Best Campgrounds near Gainesville, VA

I hate leaving bad reviews, but I think people should be aware of this campsite. First thing we noticed when we arrived at the campsite was that it was very tight. We had a pull through campsite, but on the camp side it was all dirt and grass that look like it hadn’t been mowed in over two weeks. With the heat and humidity we have been having for the last couple weeks, I knew this was gonna be a buggy site. Then the rains came and everything turned into mud. We had a rug laid down, but the mud and water worked its way through that. We couldn’t enter the RV without tracking mode through it. On days it was raining we spent a lot of time in the camper. That’s when we discovered another issue. On almost all occasions there was no Internet. We had a strong Wi-Fi signal, but no Internet. Upon talking to some of our neighbors who frequented this campsite, they said they had never seen it this bad. The other thing too, was that there was hardly any trash receptacles. Ending this on a good note, we loved how close it was to historical Harpers Ferry, and how convenient it was to be able to walk to the visitor center and catch a ferry. It really is a beautiful area. I would hope that the management of this KOA would address these issues, because I’m sure I’m not gonna be the only one to leave a negative review about this campground.

Terrible experience. Very, very noisy. So loud couldn't sleep. Just wanted to rest for a night. Was awakened by extremely rude staff when I just wanted to rest. All those bad reviews are true. Never had such a bad experience. As I was filling the fresh water for travel it overflowed and revealed the huge amount of septic black water which really smelled. Looked pretty but that revealed their true nature, turd with a ribbon on it. The staff was so rude and really had a mean demeanor, just as other reviews have stated. I will never stay there and though I usually only give good reviews, I felt compelled to warn others. This place has park nazis in golf carts that harass people. I saw it happen to others who cut their stay short. No wonder the park was almost empty.

After several nights of not sleeping at a busy campground at another national park, I was prepared for no sleep here. But that was not the case.

Though this campground is HUGE, the sites are not piled on top of each other. Our site, B112, was surrounded by shrubs under the canopy of trees which provided tons of privacy. Plus the accessible site across from us was empty during our whole stay, which added to the privacy.

The bathroom was a nice short walk away, but the proximity did have some drawbacks. The vent sounds like a diesel truck idling nonstop. At night people using flashlights and headlamps walking away from the bathroom shine them into your tent. The smell sometimes wafted over as well.

The bugs when we got here were kinda crazy. They don’t bite but they swarm your head and try to enter every orifice for some reason. A head net was helpful to get the tent and screen room set up.

Though there is privacy and it was fairly quiet in the afternoon, at night it can get loud with kids running around and being noisy.

Like all huge, busy campgrounds, it gets very Smoky in the evenings.

No cell service. We went to the visitor center and connected to the WiFi if we needed to do something online. The camp store has a lot of stuff! The showers are $5 for 10 minutes. Kind of a steep price. Make sure you test that it works BEFORE you get set up and get naked. My first quarter got jammed and I had to redress and pack up to move to a different one.

You will definitely see deer in the campground as they walk through and browse the understory. They are unafraid of humans unless directly approached (I did not do this, but I watched someone’s child do it).

And finally, the fireflies are spectacular. At dusk, the ground shimmers, and then after they disperse, you will still see them flit by the tent throughout the night.