We camped in our travel trailer for 7 nights at the Tryon International Equestrian Center (TIEC) campground. Located right next to the impressive horse show facility by the same name (in Mill Spring, NC), we were looking for a more affordable option than the rental cabins while our daughter showed. Check out our experience and see a bunch of pictures to help you plan your own trip.
Horse Show Campground
Back in early spring, my daughter decided to join a summer trip to Tryon International Equestrian Center that her lesson barn was taking. We started to look at lodging options and realized very quickly that the cabin rentals were pretty pricey.
A quick look on the Tryon website showed that in addition to a motel-style lodge and furnished cabins, the resort has a sizable campground for RV campers. Campsites offer level concrete pads and full hookups (water, electric, sewer). The price is significantly cheaper than the other on-site options for lodging.
This wouldn’t be our first time camping at a horse show, so we were definitely up for giving it a try.
Location is Everything in Tryon
TIEC is like a self-contained village. In addition to the impressive, sprawling horse show grounds and stables, this resort gives visitors little need to leave the property. At Tryon, you will find retail shops, restaurants, and entertainment.
Staying on site is enjoyable and so darn easy. If you are trailering horses to Tryon, the lodging is much closer to the barns than any off-site hotel would be.
Cheapest Lodging Option at TIEC
Yes, by far, the campground at Tryon is going to be the cheapest way to stay on resort property. Even if you rent one of the larger cabins and split it between friends, camping is most likely cheaper. For example, 5 mother/daughter pairs from our barn rented the 5-bedroom cabin at Tryon. Their lodging cost was almost 3 times more than our campsite for 2 fewer nights.
We stayed at Tryon’s campground for 7 nights in early July 2023 and paid $80/night plus tax.
How to Book a Campsite at Tryon
You can book a campsite for your stay on Tryon’s website or by calling (828) 863-1015 or e-mail lodging@tryon.com.
RV Sites at Tryon International Equestrian Center
All of the campsites at TIEC are RV-ready. I guess you could stick a tent on them if you’d like, but we didn’t not see any tent campers during our stay.
Tryon Resort currently has 5 RV Lots, though they are still finishing 2 of them. The unfinished lots are in the back of the campground and you can tell that they are working to complete them.
Every campsite at Tryon offers 30 and 50 amp site options, with full hookups. Each site has a nice, level concrete pad. Some of the sites had picnic tables, though ours did not.
We stayed in RV Lot 5, site 501. This lot is situated between the main road and the indoor arena.
Our travel trailer is on the smaller side at just 28 feet long. We had no problem fitting our camper and truck end to end on the concrete pad.
The campground had big trash cans set every few campsites for campers to put their trash in. Trash was collected every day or two.
Campground Amenities and Facilities
- Full hookups
- Recreation Center which offers showers, laundry, TV, gym and games
- Lodging adjacent to TIEC showgrounds
- “Laundry Stall” laundry service (additional cost)
Tryon Recreation Center
This building was definitely the highlight of my son’s trip! In fact, him and a couple other “horse show bros” ended up spending time playing pool in this comfy, air conditioned rec center!
The building houses a central room with a pool table, foosball and tv.
Off in the wings are a gym, restrooms, shower and laundry facilities.
Tryon Amenities and Entertainment
As I mentioned above, TIEC has a whole list of fun things to do! Of course there are the horse show happenings! On Saturdays between May and October, Tryon hosts a “Saturday Night Lights” event which our entire group loved.
We had a blast watching the Grand Prix show jumping event in the big stadium. The kids participated in the International Hobby Horse Competition – also so much fun! Bonus: these events were all FREE of charge!
Tryon General Store
Oh! I definitely need to mention the General Store at Tryon! This store is the hub of the showgrounds. Just a quick golf cart or car ride from the campground and open most of the day, into the evening.
The General Store is the spot to grab snacks, sundries, Tryon merch and other basic supplies. This is where you can get ice cream cones, milkshakes, smoothies (certain hours) AND yes – Starbucks drinks. They do not carry the full Starbucks menu, but they definitely had enough to get you through the long, hot days!
Getting Around Tryon
The most popular vehicle, by far, when it comes to the Tryon resort and campground is going to be a golf cart. We brought our own golf cart, but you can also rent golf carts at Tryon. They are not cheap, but many of our barn families split the cost and shared a cart.
They are a quick, easy and efficient way to get from Point A to Point B, and golf carts are allowed several places that regular cars are not. Everything in Tryon is fairly easy access.
What we liked about the campground:
- Location, location, location
- Price, price, price
- Loved the full hookups right on-site, great to not have to worry about dumping the sewage or gray water
- Concrete, level RV pads were really nice
- Campground was quiet and we had zero issues with loud dogs or people (campground is pet friendly)
- Booking process through the website was very easy
- Right next door are dining options and entertainment
What we didn’t like about the campground:
- The gravel at our campsite definitely wasn’t cleaned prior to our arrival and was littered with cigarette butts and beer bottle caps
- The RV Lots are not marked well. We drove around the main site twice looking for Lot 5 while only finding Lots 1-4. There was no obvious signage pointing us across the huge parking lot to Lot 5.
We would recommend this campground for anyone looking for a nicely maintained spot to stay in or near Mill Spring, North Carolina! Even if you aren’t at Tryon for the horse events, it’s a good spot to park your rig if you are looking to stay in that general area.
