Best Tent Camping near Churchville, VA

Tent Camping Reviews near Churchville, VA

996 Reviews of 37 Churchville Campgrounds

• 

  Nick C.

  Guide

  Jul. 25, 2022

  Big Meadows Campground — Shenandoah National Park

  Centralized spot in Shenandoah - hot showers!

  I stayed in the tent only / non generator sites which is definitely the way to go. My site was actually a walk in. So I had to park and lug my gear up some steps about 200 feet. The site was shaded with a nice spot for a hammock. Including a fire ring and grill grate, picnic table and a bear box. You are close to the road, so you get noise and headlights in your tent sometimes. Deer and skunk walk through camp all the time. Heard some owls at night. Whooooooo

• 

  Janet R.

  Legend

  Dec. 12, 2017

  Canoe Landing Group Campsite — James River State Park

  Lake James

  North Carolina certainly puts its state park system as a priority! I am very impressed. This park is beautifully maintained, has myriad opportunities for recreation, and is in a scenic setting along Lake James and the Catawba River at the base of the Blue Ridge mountains. The park is quite large, and has an extensive set of trails for mountain biking as well as hiking, and the National Intermountain Historic Hiking trail also runs through the park. Water recreation includes kayaking, canoeing and boating with rentals available right in the oark, fishing, including trout fishing on the Catawba and feeder streams to it, and just lying on their beautiful beach—yes, even in December! Ranger led park programs are offered year round, this week included a natural history boat tour in the lake, and a naturalist talk on loons. The park encompasses several peninsulas and bays on Lake James, we were at Paddy Creek where there are nice drive in tent sites, but there are also more secluded walk in or hike in tent site options. The drive-in tent campground has a year round campground host, a brand new shower house and nice bathrooms, plentiful water pumps, and each tent site has a picnic table, steel fire ring, tent pad, and a well built “Bear Box.” Yes, this is bear country! Your food needs to be locked away in a bear box or you will have visitors

  Read More
• 

  Mary S.

  Legend

  Oct. 12, 2018

  Loft Mountain Campground — Shenandoah National Park

  Camping in the national park is the best!

  Loft Mountain was the third stop on our tour of Shenandoah National Park. First stop traveling south on Skyline Drive was Mathews Arm and second was Big Meadows at about the halfway point. Loft Mountain is at about the 3/4 mark. These parks are well spaced for viewing and hiking in between each campground.

  I'm a big fan of campgrounds in national parks. Why do I like this one? Pretty much the same reasons as I liked the other Shenandoah campgrounds:

  • All the basic needs are available in a scenic setting.

  • Generator-free sections (because I hate noisy generators)

  • About 75% of the sites are first-come, first-served sites so you should always be able to find a site if you arrive early.

  • The $15 price is a bargain and our Lifetime Senior Pass cuts the fee in half.

  • Hiking: There's a lot to keep you busy in the entire national park, but rainy, foggy weather kept us from exploring as much as we'd like. We'll be back!

  Things to Know About the Sites

  • Some sites have food storage boxes. Use them as an alternative to keeping food locked in your vehicle.

  • Walk-to tent sites: It's not a long walk to your site from a designated parking spot.

  • I was surprised to see that most sites (other than walk-to tent sites) have long, pull through parking pads, and most have a grass buffer (and possibly a few trees) separating the site from the road. These asphalt pads can accommodate RVs of all sizes and have a spacious area behind the pull through with a picnic table, fire ring and room for a tent. Great sites!

  • Generator-free sites in loop F and part of G are reservable sites. If you want one of these sites, I recommend a reservation. See the site map photo.

  Amenities

  • Restrooms with a utility sink outside some of them

  • Potable water and trash/recycling stations are spread throughout the park. These are all shown on the site map photo.

  • Camp store with ice, wood and limited food choices is a short walk from the campground entrance.

  • Showers: $1.75 for 5.25 minutes. These are located in a restroom near the campstore and look new. There is a handicapped accessible shower/bathroom combination.

  • Laundry facility near the camp store

  Read More
• 

  Terri S.

  Guide

  Sep. 23, 2019

  Big Meadows Campground — Shenandoah National Park

  Beautiful , well maintained

  Big Meadows Campground was wonderful. Facilities were clean and well maintained. Bear box for food storage. Loved seeing the deer so close and other wildlife. Fire ring with grate was available. Large site size. We had site 23. Highly recommend!

• 

  Carol B.

  Guide

  Apr. 19, 2025

  Big Meadows Campground — Shenandoah National Park

  Full campground, but a happy overnight

  I tent camped for one night at the start of Easter weekend. Lots and lots of folks about, but still enough space to NOT feel encroached upon. Level grass spot for a tent, fairly level paved parking area if car camping, picnic table, fire ring with grill grate. I was on the no generator loop, but in a non electric site (vs tent walk in type). Warm bathrooms, utility sinks in several, pay hot showers, lots of greenery. I will visit again! NO Verizon cell service at all!

• 

  Cindy D.

  Guide

  Oct. 7, 2019

  Loft Mountain Campground — Shenandoah National Park

  Shenandoah National Park

  We did not have a reservation and were lucky to get a site. It is a large campground with 200 sites for RV's & tent campers. The site we had was primitive, no water or electric, but had a picnic table, fire ring, & a bear box. Although the sites were close, they were situated to maximize privacy. The campgrounds had plenty of restrooms with flush toilets & sinks. The camp store has laundry facilities and showers that you must pay for, $1.75 for 5 minutes. The grounds and facilities are very clean. An added bonus, you can access the Appalachian Trail right from the campgrounds that provides amazing views

  Read More
• 

  Elliott B.

  Legend

  Jul. 11, 2017

  Dundo Group Campground — Shenandoah National Park

  Very open group campground

  Very large and very open group campground situated on either side of the picnic area road back out. Each of the campsites provides plenty of tent space, a couple picnic tables, fire pit with grills, bear boxes, potable water, and a shared vault toilets in the middle of the sites and nearer to the picnic area and parking for up to five vehicles at each site. Firewood, ice, laundry, showers and camp store are available three miles north at the Loft Mountain Camp Store.

• 

  Dave V.

  Legend

  Oct. 31, 2019

  Spruce Knob and Spruce Knob Observation Tower

  Peak Bagging Coolness!

  Spruce Knob is West Virginia's highest peak and on a clear day offers breathtaking 360 degree views from the Observation Tower.      https://www.fs.usda.gov/recarea/mnf/recarea/?recid=7053

  Because of the thick conifer growth, long mountain views don't occur till nearly to the top and that only along the western roadway...but once you climb the observation tower...(as mentioned, on a clear day) you are rewarded with wonderful views of WV and VA mountains.  Watching storm clouds or simple clouds roll in and envelope the Knob offers a wonderful experience.

  I've taken the opportunity to camp on Spruce Knob on several occasions, once to the NE of the parking lot just into the pines, once a couple hundred yards down the Seneca Backcountry trail to the right and once directly south of the Tower in the pines.  Each offered a differ experience.  There is no cost, which is a huge plus!

  In the pines, just below the summit, it is eerily quiet and muffled.  I've never seen another camper when I've stayed, so the solitude is glorious.

  If you want shelter and a picnic table for cooking/eating...they are available, but only along the parking lot.  Pit latrines are nearly on the summit in the parking lot near the trailhead for the Observation Tower.  So practice leave no trace when camping and hiking!! No water, so bring enough with you. There are waste receptacles but be wise and take trash with you. 

  There are two levels to the concrete Observation Tower...and best views are from the upper level. I've often though about cowboy camping on the second level after the last sightseer has left for the night, but haven't seen, heard or read if its forbidden or permitted...so I haven't...yet.

  Obviously, on a clear night, star gazing is incredible as there no ambient light. It is much cooler at this elevation, even in the summer...and the winds on the summit cut through like a knife. 

  Note: utilize good camping practices and set camp on a previous location where there is an established fire ring. Again, use caution with campfires because of the wind.

  If you desire a more established campground, Spruce Knob Lake Campground is not too far away...down the mountain.

  Spruce Knob summit camping is a family highlight!

  Read More
• M

  Melanie

  Traveler

  Jun. 11, 2021

  Spruce Knob Lake Campground

  Quiet, well maintained rustic campground

  Admittedly, we had awful weather - it rained more than 50% of the time.  The weather ruled out our main purpose for being their which was astrophotography at Spruce Knob Lake and doing some hiking.   That said, we had a lovely walk-in site with a nicely situated tent pad, fire ring and large picnic table nestled in a private space with lots of tree shade.  If you are wanting to take in the sites of the area and need a base for day hiking, this is a good spot.  There are a few things to know: this campsite is very basic with the only facilities being vault toilets and bins for your trash.  You are able to buy firewood there (if you can get it lit and enjoy before it rains!). There is no cell service whatsoever, so once you get there, you’ll have no clue what the weather is going to do unless you have access to a satellite source (we didn’t.)   There was a water spigot near our site, but we were told to boil the water before drinking any (which made us glad it wasn’t that hot out and we had brought a sizable stash from home.)

  Read More