Lake James State Park

I’m torn as to how many stars to rate the Catawba River Campground at Lake James State Park in Nebo, NC. The facility was clean and well taken care of. The site we stayed in was #16 at walk in site. The problem was that the site was immediately at the bottom of the stairs and site 15 was too close. The people at site 15 were loud and obnoxious. They took what seemed like 5 million trips of junk down to their site including a queen size double thick already inflated mattress to their site. It was a completely eye opener as to how much stuff one family could possibly take to one camp site. It was a walk in site so we carried everything in our backpacks. There was no peace and quiet to enjoy nature at all at this site due to these neighbors. Also, the frogs were all calling out at dark and it seemed like they were getting louder and louder. They did finally stop before bed though. I would recommend the campground itself, just not site 16. The views were beautiful. As for the rangers we didn’t see any at all while we were actually at the campground. Too bad they didn’t come by and catch the people jumping off the dock and swimming in the river despite the no swimming sign or just telling them to keep it down. As for those who mentioned they had to pour out their beer, it is a state park so, no alcohol is allowed on State Park grounds. We did see rangers at the beach/​swimming area and they didn’t care one bit that everyone had dogs even though it said no dogs on the beach which was fine as people were renting boats and putting their dog in them so, it worked out well. We didn’t swim, but there was a charge $ 5.00 a person (I think) to swim, which was kind of crazy to me.

Had to make 47 trips from the car to the campsite. Rangers forcibly made us poor out beers. Zero stars.

If you’ve never seen Lake James, it’s quite a sight.
The lake itself and the park are both expansive, with multiple sections developed. Tons of walking/​hiking trails and even Mountain Bike Trails (15 miles worth)!
Canoes and kayaks are available for rental. If you have your own motorboat, there are two boat launches. Swim Beaches are open seasonally.
Backpack campsites near the shoreline are available by reservation. Fishing is permitted with a license. I think that about covers it!
Mostly, it is a great family friendly place to have a picnic or BBQ, take a walk and enjoy some beautiful scenery!

We are a family who LOVES camping, backpacking, and all things outdoors! However, we will never camp here again (which is a bummer because it is only 45 mins from home and has a lot of potential). I grew up not far from Lake James and always loved the area, but the rangers and staff of this state park are ruining the camping experience. There is trash everywhere, especially along the hiking trails and near the beach, but the rangers are more focused on searching coolers for beer than on keeping the place well-​maintained and clean. Our nine year old, who is learning and practicing «leave no trace,» picked up trash for them, but we had to stop her at the condom wrappers at the overlooks. When the ranger showed up at our campsite just before 9 p.m., he was not at all interested in those experiences; he went straight to searching our cooler and pouring out our beer. It was just our small family, and we were very close to bed time. We have stayed in MANY NC state parks, and no ranger has ever searched our cooler or poured out our beer. Couple these experiences with the small campsites (which are completely fenced off from the lake) that are hard to access, we will definitely never camp here again.
We did enjoy our time swimming at the Paddy’s Creek beach area, but it was very small with absolutely no shade. We had fun, but we’ll just head to the pool when we want to swim (especially since we can’t enjoy hiking or camping here).

Lake James State Park is clearly a park that gets most of its identity from its namesake lake, but it still manages to offer some decent hiking and camping (at least from the looks of things for the latter). Lake James is simply massive and offers opportunities for swimming, boating, and fishing. As my initial visit to the park was in the wintertime, I was unable to partake in any of these activities but I did spend a few hours hiking the park’s trails. There are only three trails within the park, and while they may be quite short by most standards (the longest trail clocks in at 2.2 miles round trip), they are still quite enjoyable. Two of the trails (Lake Channel Overlook and Sandy Cliff Overlook) terminate in panoramic viewing points of Lake James, while the third trail (Fox Den Loop Trail) meanders through more of the park’s vegetation and brush.
The trails were all well-​marked and well-​maintained, and the Lake Channel Overlook trail even passed nearby to the campground. The campsites appeared to be quite nice as they were relatively private/​separated from the other sites, spacious, and all were equipped with a firepit and picnic table. Though the campsites were all easily accessible from the main entrance, they somehow managed to have the feel of being deep in nature and away from the hustle and bustle of everyday life. In fact, the whole park had this feel which was quite refreshing. I have found that you don’t get this sense of privacy and removal from the rest of the world in all state parks (or parks in general), and thus it is always great when you do get it!
With some desirable campsites, swimming, and enjoyable trails, I know I shall be returning to Lake James in the future!

Awesome camp site! The sites are a short hike and lining the water. They give you decent privacy and all have a picnic table, fire pit and lantern post. Also serval water spigots around the camp site. Bathrooms and showers are a short hike from the campsite. Easily accessible fire wood for 3 dollars.