Best Tent Camping near Chatham, VA

Tent Camping Reviews near Chatham, VA

240 Reviews of 3 Chatham Campgrounds

• 

  Hannah V.

  Ranger

  Nov. 1, 2018

  Peaks Of Otter Campground — Blue Ridge Parkway

  Great Trails

  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.

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• 

  Brittany V.

  Legend

  Oct. 1, 2022

  Peaks Of Otter Campground — Blue Ridge Parkway

  Not Big Rig Friendly!

  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.

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• 

  Myron C.

  Legend

  Jul. 31, 2020

  Staunton River State Park Campground

  State Park Campground with Trails for Hikers, Bikers, and Horses

  The campground at Staunton River State Park has lots of shade, water and electrical hookups, level sites, are not on top of each other, and… gravel sites. I understand the reason for gravel sites, but it is NOT good for tent campers, especially for campers that do not have freestanding tents. The first two attempts at driving tent stakes in resulted in bent stakes. Even though I said the sites are not on top of each other, they are still close enough that you do not get much privacy. The noise from other campers was fairly loud. Two units(e.g., camper+ tent) are allowed, but there is little room for anything, especially since campers are supposed to keep everything within the boundaries of the“timbers.” We got one of the largest sites, and it still was crowded. There was a fire ring with a grate, a picnic table, and two lantern poles, but again, everything was tight. Fitting two vehicles within the limits was nearly impossible. I know we weren’t supposed to set anything up outside the boundaries(please forgive us), but we set up our dining canopy and hammocks outside of the timbers. Despite the campsite limits, I still think this campground and the state park were great. There were many miles of trails for biking, hiking, and horseback riding. We rode our bikes along a couple of the trails, but we had to steer around horse poop(not always successfully). The trail itself was scenic at times when we rode by the river, and it was not too difficult. There are enough“bumps” for bikers to get their heartbeats jumping, but the trails are easy and moderate. Kayaking and fishing seemed to be two of the more popular activities. There is a boat ramp, and beside the boat ramp, there were several people fishing. Many kayakers came and went as we put our kayaks into the water. The one thing kayakers have to be aware of is the presence of speed boats. We got hit by passing boaters several times. Other activities at this campground/state park are disc golf, playing on the playground, tennis, and swimming. Unfortunately, the swimming area is closed for 2020 because of the pandemic. However, several people were swimming at the boat landing. When it is open, the swimming pool area is exceptional for a state park. There is a water slide and a really nice swimming complex. Staunton River State Park is also designated as an“International Dark Sky Park.” Unfortunately, we did not take advantage of that. After biking and kayaking all day and camp cooking during the evening, we were exhausted. There is no shortage of things to do, and I wish I could have stayed at least a couple more days. Overall, the park is a fairly nice place, but if you take a tent, make sure it is a freestanding tent.

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• 

  Gail B.

  Guide

  Jun. 26, 2022

  Horseshoe Point

  Quiet, Secluded Campground

  I stayed one night at Horseshoe Point. The drive there through the mountains and backroads was pretty but make no mistake, this place is remote. There is no WiFi and my T-Mobile was useless there. There is a nice lake with trails nearby. There is a clean bath house with hot showers. The sites have a picnic table, fire ring, and gravel parking spaces. The sites are among the trees and well kept. They do not allow dogs near the beach. As a dog owner, this saddens me as I like to swim and I can’t if my dog is with me. The campground hosts were very friendly and welcoming.

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  gloria J.

  Scout

  Nov. 6, 2021

  Peaks Of Otter Campground — Blue Ridge Parkway

  Mountain side camping

  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.

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• 

  Napunani

  Legend

  Jun. 24, 2022

  Paradise Lake Family Campground

  Low Water Pressure & WIFI Out of Order

  PRO 

  Good Sam Club discount saved $10.60 

  Reserved 138 days prior to arrival 

  Very friendly check-in staff 

  Entrances exit gates controlled with key card given to registered campers with return box at the gate 

  Shady site 

  Gravel site surrounded by grass with a concrete patio 

  Moveable wooden picnic table 

  Concrete pavers with metal wheel rim insert for the campsite fire ring 

  Clean toilet/shower building 

  Mostly quiet except for road noise and distant train whistles 

  2 laundry facilities;$3 wash and$2.75 dry 

  Lake and a pool! 

  Appomattox Court House National Historical Park 10 miles from Park

  CONS 

  Horribly low water pressure. Staff reported park has only well water not city provided water so only 35 psi.  We removed all our water filters to get slightly better pressure 

  Park WiFi out of order to be repaired in June according to staff 

  Site unlevel side-to-side 

  Pull-thru site too short to leave tow vehicle hitched 

  One of the laundry buildings locked the entire 2 days we were here 

  Most sites occupied by seasonal campers so many not at their sites during the week 

  No privacy from neighbor sites 

  Absolutely no TV reception 

  2 bars Verizon

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• 

  Bridget H.

  Ranger

  Oct. 28, 2020

  Fairy Stone State Park Campground

  Great Adventure in SW Virginia

  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.

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• R

  Richard S.

  Traveler

  Jul. 17, 2022

  Peaks Of Otter Campground — Blue Ridge Parkway

  Peaks of Otter

  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!

• 

  Martin T.

  Traveler

  Jun. 20, 2024

  Occoneechee State Park Campground

  Very Nice Lakefront Camping

  Spent 4 nights here (during a heat wave, no less) and really enjoyed it. Campsites are large and not right on top of each other, and especially if you can book one of the campsites that are on the water, they really do have beautiful views (see pictures).

  Pros: 

  Kid-friendly. We spent an afternoon at the splash pad, which is a great way to cool off in the summer and free once you're in the park. I never felt unsafe with my kids running around up to the bath-house or the loop, felt very secluded and safe.

  Lake is scenic, we saw fireflies at dusk, it was a great setting for a camping trip.

  Everything seems pretty well-maintained. Bathrooms are aging but were cleaned at least once a day, it was fine. There is firewood at every bathhouse you can take on the honor system and pay for via cashbox, which is nice. Campsites are clean and well-maintained.

  Lots of lake recreation options (boat rental, fishing, etc.) in or near the park. 

  Cons:

  Maybe it was just our campsite, which backed up to a large wooded area, but they were the most aggressive squirrels I've ever come across. If we went to the bathroom for five minutes and left food on the table, the squirrels would be there eating it when we came back. And would hover at the edge of the campsite or get into the car if the hatchback was open.

  Camp store is....fine, pretty minimal in terms of provisions. But not a big deal because Clarksville is five minutes or so away and has plenty of stores.

  Tents pads are all gravel. Didn't bother us but definitely would not want to tent camp here if you didn't have a good high-quality sleeping pad.

  The biggest con was that there is no swimming area/beach in the park. You can try to wade in from the campsite but that generally requires scaling up/down some fairly treacherous rocks, and navigating driftwood and rocks in the water. We drove a few minutes away outside the park to find one, but would be really nice to have some kind of little swimming area inside the park, very strange to me they don't have one.

  But all in all a lovely place for a camping trip, we all had a great time.

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