Smith Lake Army RV Park

Very, very nice RV park! We stayed 2 weeks, our site pad was perfectly level and concrete, not all pads are concrete! We were across from the bath house which was very clean, and cleaned daily! Very pleasant setting with pine trees all around. Close to Fort Liberty (Bragg) and to Fayetteville. Water pressure, power and sewer were great. Noise was minimal you may hear a helicopter once and a while from the Simmons Army Airfield just over the hill. We attended an October Fest event on the base and it was very nice. There are two commissaries and Exchanges on Fort Bragg. Gas prices in the area were $3.14 per gallon for regular and about $3.29 on the base. They have several walking trails and mountain bike trails to check out. The main road in once you arrive is dirt and gravel, probably not great when raining. My wife and I would come here again in a heartbeat!

We decided to take our travel trailer out of mothballs to sanitize the water system and check out all the appliances and lights. Since we store our trailer on Pope Army Airfield it was only a few miles to the Smith Lake Army Travel Camp. For $28 we were able to park on a level concrete pad with full hookups to fill our fresh water tank with bleach solution, run it through the plumbing, and let it stand overnight. The next morning we drained and rinsed it all into the sewer. We also checked out the A/C and the microwave on shore power. Smith Lake is located off of Honeycutt Road about a mile and a half south; there are small signs designating the turn. For those who have camped here before, the layout has changed and check in/out is done in a large gray building near the old beach across from the picnic areas [NOT Bldg. Q-3250 as depicted in the MWR webpage]. We did not stay in the trailer overnight, so we did not inspect the bath house or laundry or check for internet access. The roads into the campsite are gravel and threw up a lot of dust, but the spaces in the full hookup, upper circle, are level concrete with adequate space between. The main post is roughly seven miles west, where one can visit the two Commissaries and PX's. There are several gas stations and shopettes, the nearest of which is located four miles away on east post, just off Honeycutt Road. If we needed to camp in the Fayetteville area this is probably the place we would choose.

Very close to Ft Liberty but not that close to other things. All of the RV spots seemed quite large, the upper A-area were very large pull-through concrete pads. The bathhouse was clean. The nearby walking/hiking path is 4-5K. They have mountain bike paths as well. The fishing end of the lake can actually be walked to (2-3K) and does require an NC license AFAIK.

This campground was convenient because I wanted to visit Fort Bragg and see the change that had occurred since serving there years ago. For this purpose, my stay at Smith Lake campground served me well. However, the campground has several disappointing conditions. Too many of the sites are not level and it would be difficult to get level. Also, the entire road at the campground is gravel and during dry conditions, the amount of dust created by passing traffic is overwhelming. As a result of the dust, you couldn't leave any window open, no matter what time of day or night. Fort Bragg is an active installation and soldiers reside in the RV park and will drive faster than retirees and kick up even more dust. So visiting Fort Bragg is interesting if you served there, but the Special Operations and Airborne Museum in downtown Fayetteville is a museum one should visit. It is so well done, modern and interesting. A MUST See! In fact, I'd like to return and if I do, I will select a campground near the downtown of Fayetteville instead of the campground at Smith Lake.

Nice campground. We had one of the pull through sites and it was easy to access.

Check in has a new building! After you make the turn onto Smith Lake Road from Honeycutt you drive about 1 1/2 miles to the main recreation area (go past the equipment checkout sign), turn right, then left. Building Q2922 (Big gray building). After you check in you will have to circle back around to go to the RV sites. If you arrive after the office is closed, then after you make that first right continue straight and go down the dirt road. At the bottom will be an information board and a rural mailbox. Inside the mailbox will be an envelope with your name on it containing all your site information. This is a very nice campground. Site 5a still has that low hanging branch. Nice big level cement pads. good water pressure. Bath house is always clean, plus they have two recycle containers in the bath house. No Wi-Fi is my 4-star rating reason. If you use WAZE as your navigational aid, it will bring you right to Smith Lake Road, (there are brown signs directing you to the recreation area) however it is early when it tells you you've reached your destination. You still need to continue down the road a bit to the office.

I was in Smith Lake RV Park in Middle of August, 2021 for 3 nights. It was beautiful, peacef, yet, isolated and secluded..ul and outside of everything. The only what was negative for me, was that my car was not able to drive on hard ground like Smith Lake gravel road, I did not take it in consideration when I arrived. I used my car anyway up and down but when I returned home I changed tires. Next time I will park car in parking lot, near office and will pack up my belongings and march to my cabin, what is a labor of love! I love everything about Lake Smith . There were golfers and people who were in transition, and on bikes and motorbikes. Smith lake was very nice, and there are showers, to splash after swimming, Lots of hiking trails between tall Southern Pines.One RV camper reloacted frm Washington Seattle, to Florida, Miami, and he was staying in RV camp for 2 weeks, just in transition. Music was playing and it was so close to Fayetteville and Spring Lakes. I will be BACK! The price is very good I actually plan to CAMP in Tent, as soon as I can. There is Laundry, and Showers/ Bath House. And it is all very clean.

This is a great campground at a reasonable rate. The only two negatives on amenities and facilities are the fact that the a/c isn't working in the bathhouse and that there is no WIFI available which is becoming more important, lately. There is a great balance between the rustic look and feel of the lake setting, the gravel / sand roads, log cabin buildings and the modern conveniences of concrete pads and full hook-ups. I will most certainly be back, maybe for longer stays, in the future. **NOTE** When coming from the south, using I-95N, you can no longer turn left at exit 58 to get on 295 bypass. While exit 58 is still the best exit to use, you must turn right and within 500 feet there is a wide u-turn area that can easily be used to turn a big rig. Also, when traveling down 295S, do not take exit 28 for Hwy 401, but instead, go another 3 miles to Exit 25B (McArthur Rd North) where you have an easy merge and 3/4 of a mile to get into the left lane to turn on Honeycutt Rd. This is much easier than driving on side streets.

Stayed here previously for 5 nights in one of their pull-throughs (site 3A) earlier in the month. Good site with concrete pad. Water connection good, sewer connection good and seemed to be fairly new. Electrical connection (50A) seemed to work fine - ran 2 15K AC continuously. Bath house was clean, however, the building AC was broken - it was like a sauna in there. Was going to stay another night in pull through, site 5A this time. Shaded site, but with extremely low branches. Pulled in to set up and tree limbs hit the roof, tore my lining - my mistake, shouldn't have tried, but thought I could get in the gap between the low hanging limbs. So, if you have a fifth wheel that's 12 feet or higher, do not take site 5A. Told attendant about it and got my money back. The attendant said, yeah, we've been having problems with that tree, but have been waiting for them (Dept of Public Works) to take care of it. Understandable, because everything takes a long time with DPW, but, how about management asking future guests how high is your RV or hey - site 5A has low hanging limbs that we are waiting to be removed so if you RV is higher than 12 feet, you will have problems. The other pull-troughs 1A- 4A are good.

Smith Lake opened up for DOD members on 28 May, which was nice. They had a grand opening of the lake and associated facilities which had been damaged badly by a hurricane several years ago. There is a cost per person to go down to the beach but once in, you do have a lot for the kids to do. The canoes, paddle boats, water slide and life preservers are all new. They have 2 lifeguards on the beach/swim area at all times. This was a great place to park so we could visit the grandkids! Most of the RV sites do have some shade and have cement pads. Some leveling might be needed but overall we would definitely come back again to stay! Warning: If you plan on driving your RV onto Ft Bragg to go to the commissary or exchange you will have to go in the commercial gate. I needed to pick up a rental car at Enterprise on post, and was told to use the Honeycut Rd gate. No problem for my 30' class C, however DOD police said since I was retired and driving the RV, I had to go to the commercial gate. After telling him all I wanted to do was go pick up a rental car and I would leave and not return. A DOD sgt intervened and allowed me to continue but (if) I had to come back on post, I would have to use the commercial gate. Just a word of warning to prepare accordingly.

Park is wooded and pretty, with a nice hiking trail. Bike trails looked good Campground is hilly, some areas with nice lake views. The lake would be fun in summer and the beach looked well kept. Lots of family and individual outdoor activities. We had a site with only electric and water (our choice) and it had a nice 40x20 cement pad. We were told there would be a fire ring and picnic table, but we had neither. Not having a table was okay because it was cold weather, but no fire ring meant no campfire allowed in the small four-site section we were in, so no evening campfire, we just sat in the rig. That was a big bummer. We will go back, but will be sure to get a site with a fire ring next time.

Pretty and lots to do but lake ten steps away was off limits. Our site 12 or 13 was difficult to back in. Bathrooms were nice toilet/shower combinations. Off post access, I think Walmart was closer than the commissary. We’d go back.

While it does not offer WiFi or cable, it does have an abundance of outdoor activities with hiking, mountain biking, basketball, volleyball, and playgrounds for the little ones. Be aware that this facility is actually off post but does have frequent patrols by the Fort Bragg Military Police.