Basin Cove Backcountry Camping

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 campground, and overnight parking for backcountry users is permitted at designated areas. From the parkway, the trails descend over 1,500 feet into the Basin Cove area; the easiest trail in is the Grassy Gap Fire Road entrance from Longbottom Road, and the most difficult route back up to the parkway is the Bluff's primitive trail. The Doughton Park trail system offers more than 28 miles of hiking trails. This year-round camping area has eight campsites, each with individual fire rings, a lantern post, and food storage boxes. No pit toilet or privy exists, so be prepared to dispose of waste properly. Note particularly that surface water is unsafe: water from natural sources must be purified by boiling, or by filtering and disinfecting. Thunderstorms are common along the escarpment, and cell phones most likely do not work in the area. Multiple creeks provide fishing opportunities, and special Parkway water regulations apply in Basin Cove. Black bears inhabit the 6,000 plus acres of public land here. Basin Cove was a thriving community of over 50 families from 1863 to 1916. Two stalled tropical storms dumped 22.2 inches of rain during a 3-day period in 1916, causing massive mudslides that wiped out all but one and a half homes. Remnants of homesites and graves are scattered throughout the area, and the 3.5-mile Caudill Cabin trail leads to the only existing cabin. The campground is situated among a mixed hardwood and conifer forest with multiple creeks. Nearby attractions include Stone Mountain State Park, Alleghany County, Wilkes County, and the New River.