Looking for good weekend "round-trips" - NC, VA, WV

Hi all. We've been RV people for a while and sold our rig a little while ago. Now looking to take the Tacoma on weekend camping trips in the NC, VA and WV mountains where there are some easy to mild mountain trails. Not the extreme overland stuff, but good views where I'll see less cars. My '21 SR5 4x4 DCSB isn't built for the hard stuff yet so dirt roads are good, but hard stuff is not going to happen for a while. Any suggestions on trails we can hit for a Friday/Saturday/Sunday round trip would be appreciated. Thanks.

 

Get copies of the Motor Vehicle Use Maps (MVUMs) for the National Forests in the area. These will show the Forest Service maintained roads. As a general rule, camping is allowed most anywhere in our National Forests where not posted as specifically forbidden (there are rules regarding proximity to water sources, roads, trails etc.). I'm somewhat familiar with Pisgah and Nantahala National Forests in NC and with Cherokee NF in TN and have found several nice spots just driving their backroads. FS81 which begins in NC behind the Cherohala Skyway is a good one that runs all the way to TN. https://www.forestcamping.com/dow/books/aboutauthors.htm by Fred and Suzy Dow is a good resource for developed campgrounds in our National Forests.