Rocky Gap State Park Campground
C
Reviewed Aug. 24, 2020

Lovely camping and hiking, disappointing swimming IMO

We chose this campground for its proximity to home with the chance to swim in the lake.

The camping did not disappoint. We always try to book “outside” loop sites so we don’t have “back neighbors” but none near the lake were available, so we took our chances on an “inside” site in E loop. It was great, smallish, but plenty of vegetation to make it feel private. (Some poison ivy around the edges, though.) The pull-in sites in general seem a bit small (space for our two 4-person tents and that’s it), but are well shaded and separated from neighbors by small patches of woods or bushes. The pull-through sites in our loop were more exposed to the road, but had a bit more space.

There was some noise from the interstate. There were surprisingly few mosquitoes. The bathhouse was clean, but showers were not very warm.

The swimming was unfortunately disappointing. The roped-off swimming area was 3 feet deep at the most. Warm water in August, nice for kids to splash around, but not really good for actual swimming. Bonus for dog people: pets allowed on the beach and in the lake.

During COVID-19, the bathrooms/bathhouses at the beach area are closed; porta-johns only.

We rented paddle boards and a canoe one afternoon and paddled around to one of the lake inlets, which was actually deep and had a good swim. But this is technically not allowed.

If you feel okay about rule-breaking and have water-safe family members (and no pets), I would absolutely choose a site in I loop close to the lake. The sites in E loop closest to the lake are actually up a fairly steep hill from the lake path.

Hiking trails were nice. My kids especially liked the rock scramble-ish up and down the stream gorge on Evitt’s Mountain trail.

  • Review photo of Rocky Gap State Park Campground by Ch. A., August 24, 2020
  • Review photo of Rocky Gap State Park Campground by Ch. A., August 24, 2020
  • Review photo of Rocky Gap State Park Campground by Ch. A., August 24, 2020