Best Equestrian Camping near Pembroke, VA

Camp Creek State Park is well-managed and beautifully-maintained with an active foundation that raises money for cool stuff like the conversation fire pit with swings, located in the Mash Fork Campground, which is only 2-miles off the I-77 at exit 20 in Mercer County, WV.

Mash Fork is one of four campgrounds at Camp Creek  State Park which all offer picnic tables, grills and fire rings.  Mash Fork has RV and tent sites:  9 sites with electricity, 8 sites with electricity and water, or 9 sites with electricity, water and sewer.  The bathhouses are super nice, there's free WiFi, and they sell exceptionally generous bundles of firewood which the camp host will personally deliver to your site.

There's a small store in the Mash Fork Campground with camping supplies and some souvenirs.  Make sure you check the cooler for local free-range chicken eggs… Yum!

If you're looking for more rustic tent camping, head to the Blue Jay Campground.  If you're a horse owner, the Double C Horse and Rider Camp has 2, 4, or 6 horse occupancy sites all within the 6,000 acre Camp Creek State Park and Forest.

Camp Creek State Park has two beautiful waterfalls.  You can drive to both, but Mash Creek Falls is a short walk from the Mash Fork campground, so make sure you check it out. Campbell Creek Falls has a deep pool at the bottom where you can swim.  Camp Creek is stocked with trout in the spring, so expect to see lots of fishermen along the banks.

If you have time, you can check out 33-miles of trails which are loaded with wildflowers in the spring.

*A little local trivia:  Mash Fork gives you a hint about the area's moonshining past… wink, wink!

Campground Review - 

We pulled into this campground the long way!  We followed dirt roads through hollers and through cow pastures, passing turkey's and all kinds of creatures along the way!  We learned upon arrival - there is a much easier trek between Floyd VA and Fairy Stone - note to self!  

We started at the camp office and met the kind camp workers.  They were friendly and helped explain the layout and set up of Fairy Stone Park.  About a year ago, this park became half first come first served and half reservation only.  Each site has a yellow or red tag on it - the yellow tags have to be reserved by site number.  The red tags can be walk up sites.  

We met Ron, the camp host immediately.  He was making his way around campsites in his golf cart - as friendly as can be!  The rangers said he was the best camp host they ever had - and they were right!  He was wonderful, kind and helpful.  

We learned about the mysterious "Fairy Stones" and went to the hunt site to see for ourselves.  Sure enough - we found several fairy stones and the kids were very happy!  We came back to the visitor center and learned about the different types of fairy stones and how they form.  There is also a very cool bee hive at the visitor center - check it out!  

We camped at site #5 this time - at the top of the hill because the sky was rather ominous.  We had a bit of daylight and decided NOT to set up because the sky looked looming.  We picked our site though and then hung out at a shelter near the yurts.  The shelter was fantastic!  It was dry and the kids could play games and we cooked dinner and the dog hung out while we waited for the thunderstorm to pass.  Afterwards, we trekked back across the park to the campground and pitched our tent and uncovered our firepit and had a campfire!  

It poured - for hours - but our site stayed dry for the most part.  The tent pads at this campground are excellent and drain well - making that possible!  The fire flies were happy during one of the rain breaks - and the kids were happy in the tent with a light up balloon I found in our camping box!  (Hooray!!  Score one for the adults!) We had a great night sleep listening to the patter of rain on our tent and woke up to beautiful blue sky the next morning.

We went swimming down at the beach in the morning - $3 per person, but free for campers - just bring your pass!  There were beach volleyball courts - a kids water area and a free swimming water area open while we were there.  There was also a diving board off in some deep water - but that was not open this time. 

We would definitely be back to this site - but I recommend stronger bug spray.  We all left with more bites that we usually do camping!  

Side note:  There is an equestrian camp just outside the park gates - see pictures below! 

Product Review:

As a Ranger for The Dyrt, I get to review items.  I got to review Stream2Sea sunscreen while we were at Fairy Stone State Park.  https://stream2sea.com/ Stream2Sea is a mineral sunscreen that is reef safe and does not contain oxybenzone.  We have been using mineral sunscreen for several years and truly prefer it.  There is such a difference when you put it on your skin and you don't feel slimy!  On the other hand - if you use to much, you end up looking like a ghost, or slightly purple! 

We used just a small amount and rubbed it in really well.  Even the bottle is ecofriendly - made from sugar cane instead of plastic!  We were big fans of the company - really supporting what they stand for and glad to help a company that is trying to help protect the environment.  

After a couple hours of beach play - we had no burned faces and only exhausted children to pack into the car.  I am a big fan of the suncreen and love what the company stands for!

GREENBRIER RIVER TRAIL MILE POST 9.5 PRIMITIVE CAMPSITE, KEISTER, WV

Greenbrier River Trail Primitive Campsite at Mile Post 9.5 is close enough to North Caldwell, WV…the GBT Southern Terminus…that you could make a quick journey north from the parking area for an exceptional night of camping.

Traveling West Virginia's Greenbrier River Trail from it's Northern Terminus at Cass Railroad, Stumptown to it's Southern Terminus in North Caldwell has created a thirst that can only be slaked by multiple future returns. What a fantastic trail!

The Shelter is so new its not even noted on any but the newest Trail Map. It appears that individuals or families have either constructed or donated for the construction of both shelters and several protected bench areas. The Dale McCutcheon Shelter was so clean and comfortable, it's hard to call this primitive camping. Note: All campsites on the Greenbrier River Trail are first come-first served…no reservations. Backstory on McCutcheon Shelter: https://www.wvnstv.com/news/west-virginia-news/greenbrier-county/new-shelters-built-along-greenbrier-river-trail/

PROS:

• Adirondock Style Shelter (New)
• Raised Tent pads
• Picnic Tables
• Metal Fire Rings
• Large, clean Pit Latrine
• Hand pump well water
• Metal Bear Proof Trash Receptacle
• Free
• No Cell Service
• Great Swimming Rock Trail South

CONS:

• No Cell Service
• Hand pump well water was inoperable during our late June 2020 visit

NEARBY HIGHLIGHTS:

• The Greenbrier Resort
• The Wild Bean - Lewisburg (restaurant)
• Seneca Forest/State Park
• Snowshoe Mountain Resort
• Cass Railroad
• Spruce Knob
• Seneca Rocks

In late June 2020, weather along The Greenbrier River Trail was cooler, with late afternoon/early evening rain showers. Only the last day did we enjoy warmer weather with blue skies. Which made the allure of a nearby swimming rock a great temptation. Several mall cascades lined the West side of the trail, which is ordinarily the side cut from the mountain for the railway. 

With a few short miles until the journey ends at the Southern Terminus…we slowed our paced and stopped more frequently to enjoy all the sights and sounds.  

Trail conditions got soft and muddy after the previous night's deluge through the more heavily wooded areas, once the trail was exposed to constant sun, it dried quickly. Blow-down did slow us down a few times. Interesting note: This campsite area is a relocation of one destroyed by the heavy rains and buried by landslide of 2016. The Greenbrier Trail itself travels between the Greenbrier River and was, in many places, hewn from the mountainside. It is these areas where heavy rains soften the soil and old growth trees dislodge and cause trail blockages and/or mudslides. Oftentimes, when bicycling, one keeps his eyes forward to the trail/road in front of them…but if you gaze around you on this trail…there is much to see all around and often above!

Overall, it is a must-do…and I can't wait to ride the Greenbrier River Trail again!

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.

Don's Cab-Inns Campground unique for several reasons. First, it is a private campground located in a public park - in this case, Explore Park in Roanoke, Virginia (milepost 115 on the Blue Ridge Parkway). Explore Park is run by Roanoke County, who partners with different vendors to create a full outdoor experience for folks who want to the gamut of outdoor adventures without having to drive all over the place. Within Explore Park, you can hike, mountain bike, take a trail ride on horseback, paddle the Roanoke River, go tubing, pitch a tent, embark on an aerial adventure course, and more. 

Explore Park is, as far as I know, the only public park and campground on the Blue Ridge Parkway that isn't run by the National Park Service. There are many different camping options at Explore Park. At Don's Cab-Inns, you can stay in a standard RV site with electricity hook-ups, a tiny cabin that sleeps between 4 and 6 people, or a yurt, which has electricity and a bathroom.

Another private company, Blue Mountain Adventures, offers primitive tent camping, and glamping tents, which I'll also review.

I stopped at Explore Park and Don's Cab-Inns Campground while road tripping on the Blue Ridge Parkway in Virginia. The campground opened in the fall of 2018, and everything still feels brand new. Of the 18 or so sites available, I think half of them were full during my visit on a weekend in early May.

The little cabins include a full-size bed below and another in the loft, air conditioning, heat, electricity, a microwave, a small refrigerator, and a coffee pot. There is a fire pit, water spigot, and picnic table outside the cabin, as well as a lovely front porch to relax on. 

You do have to bring your own bed linens or a sleeping bag with you. The brand new bathhouse includes private bathrooms with showers, and there is a small store on site for buying ice, firewood, and necessities like bug spray or soap. 

Cost for the small cabins is $75 per night. The yurts, which have their own full bathroom are $100 per night.  

My cabin was delightful. My bed was comfortable, and Don was a delightful host. He even showed me around the other sites so I could see what I was missing. This is definitely a five-star campground, and Roanoke is an awesome town to explore -- breweries, a walkable downtown, and great hiking and mountain biking.

Cute place off the freeway with water access and a playground, 6 mile hiking trail to waterfall and not far from town. There is a train station nearby and the trains are loud. They come by every now and then night and day, they do live music some nights and church gatherings where a man basically yells all night long. Lots of freeway noise so the nightly fee is kinda stupid considering you won't get any sleep if you stay here. The river is super planted so I wouldn't swim here either sadly.. and the showers have NO water presser yet you gotta pay for a bathroom key otherwise there's porta-potties by the dumpster.

Campground is well maintained. Many trees along edge of the campground but not very many in the center, so the sites on the outer loop have more shade if that’s what you’re looking for. Showers were the best of any campground I’ve seen- water gets as hot as you’d like, with great water pressure and plenty of hooks and towel racks. Laundry room available in bathhouse. Little camp store is located within the campground loop. No service for Verizon users… Sites have wifi but I could only get it to work 20% of the time.

We were in site number eight, it backed up to the creek and was quite private with the exception of the trail on the other side of the creek. The hiking is difficult in some areas but spectacularly beautiful. The campground staff was very friendly, and in the amenities were clean and kept up.

The campground is beautiful and quiet in the camp creek state park. It is an easy 20 minute drive to Winter Place if you want to go skiing during the winter. There is not good service, but the campground has fairly good WiFi.

Friendly staff, clean sites, hikes to Falls are easy to get to and enjoy. Park enforces quiet time hours which is great for those who go to bed early and rise early. Bathroom could be updated but clean and well stocked.

We state at the tent campsites for 4 days. Very clean and well kept. I will say the outhouses were a bit rough, but most are—a lot of hiking and sightseeing. I could not be there during prime trout season, so I didn't get any fishing in. I would recommend this state park.

This was a convienent campground right off the highway, easy to get to, small but has a few full hookup sites. The site we stayed at had a small babbling brook right behind it and also a trail head that climbed up and back down right into the campground. Very nice trail for the dogs and I to get some exercise on. There are also more trails on the other side of the road and a waterfall fairly close by!

We stayed here for one night on our way back north. We got the last site available and it was pretty decent. Site 10 across from the bathhouse. The site was very level, as were most sites. Many have full hookups and several are right along the creek. The waterfalls are a short walk from the campground. Firewood is available and they deliver it to your site. The bundles are quite generous in size. We will definitely stop here again.

This campground was very nice and very clean. The staff was awesome. Spots were nice. Campground was small but quaint. The falls are easily accessible and were beautiful even without an abundance of water. Very relaxing stay...

Great park. Nice playgrounds clean lots 30 and 50 amp service as well as boondock sites. Waterfalls are easily accessible. Did notice people leaving trash and clothing around them. Garbage cans are all over but people just don't care.

Just off I-77, but the interstate is barely audible from this great no-frills campground.

This park is quiet, secluded and has plenty of trails to hike! The site I use exclusively has a river running behind it and the sounds lull you to sleep any time of day!

There is a general store that has just about anything you'd need in a pinch to get by. ABSOLUTELY LOVE this park.

We had a nice site near a stream and close to the bathrooms however, even though the campground is open year round, the bathrooms are not. We were told there was one open bathroom however it was not made clear this was 1-2 miles away which was not exactly convenient. Rustic camping is fine when we have planned for it. Early in the morning (around 7) workers arrived to work on the closed bathrooms for the opening in a few weeks. The website information is not accurate so definitely call (we were told when we called that the website is several years out of date). It seems like it would be great during regular season.

General: Mash Fork is one of three campgrounds at Camp Creek State Park and is the developed one. It is small (18 sites) with a mix of 30-amp, 30-amp with water, 50-amp with water and electric, and FHU sites. 

Site Quality: All camper pads are paved, have a generous camper pad length, and most are spread a decent amount of space apart. 

Bath/Shower House: was very clean. Instant hot water was appreciated at the tap (it was in the 30s when we were there in mid-October) Hooks and shelves for toiletries were appreciated. Did not use the shower.

Activities/Amenities: Playground, basketball, volleyball, laundry (but there was water on the floor so not sure if there was a leak), several hiking trails including trails to two waterfalls, and an ADA-accessible short trail. The waterfalls were very sparse when we were there so not sure about other times of the year. There is an office with a small store. 

This was only an overnight stay for us but very enjoyable. We'd definitely come back.

Stopped here for a quick overnight and this beautiful campground had us wishing we could stay longer.

Camp Creek State Park was easy to find as our RV GPS and Waze brought us right to the Campground(CG). Check-in was quick at the little office right inside this small CG. We then proceed to back-in site 21 with FHUs, which was an easy back in. The site was nice and wide with plenty of space on each side. On the park map it was designated ADA(as was site 22) but we had booked online not seeing any restrictions. We did note after hooking into water that their water pressure was not very good at about 25 psi. The CG has WiFi but admittedly at the office its spotty at best. We got about 3 or 4 OTA channels, with one being a prime channel. We didn’t try satellite but could probably have gotten a signal. We also got 2 bars each on Verizon and AT&T. There are actually two campgrounds in this little state park, Mash Fork where we were and Blue Jay on the other side of the park that is tent camping. Both check in at the Mash Fork office. Site 21 was a nice site that had shade in the afternoon, which would be nice in warmer weather but when we were there first week of April, we had snow and freezing temps. The campsites that ran along the creek were water& 30 AMP and could only take an RV up to 35’. FHU sites were on the opposite side and middle of CG. Probably the best big rig campsite with FHUs with plenty of yard space and some creek view is 26. Both CGs have a large creek running adjacent to the CG. Trout fishing was very popular though I didn’t catch any. They do restock this time of year. There are quite a few trails to hike to include the Mash Fork Falls trail that goes to the Mash Fork Falls then around the mountain to the other side of the park. Its a difficult level hike up the side of the mountain, but once you get up its not too bad if you’re in somewhat decent shape. You don't have to take the difficult trail to see the Mash Fork Falls, there is a flat road next to the Mash Fork Campground that goes right down to the falls. They sell firewood and ice at the Mash Fork office and there’s laundry on the backside of the bath house with 2 washers($1.00) and 3 dryers($1.50). Nearest major amenities(Walmart etc.) are at exit 9 off I-77 South in Princeton, WV. As a point of reference, Camp Creek is exit 20. We enjoyed our stay and would go back again.

We loved every moment of our stay from the fire pit to the beautiful tails on the property to seeing the farm animals .  The constant songs of the birds is a reminder that we belong in nature. The cabin was decorated very nicely and was clean and the bed was very comfy also. The farm is 4 miles from a quaint small town with shops and great restaurants.  Lots of local attractions from State parks, Greenbrier rails to tails (77 miles long ), Greenbrier river (Kayaking) and a couple caves to explore. While we were packing up our belongings to head home we talked about how much we love this place. The host were amazing and we have made some unforgettable memories on this property. We cant wait to come back in the future.

Our family loved this campground! It is close to Roanoke and it is off the Blue Ridge Parkway. It is located in Explore Park. This park is growing by leaps and bounds. It has mountain bike trails, a cool vintage village, access to the Roanoke River, an aerial obstacle course, and more cool stuff. We stayed in one of the cabins and it was definitely roomier than it looks. The bathrooms were impeccable and close to the cabins. Great place to stay.