Best Equestrian Camping near Galax, VA

This is a group equestrian camp that can be reserved via Recreation.gov for$50/night for up to 25 people. There is no potable water available, so plan to bring your own. There is a stream at the site where the horses may drink. There's enough space for a number of trailers, including large ones, and up to 25 horses. There's a fair amount of grassy area and it's lined with rhododendron. Dumpster provided. No cell service.

There are a number of horse trails that connect, starting with the Virginia Highlands Horse Trail nearby, so you don't need to trailer your horses to get to the trailhead

This equestrian campground in a beautiful state forest allows for other campers to make reservations no more than 30 days in advance; priority is for campers with horses. This state park has wild horses of its own, but has numerous multi-use and equestrian trails and connects with additional trails in the area for up to 66 miles of riding. Chestnut Hollow is distinct from the Hickory Ridge campground.

The campsites are back-in along a single spur with turn-around at the end. There are  bathrooms with showers and a sink for laundry. Fees are $20-23/night, slightly higher for out of state campers. There are open and closed stall options for an additional fee. These were clean and in good repair. Although the official season runs May - October, it is open for primitive camping March, April, and November.

Site are long, gravel, relatively level with water/electric.

Lot s of wildlife! We camped at an equestrian campgrounds, chestnut ridge perhaps? Saw a Family of black bear about a mile from camp then a bobcat in camp later that day! Great facilities and located very close to Wilbur ridge where the wild ponies are! The AT is very close and waterfall hikes can be accessed from camp.also lots of great bouldering in the area

With a wide network of multi-use trails in this area, Fox Creek Horse Camp provides a nice base for exploring on horseback. Sites have a gravel/grass pads, picnic table, and fire ring. Portable toilets available. Bring your own water. No hookups provided. Hitching posts at sites. Manure collection available. At $5/night, it's hard to beat the price.

Campers are frequently referred to Grindstone campground for potable water and showers, but as of 2021, the dump station and bath houses/water are off; if you need services plan to travel about 15 minutes to Hurricane Campground instead.

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!

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.

I went back and forth on whether I should give this rating two stars or three. In the end, I chose three stars because the mountain itself is so amazing. Geologically this was great place to visit and the trails were well marked and maintained. Beautiful hike. The campground was beautiful but the facilities were run down and dirty. It had, by far, the nastiest park/campground facilities I’ve seen in Kentucky, North Carolina or Virginia this year. I know this park is mobbed on the weekends, but I checked in on a Tuesday and stayed for two nights. The facilities, including the campground bathhouse and the park’s “comfort stations” were dirty, smelly and had bugs in them. The trash in the bathhouse was not emptied in the two days I was there. There was not a single exterior light to the bathhouse, not even something as reasonable as a motion sensor light that would be more energy efficient than a constant lighting option.
Compared to New River State Park, despite the giant Stone Mountain, this was the bottom of the barrel.

Great place to spend a night. Everything open during the winter

I stayed here for three nights in early November, 2022. The camp sites are mostly level, well maintained and have tent pads, tables and fire rings. I chose a site that had water and electric hook-ups. The bathrooms were heated, clean and the men’ bathroom had two showers.

Great trails, and lots to do. Climbing up Stone Mountain was fun.

Awesome place! Campgrounds were nice and spaced out, well maintained...we were right by a small stream that you could hear...stone loop mountain trail is incredible! Long and strenuous but all ages were hiking it...homestead was so neat to walk around at the base of the mountain. Only negative is there showers. Very frustrating....you have to push the shower head to get water...great way to conserve but it gave you no time to enjoy the water. Made it hard to shower and it came out blasting all over the place....only complaint :)

First time visiting and camping, really enjoyed how clean and quiet the campground was. Campsite itself was perfect, close to hiking and easily accessible. Definitely will return!

This campground is well-maintained and in a beautiful location.It’s a pretty clean place with a friendly and personable staff.

The campground, paths, and bathrooms were very clean. Beautiful views at Rock Falls. If we didn't have our dogs with us we would have done hikes longer than 4 miles.

Stone Mountain State Park is where it's at! It is off the beaten path but is one of our favorite spots that is not in the mountains. There are so many trails, waterfalls, etc. around here. The land really is gorgeous. The campground is spacious and offers nice views as well. Plenty of wildlife was seen while here! As an added bonus, the Mountains to Sea trail cuts right through the park. Check it out!

Stone Mountain is great for family camping. Some great trails with beautiful views, also good rock climbing. One of my favorite spots in NC.

I wish i could have spent more time here, but we were only using this as a 2/3 stopping point for the night on our way to Edisto Beach SC. It’s the only NC. State Park I’ve ever stayed in, but the most well kept I’ve ever seen. Gravel pads were freshly raked like a Zen garden. Fire pits were not only cleaned out but looked like they were vacuumed. water and electricity included. If this is an example of all NC. state parks, I’ll be back.

the park was amazing. the hiking trails are wonderful and if you do the Stone Mountain Loop Trail the views are 100% worth it.

There are a few different loops. The tent only sites have lots of shade and every 2 sites shares water.

We stayed in loop B, #51. We had zero shade. There lot was big and clean with electric and water hook ups for our motorhome.

There's quite a bit of wildlife to view also.

WiFi only at visitors center.

WE LOVED IT. IT WAS COLD IN MARCH BUT WE STILL ENJOYED IT. WE WILL DEFINITELY BE BACK.

Great location with lots of hiking trails to choose from. Car-camping makes this great for families, the camp sites are generously sized and spaces for privacy. We will be back!

We stayed here one night passing through on our 3 week trip of SHEN NP, Blue Ridge Parkway and Great Smoky Mountains NP. So much was accessible from this location I wish we would have stayed in this area longer! The sites were the perfect size, campground was quiet and not too busy despite it being a Friday night. Will definitely book here again on our next trip through!

The tent sites are built into a hill that provides an abundance of trees to hang hammocks and to keep well protected from the sun. The RV spots are located out in the open area and one loop sits right on a creek. The RV spots are sunnier with limited trees to shade from the sun during the summer months. For a NC state park, the bathroom and shower amenities are clean, warm and well stocked with toilet paper. The tent spots are a perfect place to hang hammocks and the tent pads are pretty sizable!

I am giving this review a 5 based on 2 different elements: 1) cleanliness of the camp site was beyond expectation. Not all campground hosts clean out the fire pit on a daily basis. When arriving, there was no trace of the former camper at all. No micro trash, no left over spikes and the campsite was freshly raked and all coals/ash were swept out of the fire ring. 2) welcoming personalities of the camp ground host and and employees. The campground host stopped to ask if we needed anything and to remind us the program that was taking place the next morning.

For tent camping, choose the following sites if you need to park 2 cars at the campsite: #7, #9, #14 and #18. The other campsites have enough space for one car at each site.

The campgrounds were perfect for a few days and there were enough hiking trails around to keep us busy. Most of the trails were very easy, but the view on top of Stone Mountain was nice. I don’t think it was exceptional but overall was a nice camping trip.

Stone mountain park is amazing but the campgrounds are lacking. The park host was unhelpful and rude. The wood was overpriced and was more kindling than anything else. Very little spots with actual shade. Cramped feeling throughout. The showers/bathroom were disgustingly dirty and for the women's room there is only one large trash bin with zero in the stalls. You tell a pre-teen to walk her sanitary supplies out to the main bin and see the reaction you get! Simple things like that would improve most anyones experience. We deove the rv portion and the lack of shade and space was even worse! The pads are spacious and level but hard as a rock so staking is tricky. We crammed in 2 days worth of activities into one so that we could leave a night early. I think we might have been a little salty and maybe overly harsh in our review because of how we were treated by the host. We've only had one stay that ranked lower than stone though.

Lots of nice spot, tons of wildlife and deer. Plenary of hiking and mice shower house. A must do.

Great hikes and area for the family. Beautiful scenery and some great. Swimming holes.

Stone Mountain state park is my all time favorite camping spots. We take our kids every year to their beautiful campground. There is so much to do; hike, swim, picnic. Cheap, and easily accessible Stone Mountain is a great weekend get away.