
The Best Campsites for North Carolina Survival Preppers
As a prepper living in North Carolina, you know that being ready for any situation, whether it’s a natural disaster, a power outage, or just a need for some personal space, is key. What better way to ensure you’re prepared than by learning the land, understanding the environment, and honing your survival skills in the wild? North Carolina, with its diverse terrain from the mountains to the coast, offers some of the best campsites in the nation for preppers like us. Here’s a guide to 30 of the best camping sites for survival training and prepping in North Carolina.
Whether you’re testing your bug-out bag, practicing fire-starting techniques, or just getting familiar with local flora and fauna, these campsites are perfect for a variety of outdoor activities. From deep forests to rugged mountain terrain, North Carolina has it all.
1. Pisgah National Forest
Known for its vast stretches of wilderness, Pisgah National Forest offers miles of hiking trails, waterfalls, and secluded campsites. This place is ideal for preppers who want to test their wilderness skills and see what they can forage, hunt, and gather in the wild. The forest provides plenty of opportunity for stealth camping and learning to live off the land.
2. Great Smoky Mountains National Park
This park is one of the most well-known in the country, and for good reason. It’s filled with diverse ecosystems, and its remote areas make it perfect for extended survival training. As a prepper, you’ll want to spend some time here learning about the flora and fauna, as well as getting comfortable with primitive shelter-building.
3. Chattahoochee-Oconee National Forest
Part of the Appalachian Mountains, the Chattahoochee-Oconee National Forest is great for those who enjoy rugged terrain. This forest provides great opportunities for shelter-building, testing your gear, and hiking through challenging terrain. The combination of creeks, rivers, and forests will keep any prepper occupied.
4. Morrow Mountain State Park
With over 1,000 acres of land and beautiful scenic views, Morrow Mountain State Park is perfect for prepping and practicing wilderness survival skills. It offers great opportunities for fishing, hunting, and other vital outdoor skills. The area also offers peaceful lakeside campsites.
5. Hanging Rock State Park
Located in the Sauratown Mountains, Hanging Rock is a great place for prepping and connecting with nature. With dramatic rock formations, this park offers challenging terrain for those who want to push their limits. It’s also a perfect spot for learning how to navigate rough terrain or just test your fire-starting skills in remote locations.
6. Uwharrie National Forest
This forest is full of ancient mountains, with dense woods and creeks. It’s an excellent location for survivalists looking for a challenge, offering secluded campsites, primitive campsites, and a variety of flora and fauna to explore.
7. Crowders Mountain State Park
For those who enjoy mountain terrain, Crowders Mountain is a must-see. The views are amazing, but the real draw is the opportunity to test your skills in a variety of outdoor survival situations. Whether you need to practice building shelters or hone your hiking endurance, this park is ideal.
8. Bodie Island Campground
If you’re looking to practice prepping along the coastline, Bodie Island is a great option. This campground offers access to the Outer Banks, where you can learn survival skills that might be different from those you’d use in mountainous terrain, such as coastal fishing and saltwater navigation.
9. Nantahala National Forest
With over 500,000 acres of rugged mountains, rivers, and wilderness, Nantahala National Forest is a prepper’s dream. Whether you’re training for wilderness survival, learning to hunt, or just exploring the environment, this is a fantastic place to sharpen your skills.
10. Lake James State Park
If you’re more into lakeside prepping, Lake James State Park provides a peaceful environment for preppers looking to practice water-based survival skills. It offers opportunities for both boating and hiking, with plenty of secluded areas to test your survival tactics.
11. Gorges State Park
Known for its dramatic waterfalls and rugged terrain, Gorges State Park provides an excellent setting for more advanced survivalists. If you’re looking to truly test your abilities, this is a great spot for deep woods exploration and endurance training.
12. South Mountains State Park
With over 20 miles of hiking trails, South Mountains offers a perfect place for long-term survival training. The park’s remote nature allows you to test your skills without the distractions of modern life, offering a chance to practice long-distance hiking and endurance.
13. Stone Mountain State Park
Located near the Blue Ridge Mountains, Stone Mountain offers challenging terrain, incredible views, and numerous camping opportunities for preppers. It’s a great spot for practicing shelter-building, map-reading, and surviving in diverse terrain.
14. Linville Gorge Wilderness Area
For those who truly want to test their wilderness survival skills, the Linville Gorge Wilderness Area is a must-visit. This area offers rugged cliffs, deep ravines, and remote campsites, making it ideal for preppers looking to experience the harsh realities of survival.
15. Jockey’s Ridge State Park
Jockey’s Ridge is the tallest natural sand dune system in the eastern United States. It’s a unique spot for preppers looking to practice survival in a different environment. Learn how to navigate sand dunes, use the wind for navigation, and find your bearings in coastal areas.
16. Kerr Lake State Recreation Area
For those interested in lakefront prepping, Kerr Lake is the perfect spot. This large reservoir offers great opportunities for water-based survival skills, including fishing and water navigation, along with miles of trails for land-based training.
17. Pocosin Lakes National Wildlife Refuge
If you’re a prepper interested in wetland survival skills, this is the place to be. With expansive swamps and forested wetlands, Pocosin Lakes provides a unique environment to practice water and wetland survival techniques.
18. Harris Lake County Park
For those closer to the Raleigh area, Harris Lake offers a quieter, more controlled environment to practice survival techniques. It’s ideal for short camping trips where you can practice fire-making, cooking over an open flame, and wildlife tracking.
19. Elk Knob State Park
A remote park with high mountain peaks, Elk Knob provides a more solitary and rugged experience. It’s great for preppers who want to escape the crowds and test their skills in extreme environments.
20. Cape Hatteras National Seashore
Perfect for coastal preppers, Cape Hatteras offers a mix of beach and wooded terrain, ideal for testing various survival tactics, from building shelters in sand to fishing from the shore.
21. Badin Lake
Surrounded by the Uwharrie National Forest, Badin Lake offers a peaceful setting for preppers looking for a serene place to practice survival skills. The lake itself is perfect for learning water navigation techniques, while the surrounding forests are excellent for woodcraft and foraging.
22. Holly Shelter Game Land
Located in coastal North Carolina, Holly Shelter Game Land provides the perfect environment for hunting, fishing, and practicing wilderness skills in a somewhat untamed environment.
23. Tennessee Valley Authority Lands
If you’re looking for more isolated spaces to practice, check out the TVA lands near the NC/Tennessee border. These lands have vast wilderness areas, perfect for learning to live off the land and practicing long-term survival techniques.
24. Mount Mitchell State Park
The highest peak east of the Mississippi, Mount Mitchell offers challenging mountain terrain for prepping. Learn how to use higher elevations to your advantage, test your endurance, and practice long-term camping.
25. Reedy Creek Park
For those close to the Charlotte area, Reedy Creek Park offers a great mix of trails and peaceful camping grounds, perfect for honing survival skills without leaving the urban area far behind.
26. Junaluska Campground
Situated in the Appalachian Mountains, Junaluska offers a quiet getaway perfect for preppers looking to test their wilderness knowledge in rugged, challenging terrain.
27. N.C. Game Lands at Roanoke River
For those who enjoy hunting and fishing as part of their prepper lifestyle, Roanoke River’s game lands offer a haven for practice. The swampy areas and rich wildlife provide an excellent test of your outdoor knowledge.
28. Mills River Recreation Area
Just outside of Asheville, this area offers the perfect mix of proximity to city amenities and wild terrain for prepping. It’s a great place to practice navigation, shelter-building, and fire-starting skills.
29. Blue Ridge Parkway
The famed Blue Ridge Parkway runs through North Carolina, and the surrounding camping areas are ideal for prepping. With a combination of mountainous terrain, lakes, and forest, this is an area where you can get serious about survival practice.
30. Yadkin River State Trail
This trail runs along the Yadkin River and offers a great opportunity to explore river-based survival techniques. Whether you prefer hiking, canoeing, or simply testing gear in a variety of environments, Yadkin offers something for every prepper.































