For Labor Day weekend, we went west to Carowinds, an amusement park just outside Charlotte, NC. We also found a few dog-friendly hiking spots.
Where We Stayed
Camp Wilderness isn’t fancy, but it’s a perfectly reasonable place to stay. Our site was paved and level enough that we didn’t need our red side-to-side leveling blocks.



Our main complaint was plane noise. The campground is about 7 miles from Charlotte Douglas International Airport, so the plane noise was very noticeable.
Campground Name | Carowinds Camp Wilderness |
Location | Charlotte, NC |
Dates | August 30-September 2, 2024 |
Site Number | Site 143 |
Site Surface | paved |
Hook-ups | Full hookups + 50-amp electric |
Cost | $113.33 per night (including taxes + fees) |
Water Pressure | 65 psi |
Voltage | ~120-125 V |
Verizon Speed Test | 319 Mbps down; 25 Mbps up |
T-Mobile Speed Test | 1,131 Mbps down; 85 Mbps up |
Campground WiFi | 9 Mbps down; 11 Mbps up |
The pool needed to be cleaned (lots of leaves), but it was nice otherwise and just the right temperature. After several hours in the heat at Carowinds, a dip in the pool was just what we needed.

Carowinds Parking Tip
If you’re staying at Camp Wilderness, you probably don’t need to pay for parking at Carowinds. At the time of our trip, the campground offered two options. There’s a free shuttle to the park that runs every 30 minutes.
Because of the dogs, we don’t usually use campground shuttles. If we get an alert about the temperature in the RV or if we see something wrong when we check on them with the cameras, we want to be able to leave right away. Never fear! If you stop at the office on your way to the park, they’ll print off a free parking pass. They’re dated, so you’ll need to stop in each day you plan to visit the park.
What We Did
Carowinds
Like several other theme parks we’ve visited, Carowinds scans tickets and lets visitors through the main gates before they officially open. They have employees positioned at certain spots within the park where they have visitors wait until actual opening.
We tackled Carowinds over two days. Both days, we parked around 9:40. We were definitely not the first ones there, but that timing worked well to have us parked, through the gates, and ready for ngs to officially open.
We did 4-5 rides in the morning and then went back to the RV. On Saturday, we did other things for several hours and went back to the park around 8:00.
Carowinds Travel Tip
If you’re getting to the park late, be aware that at least someone in your party will need to show ID.
After 4:00 p.m., anyone less than 16 years old (I think) has to be accompanied by someone 21 years or older. The way Carowinds handles this is by requiring at least one person in each party to show ID after 4:00 p.m. That surprised us, since neither of us appears even close to 16, but one of us still had to show ID.
The main reason we came back at night was to see the end of summer fireworks. We also rode a few more coasters. As someone who doesn’t actually like roller coasters, riding them at night wasn’t a big draw for me, but the sight of the coasters with fireworks in the background was pretty cool.


Carowinds app
Overall the Carowinds app was reasonable. You can see the ride wait times on the app from the campground, which is not the case with all theme park campgrounds.
Our only frustration was the navigation left something to be desired as it doesn’t work the way most navigation does. You can change the orientation of the map manually, but it doesn’t automatically orient in the direction you’re moving.
The other improvement we’d like is to refine the back button. It was…finicky? We found it would do more than just go to the previous page. It sort of reset things is the best was we can describe it.
Neither of these is a big problem, and perhaps we just weren’t using it properly or missed a button or something, but we think fixing those two things would really improve the experience in the app.
Lake Park
Lake Park is located just outside downtown Pineville and less than a 15-minute drive from the campground. We thought it was so nice on Saturday that we went back on Sunday.
Downtown Pineville is small, but cute. If we’d had more time, I would have liked to investigate their shops and restaurants.


If you don’t know what you’re looking for, you might drive right past the park. The road is lined with houses, and the park entrance looks like it could be the driveway of the house nextdoor. Be on the lookout for the Lake Park sign when you go.

In addition to a small lake with a paved walking path around it, the park has a large shelter with picnic tables, a large playground area, a splash pad a dog park, and access to the Little Sugar Creek Greenway.



We did not use it, but we need to take a minute to talk about this dog park. It was amazing! There were multiple seating options for the humans and lots of shade. It was large enough for bigger dogs to actually run and play. Some of the space was open, while some parts had trees. Not sure if it’s open to anyone or just area residents, but if non-residents are allowed, think looks like it would be a great place to take your dog.

We walked through the park and picked up the Little Sugar Creek Greenway.

The creek was beautiful, but the banks were too steep in the area we were to get very close, so the dogs didn’t get to go wading. We were a little short on time, so we didn’t get very far. It’s possible you’ll find better access further up the greenway.

The greenway is very popular with walkers, runners, and cyclists.
Catawba Park
If you’re in the area with kids and need a way to get out some of their energy, this is a great option. There’s an impressive playground as well as lots of paved paths on flat ground that look perfect for bikes and scooters. The park has multiple baseball diamonds and soccer fields, and a paved walking path surrounds it all.

We took the unpaved offshoot located near the southern corner of the second set of soccer fields. We walked along power lines for a little bit before the path cut across into the trees and toward the Catawba River.

We found several spots with good access to the river. The trail was well-defined for a while. We walked in the direction of the Lake Wylie Hydro-electric Dam.

At some point after the dame came into view, the trail became less obvious. In hindsight, we probably should have turned around, but what we actually did was “off-road” in the wood for a bit until we stumbled on the trail again and we could complete our loop.
The trail had some pretty impressive trees!


In the map below, the dotted line shows our approximate route. Since the trail disappeared for a bit, I’m not exactly certain where we went, but it should be close. The same dam in the top left corner of the map is in the background of one of the earlier photos.

Little Sugar Creek Greenway (South Blvd Connector)
We were looking for something to do with the dogs that would be safe in the heat. If you’re familiar with the area, I imagine there are better solutions, but this was the best one we could find. There’s a greenway entrance right by a shopping center. On Google Maps, it’s right by the marker for Little Sugar Creek Greenway (South Blvd Connector). Park in front of Floor & Decor, but at the back of the parking lot (near the side lot). There’s a break in the shrubbery that puts you right on the greenway.

From there, it’s about just over a half-mile to an access to Little Sugar Creek. You’ll take a bridge over Little Sugar Creek and then make a left to continue on the greenway. I wore short and brought flip flops and long leashes so we could let the dogs do some wading.

There is very little shade along the section of greenway from the parking lot to the water access, but there’s enough space on either side of the path for the dogs to walk on the grass and stay off the hot pavement.
Where We Ate
Famous Dave’s Bar-B-Que is less than 1.5 miles from the campground. Technically, we could have walked there. The atmosphere and service were good, as was the food. We would come again.
Wildlife
Ok, the first two are not technically wildlife, but I feel like they belong here. The first is a photo of the enormous leaves we found on a tree in the campground. The second is a photo of some deer tracks along the greenway at Lake Park.


We found this turtle and the heron in the Little Sugar Creek. They were far away, so the photos aren’t great, but I didn’t want to leave them out.


We found this lovely frog on a tree at Catawba Park.

Bonus Photo
Aiken gets extra snuggly during storms.

Happy travels!
