**Warning: This is pretty long but I have a lot to say about this place**
I'll start by saying that Cardens Bluff has some of the most beautiful campsites I have ever seen! Almost all sites have a spectacular view of Watauga Lake and are decently spead apart. I went with a group of my girlfriends for a fall camping getaway. I originally booked 2 sites for 2 nights, but when I found out half of the group couldn't go, it was too late to cancel. The cancellation fee was the same amount as the site itself so I kept two sites. We also decided that we would arrive too late on Friday to setup, so we drove up from Charlotte on Saturday morning. I couldn't get in touch with anyone at the campground to notify of our late arrival, and since the minimum was two nights- I ended up paying $60 for ONE night and was told I would not get a refund even though someone else had came and occupied the second site that I reserved.
Aside from the payment issues, and despite the beautiful scenery, I will NOT be returing to this campground.
We were almost immediately greeted by the campground hosts, who were very friendly and reminded us to keep our dogs on a leash at all times. I didn't really understand how serious they were about that rule until they mentioned that there was a cop that walks around at night and has been "known to shoot". WHAT?! They walked away shortly after making that statement.
I noticed there was a list of "rules" stapled to each of the campsites so I read them as we unpacked. Towards the bottom of the list was a rule that said no alcohol was allowed, but since the very first rule was that "All campsites are on a first-come first-served basis. Reservations prohibited", I didn't pay much attention to it. Afterall, I had indeed made a reservation online for the weekend. The list was immediately de-legitimized in my mind. Plus, I go camping a lot and it's never been an issue.
That night, we had cooked dinner and were sitting around the fire having wine. Again, I know it said no alcohol, but we weren't being crazy. Just 5 girls in our late twenties sitting around the fire enjoying our time. It was around 10pm.
What I'm about to say sounds really dramatic, but it's 100% truth! It's been over a month since we were there and I'm still in shock.
A cop approached our campsite and immediately started harrassing us. He was definitely on some sort of power trip. He took each persons drink and slowly poured them into the fire while saying "I guess you won't be needing this anymore". He went through our things, threatened to fine us, and told us he would be throwing away our bottles in the dumpster, although I'm sure he just took them for himself. He even took an UNOPENED really nice bottle of wine. I asked him if I could just put it back in the car and he laughed at me. I have never felt so disrespected by a law enforcement officer in my life. We would have been very respectful if we were told we were too loud/couldn't drink/whatever.
The cop also shined his light at one of our dogs- on a leash- and said to us "At least you're doing something right by having your dog on a leash. You better be glad I don't have my dog with me tonight, because he doesn't like other dogs." WHAT A JERK!
Also, this is no fault of the campground at all, but the site beside us had a dog that bit me everytime I walked by him! My whole experience was just bad from the very beginning. I was actually glad to go back home the next day. Sigh. read more