Peaks Of Otter Campground — Blue Ridge Parkway

Peaks of Otter is a Blue Ridge Parkway must see. The campground sits at the foot of the iconic Sharp Top mountain but there is hiking galore here.

Caught the foliage here in October and it was amazing and not too crowded! Facilities are clean and in good shape, you can buy firewood down the road, and there’s nice hiking nearby.

The pros:

• Clean Bathrooms with flushable toilets
• quiet campground
• close to the lodge and “store” if you need firewood or other items
• bear boxes scattered throughout the campground
• $20 per night
• BEAUTIFUL in the fall!
• they have more campsites available on FCFS basis than they do for reservations on recreation.gov

The not so great:

• the campsites can be tricky to get into depending on your vehicle. Many of the parking areas are on a hill.

Overall, I would stay here again!

Peaks of Otter, T Loop: (Scale 1- bad, 5-Very good (70 yr olds in 17’ trailer) Overall Rating: 4.5. notes are for the T Loop ONLY Price: $15 with senior pass Usage during visit: very low during our 6 week nights Site Privacy: Most sites have some privacy. More notes below Site Spacing: Most are pretty good. Study the campground map. You will see a few sites are on top of each other. I note these with a negative mark on my map included in photos. Site surface: Blacktop Reservations: Yes. Some sites are first come, first serve. Campground Noise: Very quiet. Road Noise: Lower T loop is near the road going to Bedford. Traffic is sporadic. The noise, when there is traffic, is significant but only occasional. No commercial traffic is allowed.
Through Traffic in campground: None Electricity: No Water: Scattered spigots and fill station available at dump station. Sewer: No Dump: Yes Generators: Allowed Bathroom: Flush toilets and sinks are kept clean. Showers: No Pull Throughs: And Pull Overs(No island between trailer and campground traffic.) Cell Service (AT&T). Sporadic, with 1 or 2 bars. Lodge nearby has service Setting: Deciduous Forest. Weather: Mostly cloudy. One day of slight humidity.
Bugs: Mosquitoes are just beginning. Animals: Bears, just don’t leave trash etc. out , Filter solids from dishwater.
Solar: For fixed roof, not adequate.
Host: Around and nice. Firewood: On ground.
Rig size: Some 35’ trailers/RVs in pull throughs.
Sites: See my notes on the map included in my pictures. -means not private -* means Too close to & can see the Bedford road. T means significantly terraced site Circle A means is on my favorites list Circle B means still good PO means a pull over site PT means a pull through site (has an island separating from traffic. (Almost all sites are at least a bit of a hill to get to the picnic table from the trailer. )

I have to admit that it was an amazing campsite! Double decker with picnic table, lantern pole, and fire pit up stairs and over looking your paved campsite. We were walking distance to the dumpster and public bathroom ( no showers). It also offered no hookups which was fine, there was a dump station on site… The biggest downer for us was just getting to and leaving the site! RVLife took us up and down some insane switchbacks that were just not appropriate for anything larger than maybe 30ft tip to tail?? I wouldn’t advise staying here unless you’re a class B/C, pop up, or 20ft TT. Lodge is nice and has decent prices.

A lot of sites. Very clean. You can buy wood at the hotel restaurant down the street. There weren't a lot of people. We had a big site, and the parking was flat for our van. Lots of little animals to watch and many deer.

On the Blue Ridge Pkwy. 10 miles from Bedford VA. No electricity, no showers, and barely an internet signal. Had to go to Bedford or south 4 miles to an overlook to connect. That said, I stayed two weeks and made it work. Showers at the Y in Bedford and internet at the library to work. Beautiful views and lots of wildlife. Saw one bear. So if you don't mind some inconvenience I highly recommend. The rangers were very friendly and helpful. The bathrooms were spotless!

I lived this campsite. The hosts were knowledgeable and helpful. There’s a lot of tree coverage- watch for ticks. Proper bear protocol is a must.

Peaks of Otter campground was built on the side of the mountain, many sites are terraced.   Your RV is on one level and your picnic table and grill are on another. Some sites are pull through and others are back in.  Few are level.  Make sure and bring your leveling blocks with you. Our 23ft. trailer and truck just fit in site T44. Once you are all set up and find a space to fit in you are good to enjoy a very pretty and shady campground.  There are no hookups so be prepared.  We stayed in the T loop for trailers, it was just up over the hill from the main road, there was traffic noise until late in the evening and then started again in the early morning.  We enjoyed the hiking trail to the restored farm stead and walking around the lake at the lodge. This is a great place to stop on your trip along the Blue Ridge Parkway.

Picked for price

Quiet

Enjoyed Blueridge parkway

NIce retreat in SW Virginia

Sites were very clean and well taken care of. There are tons of campsites available but they are spaced out enough to still feel secluded. Great location in relation to several popular trails. Will definitely be returning.

Had a herd of deer come through in the middle of the night and sniff the tent and grunt! Kids were wonderfully freaked out!

This was an awesome stay. Went with my friends and my sisters and I really loved this place. It wasn’t crowded, the staff was super friendly, and the sites were all reallt nice. There was a campstore, but not much else there besides hiking. Bring you own fire wood because it was like $8.50 per bundle. 

Definitely check out sharp top and flat top hikes. Both were beautiful, but slightly difficult so just be prepared. Also bring bug spray because the flies were terrible at the top. There’s a nearby winery too. 

Really amazing stay!

This is a huge campground it has 137 sites that is right in between two mountains. Each site has picnic tables, lantern poles, tent pads, food storage lockers, and campfire rings. 63 of their sites are available for advanced reservation and then 79 first come-first serve basis. The bath house has flush toilets, water spigots, but no showers. There is also no electric, water, or sewer hook-ups.

Lots of hiking trails, but make sure you look at the map because we unfortunately did not look at it well enough and thought that the trail was a loop when it led to the opposite side of the mountain and we had to hitch hike back to the campsite. The trails are well marked and lead to awesome views. Rate is $20 a night.

Cute little Mountain Campground. Tucked into the hillside, and only about 4 other campers while we were there, so it really felt like we had backpacked to the backcountry, when really we just drove up and set up the tent! Bathrooms were running water, but no showers and could use some updating (broken tiles, latches on doors, etc.) but all cosmetic. Definitely not the worst we saw on our 3 week trip, and the quiet greenness of the sites made up for it!

We stayed in site #7, in the trailer loop. It was a pull-through site with an additional area containing a picnic table and fire ring, accessible via a small set of steps up the hill. The whole campground is kind of “carved” out of the mountain, and is therefore quite terraced in appearance, so a lot of sites had a similar setup to ours (as in, a lower pull-through space for trailer and TV plus an upper “walk-up” area). I hadn’t seen anything like it before, and I thought it was really neat. The setting was heavily wooded, so the shade combined with the higher elevation made for a very cool, pleasant retreat from the July heat.

Facilities/Overall Park: Bath house was decent. On the ladies’ side, there were three flush toilets, two sinks with cold water only, and no soap. Was pretty old, but reasonably clean and adequate for our needs, since we were just passing through for one night. The CG as a whole looked kind of overgrown and neglected, but for some reason that added to its charm for me. The overgrowth made everything look extra green and lush, and I really like the heavily forested, secluded feel.

Surrounding Area/Attractions: The Peaks of Otter area seems to be a pretty popular destination on the Blue Ridge Parkway. There is a nice-looking lodge and restaurant on the (gorgeous) lake right around the corner from the campground, as well as an NPS visitor center, hiking trails, and a shuttle bus service that takes you to the top of one of the three peaks for which the area is named. We didn’t partake in any of these activities, since we were just passing through on our way down to the Smokies, but it would have been nice to explore a bit more.

Overall, I felt this was a very pretty, peaceful, and perfectly serviceable campground for an overnight stop, and would make a nice weekend destination. Not sure there is enough going on in the area to keep one occupied for more than a few days, and I know I personally would need at least electric hookups and showers for any type of extended stay. However, I wouldn’t hesitate to return for a night or two!

It was such a nice area and a great hike. The hike was long and steep at times but it was so beautiful and nice. Loved this area

Very territorial deer, will stalk you on way to dumpster!

I was pleased with my campsite and the campground as a whole. Most of the area is in full shade which is great for the hot summer months. The host was very friendly and helpful, and he made regular rounds, probably every 2 hours, to make sure everything was fine. It was quiet and uncrowded.

As much as I enjoyed my stay, I have to give POO (yes, they really do use that abbreviation 😂) 4 stars because 1) there are no showers and that’s a big deal if you’re staying more than a night or two; 2) the sites and tent pads were pretty small, a 4p tent is about all you can fit; 3) food lockers are shared between several sites; and 4) it’s not a good campground for hammocks.

We enjoyed our Peaks of Otter Campground stay. This was the first Campground that my wife saw so many bear boxes which freaked her out, but we had a good time. We enjoyed the walking trails around the water.

We didn't take advantage of hiking Sharp Top because we had a little person with us who was a bit high maintenance. We would come back again, but only if it were just the two of us, no kiddo. They can't ride bikes or scooters in the campground. Campground definitely more for adults only.

Be sure to bring supplies that you need with you, it is a bit of a drive to anything else.