Out-Of-Camp Trips

Our backpacking program gives campers the opportunity to explore Pisgah National Forest -- reflecting on their time at camp, while still experiencing the thrill of high adventure. The trips, which take place over 2-3 days deep in the forest, create opportunities for self-reliance. Campers carry both personal and group equipment and learn skills such as cooking on a fire and the principles of leaving no trace.

One of our backpacking trips is the Art Loeb trail. This single or double overnight camping trip starts off with the campers getting dropped off at Black Balsam, a peak just off the Blue Ridge Parkway with 360-degree views of the Appalachian Mountains, before starting the hike back to Camp Carolina! The Art Loeb is famous for reaching the peak of every mountain it crosses and giving campers several opportunities to see the incredible views along the hike, including watching the sunset over the Blue Ridge Parkway from Cedar Rock.

Caving is one of the most popular activities here at camp. Make sure you're wearing your oldest clothes as you are DEFINITELY going to get muddy! 

The boys can sign up for a full day trip to Worley’s Cave in Tennessee which has many impressive cave features including columns, stalactites and stalagmites. A Worley’s Cave adventure is the perfect adventure for campers of all ages. Enjoy a fun day of mud, rocks, headlights, and wonder while exploring the cave every year as part of their adventure programs!

Caving provides the campers the opportunity to learn new skills like, the value of teamwork, relaying messages of features, obstacles, and hazards along the path. They will get the chance to understand the wonders of nature and learn the philosophy of leave no trace to maintain the beautiful cave we are lucky enough to explore.

At Camp Carolina, we offer a multitude of different and exciting hikes. Choose between half day or full day hikes, wet or dry hikes & hikes to swimming holes in the area, which is one of our oldest traditions.

The natural slides and pools that we go to on our hike and swim trips are clear, clean and very refreshing! Our wet hikes are very popular with all the boys. We take the boys on a trip called the Tour De Pisgah, where we explore Looking Glass Falls, a rope swing, whales back and Daniel Ridge loop. Another trip we do is to Dupont State Forest where we explore Triple Falls, High Falls and Hooker Falls. 

We have half-day and full day hikes up to the top of Looking Glass Rock, Cedar Rock and John Rock which are all in the Appalachian Mountains of Western North Carolina. The view from the top will leave you speechless! Other hikes include nature walks around camp. Get the books off the Earthworks shelf, grab a notepad and pen, and start looking for plants, insects, animals, etc. This is a fun way of getting to know the local fauna and flora!

You can stand under a waterfall, jump deep into swimming holes, scramble up a rock face, admire the amazing views of the Blue Ridge Mountains, and relax while capturing that breathtaking moment!

Fly fishing at Camp Carolina is very popular. Our aim is to teach the campers the basics such as knot-tying, fly selection, casting, line control, and fish handling skills so they can fish independently on the rivers.

The lake and the trout pond provide excellent training grounds for those base skills. We have plenty of in-camp training at our stocked trout pond nestled in the forest at the bottom of Bulldozer Hill and when we feel the time is right and the campers have mastered their base skills we head for the Trophy Trout Water. Here are some of the spots we visit:

Our trips are either half day or full day, depending on the spot and how long the drive is to get there. We take lunch with us on every full day trip and enjoy sitting down to a picnic after a full morning of fishing.

A new addition to the list of fly-fishing trips we offer is our “Raft and Fish” trip. Campers that have mastered their fly-fishing skills are invited to take an all-day trip down the Tuckasegee River with our talented raft guides and fly fishermen where they’ll get the thrill of bouncing over rapids and the tranquility of riverside fishing.

We only use artificial bait and catch and release where required but we do love trout dinners on overnight "prize trips"!

There are many options if you want to get to know the friendly horses at Camp Carolina! Our current herd of horses have undergone extensive training to ensure that they are safe and can cater to all our riders, from beginner to advanced. Our Equestrian Facility consists of a 19-horse barn, tack and feed room, a riding ring with jumps, plus several riding trails on camp property.

Our counselors' main aim is to make horseback riding fun and safe and to also teach campers how to take care of the horses and be responsible for the trails we use. All campers can attend a half day “wrangler” clinic where they learn how to tie, groom, and saddle their horses before mounting up and mastering all the basic riding skills. When the campers are ready they can choose to go on an in camp trail ride with their friends or to master more difficult skills such as cantering and jumping or simply spending more time with the horses with one of our very popular “pimp my ride” clinics or in camp treasure hunt on horseback.

We also give our campers the option to get out of camp and enjoy a horse show!

Camp Carolina is based in Brevard, which is a mecca for mountain bike riders, as we have over 600 miles of dedicated maintain trails in Pisgah -- right on our doorstep here at camp. We also have DuPont State Forest just down the road with 80 miles of trails which is fast becoming a leading mountain biking destination in NC. It offers gentle forest roads to steep technical single tracks that cater to all skill levels.

We have a fleet of 30 premium mountain bikes in a wide range of sizes with front shocks and hydraulic disc brakes for extra stopping power when the hills get steep. Before we hit the trails, we teach campers how to use the bikes correctly -- focusing on positioning, proper braking, gear shifting, and maneuvering the bike.

All our biking trips are organized for the age and skill level of the campers on that day. We run half and full day trips which often include a visit to one of the six waterfalls in DuPont Forest for a quick cool off. We often shuttle the boys uphill so that they get to enjoy the downhill single tracks while focusing on improving their skills.

At the end of the camp session, we take an overnight "prize trip" to Tsali State Forest on the edge of Lake Fontana with the boys who are passionate about mountain biking. After a hard day riding the trails, the boys get to go for a swim then relax with s'mores around the campfire before bedding down under the stars.

Mountain boarding is an awesome extreme sport offered at Camp Carolina. This is a unique experience for the boys to try something completely new! First step: all the boys are padded up head to toe -- we even use custom made butt pads! Then we find them a board. We have a wide range of boards of different makes, models, and sizes so boys can find the perfect board for their riding style.

We begin by teaching the boys the correct stance on the board and how to power slide to a safe stop. Once they have mastered these basic skills we move onto the beginner slopes of CCB learning basic ‘S’ turns and maybe even try some little jumps.

Once the boys have completed a half-day in camp skills clinic, they can head out to the downhill trails of the ‘Big M’ situated just down the road in Pisgah Forest. 

Paddle boarding is a new addition to our tripping program at Camp Carolina! We take full day paddle boarding trips to the beautiful Lake Glenville.

We venture out to Lake Glenville, where the campers have an opportunity to really put their skills to use. This is a time where the campers can advance their skills and paddle some extra distance on the lake. We travel to a deserted island where we all jump in the water and enjoy some lunch. Then we head over to a beach where the kids get to spend some time playing in the sand.

We run paintball trips for all boys who have completed the 5th grade. We take the boys to ‘Red Fox Games’ which is a great paintballing facility. The paintballing trip is very popular and the boys talk about it for days!

Before we enter Red Fox Games all the boys are given a detailed safety briefing by a qualified employee at Red Fox Games. The counselors and the referees on the field ensure that safety is paramount and all boys are having a good time during the whole game.

The boys are issued appropriate safety equipment before the games begin and are required to wear it correctly through the duration of the battle. The boys play up to five different games including capture the flag, center control, and the final game of capture the counselors. These games are played in two different areas. The ‘City’ which is a built up area encompassed by 2 story buildings with many hiding places to jump out and surprise your opponents. There is also a large wooded area with natural barriers that is a more open playing field so attackers can come from all angles making for a very exciting game.

Rafting is an important part of our program. Every boy at camp has the opportunity to go rafting. 

We operate all our own trips with a fleet of self-bailing rafts. We train all our own raft guides before the campers arrive as safety is paramount at Camp Carolina.

We have a commercial permit on the Pigeon River which offers big water and often culminates in a rollercoaster ride of large standing waves which is exciting for the older boys. For the younger campers, we head to the French Broad River which is a more technical but smoother grade 3 river.

We always stop on the way down for a swim, make a slide out of a flipped raft, and then a have huge game of raft wars on the flatter sections where you and your cabin mates can defend your raft.

Come and join us for a relaxing cruise down the French Broad River. We take half day tubing trips on Section 0 of the French Broad. This trip gives the campers time to kick their feet back and chill in the sunshine.

At the end of the session, we venture out to a more advanced river and see the big rapids of the Tuckasegee river.

Rock climbing is one of the greatest pursuits here at Camp Carolina. Many boys love climbing because it is not a competitive sport but more of a personal challenge. It’s just you and the rock with the focus being more about your technique and persistence than strength. We use the best equipment available for this activity, we have a full range of harnesses, helmets, and special rock climbing shoes to help you stick to the rock and succeed in getting to the top!

We offer half day in camp clinics for the younger boys where we focus on skill and technique on the Camp Carolina climbing wall – the Carolina Wave, which has a wide range route. After the boys have learned the basics, we head to Looking Glass Rock where the boys get to try multiple routes ranging in skill level so all boys can be successful and reach the top for the incredible view over Pisgah National Forest. Towards the end of the camp session we run overnight trips to Rumbling Bald for two full days climbing the rock and camping out with new found camp buddies.

Sea Kayaking is definitely a favorite here at Camp Carolina. We paddle our Sea Kayaks on local freshwater lakes on full-day, and overnight trips.

On arrival at any one of our fantastic destinations, we all help unpack the gear - kayaks, paddles and PFD’s. Each camper & his paddling partner gear up and a lovely handful of sunscreen is given to each person. While the sunscreen sinks in we do a paddle talk with the campers where we go through the basics and get each boy to practice their technique before we hit the water.

Our full-day trip is at beautiful Lake Jocassee in South Carolina, with great mountain views and great paddling spots. In addition to sea kayaking, there is a beach where the boys have lunch and a jump rock which they cannot get enough of! Our prize trip is a double overnight kayak adventure to the spectacular Lake Fontana. 

We are one of the only camps in the area that offers Surfing as an activity. We offer a double overnight surfing trip to boys that have completed the 5th grade. We have beginner foam surfboards of all different sizes so that every boy’s size and ability level can be catered to.

We take the boys to Folly Beach which is about a four-hour drive from camp.  Folly Beach is not only a stunning beach but it also provides excellent waves for teaching surfing. The boys get the chance to go surfing four times while on the trip. They camp out at James Island campground. On the second day, the boys go surfing in the early morning and afternoon, in the middle of the day they take a break from the sun and catch a movie at the local movie theatre. The boys have pizza on the pier for their last night of the trip. They wake up early on the final day to catch the waves before heading back to camp. 

Our counselors are all highly skilled surfers themselves and receive extensive training in surfing instruction before the summer begins. They can cater to boys who are trying surfing for the first time and require encouragement and intensive instruction as well as the boys who are more advanced and want to advance their skills. 

Surfs up! 

We are one of the only camps in the area that offers Wakeboarding as an activity. We offer all-day and overnight wakeboarding trips to boys that have completed the 5th grade. We have four specialized wakeboarding boats plus several different-sized boards/bindings so that every boy’s size and ability level can be catered to.

We take the boys out to Lake Jocassee, which is not only a stunning body of water it also provides excellent places to stop for a swim, and calm flat water which is perfect for wakeboarding. The boys may get the chance to jump off a local “jump rock” or explore one of the many beautiful rivers that feed into the lake. 

Our counselors are all highly skilled wakeboarders themselves and receive extensive training in boat safety and wakeboarding instruction before the summer begins. They can cater to boys who are trying wakeboarding for the first time and require encouragement and intensive instruction as well as the boys who are more advanced and want to advance their tricks and general form.

We offer overnight wakeboarding trips toward the end of the camp session. The boys spend the day wakeboarding and wake surfing on Lake Jocassee before setting up camp for the night in the forest bordering the lake. They spend the evening helping cook dinner over the fire and cooking s’mores before bedding down for a night under the stars.

Camp Carolina is based in the perfect location for WhiteWater Kayaking. The area is often referred to as the land of the waterfalls. We have a wide range of natural and dam released rivers based nearby so finding great white water is never a question! Our staff are experienced kayakers from all over the world. We further their training with courses lead by the American Canoe Association.

All of our counselors on the kayaking team have to receive the highest level in the course possible until they are eligible to lead a whitewater kayaking trip with the campers. All our whitewater staff are also trained to be swift water rescue technicians and have paddled all the local rivers before the campers arrive so they know the best lines and any risky areas to avoid.

To ensure safety and enjoyment, we run in camp skills clinics so the boys become comfortable in the kayak and gain essential trust in the instructors. Before progressing on to moving water, campers are taught basic skills such as how to hold the paddle correctly, paddle strokes, turns, and a wet exit of the kayak just in case they flip over on the river.

All skills must be performed confidently before progressing onto moving water. We start on slow moving rivers such as the Lower Green and work towards more challenging rivers such as the Nantahala or Upper Green. The boys may also choose to do a half day roll clinic on the lake to add to their new found skills on the river. This is where they learn to flip the boat back upright after tipping over on their own using their paddle and body weight.