Cardens Bluff Campground
The managing agency’s description mentions a closure. Read it below and confirm before you drive out.
The numbers that decide it
- Longest rig
- 30 ft
- Sites
- 43
- Electric hookups
- Not published
- Pull-through sites
- No
- Paved access
- Yes
- Accessible sites
- 6
- Driveway grade
- Slight
- Bear boxes
- Not published
- Campfires
- Yes
- Shade
- Yes
- Group sites
- Not published
Site-level detail from Recreation.gov, checked 2026-08-05. Where a field says “not published”, the agency has not published it — it does not mean zero. See it on Recreation.gov
Cardens Bluff Campground
CARDENS BLUFF CAMPGROUND IS CURRENTLY CLOSED DUE TO EFFECTS FROM HELENE. Located on a bluff overlooking the 6,430-acre Watauga Lake, Cardens Bluff Campground offers more than 40 sites, primarily for tent camping. There is a bathhouse with showers and flush toilets. No electrical hookups are provided. Day use areas are located nearby for those wanting to take advantage of swimming, boating, and fishing opportunities. Cardens Bluff Campground Map
Before you go
Season
4/29/2024 – 10/15/2024
Fees
Camping is $12 per night.
Hours
CARDENS BLUFF CAMPGROUND IS CURRENTLY CLOSED DUE TO EFFECTS FROM HELENE. Gate opens at 7 AM and closes at 10 PM. Guests are asked to leave the campground before the gates are closed.
Restrictions
Campsites are for one family of up to 5 family members and 2 vehicles. • There is no alcohol allowed in the campground. • No burning of plastic or other non-wood products except local wood in campfires. • Food storage restrictions apply at all areas on the Cherokee National Forest. All food and beverages must be stored in an approved bear-proof container , your locked vehicle or hard-sided camper at all times unless being eaten, prepared, or transported. • It is your responsibility to read, know, understand, and follow all campground specific rules and regulations which are also posted at the campground. • Please note that most sites will only accommodate a tent. Sites #16, 28 and 29 can accommodate up to a 30 foot RV or trailer.
Scenic drives that pass close
Make it a night on a better road
Byway plans the drive in — real stops, real weather, nothing invented.