Basin Cove Backcountry Camping

Basin Cove Backcountry Camping in NC — photo 4

Basin Cove Backcountry Camping

About this campsite

Overview

Basin Cove backcountry is a primitive camp located in historic Basin Cove at Doughton Park on the Blue Ridge Parkway in North Carolina.. Multiple trails allow access to the primitive campground. Click to see a map Doughton Park Hiking Trails

Overnight parking for backcountry is permitted at designated areas.

From the parkway, the trails descend over 1500 feet into the Basin Cove Area. Easiest trail is the Grassy Gap Fire Road entrance from Longbottom Road.

This year-round campground has eight campsites each with individual fire rings, lantern post, and food storage boxes. No pit toilet or privy exists. Note particularly that surface water is unsafe. Water from natural sources must be purified by boiling or filtering and disinfecting.

Thunderstorms are common along the escarpment.

Cell phones most likely do not work in the area.

Multiple creeks provide fishing opportunities.

Recreation

Doughton Park trails system offers more than 28 miles of hiking trails. From the campsites, trails ascend 1,500 feet to the Blue Ridge Parkway. The most difficult trail up to the parkway is the Bluff’s primitive trail. The easiest route in and out of the campsite is at Longbottom Road via the Grassy Gap Fire Road.

Facilities

This year-round backcountry camping area has eight campsites each with individual fire rings, lantern post, and food storage boxes. No pit toilet or privy exists so be prepared to dispose of waste properly. Note: Surface water is unsafe. Water from natural sources must be purified by boiling or filtering and disinfecting.

Natural Features

Basin Cove was a thriving community of over 50 families from 1863 to 1916. Two stalled tropic storms dumped 22.2 inches of rain during a 3-day period in 1916, causing massive mudslides that wiped out all but 1 and half homes. Remnants of homesites and graves are scattered throughout the area. The 3.5-mile Caudill Cabin trail leads the only existing cabin.

The campground is situated among a mixed hardwood and conifer forest with multiple creeks.

Special Parkway water regulations apply in Basin Cove. Fishing

Black Bears inhabit the 6,000 plus acres of public land.

Contact Info

For facility specific information, please call (828) 276-2300.

Nearby Attractions

Stone Mountain State Park Stone Mountain State Park

Alleghany County Alleghany County

Wilkes County Wilkes County

New River New River

Location

Basin Cove Backcountry Camping•NC

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Weather Forecast

via Open-Meteo

WED🌫️

25° / 14°

—

THU☁️

26° / 17°

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FRI☁️

29° / 19°

💧 8%

SAT🌦️

22° / 16°

💧 69%

SUN🌦️

16° / 15°

💧 72%

Nearby Campsites

within 50km

4.4 km away

Doughton Park Campground

Overview Nestled in a landscape of mountains, open meadows and pioneer cabins, Doughton Park Campground is surrounded by 30 miles (48 km) of hiking trails offering opportunities to view wildlife as well as get a feel for the lives of those who lived here long ago. Originally known as The Bluffs, the area came by its present name in honor of Congressman Robert L. Doughton, a long-time advocate and supporter of the Parkway. Recreation Over 30 miles of trails are available varying from strenuous to easy. Bicycles and motorized vehicles are prohibited on trails. Mileage listed is only traveling one way. Double the trail mileage to include out and back trip. Trail elevations can change more than 2,000 feet as trails descend into the Basin Cove Creek area from the parkway. Maps available on the Blue Ridge Parkway.gov website. Bluff Mountain Trail (7.5 miles) offers many scenic vistas and traverses relatively flat terrain. The trail runs near the parkway and is accessible from many locations along its route from Brinegar Cabin to Basin Cove Overlook. Cedar Ridge Trail (4.4 miles) descends a forested ridgeline to Grassy Gap Fire Road. Trailhead is located at the Brinegar Cabin. Grassy Gap Fire Road (6.1 miles) is wide enough for hikers and horseback riders to travel side by side. The trail starts at Milepost 243.9 and ambles down the mountainside past the primitive campground to State Route 1730 (Longbottom Road). Horseback riders must enter and exit at Longbottom Road. Flat Rock Ridge Trail (5.0) miles begins on the mountain-top meadow of Basin Cove Overlook. And ends on the damp, cool banks of Basin Cove Creek. NC Thurmond Game Lands and bear sanctuary border the south side of the trail. Basin Cove Creek Trail (3.2 miles) is accessible only from the grassy Gap Fire Road at the Long Bottom Road (State Hwy 1730). A 1.7-mile hike is required to reach the beginning of the Basin Cove Creek. It winds past cascading waterfalls to the century-old Caudill Cabin, former home of the Martin Caudill family. Part of the once-thriving Basin cove Community, this cabin was one of the few structures that withstood the devasting 1916 flood. Prepare for over 26 creek crossings on this trail. The total trip one way is 4.9 miles and 9.8 miles for the total trip. Bluff Ridge Primitive Trail (2.7 miles) is the shortest but steepest route into Basin Cove. The strenuous climb up the trail makes the hike seem much longer. Trailhead location is in the Bluffs Picnic Area. Fodder Stack Trail (1.4 miles roundtrip) shows off its delicate display of wildflowers in the spring. It is the easiest hike through a mixture of pine and hardwood forest with a short, steep brief beginning. Recommended for families. Trailhead is at Wildcat Rocks Overlook. The Brinegar Cabin dates from about 1885 and was the home of Martin Brinegar and his family. Brinegar was a cobbler as well as a farmer. His home is open Memorial Day weekend days through October. Hand-loom weaving and other craft demonstrations are often given during the summer months. The one-room Caudill Cabin exhibit can be viewed from the scenic Wildcat Rocks (milepost 240.6). Historic Cemetery: near milepost marker 245.5. The cemetery contains some three dozen graves dating from the 1880's to more recent times. The Basin Cove Creek complex (mileposts 238 - 244) (located off the Parkway on Longbottom Road) has Rainbow and Brook Trout where the streams are stocked. Anyone with a valid Virginia or North Carolina fishing license is welcome, but please check with the visitor center for any special regulations. Facilities Doughton Park has a picnic area (at milepost 241), a campground (milepost 239), comfort stations, drinking water and access to 30 miles (48 km) of trail over bluegrass bluffs. The historic Bluff’s restaurant has reopened (at milepost 241). The restaurant’s web page, w