Best Equestrian Camping near George Washington & Jefferson National Forests

The Red Oak sites were gravel and fairly level and the bathhouse was nice. There is an equestrian camping area (and stalls) for people with horses.  The cabins and lodges have 2, 3, and 6 bedrooms and look beautiful. There is even a canoe-in campground.  Activities that can be done include tubing on the river, canoeing and kayaking, fishing, hiking, biking, horseback riding trails, wagon ride, and lots of park events.

This is a wonderful spot for viewing the stars because of the lack of light pollution. James River State Park has been named an International Dark Sky Park.

The sites were very generous in size - not cramped at all! Sites were partially shaded and backed up to woods. Lots of beautiful hiking/biking/equestrian trails to explore. Bathrooms were very clean and nice. Bundles of firewood sold $7 each. Nice fire ring at each site. Pet friendly. Will definitely return!!

Very nice campground with water and electric right on the river for $32, clean bathrooms and showers, and very nice owners. We stayed for one night but most of the others staying there had horses and were staying a while. The only slight negative is the town is closed down, so make sure you bring everything you need to eat and drink.

We thoroughly enjoyed this campground. Very peaceful, surrounded by mountains. The campground had stables and catered to people with horses, but we felt very welcomed by the owners. The campground was very quiet and is actually very near to what is referred to as"The Quiet Zone." Pocahontas County is home to the Green Bank National Radio Astronomy Observatory, a federal complex whose giant single-dish telescope detects"invisible energy waves" from space. Within 10 miles of the Observatory, the use of cell phones, Wi-Fi, microwaves, and other devices is banned. 

Most of the sites were full hook-ups and the facilities were very clean and well maintained. 

This campground in Durbin was great for exploring the north end of the Greenbrier River Trail, The West Fork Rail Trail, and other sites in the Monongahela National Forest. There isn't much in the town of Durbin except the Durbin Rocket, a century-old train, on which riders can experience a 10 mile, two-hour ride.

A favorite of our for years! All types of sites and hookups plus cabins. Fishing, lake swimming, hiking, educational opportunities galore. Security is good but not overwhelming. Virginia is for lovers and camping lovers!

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

Greenbrier River Trail Mile Post 49.3 Primitive Campsite, Watoga, WV

West Virginia's **Greenbrier River Trail  (GRT) **stretches from its Northern Terminus at the Cass Railroad Station, Stumptown 78-80 miles (depending on what resource you read) to it's Southern Terminus in North Caldwell. The Greenbrier River Trail is a Rails-to-Trails initiative, so being a former track bed, the surface is predominantly ballast, though there are some black-topped areas. Some locations of the trail that either see more sunlight or less traffic have seen grass overtake the trail to form a "two-track" or at times a mown grass trail. Most parts drain well and easy to navigate, while some heavily wooded areas adjacent to rocky cliffs see more puddling and thus muddier...but all navigable. 

Because of it's relative remoteness and light traffic, wildlife flourishes along the GRT. This is bear country so I would recommend utilizing a bear bag or bear canister for your food and toiletries. I used a BearVault BV500 that I strapped to the Salsa EXP Anything Cradle attached to my handlebars...worked great. Eliminated concerns about losing food items and attracting Yogi and Boo-Boo. A Father/Daughter duo trailing us observed a juvenile bear not far off the trail mid-day. But bears aside, raccoons, chipmunks and other rodents can wreak havoc on panniers or backpacks containing food and fragrant toiletries. 

At the time of our visit there were 15 Primitive or Rustic Campsites along the Greenbrier River Trail. Each person traveling the Greenbrier River Trail will determine which primitive campsite they prefer for a night's rest. 

All the primitive campsites positioned along the Greenbrier River Trail (GRT) are free, first-come, first-served. Note that some offer more amenities than others, so those will likely be the sought after locations.

Traveling West Virginia's Greenbrier River Trail is a highlight whatever mode of travel permitted, whether on foot, horseback, bicycling or even paddlecraft...no motorized vehicles are permited. The Greenbrier River Trail was chosen by Backpacker Magazine as one of the top ten best hikes in the U.S. of A. That's quite the billing to live up to.

I will add that we chose to bikepack the GRT, so I felt we did not stop at all the available sites, cascades, waterfalls, bridges, etc purely because we were a little spread out and by the time you past by a special site, the others were too far down the trail. While I absolutely loved our entire GRT trip...had I been on foot...more exploring would have taken place.

PROS:

• Raised fine gravel tent pad
• Nice, clean, maintained and stocked pit latrine
• Picnic table
• Metal fire ring
• Metal Bear-proof trash receptacle
• No cell service

CONS:

• No water pump
• No cell service
• Tent pad located very close to elevated trail

NEARBY HIGHLIGHTS:

• Town of Marlinton
• Watoga State Park
• Greenbrier Resort
• Snowshoe Mountain Resort
• Cass Railroad
• Seneca State Forest
• Seneca Rocks
• Spruce Knob (WV highest elevation)
• The Wild Bean Cafe and Thunderbird Taco (Lewisburg)  (Suggestion: Order the Guacadilla!...thank me later)

The GRT Mile Post 49.3 Primitive Campsite does not offer a well water, so fill up before you get there. Although, if you utilize a filter, you can draw water from the river or the tributary down the trail several hundred feet. Even though Mile Post 49.3 tent pad is directly alongside the trail, traffic is so light that it is really a non-issue. There is not a large clearing and with dense vegetation...pack your bug juice.

This is West Virginia, so even in populated areas cell service can be spotty...but on the trail, I would not count on it. This is both a blessing and a curse. However, for safety purposes, I do carry a Garmin InReach Explorer + in case of emergencies.

The GRT Mile Post 49.3 Primitive Campsite makes for a great overnighter from either Marlinton or a nice out-and-back from Cass Railroad from the north or from North Caldwell from the South...eliminating the need for a shuttle.

Final Thoughts: Whether you chose to spend the night at Mile Post 49.3 or not, is not the point...all the primitive campsites along the Greenbrier River Trail are great choices...the point is, mark your calendars, plan this trip and travel West Virginia's Greenbrier River Trail!

This was our first camping trip to actually visit lake Moomaw in Warm Springs Virginia.  We had been close before but never made it to the lake itself.

First off, sorry for the audio on the video we uploaded.  It seems in March of 2021 I was diagnosed with having lung cancer and it is pinching the never of my left vocal cord so I'll I can use now is my right vocal cord.

Now, given that information, we decided to camp at Bolar Mountain Campground for a few days. We arrived the week before Memorial Day since it worked out better with my chemo treatments. We reserved site 34 and it was a perfect site. It's basically a corner lot which worked out great for us. It's little hike to the bathrooms but not to bad of an incline.

The bathrooms were clean and so were the showers. Everything was great. Access to a small store is not far away. The owner of the little store is very nice and helpful. Stop by and see him if you choose to come camp here.

If you have any questions or comments, please leave them below.

https://youtu.be/VIjZYIG58Ks

GREENBRIER RIVER TRAIL MILEPOST 69.6 PRIMITIVE CAMPING AREA, Clover Lick, WV

The Greenbrier River Trail is a converted C&O Railway that travels 80 miles from Cass Railroad Station, Stumptown, WV to North Caldwell, WV. This Rails-to-Trails is wonderfully maintained by WV State Parks and was featured in Backpacker Magazine as one of the top 10 hiking trails in the country. This former railbed would be considered flat by most, but there is a 1% downhill grade from the Northern Terminus in Stumptown to its Southern Terminus in North Caldwell.

There are plenty of these Primitive Camping Areas along the trail to make this a "must-do" trail. The trail is made primarily of the old Railway ballast and a finer pea gravel most of the trail...but there are some overgrown grassy two-track and some muddy sections as well.  This is called "Wet Virginia" for good reason...pack a rain jacket.

The trail itself is recorded at differing lengths depending on what you read, but we started at MP 80...at Cass Railroad Station. 

PROS:

• Free camping (First come, first served)
• Newer Adirondock Style Shelter
• Newer Large/Clean/Stocked Pit Latrine
• Raised Tent pad (pea gravel)
• Cold well water - Hand pump
• Metal Fire Ring
• No Cell Service

CONS:

• No Cell Service

NEARBY HIGHLIGHTS:

• Cass Railroad Station
• Snowshoe Mountain Ski Resort
• Seneca Forest
• Seneca Rocks
• Spruce Knob (WV Highest Elevation)
• Green Bank Observatory
• The Greenbrier Resort

The Greenbrier River Trail is a delightful bikepacking excursion.  Very doable for all ages. I'd recommend road bicycles with tires no narrower than 700x32 or mountain bikes. Because of the wetter climate, there were soggy sections that would cause difficulty for thin tires, especially when laden with panniers.

The MP 69.6 Camping Area is along the Greenbrier River, so camping along it affords great wildlife viewing at dawn and dusk when the animals head to the water to drink. The amount of wildlife we saw throughout the day was incredible while biking the trail. Mostly deer, rabbit, chipmunks and Eastern Box Turtles sharing the trail...but we did see a few turkey, fox and bobcat. An elderly fellow cyclist, sharing the camping area, saw a juvenile black bear. The Greenbrier River Trail travels through Watoga State Park, Seneca State Forest and the Monongahela National Forest

The Greenbrier River Trail is a mutli-use trail, so there is potential to see bicyclists, walkers, hikers, horseback and in the winter, XC skiers. Near towns we encountered very polite and pleasant walkers and cyclists enjoying the trail...but away from the towns it was very quiet, peaceful and remote.

NOTE: If you choose to ride the Greenbrier River Trail from Stumptown to North Caldwell or the opposite direction...unless you are going to ride back the way you came, you will need to have someone shuttle your vehicle. I used Chuck Workman, owner of Appalachian Sports in Marlinsburg to shuttle my vehicle to the Southern Terminus...Oscar from Cass Railroad Station shared that useful information!

Greenbrier River Trail Milepost 63.8 Primitive Campsite, Located between Clover Lick and Clawson, WV (south of Sharp's Tunnel)

The Greenbrier River Trail is one of the most beautiful and often most remote trail I have had the privilege of bikepacking. If you aren't familiar with camping in West Virginia, you are in for a treat. The WV State Park system is fantastic and the State Park employees take incredible pride in keeping all their parks beautifully maintained despite poor budgets to work with. 

GRT MP 63.8 Primitive Campsite is close to 17 miles south of the Cass Railroad Station. Trail conditions were wonderful, typical Railroad ballast, crushed gravel...at times it was wide like they recently removed the track, and other sections grass has grown down the middle to make it two track. All flat with a gentle one percent downhill grade from Stumptown to North Caldwell. Frankly, it wasn't discernible...but I'll take it.

Wildlife and songbirds were abundant and as shocked to see you as you were them. Oftentimes, the deer would run the trail ahead of you for 200 yards before cutting off onto their sidetrail.

The trail itself is recorded at differing lengths depending on what you read, but we started at MP 80…at Cass Railroad Station...traveling south to North Caldwell.

PROS:

• Free camping(First come, first served) 
• Newer Adirondock Style Shelter 
• Newer Large/Clean/Stocked Pit Latrine 
• Raised Tent pad(pea gravel) 
• Cold well water- Hand pump 
• Metal Fire Ring 
• No Cell Service 

CONS: 

• No Cell Service 

NEARBY HIGHLIGHTS: 

• Cass Railroad Station 
• Snowshoe Mountain Ski Resort 
• Seneca Forest (**Thorny Mountain Fire Tower)
• Seneca Rocks
•  Spruce Knob(WV Highest Elevation) 
• Green Bank Observatory 
• The Greenbrier Resort

*Note in the video, I initially thought the steel containers were bear proof storage, but I was incorrect and they are bear proof trash receptacles. 

This is bear country, so we kept all our food items and toiletries in a bear cannister during our trip. We did not experience any encounters or sightings, but fellow cyclists traveling in the same direction, observed a juvenile bear during the day along the trail.

In fact, WV has an abundant wildlife population and it is evident along the Greenbrier River Trail, which set this trail apart from other bikepacking trails I've traveled.

You will see in a couple photos that a certain slithering resident was unwilling to give up his claim on this Adirondack Shelter, we attempted to dissuade him, we even gently relocated him, but he was neither afraid of our presence nor was he about to pass up a roof over his head. So we acquiesced and moved to the raised tent pad 100' down the trail. He was a very curious character.

In June, you can anticipate random, short afternoon or evening cloudbursts...but they can be gully-washers. Nights were cool and most mornings I wore a long-sleeve Merino shirt.

Riding and camping along the picture-perfect Greenbrier River offers fantastic views and opportunities to cool off...bring your swimwear.

This park is in one of my favorite parts of VA. Very beautiful area with plenty of off grid seclusion! It’s a nice scenic drive getting to the park on a quiet and well maintained back road.

The rangers at the park are very knowledgeable and kind and have no problem answering questions. There are many camping areas in the park, Some near creeks and on the lake as well. There are also cabins here! Plenty of picnic areas and great fishing as well!

It’s $8 a day for a fishing pass and you can rent John boats or kayaks here as well, In season the lake and creek are stocked with plenty of Rainbow trout. You can keep them for dinner if you like! Just follow all DNR laws on size and amount!

Some spots include clean bathrooms, hot showers, soda machines, fish fillet tables, Picnic tables, fire pits and so on.

I highly recommend this park for your next getaway or along your way!