Campgrounds in North Carolina - Hanging Dog Review
Jun 2nd, 2008 by Admin 1
Allow me to sum it up for you. This is one you drive by to get to a better spot!
Perhaps locals love it for the convenience it lends to their motor boating addictions or it serves as some nice fisherman’s launching area to get to one of their favorite coves on the lake, but for those who are traveling more than 20 miles for the purposes of getting away to what you hope will be a nice wooded spot, maybe with a stream nearby.. this is not for you. When it comes to car camping in North Carolina, this is not one I would recommend
The first area you come across will be Loop A has 18 sites divided by a winding gravel road. Most of the sites along this approach are open w/little or no privacy and a bit on the trampled, trashy side. The bathrooms are surprisingly clean. Most sites on this loop provide a temporary home to rv’s.
Loop B 19-33 has handicap accessibility, not attractive, paved but close to bath. Site 21 is more a secluded and is probably one of the best sites on this loop. The trailhead for the Ramsey Bluff Trail is located right off the loop between site 21 & 23. Sites 23 & 24 are located on water in one of the lakes small coves but are a little open lacking privacy. If you travel further on down the main road you will pass the dump station on right between Loop B & C.
The next is Loop C 34-52 which is in my opinion the best loop overall is more private and has a little more to offer in the way of natural beauty. Site 37 which you will find on the right side of the road on the corner as you drive through the loops winding road which we have stayed at is actually pretty nice but sites 41 (pictured above) & 42 are more private and spacious and are probably two of the best sites in the campground and C Loop is the closest loop to the Ramsey Bluff boating access and the bike trail. Turn right out of C loop and continue to the parking lot for the biking area and the trailhead at open field at end of road. The boat launch and picnic area on lake is also at the end of this road.
- Address:Hanging Dog Campground, 201 Woodland Drive, Murphy, NC 28906
- Phone Number:828-837-5152
- Location:Nantahala National Forest
- Open Seasons: From May until October
- $8.00 /night
- Elevation: 1,600 feet
- Activities:
- Trails:
- Mingus Trail:Trailhead located across from Loop B to boat ramp
- Ramsey Bluff Trail:Trailhead located between Sites 21 & 23 on Loop B - winds along lake for 2.2 miles
- Bike Trail: Trailhead located at the end of the parking lot at the end of the main campground road (follow signs once you reach the boat launch area)
- Location: From Murphy take NC 1326 (Brown Road) for 5 miles through downtown. Turn left at sign for Hanging Dog
Boating, fishing and other water sport activities, Biking, Hiking
This is a great campground! I love it and its right on Lake Hiwassee, which is only 7% developed, so its surrounded by Forest Service. I highly recommend staying!
And to top it off, if you love it and want to stay, call us! We’re your Real Estate team in Murphy!
John Poltrock
(877) 837-3002
http://www.ilovemurphy.com
http://www.mymurphy.com
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I have been coming a lot more than 20 miles to visit this campground since I was 6 and I am now 48. In fact I love this campground and the locals so much I had my wedding there in 1986. My children are 20, 18 and 13 and the consider this place a home away from home. The campground has become a little rundown over the years but only because the govt has little money to repair it. But the new toilets are great. There is much to explore with many trails, a graveyard or what is left of it if it hasn’t been moved with many graves of children that died in epidemics. A rock that was hollowed out by indians and mossed over is on a trail to the right of the boat ramp. We fished, swam, caught lizards and crawfish in the creek, roasted marshmallows and biscuits on sticks and caught tiny treefrogs that love the firelight. This place is a great family place. Don’t pass it by.
Carol,
Thanks for your input on Hanging Dog. Based on some of the reactions from you as well as other readers we are going to have to take another trip up there and give it another shot.
Have fun!
Admin
We also love this campsite! We drive up from Chattanooga TN for the clear & clean water, peaceful environment, gorgeous scenery and wonderful folks that frequent the campground. The hosts are friendly, helpful and attentive - there is no litter, the toilets are VERY clean and this is one of the best maintained campgrounds around. We love the grassy and shaded campsites - they are big and airy, lots of room for kids to run around. We hope they keep Hanging Dog just as it is - add showers and electric & pretty soon it will be jammed full of RVs and the place will be destroyed.
Hey Julie,
We are sorry if we have offended you or anyone else with this review. We are kind of spoiled with a couple of our favorite spots which we had just come from when we went to Hanging Dog. We are actually planning on trying it again this summer, and maybe we’ll come back with a different opinion. It seems that a lot of people love this place so hopefully we’ll appreciate more this time. By the way, is there actually some danger of them adding electric hookups sometime soon? That would definitely deter us from another trip there.
Thanks for your comment,
Admin
What a little gem this place is. It is surrounded by national forest and there is little to no development in the area. The camping is primitive (no showers or electric hookups and other creature comforts) but does have very clean flush toilets and the campground is clean and well-kept. We brought along a portable camp shower which came in handy. There is a host and the sherrifs patrolled the area, so we felt safe. The lake inlet was dried up on loop B, so if you come expecting a lake at your campsite don’t be surprised if it is not there…I suppose it is hit or miss depending on water that year. But you can still walk to it from your site, as the actual lake is within 300 yards of your site on loop B even if the inlet is dried up. Regardless of that, this campground was extremely quiet (unless someone brings a generator and parks it next to you, in which case you could probably just pick up and move to a different site)…we camped on Labor Day weekend and were pleasantly surprised to find it almost deserted…which was fine with us because we do not like overcrowded campgrounds, and we love camping in serenity! The fact that it lacks creature comforts probably keeps most of the RVers away, which is perfect for the rest of us, because there are plenty of other places for that type of camping, and few places for those of us that prefer the unplugged, peaceful kind!
The mountain biking trails, though not excessively used, were very clean and fun and offered some nice challenges. The picnic area and boat launch were very well-maintained and offered nice swimming areas. The area offers a plethora of other trails for hiking and other activities if you don’t mind driving a little bit. If you are into mountain biking, like we are, the Jackrabbit MTB trail system is merely a 30 minute drive to the Lake Chatuge area, and that has miles of really smooth, fast and fun trails. Lake Hiawassee is right at your location if you boat or kayak. And Murphy is a cute little town. I highly recommend this campground if you don’t mind missing some creature comforts, if you like serenity, very few people, peace and quiet in a setting that makes you feel like you are going back in time to the way campgrounds used to be. 5 stars. We are definitely going back.