Best Glamping near Axton, VA

Campground Review:

Pilot Mountain State Park is located in Pinnacle, NC, approximately 2.5 hours away from Asheville, NC and is known for it’s giant pinnacle, Pilot Mountain, that rises 2,000 feet into the clouds. At the base of a windy road leading up to Pilot Mountain lies the campground, approximately 2 miles from the top. This beautiful campground was centrally located within the state park and gave quick access to a wide variety of easy to strenuous hiking trails. Most of the trails leave directly from the campground. In addition to hiking, Pilot Mountain is known for it’s steep cliffs that give easy access to rock climbing and rappelling. There is a trail leading from the parking lot and traverses above the climbing area so you have quick access to set anchors from the top. Additional anchors are bolted at the top of most routes for easy top roping. The campground itself offered a fire ring, picnic table, and a man-made flat area to pitch a tent at each site. The sites were somewhat close together but we did not have any issues with noise during our stay. There were several clean bath houses throughout. Each one offered flushing toilets, and hot, running water for showers, all of which were free. There was potable water located next to the site and a separate area to clean dishes. Each site also had a ton of shade. Trees surround every inch of the park so there was plenty of space to hang a hammock and get relief from the burning sun. Most sites looked large enough for the average sized RV. The park’s host drove around checking in and offering $5 bundles of wood. The one negative draw back to this campground is that all the sites are on a slope so when it rains, most likely your campsite will too. The park does require a two-night minimum stay if camping over a holiday weekend. Also be aware that the campground entrance closes at 10 pm. You will not be able to enter or exit until the gate opens the next morning. The closest town is 10 miles away in case you forgot anything. Overall, would highly recommend this campground if you are looking for a great place to rock climb and camp for the weekend. We will be back!

Product Review:

As a Ranger for the Dyrt, I get products to test from time to time. During my climbing adventures at Pilot Mountain State Park, I got to test out three different Meal2Go packets from Greenbelly: Cranberry/Almond, Peanut/Apricot and Dark Chocolate/Banana (https:// www.greenbelly.co/products/meal2go?variant=19912486532). Let me start by saying how amazingly delicious these meals are. I’m a super picky eater and when I first saw cranberry and apricot, I had second thoughts about trying. Thank goodness my sense of adventure overcame my lack of tastebud exploration. The Meal2Go products are full of mouth watering flavor that I could eat over and over again which is crucial if spending time in the back country. They contain all natural ingredients and 1/3 of your daily nutrients. It lacked that chemical flavor most hiking bars have giving way to a natural tasting bar. They also had the right balance of chewy yet crunchy. Greenbelly designed these products with backpacking in mind. While we didn’t get a chance to use backpacking, it did supply a ton of energy for a full day of climbing. The one draw back I will say is the weight of the product. Since it was designed for backpacking, I was expecting it to be much lighter for what you get. There are two bars in each packet and the weight is 5.5 ounces. And while that doesn’t sound like a lot, it seemed heavier than my average backpacking bar. I will say though, I’d much rather be carrying slightly more weight in my pack if it meant I get to have a healthier/tastier option while rock climbing or playing in the back country. I would highly suggest checking out this product!

My husband and I just returned from a May visit to this campground. It is fairly small, 43 camp sites. No water and electric hookups which we sort of prefer as it seems to be less attractive to mega sized RVs with noisy generators. It was a ratio of about 75%/25% tents to smaller RVs when we were there. Camp site has raised level tent sites not concrete, but hard packed dirt. Also, picnic table and fire pit. The grill on the fire pit was adjustable for height to the coals which was kind of cool. Bath house was a little rustic but plenty of hot water. Firewood is available from the camp host for $6 a bundle. Cash only. If you’re not in good shape get a site above the bath house. Below the bath house involves a good little climb every time you have to go!

Best part of this campground is that it is right on the trail to the summit. The first trail is Grindstone Trail which is a 2 1/2 mile up and back. It’s a moderate trail with equivalent inclines, declines, and level switchbacks. I’m 63 and healthy and it was an appropriate challenge for me. To get to the summit it’s about a half mile of strenuous climb on the Ledge Springs Trail. That part is strenuous in my opinion.

You can also drive up to the summit where you get views of the Yadkin Valley and the knob of Pilot Mountain. It’s crowded up there but accessible for a wide range of people so that’s good. If you don’t prefer crowds go at the beginning or end of the season. Season runs May through October I believe.

Campground Review:

We stayed in Yurt#4 for 2 nights at Fairy Stone State Park, about a 4 hour drive from where we live. The Yurt overall was very clean and cozy. The outside of the Yurt looks like it needed a powerwashing, but that didn’t really affect us at all, just kind of unsightly. They have a nice large deck that is great for hanging out on while the kids were asleep. The inside of the Yurt has a full size bed with a twin sized trundle bed that rolls under the full. It also had some rocking chairs inside, a small table and chairs, and a couch. We ended up eating and hanging out inside the Yurt or on the deck most of the time. 

There are 4 Yurts to choose from. Two of them (Yurts#1 & 2) do not have a parking spot right in front of them, they are a short walk from a parking area, so I made sure to get one that did since we would be arriving after dark. The Yurt we stayed in was a little weird because the Fire Pit and Picnic table is behind and almost under the yurt, down a decently step slope and the yurt sits on stilts on the back side. The Yurt next to us#3 had the fire pit and table right up front next to the parking spot which would be better I think. I would try to get Yurt#3 next time! Overall Yurt camping is so fun! We have done it once before, and it is such a great mix between cabin and tent camping. You get the protection from the elements, a real bed to sleep in, and it’s quick to pack-up- but still a bit rustic since there’s no ac or electricity. 

There are hiking trails right across the street from the Yurt, which was awesome! The bathrooms and showers were fine and in close walking distance. They could probably use some updating but didn’t have any major issues with them. Overall the campground is pretty big and a bit of a maze getting around, we needed to use the park map a lot! Probably due to the park being so old there are a lot of old buildings not in use that are pretty cool. 

The park is big and there is lots to do! There is a beautiful lake for swimming Tons of hiking trails. They had a great playground for the kids nearby. They had a concert going on somewhere at the park so we had some beautiful orchestral music playing as we were winding down for bed one night. We saw lots of deer roaming around. Note that there is not great cell service in this area. 

The place to find the Fairy Stones are outside of the park, down the street a little bit beside a gas station. It was tricky knowing exactly what to look for, but once we found a few Fairy Stones, they were everywhere! So fun searching for them with the kids! 

It was such a fun trip, very peaceful, beautiful scenery everywhere!

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Product Review:

As a Ranger for The Dyrt, I get products to test from time to time - we tested out the Banner& Oak Men’s Nebo Hat– Olive  

The quality of this hat is great. Nice and thick but breathable fabric, durable construction. We’ve put this hat through the ringer so far with sweaty hikes, long beach and lake days, and everyday wear and tear and it has performed spectacularly. The adjustable snapback makes fitting easy. Has a nice shape, looks great! Love this hat’s patch with well-designed graphics and the neutral olive color– goes with everything. Will definitely purchase again! Also appreciate the fact that the hats are made in the USA! It is my husband’s new go-to daily hat and I think it will last for a long time.

I have driven past geological knob numerous times in my NC travels, but this time I was able to visit. I usually travel 'by the seat of my pants' and hope to find an available site and being early week I was able to easily secure a site.

Of the 42 campsites, less than a dozen were filled, so I had my pick and chose site 25 just to set up and get on the trail before nightfall. Admittedly, I would likely not choose this site again because as a tent camper, the firepit was way too close to both the raised tent pad and the picnic table.

Each campsite has a raised timber, pea gravel tent pad, metal fire ring w/grill and a picnic table. Site 25 tent pad was 10.5' x 11.5' feet.  A water spigot was directly across the parking pad and one of the two showerhouse/restrooms were located a few yards beyond that. It was purely convenience that site 25 was chosen. Restrooms/showers were clean and maintained.

The trail up to the lookouts were dubbed easy to moderate, but they got pretty steep…although, well worth it.  You can avoid all the hiking if you wish and simply drive up to the lookouts. The views were worth the effort.

The new visitor's center is excellent and the displays were very interesting and informative. I mean, really, if it was good enough for Andy and Barney...its good enough for me!

Next visit I plan to stay more nights to explore the area.

This weekend was a great adventure in SW Virginia. We stayed in a Yurt. It has no electricity or water but the bath house was close. The yurt has a double bed, a twin trundle, a couch and some chairs, and a table and chairs. It also has a large wrap around deck with rocking chairs. A picnic table, lamp post, and fire ring are also provided at the site. We hunted and found fairy stones which made the trip that much more fun. It was just after covid 19 started and lessening restrictions began so the beach was closed and there were few people at the campground but we had a great time riding bikes and hiking. We even went to the Creeper Trail and rode our bikes from White Top to Damascus.

MY husband and I stayed two nights in a 1 bed efficiency CCC Cabin at Fairy Stone State Park for a short weekend away from the kids. We visited in December so it was pretty cold weather but the cabin was so cozy and comfortable! We loved having the fireplace! The cabins have a bathroom, shower, kitchen with sink, fridge, oven/stove, microwave, toaster, everything you need! They have heating and a/c as well. The cabin was built in the 1930s and is so charming! Loved everytihg about our experience here.

There is no cell service or internet/wifi at the cabins though so come prepared with something to do! We found it to be very relaxing to unplug!