Paint Creek Campground

Paint Creek Recreation Area (elevation 1,760 feet) is located in Greene County in a mountain cove along Paint Creek. A majority of the widely-spaced campsites have streamside views and are screened by a variety of native plants, including rhododendron, hemlock and laurel. Be bear wise: food storage compliance is strictly enforced. Store all food and trash in hard-sided containers and vehicles while not in use, and never have attractants in your tent. Violations of the food storage order are ticketable offenses and subject to fines, and food and trash left unattended will be impounded by campground staff. There are 20 total campsites, all single occupancy, and three of them — sites 13, 14 and 16 — are tent-only. Two vault toilets serve the campground, one in each loop, and drinking water is available at the center. Recreation opportunities abound along the Paint Creek corridor. Paint Creek is a popular stream for swimming, wading and fly fishing, and TWRA stocks it with rainbow trout throughout the summer. Warm water fishing is a short drive away at Paint Creek Pond, an easy drive or bicycle ride from the campground: among the cattails and other aquatic plants, watch for beavers and listen for frog calls, and in the early morning watch mist rise from the placid surface. Two hiking trails begin within walking distance of the campground, Paint Mountain Trail (#7) and Paint Creek Trail (#10), and bike riding along the corridor to Hot Springs, NC is becoming a favorite pastime. Kelly, Dudley and Ricker Falls — cascades of 15 feet each — can be seen from Forest Road 41 along Paint Creek. The French Broad River offers Class I-III rapids, with a popular commercial section running 13 miles from Hot Springs, North Carolina, to Del Rio, Tennessee, and local rafting services. Several scenic auto loops can begin at the campground: meander along the 5-mile Paint Creek corridor to historic Paint Rock, stopping for a picnic, scenic waterfalls or a splash in the ripples, then extend the trip along the French Broad River via River Road to Hot Springs. Two overmountain routes bring you back to Paint Creek — US 25/70 west to TN 107 and Forest Road 54, a winding gravel road with scenic mountain vistas that intersects Forest Road 41 near Paint Rock, or US 25/70 east to Forest Road 467 through Pisgah National Forest to Hurricane Gap, where Forest Road 31 returns to Paint Creek at Moses Turn trailhead. A side trip at Hurricane Gap reaches Pisgah National Forest's Rich Mountain Firetower or the Appalachian National Scenic Trail #1.