Great place to enjoy the outdoors. Wonderful hiking and camping, yet close enough to amenities in Asheville.

Gorgeous location and great trails

Nice trail all around well maintained restrooms great views and fall colors.

Nice walk to the lake. Beach for swimmers, no dogs allowed on the beach.

I had the pleasure of exploring after an historic snow fall, and found the Lake in truly majestic form. Among many beautiful locations in WNC, this one is one of the most accessible.

Small beach but very peaceful and family friendly.

Lovely place to swim get out in nature see all kind wild life

Beautiful place. Up in the mountains of the blue ridge parkway.

Great place it was cold when I visited very private though

It was ok. Restrooms were clean.

Beautiful part of the camping area, very nicely rooted in the nature. Nice walking and little hikes around

Lovely lake beach and hiking trails along the creek

Great place to take the dog on a great adventure, lots of trails and good for mountain bikes!

This is one of my favorite short hikes around Asheville. Start at the Hard Times Trailhead and head toward the lake by jumping on Homestead. Super easy short, fun hike that remains relatively flat. Plus its right in town. Theres a ton of picnic tables and grills, too, so its a pretty cool spot to bring a date.

Nice trails,lackluster Beach ,very small lake.

Beautiful, relaxing & peaceful place. Not yoo many people fishing or swimming.

Lake Powhattan is in Bent creek. I am an avid mountain biker. This is the best place for getting my physical activity done close to home. There are miles and miles of trails and beautiful scenery. Also every trail is different and there are trails for all levels of riders walkers and runners. This area is pet friendly and there are lots of wildlife. Sometimes even a mama bear and a few Cubs.

Beautiful, quiet place to camp and just 10min from town.

Came across this small lake and stayed for the sunset. Many trails around, all around really nice

There are only a few camp sites for RV that have full hookup. Need to reserve way in advance to get one. I have camped her a few times. Would have been more often if had more choices to pick from (chances to reserve site). Nice campground, great bath houses. Great central location to be away from city but yet close drive from what all the town and blue ridge mountains have to offer.

Ive been swimming here since I was a little girl, now I take my children here. And we all love it. They have picnic tables, grills, camping sites, bike trails, and you can also fish here. The beach area is the best. Costs $4 per person or you can get a seasonal pass. Its worth it especially when you get all of the amenities. Would definitely recommend! However they do close the gates right at 8pm and if you are a minute late you risk getting locked in, but we understand why they do that! Just be out before closing and you will be okay!

A lovely 3 mile circular walk around a lake, small beach, bike trails, camping

Good place for the kids water to cold for me tho lol

Beautiful place. There ought to be trail maps though as you walk and trails split off- i was lost for the majority of my wandering!

Peaceful. Paths were clear. Popular with mountain bikers. Not many people on the trails this afternoon.

Rudest Staff I have ever encountered.

Great campground, plenty of hiking and/or mtn biking. Great showers & bathrooms. Been there a few times. You can get on the blue ridge parkway right outside the campground.... A1

After breaking my femur, I had to gradually get back into hiking. This walk around the lake was strenuous enough, but still accessible. Since elevation is slight, I was able to manage it with my husbands help.

I really enjoy myself here Gizmo and I had fun on the trails were the sights were gorgeous. Nick did some fishing.

Great little swimming, fishing, biking, hiking grilling out and camping spot close to asheville in the experimental forest of bent creek. Chill and awesome scenery, great place to bring kids and adults alike

Great place. Very clean friendly hosts. Nice trails for hike, bike. Close to ashville. Nice hot shower. No water or electrical hook up

Beautiful place to hike and fish. You can swim in the lake and camp in the campground. Be sure to get reservations as the campground fills up fast now.

Great day at the lake!

Parked at Hard Times trail. Walked around the lake and a few of the trails that connect. 6 miles total. Mostly used for bikers but my dog and I still very much enjoyed the walk.

The lake was fine. The 2 starsnis because they increased the price per person by double. :-(

Beautiful place ! Had so much fun with my kids

My favorite campground

This was the first time we visited Lake Powhatan. It was a very nice day with the family. My daughter loved the lake as did I. It was clean, and we didnt come out smelling of fish like other lakes. The picnic tables were private, yet close enough you dont have to hike to get back to swimming after lunch. Will definitely be back next summer!

Wonderful visual cool water, first time visiting enjoyed it with my family. Will return

Refreshing water

Clean camp spots and friendly staff. Clean lake and walking trails

Staff were informative , polite , and courteous. facility was amazing. beautiful lake with clean sandy beach and nice fishing pier. plenty of hiking and biking trails. restrooms were well maintained and cleaned as well as the shower facilities. was our first trip to the campground and there will be many more. our site was perfect for out group of six(3 adults , 3 children) with room for all of us around the camp fire and two 10x10 tents and a 10x10 canopy over the picnic table.

This is a beautiful place in the Smoky Mountains.

Great campsites and mountain biking.

Great lake

We went 2nd time over there, we can not catch even one fish! Entrance for each person $4. The beach could be cleaner and water also.

This is a great place for a quick beach escape with the family. If you dont get out there early it can be hard to stake out a good spot, but there are decent restrooms and picnic areas nearby. Hiking out the ~1 mile from Hardtimes Trailhead is the recommended way to go!

Fun & refreshing

Great place to get outdoors

We spent this past weekend there and loved it! Everyone that worked there were very friendly and helpful. The bathrooms and showers were always kept clean and it was wooded enough that you had privacy. We stayed on tent site 91 on Hard Times loop and look forward to going back soon! Tons of biking/hiking trails in the area that are perfect for keeping the family busy.

Amazing place, these people here really take care of the park and they want you to have the best experience possible. Great for new campers, for us was perfect since we have a 9 month old baby. The hosts are very nice, they really listen at you when you have a problem and hurry to fix it. Clean bathrooms and they are constantly checking if it needs paper or clean it up.

Good amenities... Small lake.. Best hiking trails in Asheville

Amazing getaway for travelers and family hot spots

I have been here twice, paid the 4 dollar fee each time and have not even gotten a bite!! The place is overrun with turtles. This keeps the fish from biting because the turtles run them off.

We spent a full week at the campground in site 17 on the big loop and we had a blast. The campground hosts were warm and helpful and the sites and facilities were very well kept and clean as a whistle. Our only complaint during the week was that it was so humid that we couldnt get a fire started until the last night we were there, stupid weather, BUT the campsite hosts went above and beyond to help out, donating lighters and charcoal and paper and their time to help us futility make with the burning.When we come back to the area we wouldnt hesitate staying here again. I have posted photos of the bathrooms and showers. I was amazed by the cleanliness.

Great trails but I wouldnt swim here.

Super nice folks working at the gate! Probably the cleanest campground bathrooms I have ever seen. It was a great quiet place to spend a few nights.

Spent July 19-21, 2013 at this campground...had one of the best times in a long time. I saw where someone was upset about no power outlets in the showers and it said tent campers beware. Well we were tent camping and had a blast...didnt need power outlet to get dressed up to relax at campsite. The staff was awesome and the sites are well maintained. We will be back many more times. Already planning our next trip.

Nice beach, fishing pier.

Nice place reasonable prices

Kinda crowded and you can avoid fees by parking and just walking a little

Been here several times over the months. Great place and trails to walk, hike and bike. The bathroom facility at head of one trail is essentially a repugnant hole in the ground; be forewarned.

Fantastic stay - great campground for car camping or RV. The sites were clean, with gravel and nice picnic tables. The washrooms were close but everything felt somewhat secluded. Close to downtown Asheville and the blue ridge parkway, this will be the campground we will use for car camping from now on. **No electricity for tents if that is an issue for you.

Great campground next to NC Aboretum & Blue Ridge parkway.

Some friends and I went camping in November, a man at the facility who said his name was Billy Harris, was very rude. 6 of us from different cities trickled in between 8 and 10pm on a Friday night to gather for a reunion. We were a little noisy setting up and greeting each other. We were warned to be quite around 9:45 pm, which was fine, but the manner in which he told us was very rude and disrespecful. We also had three cars which fit in the drive without sticking out, and we had paid the extra fee. The next morning shortly after getting up, Billy swings by while we were making breakfast rudely tells us to move our 3rd car, and swiftly drives off without leaving any time to ask why or where to put the car. Probably less than 10 minutes later, while we are eating our breakfast Billy comes by again and rudely says Are you going to move this car or not and again rushes off. Billy alone put a major damper on our trip and view of the campground. Campground personell are normally a joy to be around. I have never come across such an angry, rude campground person until him. On top of that there just werent enough restrooms; the campground wasnt even half full and the wait was bad. I cant imagine what it must be like in the summer waiting for a bathroom.

Very disappointing they have started charging $2 to swim. I usually mountain bike and or hike and just stop by for about a five minute dip to cool off. Can’t see the payoff, from the bikers and hikers since they had to add a State employee to collect money at the lake.It is a nice place to bike and hike but the lake is not that great of a swimming hole and I wouldn’t go there just to swim.

Excellent staff, great facilities: showers, toilets, campsites, everything was great. The only problem is that all the campsites are close enough to see all the people in each camp. Not much privacy unless youre in your tent. Not a huge deal but worth noting. Otherwise, if youre looking for a $20 camping spot with a shower and clean drinking water, this is the place to go.Tip: the map says that the site is on the right side of the road and my wife and I were kinda lost and then found out that we needed to follow the road to the end. So if it tells you that youre there and all you see are trees, keep going :)

Beautiful!

If you are looking for a place that is beautiful and close to Asheville, this is a great spot. The campground is clean and the facilities are well-kept.The lake is lovely, BUT the swimming area is roped-off, so really it is just a good spot for children to swim.The staff treated my group of 4, (over 35year old professional adults), like we were trouble-makers, from the first step through their gates. We were harassed by staff repeatedly for small things, throughout our 1 night stay. And, we heard this complaint from many other campers. None of us will go back to that campground and are highly disappointed by our treatment.

Fun but its a lake so of course the water isnt the cleanest but the people are friendly. There was an old man sorta in the woods taking pictures of the kids and so we left

Nice trails

Great hiking and biking trails. Beautiful place, very clean and family friendly.

Mediocre privacy. $22 for a tent site, and $5 for 8 small pieces of wood. I expected a bit better. The sites are not much better than the local roadside (free) campsites.

Nice place... only $2.00 each to get in. not alot of fish in pond but still had alot of fun with family.

Very nice campground well maintained and the hosts were always riding around which kept things quiet. The only complaint which is a big one, is that there was a line to the bathroom almost every time I tried to go. There are only 2 unisex bathrooms for about 70+ people, that seems absolutely ridiculous to me! The showers were nice with plenty of hooks to hang things and they were super clean, but the locks didnt work and since it was also unisex, a man actually opened the door when I was getting out of the shower, luckily I saw the door move and yelled before he saw anything. Having to wait 20 minutes to go to the bathroom is frustrating, having to worry about strangers walking in when youre in the shower is scary. If you have your own camper with a bathroom, youre going to love this campground, if your planning to bring your tent, Id pick another place or be prepared to wait to use the facilities. My recommendation to the campground, add sinks to the shower rooms, fix the locks on the showers, and build about 3 more bath houses.

Beautiful lake with lots of nice shady nooks to sit and fish or take in the view!

Very peaceful and quite. Campgrounds are clean and spacious. Close to the Blue Ridge Park Way, Asheville, NC and the Biltmore.

Nice campground with semi private primitive sites. Note there is absolutely NO CELL SERVICE with Verizon or Sprint once you get about 2 miles off the main road and all the way thru the park. I think thats why they DO NOT TAKE CREDIT CARDS. Thankfully I had some cash but be prepared. Bath houses were OK, plenty of spiders. Easy access to Asheville.

A beautiful camp ground.

Selected this campground based on other experiences at Nat. Parks/Forests campgrounds and central proximity to Asheville, NC. The campground was absolutely beautiful, in a great location, quiet, and well maintained. Unfortunately we only stayed 1 night out of a planned 4 as the bathhouse leaves a few amenities to be desired, namely hot water and electricity (there are lights, but no outlets for a hair dryer, etc.). When we questioned the park staff they were very courteous (acknowledging that this was not the first time theyve received this question), but confirmed there was no available outlets; one resident did offer an outlet on his RV.This is a beautiful campground ideal for RVs but tenters beware.

Great campsite just outside Asheville in the Pisgah National Forest.

Great place to camp or take a hike.

Nice beach area!

I camp with a group at Lake Powhatan every year for the Brewgrass Festival in Asheville and we love it. The campground staff are friendly, the facilities are very well maintained, and the campsites are well-spaced and beautiful. There is plenty of hiking, mountain biking (Bent Creek), and even the arboretum nearby. Downtown Asheville is only 15-20 minutes, Biltmore is even closer.

Enjoy outdoor

Not really worth it during a 20 year snow storm

There is so much to do there. Fishing, swimming, hiking, laying on the beach area, camping, etc.

Nice beautiful

Peaceful Place

Fun for the kids

Because payments

Ok

Bring tarps

Would give zero stars. Rude people at front gate.need to run to store? have to pay to get back in.

Sweet place to be

Lake Powhatan - beach swimming and fishing from shore

Same experience as last review. Rude staff at gate. I decided this was not a place for me, and moved on.

Very nice scenery

Very nice clean quiet