Camp Wilderness RV Resort

6.9

Amenities

7.5/10

Internet

9.0/10

Bathrooms

6.0/10

Shade

8.0/10

Laundry

4.0/10

Pros

  • Close to Carowinds
  • Excellent Pool
  • MEET SNOOPY!
  • Fast(ish) Internet
  • Level Parking

Cons

  • Narrow roads
  • Busy
  • Bathrooms

Camp wilderness is pricy, but is it worth it?

Within walking distance or shuttle ride from Carowinds theme park, is this beautiful RV park near Charlotte, North Carolina. Since we lived in Charlotte, it was our first stop over the 4th of July festivities before we headed across the country.

Because we were season pass holders, we got a 10% discount, though it is about the same if you are Good Sam members. Even then, it’s on the expensive side, and I am notoriously cheap, so it had better impress me if I’m going to recommend it.

I recommend it. I’d rate the overall experience a little above what the results above suggest, but these are some key things for us when we evaluate an RV park. I’ll break it down…

Almost perfect amount of amenities… minus one huge thing

It has a nice pool, with life guards and music, which is far beyond most RV parks. There’s a pool table, some video games, a mini store, and more. But there was one noticeably missing amenities that many RV parks have that I’m surprised Camp Wilderness doesn’t – a playground. I’m not looking for a full park playground, but a simple play area for toddlers to slide and climb. That’s big for us because we like to take the kids out and play with them, but there’s really nothing for the young ones.

You could say that we had Carowinds next door, which is much better, but there’s also a massive water park there yet Camp Wilderness still has a pool. It’s a minor improvement that would take the RV park up a notch.

Is there EVER an RV park with good internet?

I had great luck here (For an RV park)! I don’t expect much from these parks, but anything above 2 mbps feels like an internet typhoon. I was consistently getting 4-5mbps, up to 8 mbps, so I was a happy camper (pun.) Even when it was crowded, the internet was consistent. This is huge for me since I work from home.

Someone has to talk about it – Bathrooms!

I will say this time and again – you can tell a lot about an RV park by how well they take care of their bathrooms. Take great care of your bathrooms, and I know you are taking great care of your park. At first glance the bathrooms were very nice. Clean floors, fresh paint. You get your own bathroom, too, so when you want to shower, shave and shine (that’s the phrase, right?) you can do it privately as long as there’s no line.

I was about to give the bathrooms rave reviews, but then I saw the same poo stain on the side of the toilet for two days. Yuk. And the drain for the showers were clogged and you were just standing on a tile, so your feet were swimming in the previous showerer’s left overs. Double yuk.

But is the sun beating on you all day?

Nope. This is North Carolina, people. The whole state is practically a tree-filled park itself with the only exception being actual city parks. So having a lot of trees in the park was very natural. It wasn’t Fangorn Forest or anything, but you have plenty of shade. I only docked it a little because I was right in a gap that perfectly let the sun hit our trailer from 6pm until sundown.

The laundry room (shudder)

In the words of my lovely wife and Star Trek’s Scotty – “She’s giving it all she’s got captain!” I saw it with my own eyes, a dryer that was about to launch into orbit at any time. Not only that, it was the only dryer there, coupled with the only washer. I give it some points because it actually has a laundry room, and the washer and dryer cleaned clothes, but it was a piddly little weak closet that supported a large campground of people. When I was looking for Jen and couldn’t find it, I asked someone at the counter, and I think they were about to burst out laughing – not because I didn’t know where it was, but because they knew what I was in for when I opened the door.

The final takeaway – recommended

The pros outweigh any of the cons at this place by a long shot. Face it – if you are staying here then you are going to Carowinds, or I question your sanity. So the location alone is perfect, especially during busy times (the 4th is a nightmare for parking.) The location by Carowinds, the shade, the pool, the internet – OH, and LEVEL PARKING SPACES. I should really put this higher on my list. Actual paved spaces that are level. The staff was friendly, my kids got to meet Snoopy there at the park. It’s a little pricy, but I didn’t walk out of there feeling ripped off at all.

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