Best Dog-Friendly Camping near George Washington & Jefferson National Forests

This campground is located in the George Washington and Jefferson National Forest. We stayed for 6 nights here and had a nice private site. With the lifetime senior National Park pass the cost was $21 a night. The sites are big and many with shade. I think we had one of the best sites at this campground Site# C05. We like the C loop better the sites have more privacy. The B loop is nice too yet C loop better. The A loop is for tents it’s harder to drive through it. Our site was more level than some yet we still needed to raise one side. Nice shaded sites in the C loop are C05, Co8, C10, C12, C13 and C 14, C16.If you want a site in the sun C01, C02, C04.

We had a great view of sunset. Nice stars at night the park is darker than some. Each site has small pebble in the site which is raked and makes it nice no dirt. There is a regular picnic table, fire pit, bear box and a wooden table with a cement base you could place where you want it. We set our grill on it. The camp host Wes & Jackie were so nice and helpful. They gave us great ideas for things to do. 

Restrooms are nice and very clean, the park is maintained very well. There is a dump station onsite. Easy to access but the wash hose doesn’t have any pressure so check that out before you head to dump out.

We had song birds, hawks and rabbits at our site. Early evening the lightning bugs were fun to watch. 

The sites are not on the lake which we prefer yet is all worked out well. The lower lake is spring fed so it holds a nice temperature. 

There is a local guy that will deliver a good amount of wood for $20.00. Good burning wood. He also brought kindling in a paper bag which was nice. They park will call him for you and he comes right out.There isn’t any cell service so they will call him, the host called for us. There is an upper lake and a lower lake. The campsites are between the two. You can hike to the upper lake. 

You have to fill with water there is a fill station across from the beach parking area. Our site had electric. The lake is beautiful and refreshing. You can swim out to an Island if you want to.  The beach is big with plenty of room for everyone. Nice sandy beach and shaded in some areas. To the left of the beach is a picnic area with grills and tables. There’s a dock over that way too.

There is a fishing area that you can drive to and park your car to fish. You do have to walk up and down some steps.Canoes and kayaks are welcome yet no motorboats allowed.

The campground is located very close to the Blue Ridge Parkway and the Skyline drive. What a beautiful drive on the parkway. There are a lot of look outs with amazing views. We spent days driving each way on the parkway. My favorite overlook is Ravens Roost. You can walk up a wall where there is one lone neat tree to get a real special view with the tree in it. Watch out for the lone Turkey who likes to be out in the road and when you slow down it comes to your vehicle and stand in the way so you can’t move. The Parkway didn’t have much traffic at all but do pay attention to the speed limit they police do sit throughout the park. There is a few NP stores on the parkway and Skyline drive we found some good Souvenirs.

There is a small store and gas station not far from the campground yet it is limited with what they sell. Waynesboro is not that far and it has a Walmart, grocery, hardware stores and more. We stopped at Weasies (home cooking) and had lunch. It was delicious.

**Campground Review: **

Devil’s Backbone Camp is a unique outdoor retreat that includes a campground at a large brewery complex. This was the best of both worlds, because we are beer enthusiast and avid campers. The campground includes 75 sites split between primitive tent sites, non-electric RV sites, and full hookup RV sites. All site types included a picnic table and fire ring. Check in for all camping is at the brewpub. I’ve included a picture of the map in my pictures for you to get a better understanding of the layout. 

We stayed on site 4 on this visit, which was a full hook up site. All the full hook up sites are pull thru and in an open field so limited shade. The hookups in this area where different than I have ever experienced as the hookups were shared between two sites. If you were on an even number site, this was no problem. However, if you were on an odd number site, you either had to hope you had the length on your water and power lines to run to the opposite side of your rig or you had to pull into the site the opposite way to get the connections on the standards side of your rig. The non-electric sites were back in and had a little more shade. The tent sites were in the woods so full shade. 

The camp is also just miles from the Appalachian Trail, so they provide a free shuttle to the camp, as well as group tent area for registered AT thru-hikers. 

There is single bathhouse in the camp area that is near the tent area and a good walk from both the RV areas. The bathhouse was clean and functional. 

Firewood is available at the camp host.

A short walk through the tent area brought you to the large brewery area. This area includes a brewpub, large outdoor seating area with fire pits and an outdoor stage, a distillery, cigar and cocktail lounge, an additional outdoor bar and grille, a breakfast building with craft coffee, and a gift shop. They also have their own green house to grow vegetables and source local farms for ingredients that they use in their brewpub kitchen and grille. 

The property also included two large cabins to rent and two hiking trails (one 3km and another 5km). 

We found good cell phone service with Verizon throughout the property. The camp area did have Wi-Fi, but it was a little bogged down on this Fourth of July stay (full campground). 

While we camped, we also had the opportunity to check out a few of the local attractions. Being at the base of the George Washington and Jefferson National Forest, there are many outdoor activities to take advantage of. We hiked to Humpback Rocks which is a decent climb, so be prepared, but once you summit, the views are amazing. The area around the camp also had many other breweries, ciderys, wineries, and distilleries. One cidery is right across the street from the campground, was fun to visit, and has lots of outdoor seating. We did enjoy our visit here and do recommend this campground. 

The main reasoning for the 4-star rating instead of a 5-star is due to the single bathhouse that is a good walk from the RV areas and the very unique water and power hookups in the full hookup area.

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**Product Review: **

As a Ranger for The Dyrt, I get to test products. At this campground, I tested the Liquid I.V. Hydration Multiplier. The variety pack from Liquid I.V.  includes powder packs in the flavors of lemon lime, acai berry, and passion fruit. The packets are very easy to use (just mix one packet with 16 ounces of water) and are small enough to pack in your backpack, purse, or even your pocket so you have it with you when you want to use it. With the hydration multiplier, drinking one 16-ounce bottle of water is equivalent to drinking three bottles of water. I found that I enjoyed all three of the flavors in the variety pack. I am not a big regular water drinker, but having a little flavor made me drink the water quicker and more frequently. Having this while hiking in the area and after enjoying the large selection of adult beverages in the area made me feel rejuvenated and ready to get out and see more of the area.

We stayed in a Pull Through, Full Hookup site on the hillside. It was surprisingly very level. We just used this as a base for visiting Natural Bridge State Park, so it was only an overnighter. The bathrooms & private showers were amazing & clean. The laundry room looked just as nice, but we didn’t use it.
We didn’t use the pool, but the kids enjoyed the Gameroom! Of everything we used there, the only thing to mention that was dirty was the game room. But I’ll take that, we were very impressed with the playground, dog park & they even had chickens & a petting farm upon entry.
This KOA seriously restored my faith in KOA’s. I will renew our membership, (which is about to expire), based on this visit. There are great ones out there!

Located within minutes of I81. We stopped for 2 nights to see the Shenandoah National Park on our way to NC. Called last minute and got a site. Very nice customer service. Grounds were very well kept. Our site 112 had water, 50amp and cable. Dump station on premises. Nice dog park for our fur babies and doggie duty stations with bags in several locations throughout the park. Also had a cute playground for kiddos. Didn't use the pool so can't comment. A little highway noise but when windows and door were closed couldn't hear a thing. We'd stay here again. They honor Good Sam discount. Paid $38 with discount.

This campground is open year round and is right off the highway.  There is a gas station right next to it as well as a safari park.  The campground itself has a pool, open seasonally, a game room, and a playground.  It's an old school playground but the gkids love it.  They also have a couple of walking trails and a small dog park.  It is roadside so expect just that for this campground.  It has plenty of trees and sites for all different sized vehicles and tents.  The cabins and bathrooms are nice and clean.  The employees are always nice and helpful.  We have stayed here several times and have always had a good time.

This was our first visit to this campground and it was farther than we usually travel for a long weekend but we’ll worth it. It’s small with about 40 RV sites in addition to tent sites (4) and cabins (8). The camp hosts were very nice. Fire wood is delivered when you purchase it. Trash is picked up from your site. The layout is weird but most sites are pull through. We were in B24 with friends and family staying in B25 and B26. These were back in sites and very spacious. While not necessarily secluded, they felt more private. The bath house was central to the sites and were unisex individual bathrooms. Not modern but clean. The ere is a pool and an area near the office with lots of childrens activities; playground, shuffleboard, basketball, gem mine, horseshoes, jump pad, and a fishing lake with large fish. The pool is near the offices as well. The office has a small store area with some souvenirs and necessities. There is a large dog park. Get dessert at Woodruffs just down the road, check out Natty Bs for lunch and some general store items and fresh baked goods on the way to Natural Bridge which is dog friendly! Dogs allowed in visitor center and the Natural Bridge itself. There’s a new brewery just across the street. Lynchburg is about 25 min drive and has a Community Market that is part farm market and part local crafts market. Free parking in that area on weekends. Drive the Blue Ridge Parkway north for some awesome overlooks as you climb the mountain and approach rt 60. Skip JJs Meat Shack in Buena Vista if you go through there.

Site 034 Loop Morr Dates of Stay: August 30-Sept 1 Average Daily Temp: 78 Average Nighlty Tem: 64 Pet friendly spot with access to firewood on site for small fee. Tent pad, fire pit, one picnic table, and lamp post on site. Close access to Lake area with a 100 yard walk through pathway off the site. Great shade for those hot sunny days. Plenty of room on the site for tents and vehicle parking. Neighboring sites offer fair amount of privacy. Site had some trash scattered around by previous visitors. Needed to do some checking for broken flashlight pieces and glass before I allowed my dog free roam.