Falls Lake Rolling View Campground Review
Falls Lake Rolling View Campground is a nice wooded campground with good access to the Raleigh Durham area.
Falls Lake Overview
Falls Lake is a 12,000 acre man-made lake that serves as a drinking water reservoir for several communities in the Raleigh NC area. Falls Lake State Recreation Area is a collection of seven areas offering a variety of outdoor recreation and lake access. It’s located just North of the Raleigh and Durham NC.
Falls Lake Camping Overview
Rolling View is a section of Falls Lake State Recreation Area that provides camping and lake access. The Falls Lake Rolling View campground has 115 campsites. The A and B loops have 30 campsites with water and 30 amp electricity. The C loop sites are similar in size and design but have no hookups. Additional RV campsites are located at the nearby Holly Point campground. Rolling View has four group tent camping sites. Additional group camping sites are available at nearby B.W. Wells, and Shinleaf locations.
We have camped at the Falls Lake Rolling View campground several times. It is one of our go-to campgrounds for our Thanksgiving in the Woods tradition. There are several reasons. It is located halfway between Virginia and South Carolina making it possible for us to meet our friends halfway. It is near a major airport, less than 30 minutes from RDU, which means people can fly in as needed to join us for a weekend of camping.
And Rolling View is open all year round. Note that only Loop A is open the whole year. The B and C loops are open March 15 through November 30. Other parts of Falls Lake Recreation Area close for parts of the winter. For a complete schedule of what is available through the year, check out the Falls Lake Operating Schedule which can be found on the NC Parks Falls Lake page.
Video Tour of Falls Lake Rolling View Campground
We hit some of the highlights of this nice park and campground in our Falls Lake Rolling View Campground YouTube video.
Falls Lake Rolling View Campground and Campsites
Loop A offers 28 large, heavily wooded campsites. Three have good lake views. Sites range from a 30 foot pull through site up to a 115 foot long back in site. Each site in the A Loop has water and 30 amp electricity. Sites are gravel and mostly level – though we did have to add three blocks on one side to level our camper.
We have a fairly long truck and camper combination. Our site was very long and due to the angle of entry from the road it was relatively easy to get in. Sites are relatively narrow so you may not be able to open your awning to set up chairs under it. Instead, plan to use the large pad adjacent to and down a few stairs from the parking pad.
Each campsite also has a large area adjacent to the site with a picnic table, campfire ring and lantern hook. Note that the sitting area is often located down several steps from the RV parking pad.
There was one site on each loop designated as an accessible site which had both pads on the same level. For the A Loop, that site is A-013, on B it is B-022, and on the C loop, it is C-0009. When booking on Reserve America, look for the accessible icon.
Pull through sites are alongside the road. You may get less privacy on these sites that on the back in sites.
The B Loop has similar sites but is somewhat less wooded. If you are looking for level grassy areas to play outdoor games or easy access to a playground, consider the B Loop.
It was a rainy weekend during our last visit. We noticed that the sites were getting muddy and had pools of standing water.
This campground seems to have been designed to be a used primarily by tent, pop-up or small RV campers. However, there are many long sites that can accommodate larger RVs. An engineer was on site observing the campground conditions. He noted that they were intended to level sites and add gravel as needed. While many sites are long enough for today’s RVs, the engineer was observing sites where it was challenging to park and indicated that he was planning to adjust the entry on some sites to make it easier.
A bath house is provided in the middle of the A Loop. While basic, it was clean and generally in good condition. Showers operate on a timer. You press a button to get water flowing but it shuts off fairly quickly. Showers are relatively small and narrow which can make getting clean and dressed a bit challenge. Doors for each shower stall are low which reduces privacy. I used the shower one day and then opted too use the shower in our camper for the rest of the trip.
Compared to the bath houses provided in newer State Park Campgrounds like Chippokes, these seem outdated. The engineer I spoke with indicated that upgrading to a modern bath house with laundry facilities was being considered.
Falls Lake Rolling View Activities
You’ll easily be able to spend a weekend exploring the park. There are some nice hiking trails. If you visit in the summer, be sure to visit the swimming beach..
Swim Beach at Falls Lake Rolling View Campground
From the A Loop Bath House, you can hike the .4 mile trail to the swim beach. Trail markers must have been recently updated – they are bright orange for this trail.
The beach is a wide sandy beach with a designated swimming area. Next to the beach is a playground and several picnic tables with grills.
Boat Launch at Falls Lake Rolling View Campground
You can continue your hike from the swim beach to the boat launch area. Follow the bright blue trail markers.
Falls Lake Rolling View Campground Amenities
Firewood is available for purchase at the ranger’s station. During our visit, ranger station hours were limited.
There is no wi-fi available at Falls Lake. Cell service on Verizon was good.
Over the air TV is available. We found several basic antenna channels like ME TV and Laff.
No laundry is available at the Falls Lake Rolling View campground.
Road noise was minimal. We didn’t hear any trains. Being near to the RDU airport, there was some airplane traffic but it wasn’t a significant issue.
There is no visitors center at the campground and no place to buy t-shirts or other merchandise.
Falls Lake Rolling View Directions
Falls Lake Rolling View Campground is located at 4201 Baptist Road in Durham NC. Your best bet is to get directions from the campground rather than rely on your phone’s map directions as you might otherwise be directed through residential roads rather than main streets.
Reservations can be made at Reserve America or by calling 1-877-722-6762.
Leave a Comment
I hope you found this review of Falls Lake Rolling View Campground to be helpful. Leave a comment to share your experiences with the park.
Copyright 2019 Travel Trail Sail. All Rights Reserved.