Best Glamping near Chesapeake & Ohio Canal National Historical Park

tl;dr- We stayed in a cabin February. The park and the cabins are very clean and well maintained. We enjoyed the many trails and walking our dog along the river. We would highly recommend and will come back.

Shenandoah River State Park has a variety of camping/RV/cabin options for everyone.  They have: climate controlled cabins, rustic cabins, RV sites, and tent camping sites.  Great for groups, especially those that have different ideas of the enjoying the great outdoors/nature

And if you, like me, are less enthusiastic about winter camping, the cabins are a great way to enjoy the park with climate controlled amenities.  

Two bedroom climate controlled cabin: Very clean, simple/minimalistic furniture, with kitchen necessities included.  It's reminiscent of a dorm-style apartment. Cooking utensils and cutlery, dish soap, a couple of dishwasher pods, toilet paper, and paper towels are included.  Mattresses and pillows had actual protectors on them and you are expected to bring sheets, pillow cases, and towels (not sure if it's always expected you bring sheets/linens but was true but at least with COVID/our latest stay).  There is a nice big kitchen table to play games.  We did have phone service and watched some shows on our tablet.

Restroom/shower: Very clean, spacious restroom although with a small shower (we stayed in cabin 6, showers may be bigger in others/handicapped accessible cabins).  Included mounted container with hand soap and shampoo/body wash.

Bedrooms:  Queen bed w/ box spring mattress.  I prefer memory foam so it was not my favorite, but it was still decent/firm.  The other bedroom had 4 bunkbeds.

Outside space:  There is a nice space with a picnic table and fire pit.  There are also rocking chairs on the porch of each cabin.  Very cute and a great way to appreciate the views.  

Area: Many trails throughout the park.  We enjoyed walking our dog along the river.

Looking forward to coming back either staying in a cabin again or staying in our camper van.

Normally we’re tent campers, but this time we opted for the climate controlled cabins of this state park. Cabins were wonderful. Essentially a little house off in its own little “cabin neighborhood.” Kitchen was fully stocked with just about anything you’d need. Only thing you need to bring are linens (because of COVID) and food). Outside there is a large wrap around porch, picnic table, grill, and fire pit. All tucked right against the trees. Rangers at the visitor center were wonderful, and gave our kids a tour of the small animals they kept inside the visitor center. Lots of hiking trails, and we didn’t see a ton of people on them. Good fishing in the river too. Drove through RV campground and spots looked nice with lots of pull through sites and pretty level too. Tent area is in another part of the park. For that you have to park in a lot and take a short walk to each site (though I did see a wagon there for campers to use). We will totally come back.

Me and my son stayed for 2 nights and the park is very clean but we did have the unexpected torrential down-pour each night.  Bathroom and shower facility are very clean. Must keep your trash organized and they do have the Bear prevention lockers available on each campsite. Less than 75 miles one-way from Northern VA to arrive.  Bugs and ticks are not bad at all. Each campsite comes with dedicated grill stand and wood fire pit with option of grilling as well. We had an excellent time and did some tubing down the Shenandoah River but it was a bit shallow.  Did see some deer and the occasional wild bunny and turtles in the water.  Generally a very nice stay except for the heavy rain.  NO cell phone signal or WIFI available unless you are near/at the Visitors Center.  So BE PREPARED.

I grew up camping with my family at Rocky Gap every summer. The best feature of Rocky Gap is the versatility of the campgrounds. There are options for RV camping with electric, tent spots, small cabins, and the resort if you would rather have a more comfortable resort experience. Pets are allowed in a select few loops.

They have a range of activities available including a large lake to swim, fish or paddle. There are a few trails for hiking, at least 2 small “beach” areas off the lake with play grounds and a camp store. You can also go over to the casino resort for entertainment and food.

Alcohol is not permitted outside of the resort which is partly why I say this camping experience is better for families. Rangers routinely monitor the site loops and there is a quiet hours period, I believe starting at 10pm and you will have a ranger pull up on you if you do not adhere.

CAMPSITES BREAKDOWN:

Type: Gravel Vehicle Accessible: Yes Size: ~ 1 large tent or 2 compact tents. Most are the same size, fairly small spots. Bathroom: Communal bathhouses in the middle of each loop with toilets, sinks and showers. Fire pit: Yes, with grill grate. Firewood: Must buy firewood at camp store. Water access: Some, depending which part of the loop your site is located on. Electric: No unless RV camping. Alcohol Policy: Not permitted unless drinking in the Resort or a motor home. Other Features: Picnic table, small wood post counter / hook to hang a lantern on and place a camp stove on.

This state park is at the top of the mountain and has a smaller lake perfect for a short kayak trip or fishing. Lovely views from the lake and very nice secluded sites. Our site was up a hill a little but we were good. We were right aside of flushing bathrooms and the dump station. We didn't like you had to go all the way out and around to dump and then out and around again to leave. Other than that very nice park with hiking trails, lots of beautiful pavilions, picnic areas, building that had food for sale, peddle boat and kayak rentals, fishing, beach area for swimming, multiple boat launches. Definitely need a bicycle to get to day use area as the loop is very long. Also, watch for no pets allowed signs as it is just the first part of the sites in Area A.

Stayed in Camp Cabin 41 in middle August 2022. The cabins are basic, but just enough that you need. Electricity, water on site (not in cabin, fan, lots of windows for sticky nights, 2 bunk beds (sleeping 4 total), and a table with 4 chairs. On the front porch are 2 wonderful rocking chairs. There's also a picnic table, fire pit, and grill on site. Parking for 2 cars. It's a relatively short walk to the bathhouse which had showers, toilets, a large clean up sink, and even washer/dryer available for a small price. The hiking here is nice and quiet, the river is beautiful. The cabin was in the electric/water (RV) campground and other than the randomly loud neighbor was peaceful and quiet. Lots of tent campers in this area of the campground too. The rangers are always helpful in the visitor center. Lots of small wildlife here too. I highly recommend this park.

We stayed here on the night of December 11, 2020. No problem finding a spot, campground was about half full when we got there around 4pm. The Primitive Camping spots were all taken however, so arrive early if you want one of those. Water and electrical available at all the spots even though it was winter. Bathrooms and showers were nearby and clean. No cell service but the Visitor’s Center has WiFi available. Lots of hiking and mtb trails, although we only did a bit of walking. Campground is maybe 100 yds from the Shenandoah River and it’s beautiful down there.

Very nice campground. Beautiful lake and from our lakeside sites we could put our kayaks in right from the campsite, maybe 20 yards away into a sheltered cove. The weather was horrid while we were there but woke up Sunday morning to pack up and the sun was out, the true beauty of this campground was awesome. Paved roads and compacted gravel tent pads. Sites are both spacious and a good distance apart. Bath house was reasonably clean and had two showers each with a lockable door and small changing room attached. Each loop has one bathhouse and it is situated in the center of the loop. You are supposed to walk or bike to it as the only road into it has a do not enter sign and is for employee vehicles only. Maryland has a “can't bring your own firewood” policy that they say is because they don’t want pests brought in from outside but seems to be more of a money grab to me. Firewood is $5 per bundle at the camp store and we easily went through three or four bundles per night. There is a Walmart about 10 miles away in Lavale MD for anything you might need. There is also a no pets policy, at least in the loop we were in, which we loved because nothing spoils a good camping trip like a dog that barks the entire time you are camping. Policy says alcohol is prohibited but we are well behaved and drank beers at the campsite without hassle. Despite the rain, we had a great time and were very happy with our first trip to Rocky Gap. We will definitely be back before the season is over, hopefully with better weather.

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.