Best Glamping near Damascus, VA

We stayed for one night only on our way to Dreher Island SP. We didn't get in until after 4 pm, but there was still enough daylight to see how pretty the campground was. We had site 60 for the night. We tow a 19' a-frame camper with a Toyota Tacoma and had lots of room on the pad. The pad was pretty level so set up was easy. The site also had a huge area for the picnic table and the fire ring is far away from your camper. There was a huge grassy area behind our site with a creek, lots of space for our dog. We were in campground B (electric) and the sites were decent. There wasn't a lot shade for us, but up in the tent area they were surrounded by trees and it looked like they all had tent pads, some better than others. The shower house was nice, clean, flush toilets, and good showers. By the shower house they also had an outside sink to wash your dishes. We didn't get to hike, but everyone said we should if we ever go back. It's on our list to visit again.

While there's a few dozen great places to stay in and around the Blue Ridge Mountain Parkway, there are few campgrounds as prized as Julian Price, which has plenty to explore just steps from your tent's front door (er, flap!). 

After a 3+ hour drive from nearby Raleigh, my very great friend Gary (or'Gariatica' for short) and I landed at the D Loop, which is one of four campgrounds you'll find here. What's important to know about the'Big Letter D Barrio' as the locals refer to it as, is that the campground perches up almost immediately after entering it, so you'll be first met with a few of the lower campsites (which must receive a decent amount of noise from the passing traffic that is only 30-40 feet away from them) before coming to the ground's bathhouses (while just mediocre and not the cleanest, there are bonus points here for providing 'no coin required' individual, private stalls (8 in all), so no group showers, which will be disappointing for some, I suspect). 

After passing the communal bathing facilities, you will circumnavigate the D Loop in counter-clockwise fashion (although many tried to swim upstream and go in the opposite direction, which I don't recommend, as apart from being hit from oncoming traffic, even if there was none, you would need to conduct a 17-point turn-around to park your car in the provided parking spot) to tour the 40 or so campsites. 

While there were only a few free slots to chose from at the time of our booking (about 3-4 weeks in advance, so book early if you can!), we did get relatively lucky with our campsite, good 'ol D20, which had plenty of space for our behemoth 24 person tent cabin (OK, so you can't really sleep 24 in this sucker, but it sure would be fun trying!). 

I would actually recommend the sites that were located directly across from ours - while ours slanted upwards(revealing our entire site), those on the other side of the road sloped downwards so had a solid amount of privacy. Basic amenities were had at most sites we saw- solid (yet aging) picnic tables, fire rings (with pull down grill) and wooden-encased tent platforms. Warning: no nearby running water (to clean dishes, you'll have to load them up in a bucket and trudge back and forth to the bathhouse (donning a towel is optional). 

Also, I would suggest if you are looking at campsites here or in the other areas of this campground, do look at whether or not a trail cuts through or by your campsite. I don't know how you feel about 100's (this is a popular campground with loads of people hiking trails when we were there, so I'm not overestimating here) of strangers passing by your front door (dang it, I meant'flap' again!), but you might want to avoid the heavy foot fall traffic. 

Also, unlike any other campground I've ever visited (I lost count after the first 100), I've never stayed at a campground where it was so easy for anyone to simply drive up and around the campground (usually, you have to persuade someone at the front gate that you belong there, right?) as this location has an EZ access point that avoids the ranger at the gate(who left promptly at 5pm anyway), which made me a bit uneasy, although we had no problems to speak of. 

Last tip? My buddy who knows the area fairly well took me to Gamekeeper's Inn [https://gamekeeper-nc.com\\\\\\\] for one of the best meals of my life. This oversized log cabin chalet has an outstanding bar, simply fantastic staff, upscale smarts and feature exotic meats and rare game, so while I would have preferred hot dogs and beans fireside, followed by endless amounts of s'mores, I was instead dining on grass-[hand]-fed Bison and dungeon-free Emu, the likes of which I had never savored before. Quite delish, washed down by very fine Sauvignon Blanc from Marlborough in the land of kiwis and finished off by, what else? You guessed it, a fantastic creme brûlée. Very nice and quite expensive, but hey, you only live once, right?!. 

Happy Camping!

Another lovely campground along the BRP, close to Linville Falls and gorge, picnic area and visitor center.

Erwin’s View Trail: Moderate Linville Gorge Trail: Strenuous {amazing view of falls}

Get a map at the visitor’s center.. redundant: the gorge is rather crowded on the weekends.

Check online for road closures when visiting the parkway.

$20 per night

There are 70 sites, some reservable sites and walk ins -and an RV loop {dump station} All sites non electric, generators permitted before quiet hours.

Lovely rangers and camp host that I found to be pleasant and helpful.

Open field sites, with decent sized pads, fire pits & picnic tables. Some of the sites are more secluded, the ones nearest to the parkway road.

Dog friendly for leashed puppers 🐾 Kid Friendly

There are bear lockers, keep food and supplies in the locker and in car at night.

Alcohol is prohibited

No showers but access to clean water and flush toilets.

You may collect dead wood or bring in HEAT TREATED firewood that is certified with a federal seal.

Local stores that sell wood and/or other supplies: Linville Falls Visitor Center/Park store Linville Falls General Store {8896 NC-183, Linville Falls, NC 28647- trinkets, camp supplies, cold drinks, non perishable food, Hunt Brothers Pizza etc} Walmart Supercenter, Spruce Pine, Ingles Food Store, Newland

Nearby Attractions

Linville Falls Linville Gorge “Grand Canyon of the Southern Appalachians”

Falls Trail - 1.6 mi RT/easy The Gorge Trail - 1.4 mi RT/ strenuous. The Plunge Basin Trail- 1mi RT/ moderate. Leashed dogs permitted 🐾

BRP Linville Canverns Crabtree Falls, Burnsville Grassy Creek Falls NC Gem Museum

The campground is laid out well, spacious, clean and located near awesome trails, falls, look outs and shops and restaurants.

First off - if you are driving an RV or travel trailer up here - know what you are getting yourself into. The drive up here is challenging and only recommended from the East. It is not for the faint of heart or amateur driver. Do your research and drive only in the daylight. 

Past that.... GHSP has two campgrounds - Chesnut Hollow and Hickory Ridge.  HR is the main campground with store and some led programs (you can reserve sites on Reserve America) and CH has adjacent stables and is more of an overflow campground (reserve non-site specific).  We stayed at CH in a 34 foot travel trailer. The sites are close together and some are smaller than others. If you are traveling during the busy summer season, get here early to have to best pick of sites.  Because we stayed in mid-May, it was not busy and we really liked the campground. Electric and water hook-up only, but the bathhouse was nice and clean with a dishwashing station. You could hike (0.8 miles) or drive up to Massey Gap where it was just a short hike up to the ponies. There was no wifi or cell signal, but if you drove up to the Visitor Center you could sit on the rocking chairs and get some signal.  The ponies are beautiful, but please use common sense. Do not approach them, let them come to you, and avoid the stallion (he will protect himself and his herd with kicks). 

We stayed here during Trail Days in Damascus. An hour drive but doable. There is a convience store with some groceries about 15 minutes away from the park. Be prepared otherwise. You are isolated. But that's why you come here. It is beautifully rugged. Would stay again and recommend to others.

We go back here multiple times each season. Very family friendly. Sites are relatively clean, easy to park at, bath house is clean& easily accessible. They even have a"coffee shop". The staff here are amazing! The campground is tucked away outside of Boone, but not so far that if you really need something you cant get it. The staff does a great job making sure the quiet hours are really quiet and no craziness happens. After looking around at other campgrounds, we really love this one. Most of the sites are shaded so in the heat of the summer it is really pleasant to hang out at the campsites(usually with a nice breeze). The location is also not far from the Blue Ridge Parkway and lots of great hiking.

I camped here with a friend and our dogs over the weekend. The campground has 3 loops. We were in loop A which had no electric hook ups. Each site has the usual fire pit, picnic bench and a pole for your trash bag. It was very roomy and well maintained. The bathhouse was a little bit older but had showers with hot water. Within a short driving distance you can find an old country store. They sell cool drinks and snacks. From the campground it is walking distance to the Stone Mountain loop. The nature and landscape is just so beautiful and definitely worth the trip. We would definitely camp here again.