Poplar Point Campground — Hotel in Apex

Overall a well designed and maintained campground and also very reasonably priced. Had a less than pleasant experience when checking in. Seems the staff at the gate are all around 16 years old (I really don't know, they just look like kids) and the young buck checking me in gave me a lot of attitude and rolled his eyes when I didn't remember my site number. Apparently, asking him to look it up by my name made his head explode. The sites are spacious, most are well shaded, but they are also very close to each other so if you have neighbors you're going to hear them and privacy is difficult. The lake itself is only a few minutes walk away from anywhere in the campground.

I was tent camping and my loop had both water and electric hookups in each site so the majority of occupied sites were RVs and campers. If you're a tent camper and don't want to be surrounded by mobile homes I suggest reserving a non-electric site . Purchasing an inverter for your car's outlet should handle any charging or light electrical needs.

The bathhouse was barely adequate and appeared to have been cleaned daily but there are only three shower stalls (men's side anyway) and one was "out of order" for the five days I was there. When the bathhouse was dirty, it was very dirty and quite disgusting. The shower curtain was covered with mold and there were cobwebs everywhere.

It should be said, this is a state park with state rules. The Rangers are law enforcement with the power to ticket and even arrest campers. NC doesn't permit alcohol in their parks but, let's be honest, many campers of course bring it in anyway. The park Rangers do drive around frequently looking for violations which is unsettling, makes you feel like you're always being watched. I am not saying to break the rules. I am saying, however, if you choose to imbibe be very careful about it. If you make a point of partying they will issue you a pricey summons and even arrest you. Of all the state parks I've camped in the Rangers here seem much more aggressive and vigilant than all others. The good news is the NC legislature is going to consider relaxing the alcohol ban as of this writing. Considering that many other states have already lifted this restriction I'd say changing this archaic law is long overdue.

Finally. While the lake itself is quite lovely and fun to boat, canoe, or jet-ski on, I don't recommend swimming in it. There are many homes and buildings that surround the lake which use septic systems. Take a wild guess where they...

I always love camping at Popular point...$33 for a site with electricity when you book online, spacious site, "beach access"...not a real beach but a walk into the lake area with alot of sand to rest chairs and layout. Water is brown, has dead animals and whatever else you can't see...some kids there found a dead beaver and a snake that was alive...in the water. Alot of people boat using a small paddle boat 🛶 , fish, etc. It's an awesome place...HOWEVER: THEY RECENTLY ANNOUNCED CHECK OUT IS AT 12PM and no longer 3PM so this is terrible because now you have to wake up and pack up and have less time to enjoy the campground on departure day. Due to this change, I don't think I will be coming back, but I surely loved it. Located in Apex. I always stay walking distance to a restroom and it was nice, hot inside, but nice...like 4 stalls and a shower and sinks with no soap. I took a shower on my site because it was 90 degrees and I did not want to go into the bathrooms again, super hot in there. I drove around to other loops trying to find somewhere to go fishing that was a better area then where I was since alot of boats were coming through, but there is no place to park besides a camp site or the beach area... I parked in a vacant site but stayed close, worried about someone coming and asking me to move my car, but it never happened. Fishing was pretty important to me didnt catch anything, boats were everywhere this trip but its never been like that before. I saw alot of things in the water but the fish were palm of hand size. My neighbor had a dog and people were walking dogs at 11pm when it's pitch dark and all you can see is a phone flashlight. There is a picnic area at the beach and table at you site, I don't know of any others, just check you campground map. Ask for one when you check in. Wood is $7, and more than enough...

So we recently stayed at this campground twice as we were passing through the area. The initial stay was great, the worker at the check in booth was awesome. Then on the return visit on March 15 the booth worker was very rude and unaccommodating. We arrived after a 300+ mile drive to be told that we could not check in because it was 2:15pm and they were not allowed to check anyone in prior to 3:00pm. We knew from looking at the reservation system the campground was basically empty and no camper had been on our site for 4 days prior to our arrival. He forced us to go to the beach area and wait. Due to the length of my truck and trailer when we returned and looped around as instructed we almost crashed out travel trailer. We did end up having to jump a curb. Keep in mind we are not from North Carolina as I stated we were passing through the area. The next morning campers were being checked in starting at 11:00am and we noted each and every one of the campers were from North Carolina. Being curious if they had paid for the previous night so they could check in early I went up to one and inquired and was informed that they always start showing up at 11:00am for check in for the night if their site was empty the night before. Not saying we were treated different because we were from out of state but sure seems we were mistreated for some reason. Nice campground but the F loop is not for large rigs. We watched several large rigs struggle to get into their sites. Initial visit I would recommend and give 5 stars but second visit because of the way we were treated I would...