AutoCamp Asheville Review

AutoCamp Asheville Review

Finally getting to do our AutoCamp Asheville review was a little bittersweet. We were supposed to visit over 18 months ago, shortly after they were scheduled to open. However, the catastrophic Hurricane Helene caused immense destruction to the entire Asheville area, wiping out homes, businesses, roads, train tracks . . . and taking many lives. It was utterly horrific.

AutoCamp Asheville sustained damage, which we’ll discuss below. The recovery pushed back their opening to late February 2026 instead of Fall 2024. Visiting the so very beautiful – and so very destructive – French Broad River made us take pause, over and over.

AutoCamp Asheville is a resilient property, as are the terrific staff. Let’s do them justice and give them a proper review.

AutoCamp Asheville Review – property layout and the Flood

Before we can understand what happened at AutoCamp Asheville during Hurricane Helene, we need to look at the property map, above. You clearly see the French Broad River at the bottom of the map. You can also see the marking of a stream that empties into the French Broad River that runs just next to the clubhouse, down along the driveway into the property. That driveway – and that stream – are super steep, as is the entire area. It’s steep hills, so when that 14″ of rain hit Asheville over 3 days, it cascaded down streams – and even mountainsides – into the French Broad River.

To the far right are the Bambi Airstreams – numbers 100, 102, 104, 106, 108 and 110. They were moved to the upper part of the property – where the 400s and 600s are located. That is up a super steep hill (you’ll see this when I post the video review).

Everything above the “accessible parking” on the map – to the left and right – is up a SUPER STEEP hill . . . safe from flooding. However, the driveway did get washed out in the flood.

The source of the destruction was immense rainfall that caused the French Broad River to crest at 25 feet. This was the highest level ever recorded for the river. The “major flood” level is 18 feet. There was over 53 billion dollars in damage just in the Asheville area.

All the dark units on the map (144 – 170 even numbers) are Airstreams along the river. They were moved about a mile away from the property. The same is true for units across from the dark ones on the map (147 – 173 odd numbers and 178). These units were also moved.

The X Suite/Cabins – numbers 135, 137, 139, 141, 143, 145 – were all destroyed in the flood. They couldn’t move them (or couldn’t move them in time).

The clubhouse sustained tremendous damage. There was 2′ of water in the clubhouse. It was essentially gutted and re-built. AutoCamp worked with the Army Corps on the re-build. It took
18 months for the damage to be repaired.

So here we are, Spring 2026, and AutoCamp Asheville is finally able to open. Almost all the staff has come back. The property is beautiful, the staff is wonderful, and we are delighted that we were able to visit this beautiful property to provide this review.

AutoCamp Asheville Review – Location

As we’ve established, AutoCamp Asheville is located right on the French Broad River. In this image, you will see that every road in yellow is on the river. Every road in orange is up a steep hill.

You can get some sense of the elevation here:

As for location in regard to Asheville, it’s a 15 minute ride to Pack’s Square and 20 minutes to the Biltmore Estate.

AutoCamp Asheville Review – lodging types

Airstream Bambi

AutoCamp Asheville has the honor of rolling out a new-to-AutoCamp lodging type: the Airstream Bambi! Unlike the 31 foot Airstream, which is completely custom, the Bambi is the exact 20′ model you can buy at any Airstream dealer. It’s actually got three major advantages over the 31′ custom AutoCamp Airstreams

• it has a screen door!
• you can cook indoors – both cooktop and oven!
• it has far more storage than the 31′ Airstream

Downsides:

• it’s a Bambi bathroom, so it’s much smaller than the giant tile bathroom in the 31′ Airstream
• it’s a Bambi bathroom, so it’s a “pump” toilet
• the bed is 48″ x 78″ which is smaller than the Queen in the 31′ camper (60″ x 80″) and longer but not as wide as a full size bed (54″ x 75″). Also, one person is up against the wall.

We’re big, big fans of the Bambi, but for our family, the bed is just too small. For others, they will love it!

Custom Airstreams

We have covered the custom 31′ AutoCamp Airstreams at all of the previous 7 locations we have visited. There is really nothing new to add here. A quick recap of the great features:

• huge, beautiful tile bath
• you can walk around both sides of the bed, and there are nightstands
• amazing windows
• excellent heat and air conditioning

A quick recap of the downsides:

• you can’t cook indoors other than in the microwave – there is no cooktop
• very little storage
• tiny dorm fridge
• the only tv is in the bedroom area
• no screen door

If you’d like more photos and details, be sure to visit our article on the AutoCamp Custom Airstreams.

Basecamps

So, in the other AutoCamp locations that have “Basecamps,” that designation refers to a combo of the 31′ custom Airstream plus a tent. The thinking is you can put the kids in the tent and give them a key to use the bathroom in the comfy Airstream, where the folks have their bed.

Here at AutoCamp Asheville, the Basecamp is TWO Airstreams! You get both the 31 footer PLUS a Bambi!

Cabins/X Suites

Ooooh, how I love the X Suites (called Cabins at AutoCamp Asheville). Why? You have…

• a cooktop (none in the 31′ Airstream)
• a large screen tv…in the living room, not the bedroom, like the Airstream
• waaaay more storage in the Cabin
• a larger refrigerator

It is definitely preferred for rain, snow, or intense heat or cold. We think they’re beautiful. Only drawback – they pushed the bed up against the wall. We turned the 1 nightstand sideways and moved the bed out so both sides were accessible. Minor/not minor. Get rid of the nightstands and just have a shelf on the wall on both sides.

AutoCamp Asheville Review – Clubhouse

AutoCamp always has a gorgeous clubhouse, and Asheville does not disappoint! In fact, it still *smells* new…new wood, new furniture, new everything. It is unique to Asheville – as each clubhouse is unique to its property. Because there are no tents, there is only 1 bathroom with a shower. Everyone has their own showers in their Airstreams or cabins.

Above, notice this beautiful stadium-style seating facing the river. It’s convenient for just sitting or picnics, or playing with kids. On that top row, they will be installing a railing with bar stools facing the river.

There are two meeting rooms that can be opened to one large room – or opened to expand the living room area. Without those rooms, the living room area is small, though beautiful with a panoramic view of the river. See below:

AutoCamp Asheville Review – The Kitchen

The kitchen is fairly typical of all AutoCamp locations: free coffee, tea, cocoa, and granola in the mornings. Apples and oranges were available, too. As is the case with most AutoCamp food, most of it is heated – not actually cooked. The menu for breakfast, lunch, and dinner:

AutoCamp Asheville Review – The Store

The store was very typical of AutoCamp. You can find beer, wine, soft drinks, cheeses and snacks in the fridge, along with the grill kits (see menu, above). You can find all sorts of snacks along with AutoCamp branded clothing and gear.

Note: they only sell real firewood here. Personally, we love a real fire! At AutoCamp Yosemite, we were required to use compressed firewood. Some was good, but some was terrible.

AutoCamp Asheville Review – The Vibe

The vibe is currently very chill. It was quiet during our visit – very few other campers were present. However, it’s easy to see that the river is the star of the show, and that will dictate the vibe. The river is WIDE! It’s beautiful, it sounds amazing. There are railroad tracks across the river – we never heard the train. There is a roadway just above our camper. We barely heard it. The French Broad River, the firepit, the STUNNING clubhouse facing the river – that’s the vibe, and it couldn’t be better.

AutoCamp Asheville Review – hot tub

There is no pool at AutoCamp Asheville. There is an in-ground hot tub. It wasn’t open yet. It’s not very large.

AutoCamp Asheville Review – Events

We visited in late April, and it’s still pre-season. Also, remember, they have barely been open, so there were really no Events mid-week. As you can see, there are some kids’ crafts and yoga on the weekends. This will surely change with time.

AutoCamp Asheville Review – Dog Friendly and Kid Friendly Travel

As always, AutoCamp is 100% dog friendly. This is how we got started being fans of AutoCamp! We did have our dog with us on this trip, and she thoroughly enjoyed being able to be with us everywhere on the property along with going to the breweries and on hikes with us. She was very tired each day!

As for kids, we didn’t see any this trip, but all AutoCamp locations are kid friendly. Interestingly, there is no playground at this location. There is a nice lawn where we saw both badminton and corn hole set up.

AutoCamp Asheville Review – Conclusion

We are particularly sensitive to AutoCamp Asheville given the horrible destruction that impacted those who work there – and those in the Asheville area. Still, we feel we are able to fairily review AutoCamp Asheville. The reality is it is BEAUTIFUL. The river is amazing, the staff fantastic, and the location is great. As we point out at all locations – some campsites are better than others. We often point out which ones we think are “not worth the money” of upgrading to Premium, Explorer, and Vista. We can conclusively say this is the ONLY property where we 100% recommend all the Vista level Airstreams. We only wish there would have been some cabins on the river side, as well – or if the cabins were able to be in reverse orientation so the huge bedroom window faced the river.

As for the Bambis – they’re full on Airstream awesome, but you have to be prepared for a really small bed – narrower than a full size bed. If you’re good with that, the Bambi location on the property is amazing.

We wish AutoCamp Asheville the best of luck. We think it’ll be a very popular and successful location, and it deserves to be. AutoCamp has worked hard – but Asheville staff has worked harder – to overcome what they all went through personally and professionally. We look forward to returning in a few years to see how the property has matured.