Looking for the best options for tent camping near Forest? You can find tent campsites by type, including drive-in, walk-in, and even hike-in for a backpacking adventure. You're sure to find the perfect tent campsite for your Virginia camping adventure.
Canoe Landing Group Campsite (one primitive site) - There's a group site near the canoe landing. The site accommodates up to 42 people - no hookups, tents only. It's near a restroom and features a fire ring with a flip grill, picnic tables and a pedestal grill. There's a $30 fee for canceling a group-camping reservation.
$15 - $80 / night
Camping reservations are highly recommended, and all campgrounds are site-specific - call 1-800-933-7275. The park has five campgrounds. Three of them, Branch Pond, Walnut Grove and Canoe Landing, are open year-round for primitive camping. There are primitive restrooms at those campgrounds. Drinking water is unavailable in the primitive campgrounds, but potable water is available at five of the six picnic shelters. Canoe Landing is the only campground on the river. Please note that primitive sites do not have electricity.
$15 - $18 / night
$40 - $70 / night
Camping reservations are highly recommended, and all campgrounds are site-specific - call 1-800-933-7275. The park has five campgrounds. Three of them, Branch Pond, Walnut Grove and Canoe Landing, are open year-round for primitive camping. There are primitive restrooms at those campgrounds. Drinking water is unavailable in the primitive campgrounds, but potable water is available at five of the six picnic shelters. Canoe Landing is the only campground on the river. Please note that primitive sites do not have electricity.
Branch Pond - Seven primitive sites in a wooded area about two miles from the river (BranchPondPrimTent). Tents only. Each site has a tent pad.
$15 - $18 / night
The best way to find out what areas are open to dispersed camping is to contact the nearest District Office to the area you wish to visit. Dispersed camping is not allowed in the vicinity of developed recreation areas such as campgrounds, picnic areas, or trailheads. Many people drive out on Forest Service roads and look for a clearing or a spot with a view. Do not drive on meadows to access your camping site. Drive on existing roads to prevent resource damage. Dispersed camping is allowed in a one-mile perimeter away from campgrounds and 200 feet from any stream. To prevent resource damage please keep your campsite within 150 feet from a roadway.
Hopper Creek Group Camp offers a rustic atmosphere under the trees for group camping. Nestled in the Blue Ridge Mountains, the area welcomes visitors to enjoy the natural beauty and relaxing atmosphere.
A mowed, grassy area is available for games and organized activities. Hiking trails surround the area, offering everything from short walks in and around Cave Mountain Lake Recreation Area to a full day hike along the nearby ridges. Backpacking opportunities are also available on the nearby Appalachian National Scenic Trail, in the James River Face Wilderness or in the Thunder Ridge Wilderness.
A small stream gurgles past the camping area flowing downstream into Hopper Creek on its way to the James River. The campground sits at an approximate elevation of 1,100 feet at the base of Thunder Ridge.
Hopper Creek is 3 miles from Cave Mountain Lake Recreation Area, which offers a day use area with sandy beach, designated swimming area and covered picnic shelter. Natural Bridge State Park is within an 8 mile drive and offers visitors views of the 215 foot tall Natural Bridge and limestone gorge, 6 miles of hiking trails, a Monacan Indian village and the 30 foot cascades of Lace Falls. Natural Bridge State Park is also a great place for unobstructed sky views and star gazing on mowed paths. Canoeing, kayaking and fishing are available in the nearby James River.
$20 - $40 / night
Located just minutes off exit 29 on I-64 in the beautiful, eastern end of Alleghany County is the newly formed Waltons Campground. This cozy, family owned and managed area offers seven rustic tent campsites and one additional site that can accommodate a small camper not exceeding 15ft in length. Providing a great balance between primitive and comfortable, Waltons Campground offers county furnished, potable water and a non-flush toilet. Every campsite is equipped with a picnic table, fire ring and lantern hanger for your convenience. Parking for one vehicle per site is included within the interior of the campground with additional parking available to the left of the exit. We do not have a shower facility.
Less than 1000 ft across Nicelytown Road you will find the Sharon Park and public access to the pristine Cowpasture River where many kayak, fish, and play all summer long. The charming small town of Clifton Forge is 4 miles away. Less than 10 miles away, Douthat State Park hosts a lake for swimming and fishing, numerous hiking trails, and many other family friendly activities.
Your reservation is not site specific unless you are bringing a small camper. Campsites 1-7 are tent sites, picked on arrival. Campsite 8 is the only camper site.
You may conveniently pay for your stay using Venmo @WaltonsCampground or pay on arrival in the drop box on the side of the firewood stand. Drop your envelope with the reservation name and amount due. Need firewood for your stay? We have $5 bundles, $10 bin and $20 bin options available for purchase. You may use the cash drop box for this, as well.
For GPS directions please use 4017 Nicelytown Road, Clifton Forge, VA. The campground entrance is directly across from this address. Enter from Nicelytown and exit on Firehouse Circle.
For DAY OF reservations, call or text 540-632-0349 or message us on Facebook! We look forward to seeing you!
$25 / night
Guide
This was such a awesome campground!! First time ever staying and everybody was so helpful and friendly. He had the camp host come and check on us to see how things were. We stayed at the group 105 site and could not have been happier with that pick. It was off all by itself with the other 4 group primitive sites. Sites were huge and you could arrange and set up however you liked. Really loved that having 2 vehicles and 3 tents we had so much room. Loved the bathhouse being close too. Just a quick little walk/or drive around the corner the showers and stalls were so clean as well. Fire ring was huge too and they have wood on site. We even checked out the restaurant and bar/brewery on site. Everything looked so cool loved the way everything was set up. We will 100% be coming back and do the group site again. ur original plans of going off into the national forest and dispersed camping got canceled so we hated we couldn't do that. But this site the way they are set up really makes you feel like you are still out there disperse camping but with the luxury of a campground being so close. Loved it so much!
Guide
This place has tons of activities for kids and teens. This place has a family feel to it.
Guide
Went in August and it was very buggy, also had someone park pretty close which when I drive down a really long dirt road that is questionable for my van, i want it to be private and this was about 5 miles of dirt road to get to it.
Traveler
This is a very well maintained& clean campground. The owner is great and the camp host was very attentive. There is a good sized catch and release pond, we were at site#17 that was one site from the pond and not sure if you could see the water from#18 but the short walk to the pond is up a small hill/bunker like thing so there’s not a direct view of the water from#17 if that’s what you are looking for. There is a good play area and nice pavilion for groups and a smaller camping area down from the bathhouse. We have a 22’ TT, but I imagine the turn into the campground with a large motorhome would need some consideration for the driver to take their time. The drive to Smith Mountain Lake is not bad. The entry road off of RT 40 is at an angle, not a 90 degree turn so if you are coming from the East, it’s at the top of the hill but more than a 90 deg turn, coming from the West on 40 it’s an easy turn but you can’t see the traffic coming up the hill so be careful. There’s a convenience store, Penhook store, on 40 and it does have some raw and frozen meats, bait, ice, charcoal and the other basic store stuff. We came from the West and Rocky Mount has a Kroger and Wak-Mart. Wi-Fi was standard campground speed, didn’t use the bathhouse,power and water presser were good, site could have been a bit more level but they may work on that over the winter. Check in was a breeze, directly to the site but still greeted and checked on by the host. Some full timers and seasonal trailers but they were in good shape and clean. September stay so still had mosquitoes and fresh stink bugs, yeah! Have fun!
Traveler
I love this campground, it’s 5 to 10 minutes from BV, right on the river, primitive with bathrooms, which is fine with me, I sleep in my forerunner with my two dogs, plenty of land and trails, it’s perfect for what I need👍
TravelerLess than 10 campsites, all with fire circles and a public bathroom site. each campsite is on the river, very beautiful.
ScoutLoved this little campground. Nice and quiet, toilets available (though not very clean but good enough). Only thing is that there’s a dog, we think from a property nearby, that acts aggressive towards campers. Luckily it went home around 18h, so we had a great night, but it was back the next morning and immediately had aggressive behavior. So watch out and be careful with your food!
Traveler
very private, $15 a night, water, bathrooms, right on the river, pet friendly👍.. right next to the AT.. I have a German shepherd and a mini Australian shepherd and they had a blast!
ScoutNot sitting in a field!!! Pretty and quiet. Lovely
Scout
Staff were friendly campground was nice with shade pull throughs and fairly level.
TravelerThunder BRidge is a unique property tucked away in the Blue Ridge Mountains. Near Natural Bridge State Park in Virginia, the campground was once a CCC camp. Now it is home to many quiet tent sites, screen cabins, log cabins, and even some fully furnished rental cabins.
The campground is about 60% wooded, the rest is open ground with buildings from the camp's earlier days. The open area includes several artists' studios. At one edge is a forest creek, great for wading.
The campground is mostly tenting sites and rustic cabins, but there are RV sites in the open area.
This is not a "resort" but you won't find a more beautiful, quiet campground!
Traveler
Camped over night twice. Bathrooms stay open 24/7. Made fire no problems. River does rise alittle overnight if camping with tent. Very quiet & peaceful at night.
Guide
Campsite was clean, campsite were close to other campsite. There are no showers. The staff were friendly and were able to help with all questions I had. They went above and beyond to help make you stay a good experience.
TravelerOur camping trip in Virginia was a step into serene simplicity for just $15. Nestled in a beautiful forest, we found peace with no electricity, no internet, and no phone signals—just pure nature. The campsite featured picnic tables, a fire pit, and even hooks to hang a cauldron for boiling water or cooking fish, adding to the rustic charm. Although there were no showers or sinks, the pit toilet served its purpose well. We spent our time enjoying a barbecue under the stars, fully embracing the natural world around us. Despite bear warnings and the lack of modern conveniences, this getaway left us refreshed and grateful for the peacefulness that only nature can offer.
Traveler
Probably a great place to camp during the fall. During the summer they lease space to the 4-H club that teaches people to shoot black powder muskets for the civil war reenactments. From 8:30am until 3-5pm it sounds like a gun range. It’s not a shot here and there, its volleys of black powder guns (think cannons) being shot all at once. It echos off the water and is the opposite of peaceful. The ranger said it would only be for an hour a day, unless it was a competition day, well for the 5 days we were there it must have been competition. We ended up leaving the park during the day.
The sites are good. Most need lots of leveling help (bring spare wood!). The newer part has a nice bathhouse. The older part had a really old bathhouse. (So old it’s hard to tell if it’s dirty or just old.)
It’s not a bad place to visit. But combat veterans should avoid during the summer months.
The sites are nice. The ones in the newer area (laurel ridge) are close to the nice bathhouse. Both bathhouses have WiFi. No cell service to speak of. (We have Verizon but most of these places have none.)
Scout
Nice campground in line with expectations for most Virginia state parks. Verizon service is spotty 1 to 2 bars and unreliable data but with a directional cell booster we are able to get enough signal for our Verizon Jetpack to work
Guide
The staff is friendly and go out of there way to answer questions you may have. The camp site are spaced out good. They do have showers and rest rooms and water near your camp site. Can’t wait to visit again.
Scout$150 per night is crazy. Nothing special about the campground except proximity to devils backbone. This is a parking spot in a field with no trees and the sewer likely on the wrong side. There are no amenities. We’ve stayed many times but plan to go elsewhere going forward.
Guide
Tina is a very nice lady! Camp in her house driveway, it is my first time, but quiet and safe neighborhood. We arrived very late evening, after nine o'clock. she help us hoop up the electricity and water.
It is a nice alternate campground!
Ranger
Awesome large spaces. Camped with 8 people/ 2 tents and had room for more if needed. Secluded enough but a lot to do. Will definitely return!
Guide
Chris is establishing a couple of sites on his private property and getting organized. Simple and just off the road, but quiet. Chris is friendly and reachable by phone. A short 100 yards to a rushing creek. We needed a last minute spot during Memorial Day weekend and Chris set us up. Now showers, flat gravel site with pull through between hookups and picnic table platform.
Traveler
For $43.24 we got a pull through site with full hookups. However, we had to disconnect shore power because we kept tripping the 50A service even when we turned our draw down to 30A. As we head into 2 weeks of sewerless sites, this made sense for us to stop, shower, laundry, and top up on power and water. If you don’t have that sort of limitation ahead, this gas station truck stop likely isn’t worth your money.
ScoutNice camping spots on the pedlar river in Amherst county. Multiple spots along reservoir rd.
RangerPeaks of Otter is a Blue Ridge Parkway must see. The campground sits at the foot of the iconic Sharp Top mountain but there is hiking galore here.
TravelerGreat spot with clean facilities. Cell phones worked just fine. They are adding more electric sites. Walk to the brewery. Probably my favorite improved camp site for beer enthusiasts!
Ranger
I have been to many music festivals here, and always find myself impressed by the view and the river. Lots of great site options for whatever your preference is! It's also a convenient walking or driving distance from the rest of town.
RangerCaught the foliage here in October and it was amazing and not too crowded! Facilities are clean and in good shape, you can buy firewood down the road, and there’s nice hiking nearby.
Frequently Asked Questions
Which is the most popular tent campsite near Forest, VA?
According to TheDyrt.com, the most popular tent campground near Forest, VA is Canoe Landing Group Campsite — James River State Park with a 4.5-star rating from 28 reviews.
What is the best site to find tent camping near Forest, VA?
TheDyrt.com has all 17 tent camping locations near Forest, VA, with real photos and reviews from campers.
