROUND | GPA | group standard nonelectric | 194 ft | 211 ftKimsey Creek | $100 | |
| STANDING INDIAN CAMPGROUND | GPB | group standard nonelectric | 308 ft | 26 ftKimsey Creek | $100 | |
| STANDING INDIAN CAMPGROUND | GPC | group standard nonelectric | 194 ft | 20 ftKimsey Creek | $100 |
OpenStreetMap has no toilet mapped within 1 km of this campground, so no site here carries a toilet distance. That’s a gap in the map, not a finding about the campground.
25 of 81 listed
Getting there
the map and the coordinate · the agency’s directions · the phone number
Where it is
Tate Branch Campground (Clayton, GA)Chattahoochee National Forest · 8.6 mi
Tallulah River CampgroundChattahoochee National Forest · 10 mi
Low Gap CampgroundChattahoochee National Forest · 11 miAppletree Group CampgroundNantahala National Forest · 13 miFrom Franklin, North Carolina, take U.S. Highway 64 west approximately 12 miles, passing through Winding Stair Gap. Near the bottom of the mountain from the gap, turn left on West Old Murphy Road (State Route 1448) and watch for a directional sign for the campground. Go 1.9 miles and turn right on Forest Road 67 at the Standing Indian Campground sign. This is a paved road. Go 1.7 miles and turn right into the campground.
The weather
the next four days · the thirty-year normal
Next four days, and the thirty-year normal
Forecast
NWS forecast for Tate City, GA
Typical weather
Typical October night 41°F, day 63°F.
Coldest night of the open season: typical April night 39°F. Bring the bag rated for it.
Daily high and lowDays with 0.10 in or moreOutside the published season
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
Roadless country, and what’s coming for it
You’re camping on ground somebody wants. We track the threats and the comment deadlines.
Who answers for this land
Standing Indian Campground 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 Standing Indian Campground, Nantahala National Forest, North Carolina
Dear Chuck Edwards, I’m a constituent in North Carolina’s 11th district. I tried to camp at Standing Indian Campground, Nantahala National Forest, North Carolina, and couldn’t. All 81 sites at Standing Indian Campground are reservable, and the agency's own record lists none held back for somebody who drives up. On Saturday, October 17, all 34 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. Standing Indian Campground keeps none, and that’s a choice somebody made rather than a rule. I’m not asking you to run Standing Indian Campground. 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 Standing Indian Campground (Nantahala National Forest, 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 Standing Indian Campground, Nantahala National Forest, North Carolina
Dear Ted Budd, I’m a constituent in North Carolina. I tried to camp at Standing Indian Campground, Nantahala National Forest, North Carolina, and couldn’t. All 81 sites at Standing Indian Campground are reservable, and the agency's own record lists none held back for somebody who drives up. On Saturday, October 17, all 34 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. Standing Indian Campground keeps none, and that’s a choice somebody made rather than a rule. I’m not asking you to run Standing Indian Campground. 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 Standing Indian Campground (Nantahala National Forest, 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 Standing Indian Campground, Nantahala National Forest, North Carolina
Dear Thom Tillis, I’m a constituent in North Carolina. I tried to camp at Standing Indian Campground, Nantahala National Forest, North Carolina, and couldn’t. All 81 sites at Standing Indian Campground are reservable, and the agency's own record lists none held back for somebody who drives up. On Saturday, October 17, all 34 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. Standing Indian Campground keeps none, and that’s a choice somebody made rather than a rule. I’m not asking you to run Standing Indian Campground. 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 Standing Indian Campground (Nantahala National Forest, North Carolina) via campanac.com