Badin Lake Recreation Area
Lakeside camping in Uwharrie National Forest, among some of the oldest eroded mountains in North America.
- Montgomery County, NC
- Nearest town: Badin
- 525 ft
Coordinates
- Lat
- 35.44793
- Lng
- -80.07820
Van camping
You can drive in and sleep in your van here.
At a glance
The basics
What to expect
National forest
Often first-come, gravel access, vault toilets, little or no signal.
- County
- Montgomery County
- State
- North Carolina
- Nearest town
- Badin
- Elevation
- 525 ft
- Max vehicle length
- Not verified
The place
About Badin Lake Recreation Area
The Uwharries were once a substantial mountain range and are now a set of worn, forested hills — a landscape with a much longer history than its modest elevations suggest. Badin Lake sits among them, and the recreation area puts campsites in pine and hardwood near the shoreline with swimming and boat access. The forest is best known for its trail network: long loops for hiking, and a well-used off-highway vehicle system in an adjacent block. It is the closest thing to backcountry within easy reach of Charlotte and the Triad.
For van drivers
Getting a van in and out
Forest Service roads make up the last part of the approach and they are gravel; generally well graded, but expect washboard and take the corners slowly. Some of the smaller spur roads have little turning room, so scout before committing a long wheelbase. This is an active OHV area, so weekends bring traffic and noise that weekday nights do not. Troy and Albemarle are the nearest towns; cell signal is inconsistent.
Written for a high-roof van, not a pickup. Surfaces and clearances change with the weather and with the season’s roadwork — the official page below is the last word.
On the ground
Facilities & fees
Not verified means nobody has confirmed it — treat it as unknown, never as a no. 8 of the 8 below are still unconfirmed.
- Restrooms
- Not verified
- Drinking water
- Not verified
- Showers
- Not verified
- Dump station
- Not verified
- Hookups
- Not verified
- Campfires
- Not verified
- Dogs allowed
- Not verified
- Reservations
- Not verified
- Max vehicle length
- Not verified — check with the park
- Season
- Not verified — check with the park
- Fees
- Not verified — check with the park
The last word on all of this is fs.usda.gov(opens in a new tab).
Where it is
Coordinates & directions
Decimal degrees
- Latitude
- 35.447930
- Longitude
- -80.078200
35.4479° N · 80.0782° W
No map tiles here on purpose. Half of these places have no signal at the gate, so coordinates you can save offline beat a map that needs one. Drop them into your phone before you turn off the pavement.
Nearest gas and groceries: Badin
Before you go
Official sources
Fees, site counts, length limits and closures change season to season. Everything we have not confirmed ourselves is marked Not verified above rather than guessed at — and where we do have a number, the operator’s own page still wins.
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