US Southeast NC/SC Piedmont - Old NC 105 Ride

[Sasquatch SC]

Hey everyone,

I will be heading down to NC from my home up in CT at the beginning of October and I'm just starting some research on trails, forest roads and awesome camp spots. I would appreciate any information you could provide. From what I have read, the Old NC 105 is pretty tame, but has some great spots with incredible views and some areas for dispersed camping. I'll be meeting up with my sister in Asheville, and then heading out for a couple nights camping from there. It's a long trip so I would rather find free, dispersed camping if possible, epic sites preferred obviously. Any recommendations? Thanks in advance for your help.

Hopefully the new Overland Bound app will be up and running before then and finding routes will be a lot easier. Free, dispersed, epic campsites are going to be hard to find in October. People come from all over the east coast to see the fall colors. Pretty much anything along the Blue Ridge Parkway is going to be tougher to find. If you go down the parkway towards Brevard, NC (southwest of Asheville) you may have a decent chance of finding some campsites in Pisgah. The Mills River area is really nice. You are more likely to find a campsite there than on Old NC 105. Old NC 105 is amazing, but there aren't a whole lot of campsites along it, and they are in high demand in the fall.

Check out Yellow Gap (Forestry Service Road 1206) or Wash Creek (Forestry Service Road 5000) or Wolf Ford (Forestry Service Road 476) in Pisgah outside of Brevard.

 

[GeorgiaandherJeep]

Hopefully the new Overland Bound app will be up and running before then and finding routes will be a lot easier. Free, dispersed, epic campsites are going to be hard to find in October. People come from all over the east coast to see the fall colors. Pretty much anything along the Blue Ridge Parkway is going to be tougher to find. If you go down the parkway towards Brevard, NC (southwest of Asheville) you may have a decent chance of finding some campsites in Pisgah. The Mills River area is really nice. You are more likely to find a campsite there than on Old NC 105. Old NC 105 is amazing, but there aren't a whole lot of campsites along it, and they are in high demand in the fall.

Check out Yellow Gap (Forestry Service Road 1206) or Wash Creek (Forestry Service Road 5000) or Wolf Ford (Forestry Service Road 476) in Pisgah outside of Brevard.

Thanks for the quick reply. I was hoping by sticking to mid-week camping we might have better luck with spots but I see what you're saying. Thanks for the additional recommendations!

 

[Borkinator]

There are many primitive camping spots all along Old NC 105. They are first come first serve and free.

I thought it was pretty tame but you definitely need some ground clearance as there are some deep washouts along the road.

 

[dougie117]

Hey everyone,

I will be heading down to NC from my home up in CT at the beginning of October and I'm just starting some research on trails, forest roads and awesome camp spots. I would appreciate any information you could provide. From what I have read, the Old NC 105 is pretty tame, but has some great spots with incredible views and some areas for dispersed camping. I'll be meeting up with my sister in Asheville, and then heading out for a couple nights camping from there. It's a long trip so I would rather find free, dispersed camping if possible, epic sites preferred obviously. Any recommendations? Thanks in advance for your help.

Hurricane Creek is a good trail to run. Maybe 50 mins to Asheville. Maybe an hour. But it's a good trail to hit from I-40 entrance and then take it North. It'll spit you out a few hundred yards from Max Patch which is a bald on the AT. Wide open (free) camping there where you could potentially meet some cool hikers for the evening. With it being a bald you get 360 degree views and in October... the area will be flush with color.

I would say there is really only one area on Hurricane where you can set up camp. You can run the trail in 3 hours or longer depending on how many times you stop and what not. There is one area with big mud holes which have a bunch of bull frogs. My dog insists that we stop there so she can play with the frogs for an hour or so. It is what you make of it. It's a good run that can be difficult depending on the weather the area experienced a few days prior but you should be good with a rig with good clearance and 4wd