McDowell Nature Preserve

We stayed here to be close to the city for some work related projects and a family visit. It's really the only public park close to Charlotte, and based on some photos I saw online it looked nice. While the park itself was pretty with lots of trees and a great network of trials, the RV sites left a lot to be desired. With the exception of maybe one or two they were all terribly slanted to the point that most larger RVs would find it nearly impossible to get level. When you reserve they assign you a site, and had I known ahead of time I would have asked for a level site. I would say 2,5 and 9 are the best. The sites are also lacking in privacy, despite the number of trees. On the other hand, some of the walk-in tent sites were gorgeous and *almost* made me wish a I had a tent.

The facilities were adequate. Private, bathroom/shower combos that looked pretty clean. The only potential issue was that 4 of the 8 were closed for repair.

One other thing, while the campground is close to the city in distance, Charlotte has a serious traffic problem so it can easily take you an hour to drive downtown.

As mentioned in the previous review, many of the sites at this campground arent as level as I would hope they would be. That being said, we found R7 and didnt even need to use leveling blocks! It was also convenient, because there's a path that goes directly to the bathhouse/laundry room. The sites here are extremely clean and have water + electric. The dump station is also convenient to access. The office sells ice and firewood year round.

We stayed for a week in January 2019 and had a great stay. The cell signal in the upper RV area for some reason is not nearly as good as the lower area. The best part, in my opinion, is that the campground connects to all the trails that are available in the beautiful lakeside nature preserve. I would certainly stay here again!

McDowell Nature Preserve Campground is set on the edge of 1,116 acre preserve.
McDowell Campground has 56 campsites ranging from full RV hookup to primitive sites. Additional amenities include a bathhouse, laundry facilities, and playground. FYI, there are only Two (2) sites that have sewer hook up all others are water and electrical. The campground is a little tight to maneuver. Most if not all sites will need leveling blocks. Site R-3 which we were in was not terrible but blocking was needed. With the slope of the sites walking around is tricky you need to deal with the slope and the above ground roots. Park was quit during the week but a little noisier on the weekends. This is a no smoking, no public alcohol consumption State Park. The park gate is locked up at 6:00 p.m. you will need a code to enter after 6. Bath house is available with showers and laundry. Showers were clean but out dated water temp is warm. Lake Wiley provides access for boating, paddle boards and kayaks. No swimming allowed. Plenty of hiking trails in and around the park. Check in was easy and fast with reservations. Check in is at 2:00 but they will let you in early if your reserved site is empty. Check out is 11:00 Monday-Saturday 3:00 on Sunday. Enjoy

Those who left sub par reviews must only stay at fancy resorts where everything is perfect because this is one of my absolute favorite campgrounds (and I've been to a lot), and I always make it a point to stay here when coming through the area. The only real negative is the uneven sites, but not a big deal if you bring enough leveling blocks. And cell signal is pretty bad if that's important. Most sites don't have a sewer hookup but there's a central sump station. Again not a big deal unless you run water like you're in a house. Otherwise this place is super clean, great nature, and miles of walking trails. No lugging your trash to the dumpster, every site has its own trash can and they come around regularly to empty them. PRIVATE bathrooms: you get a sink, toilet and shower all to yourself. Compare that to community washrooms at most places. There's a laundry room available and firewood for sale at the office. They also offer tent camping with electric and water as well as primitive camping which is a little further back in the woods. Close access to town yet tucked away just enough that you still feel pretty remote. For everything that this campground offers I'll gladly put up with spending a few extra minutes leveling my rig.

Once you get past the online reservation system, which is something of a disaster (with a 48 hour cut off) and get settled (and level), the park is great. Nice office staff, good park map, modern water & electric, and long pull-through sites. The sites are spacious but the RV section is compact with tight turns so not particularly good for big rigs. It's a canopy of trees so don't expect any appreciable access for solar or satellites, but OTA has over 50 channels.The trails are great for walking the dog, well marked. While it looks like the park is well outside the periphery of Charlotte, it's very much much within the typical North Carolina urban sprawl. Rush hour(s) traffic is intense, worse if there is weather. I assume due to the tree cover, cell signals are somewhat diminished, so a booster provides several more bars but only increases upload speed.

Tent camping is sometimes hard to find. Not here! Plenty if sites just for tents only.
Built in an old mature forest crowded with trees. Although the weather was still cool the shade here during those hot days would be very nice.
Each shower and bathroom is in its own room and very clean.
Staff bent over backwards to help us even though we arrived after they were supposed to be gone.
T mobile had Strong LTE where our site was.

This county park exceeded our expectations and we really enjoyed our stay here. Really nice tree canopy provided wonderful shade during the 90 degree days of summer. The bathrooms were nice and featured individual rooms for maximum privacy. We enjoyed the hiking trails nearby and the easy access to water for fishing. Check in process was easy, but the box to put in the gate code is an awkward location. We didn't have any issues with leveling at our site. Overall, we loved our stay here!

5 Stars for a county park! Beautifully wooded but some sites harder to level than others. We were in R4 with a 27’ HTB TT— simple to level L/R but slide/doors interfering with trees/trashcan meant we had to be on the most sloped part and used all our blocks but still had the kick quite extended. Bring extra leveling blocks for a better experience but really not terrible.

Well kept sites, regular trash removal, professional staff, personal touches, hiking paths, nice playground, free & clean dump (though there are a couple FHU sites, we had W&E only. The bathrooms could have been a little cleaner and need maintenance. Showers are free but the push button only runs about 22seconds. Regularly security presence & gated. Kind of an extensive prohibited items list, but we find that’s common in City & County parks. Would definitely recommend for rigs our size or smaller. Bigger rigs would do well to call and ask about specific site lengths. Additional parking spaces are at the office; gate code will be re-emailed to you before arrival— gate box is across the street and awkward.

Trails, picnicking, pavilions, & boat rentals in the preserve. Dogs OK on leash.

3 Bars 5G on ATT

Nice wooded campground with 13 RV sites, all pull-through. Some sites require significant leveling but, luckily, ours didn't. Convenient to Charlotte activities. My only complaint was the TWO gates with coded entry. Why two?