Lake James State Park

Lake James State Park

Lake James State Park
4.5
7:00 AM - 10:00 PM
Monday
7:00 AM - 10:00 PM
Tuesday
7:00 AM - 10:00 PM
Wednesday
7:00 AM - 10:00 PM
Thursday
7:00 AM - 10:00 PM
Friday
7:00 AM - 10:00 PM
Saturday
7:00 AM - 10:00 PM
Sunday
7:00 AM - 10:00 PM
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Most Recent: Reviews ordered by most recent publish date in descending order.

Detailed Reviews: Reviews ordered by recency and descriptiveness of user-identified themes such as waiting time, length of visit, general tips, and location information.

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4.5
4.5 of 5 bubbles101 reviews
Excellent
57
Very good
28
Average
9
Poor
3
Terrible
4

klamborj
Boone, NC481 contributions
4.0 of 5 bubbles
Sept 2023 • Family
Great state park located on Lake James. Lake James is very pretty, fun & large. Motor boats, canoes, kayaks, and paddle boarders love this location. I camped there & loved my time. Bathrooms were clean. Good family fun!
Written 11 July 2024
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

Wendy S
6 contributions
5.0 of 5 bubbles
July 2023 • Solo
I’ve visited this State Park on numerous occasions and enjoy it every time. I stay at Paddy’s Creek campground that is suitable for camping only or very small campervans. The campground has plenty of privacy between sites and a nice bathhouse that even has a dishwashing area.

The park has plenty for outdoor enthusiasts from mountain biking to swimming to hiking.

At the weekends it’s busy, however during the summer midweek, the park was very quiet.
Written 24 September 2023
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

Claudia C
Raeford, NC24 contributions
4.0 of 5 bubbles
Sept 2020
Monday’s the park is being cleaned up after a busy weekend (another COVID effect) and doesn’t have a crowd. Facing the info/gift store building, on right is a short scenic trail (sloped), this has a nice lookout. To your right is a 2+ mile loop trail around lake that we only walked a bit of- again slopes but fine for fairly fit folks. NC State Parks Passport book stamped. Park staff kind and helpful, restrooms and areas all clean. Would have enjoyed spending more time.
Written 29 September 2020
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

deanie13
Cleveland, TN222 contributions
4.0 of 5 bubbles
Aug 2020
We were just looking for a small hike and stopover on our way up to the Blue Ridge Parkway so took the trail called "Lake James. 0.8 miles through a shaded woodland. The views here are not spectacular, but they are nice, normal views of a pretty lake. Everything else we saw there, like the main office, beach, etc were closed. So we took a nice little hike to a nice little overlook and walked back. Nothing strenuous, just wanted to stretch our legs. Hint: to do this walk turn left at the stone entrance. We kept going for nothing. The road to get into the park is LONG, it seemed to go on forever. But it was clean and pleasant.
Written 15 August 2020
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

robertdTN
Rutherfordton, NC489 contributions
4.0 of 5 bubbles
June 2022
Our company had a health and wellness retreat at Lake James State Park. The park has covered pavilions with tables and grills. A decent amount of parking and restrooms. The beach offers sand and a roped off area for swimming and enjoying the sun. On this day, the heat and humidity were almost unbearable. However, we enjoyed the fun and fellowship in the picnic pavilion.
Written 2 August 2022
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

MamaMac23
Hickory, NC9 contributions
1.0 of 5 bubbles
July 2013 • Family
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).
Written 1 July 2013
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

lavoshar
Asheville, NC8 contributions
1.0 of 5 bubbles
June 2013 • Family
Beware, campsites are walk in, which we knew upon booking campsite. What they do not tell you is the elevation drops by 500 ft or more from parking lot, on top of the 100 yard distance. Booked a site on the water near boat ramp for using our kayaks. Could not lug them down the slope (wiped out after lugging tent, camping food, etc.) Camping area, Catabawa River does not allow swimming in the water off your site, disappointing when it is 90 degrees. Also only "allowed" swimming area is in Paddy's creek area, you have to drive to and they charge $5 per person. Left after one night, got a run around and would not refund other 2 nights fee. Never going there again!!!
Written 25 June 2013
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

3.0 of 5 bubbles
July 2014 • Couples
Lake James State Park is beautiful, as is the lake. Sadly, the lion's share of the beauty is reserved for personal watercraft and boats and largely inaccessible for swimmers. We drove 2 hours from Winston Salem because we heard the water was clean and clear and we desperately wanted to swim in a lake. When we arrived and saw the length of the swim area was not greater than 20-30 feet, we were very disappointed. We, along with others asked the life guards what was up with the tightly restricted swim area. They informed us that once upon a time the lake was fuller and the swim/beach area bigger but as the water went down, they never updated the swim poles which mark where you can swim to. Its basically a beach fit for little kids and wading, not really meant for swimming. There is also no shade on the beach. And most important of all...they only take cash or NC checks; we had to drive 30 minutes to get to a working ATM. Bring cash to pay for your entry!
Written 12 July 2014
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

Kelly W
Bluff City, TN13 contributions
3.0 of 5 bubbles
June 2019 • Couples
So starting with the bad....if you are kayaking to the boat in only Long Arm areas....

1) You cannot unload your boat anywhere near the water. Be sure to either bring a kayak cart or be prepared to carry them down the gated off authorized use only boat ramp that everyone seem to be using. Also be prepared to carry all your camping gear to the boats. A kayak cart would have sure been useful.

2) I feel you are taking your life into your hands when you try to paddle to the boat in sites. You have to cross the main channel and/or main waterway at least twice to get to area 3. At one point I literally had 6 ski boats and pontoons passing me on all sides. I've paddled in the ocean in calmer water. My friend was even got tossed out of his sit on kayak by passing boat wake. Again, paddle at your own risk.

3) Make sure you know where you are going. Don't depend on getting any help from the park officials. Only 1 of the 3 park employees/volunteers was friendly and didn't act like they were too busy to fool with us. We talked to 4 different groups of folks camping in our area and each one of them said they got lost and cruised around the lake for hours trying to find the camping areas on their first visit to the park. Now keep this in mind if you're not in a motorboat. Kayaking around this unmarked lake trying to find your camping site on a weekend afternoon with a lake full of motorboats, not a good idea. Our lakes have big huge numbers on various points so you know exactly where you are when reading a map. I guess NC hasn't thought of this yet.

Now with the good....

It is an amazingly beautiful park. The campsites were nicely laid out. However the tent pads were impossible to drive a tent stake in. Pretty sure it was concrete under the crushed gravel. No huge deal. The vault toilets were kept really clean and best of all even had hand sanitizer in them. First time I've seen a working sanitizer dispenser in a vault toilet.

All in all, I doubt we will return. Or at least until we have a motorboat ourselves. We really enjoy kayak camping and glad we tried out this park but let's just say it was a learning experience. One last note, I know this is a long review but hopefully it will help someone else out. We would definitely have been much better prepared if this had been in previous reviews.
Written 2 June 2019
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

glack7
Nebo, NC5 contributions
5.0 of 5 bubbles
Aug 2015 • Couples
Loved #12. it was perfect for sunbathing and I had my kayak right out front! We were not to close to our neighbors so that was nice. The site itself had everything we needed. The bathrooms were very nice and clean. All staff and Rangers we very nice and informative.
Written 29 August 2015
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

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Lake James State Park (2025) - All You MUST Know Before You Go (with Reviews)

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