Passing through North Carolina, we stayed a few nights at the Poplar Point Campground, which was part of the Jordan Lake Recreation Area. This sprawling campground was a nice stop on our way north. Perched on the banks of Jordan Lake, this popular campground was one of the first places our kids got to play with other kids after the semi-isolation of our winter in South Texas.
Getting to the Poplar Point Campground
Getting to the Poplar Point Campground was a bit of an adventure. The web page had directions that contradicted the Google Maps directions, even saying that Google directions weren’t to be trusted. However, following the website directions led us to the general Visitors Center for the Jordan Lake Recreation Area. Happily, the staff there were well aware of the issue and were happy to give us directions. They happened to be the directions Google gave us. We could only assume that being a government agency, they were waiting on the environmental impact statement to go through before an intern could fix it.
But how was it?
As for the campground itself, it was easy to navigate, though the spots weren’t as well-marked as some other places we have been. Not helping the matter, many spots at Poplar Point were occluded with pine needles and other leaf litter. We got a pull-through spot, but its entrance was a little sharp. The bus got in fine, but the Toad had to be pulled a little off-road. Our site only had water, as we didn’t necessarily need power with our solar setup.
However, with the tree cover, our batteries were not fully charging during the day. I needed to run the engine for a few hours to charge them up and avoid damage. Yet another data point in favor of us getting a small generator for weather-related topping off. While our Alternator Charger is a nice-to-have, it should be a last resort as it’s probably the most expensive and slowest way to charge the bus. We’ve only had to resort to using it twice now, once at Lake Quitman, due to 3 days of overcast and downpour, and this being the second.
Mom also loved that our spot was directly adjacent to the bathhouse, which again had free hot showers. I’m beginning to think that free hot showers aren’t as rare as growing up camping in Washington State has led me to believe.
The kids LOVED that they could play with other kids here! Many of the sites (not ours) were right up against the lake, and our kids made friends in their explorations and played in the lake with others. That alone makes this spot a definite win!
All in all, a beautiful stop in a lovely area. If you’re passing through North Carolina, why don’t you trust Google and give it a try?
