Map of Greensboro North Carolina

CAMPING AREAS AND BACKPACKING TRAILS

In contrast to a campground, a so-called camping area is usually a simple and informal space for camping, often located some distance from roads, and usually accessible only by trail or waterway. It may or may not have designated (numbered or otherwise identified) campsites. If it does, the total number of sites in such an area is typically small, sometimes as few as one or two. Facilities, if any, are likely to consist of an outhouse.

Frequently no fee is required to use a camping area. When one is charged, it’s usually less than at a campground. In some parks camping is allowed almost anywhere, and the use of established camping areas may be optional. Other parks restrict all primitive camping to designated camping areas. For locations where this is the case, the park or forest has been included in this book only if one or more of the camping areas are at least one-third to one-half mile from any road.

A few parks also have a backcountry campground. This often is simply a medium to large backcountry camping area. Parks where camping is limited to such areas have been included here as long as campsites are not near roads.