George Washington & Jefferson National Forests is the perfect place for adventurous campers and RVers. Aside from great camping spots, you'll find hiking and many more outdoor experiences. Thinking of traveling with kids? You're in luck—George Washington & Jefferson National Forests is surrounded by family-friendly activities. Search nearby campsites and find top-rated spots from other campers.
"Full hookup only on upper campground. Lower campground only has water and sewage."
"It's also a convenient walking or driving distance from the rest of town."
$45 - $99 / night
"Many long-term sites (lots of weekenders) around the lake and up in the hilly area. Short-term sites are electric and water only but there is a free dump station down in the back."
"The store was sparse but adequate. The lawns were kept up and looking good. There is a very nice playground and a pet exercise area. You can fish in the lake though we didn't catch anything."
"I believe they currently have around 400 spots. It is divided into upper and lower sections. The lower is much more wooded and gives off more of a camping feel while the upper is much more open."
"Clean restrooms and super friendly staff. Camp store prices were reasonably priced compared to most campgrounds."
$28 - $55 / night
"Store, Bathrooms, and running water are very close. Seemed very family friendly. Some of the campsites are super close to a creek and its worth trying to get one of those!"
"No Cell Signal... Lots of trails around. Wonderful views all around! I love to go early spring & fall."
$29 - $45 / night
"And of course their lake that has two jumping decks, water slide, snack bar , restaurant and off to the side a little store for floats with putt putt golf and Jenna,etc."
"Lots for them to do, great swimming lake, employees were a pleasure. Trash pick-up was awesome !! Our site was gorgeous. Not a full hook up(more on that later), but absolutely perfect."
$36 - $132 / night
"We spent 2 weeks at SVC while our trunk was in the shop(our travel trailer got towed there- highly recommend Good Sam Roadside policy). Everyone on staff was accomodating, helpful and friendly."
"Close to 81, but hyway isn't a distraction for a good night's sleep. And we were closest to hyway then majority of campers. Friendly staff. Pleasant clean surroundings in campgrounds."
$35 / night
"There is a fenced dog park. The playground is a bit dated. However they make up for that with the bathroom and laundry facilities, which were absolutely AMAZING."
"Our first stop on our very first ever camp trailer adventure couldn’t have gone more smoothly! We had a gravel pull through spot with a picnic table on a wooden deck, fire pit, and full hook up."
$20 - $40 / night
"Level sites with or with out hook ups, well spaced apart, fairly private, and in the middle of a pretty good forest!"
"The hiking and lake is amazing."
"This area is designated as a national forest campground, but didn’t have a fee or closure dates like others. Creek runs through. Pit toilet bathrooms were open when we visited in early march."
"There was a nice little stream and several fire rings with plenty of places to park. There were some outhouses, but they were locked, presumably for the winter season."
GuideThe campground is small and well-kept. It has an incredibly chill and laid-back vibe.
You are a quick walk to the brewery and café, where you can grab breakfast, lunch or dinner. It is nice and dark at the campground, so great for star watching.
There are several small walking paths throughout the property.
It is very pet friendly.
It is very quick drive to lots of hiking, including the Appalachian Trail.
You are also a stone’s throw away from a ton of other really great breweries and wineries. I highly recommend visiting Blue Mountain Brewery and Bold Rock cidery during tour stay for some great food and beverage.
Cell service and wi-fi are spotty at best, but what do you expect? You are in the middle of the mountains.
Each full hook up site has a picnic table and fire ring. Fire wood available for purchase.
*Warning, if you stay at a full hook up site and are parked in an odd number spot, you will need an extra long sewer hose to reach the connection. For example, we have a small travel trailer and we needed a 30 foot hose. The sewer connection for the odd number sites is on the opposite side of the RV than the electricity and water. The good news is that in a pinch, and your sewer hose does not fit, they do have a dump station on site.
LegendThis 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.
GuideThis KOA was a very nice surprise given that it was right off the highway. We only were there for 1 night and we didn't hear any highway noise. They had a very nice nature trail as well as chickens running around and baby goats in a pen. Check in was easy as they had a tent set up so we didn't have to go on the office. An employee led us to our site. The main campground is rather hilly, although our site was a rather level gravel pad. They have a new area, not flat ground, that has cement pads and pretty wood benches around fire pits. It looked like these campsites were for the large class A or fifth wheels. We had electric and water. Cable TV is included. The Verizon wifi was spotty with 2-3 bars. We will definatly go back if we pass through this area again.
TravelerMisty Mountain Camp Resort is becoming one of my favorite campgrounds. I recently camped in my Winnebago motor home, in site 67. Site 67 is on the upper level of the campground, is a pull through site, and has full hookups. I was pleasantly surprised when we got there and I found out it has its own deck!!! Site also includes a fire ring and a picnic table. There are no other sites to the right of the site, so the view is awesome. No issues with electricity, water hook up fine. We did not connect to sewer, because we were only staying over night. Dog friendly space directly across from this site, so it was very convenient. Views beautiful. Bathhouse clean. Site was much longer than our 30ft motor home, we were not towing. Highly recommend this campground, staff is helpful and friendly. The sites are well maintained. I will certainly return...this was my third visit to this campground.
ScoutMisty Mountain Camp Resort is located in Crozet, Virginia, off of 250 below Afton Mountain. I'm familiar with this resort. Many, many years ago, when it was Yogi Bear's park, a lot of updates since then. Great accommodations. I've not enjoyed camping as much as I have these last 2 weeks with my son Matthew, who is 30 years old down syndrome, autism and a leukemia survivor. I am 66 years old. I'm on the best adventure of my life. Just bought a new motorhome after my partner of 15 years passed away. I'm on a new journey. And taking care of my life with good health. I recommend this park to anyone. Friendly staff, accommodating, pet friendly dog parks, bathhouse, laundry, sun, and shade, with 30 and 50 amp hookups with sewage. I couldn't ask for a better place. Have a fun-loving life, I am!
Legend**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.
LegendPeaks of Otter, T Loop:
(Scale 1- bad, 5-Very good
(70 yr olds in 17’ trailer)
Overall Rating: 4.5. notes are for the T Loop ONLY
Price: $15 with senior pass
Usage during visit: very low during our 6 week nights
Site Privacy: Most sites have some privacy. More notes below
Site Spacing: Most are pretty good. Study the campground map. You will see a few sites are on top of each other. I note these with a negative mark on my map included in photos.
Site surface: Blacktop
Reservations: Yes. Some sites are first come, first serve.
Campground Noise: Very quiet.
Road Noise: Lower T loop is near the road going to Bedford. Traffic is sporadic. The noise, when there is traffic, is significant but only occasional. No commercial traffic is allowed.
Through Traffic in campground: None
Electricity: No
Water: Scattered spigots and fill station available at dump station.
Sewer: No
Dump: Yes
Generators: Allowed
Bathroom: Flush toilets and sinks are kept clean.
Showers: No
Pull Throughs: And Pull Overs(No island between trailer and campground traffic.)
Cell Service (AT&T). Sporadic, with 1 or 2 bars. Lodge nearby has service
Setting: Deciduous Forest.
Weather: Mostly cloudy. One day of slight humidity.
Bugs: Mosquitoes are just beginning.
Animals: Bears, just don’t leave trash etc. out , Filter solids from dishwater.
Solar: For fixed roof, not adequate.
Host: Around and nice.
Firewood: On ground.
Rig size: Some 35’ trailers/RVs in pull throughs.
Sites: See my notes on the map included in my pictures.
-means not private
-* means Too close to & can see the Bedford road.
T means significantly terraced site
Circle A means is on my favorites list
Circle B means still good
PO means a pull over site
PT means a pull through site (has an island separating from traffic.
(Almost all sites are at least a bit of a hill to get to the picnic table from the trailer. )
ScoutFor the past four or five years I have come to this campground each year in the offseason, April or October, to visit while the temps in Virginia are cooler and less humid. This KOA offers free wifi and cable TV with no connection problems. If ever you have a problem, stay is ready to help. My last visit I had to replace a kitchen faucet, which was leaking due to poor winterization by CW. A staff person spent an hour or more replacing the faucet, android not want to be paid, but only asked that we donate to the kids and camping charity he supported. The showers and bathroom facilities have been remodeled and were both clean and quite efficient. The campground itself is just 10 minutes from the city of Charlottesville and a few minutes from Monticello as well as many fine Virginia wineries. It's the perfect area to be in to visit The Blue Ridge Mountains, historic Fredricksburg, or Appomattox (all 50 to 90 minutes away). Campsites are not on top of each other, and both pull-through and back-in spots are available. The pool area looks like a nice place to be, with shaded areas and many places to sit (though I have never had the opportunity to use it, because of the season I visit).
TravelerA perfect place for family small rv and tent camping. The area is located in the George Washington National forest, has a small swimming, kayaking and fishing lake and log pavillion that was created as a CCC project. The tent only loop dates to this time. Two additional loops have been added with electric sites. All the sites are well spaced, essentially level and have large pads with better than average fire pits and tables that can seat a family reunion. The shower houses are at the center of each loop and have been rebuilt to ACA standard with in the last five years. There are family friendly hiking paths around the lake and upper fishing pond. There are also some kickass trails that climb to the Blue Ridge Parkway and intersect with the AT. While it is close to Waynesboro, Charlottesville and Roanoke, it is sufficiently remote to require a car ride to find cell and internet access. Half the sites are first come-first serve and half can be reserved. The only drawback is that many people love this park and it is difficult to get reservations. The window opens six months out and are usually booked for the high season summer months.
RV camping near George Washington & Jefferson National Forests in Virginia offers a variety of well-reviewed campgrounds, each providing unique amenities and activities for outdoor enthusiasts.
Frequently Asked Questions
Do I need reservations for RV camping in George Washington and Jefferson National Forests?
Reservations are highly recommended for popular campgrounds in George Washington and Jefferson National Forests, especially during peak seasons (late spring through fall). Peaks Of Otter Campground on the Blue Ridge Parkway can fill quickly during summer and fall color seasons. Some campgrounds offer first-come, first-served sites, but competition can be fierce on weekends. Walnut Hills Campground & RV Park has both short-term and long-term options, with many weekenders securing regular spots. To guarantee a site, make reservations through Recreation.gov or directly with private campgrounds as far in advance as possible.
What are the best RV campgrounds in George Washington and Jefferson National Forests?
Sherando Lake Campground stands out with large, private sites that accommodate RVs. With the senior National Park pass, sites cost just $21 per night. The campground offers three distinct loops, including RV-friendly options with some electric hookups. For a unique experience, Devils Backbone Camp provides RV sites with an exceptional amenity - you're within walking distance to a brewery and café. The campground has a relaxed atmosphere and offers both primitive tent sites and RV options, making it popular among beer enthusiasts who also enjoy camping.
What is the maximum RV size allowed in George Washington and Jefferson National Forests?
RV size limits vary by campground within George Washington and Jefferson National Forests. Glen Maury Park and Sun Retreats Shenandoah Valley are both designated as big-rig friendly for larger RVs. Many forest campgrounds can accommodate medium-sized RVs up to 35 feet, but access to some sites is limited by narrow, winding mountain roads and tight turning radiuses. Before booking, check specific campground information, as older campground loops typically have smaller sites. The newer sections at Sherando Lake can handle modest-sized RVs, while the A loop is more suitable for tents and smaller campers.
What RV amenities are available in George Washington and Jefferson National Forest campgrounds?
Amenities vary widely across campgrounds in the forests. Misty Mountain Camp Resort offers some of the most comprehensive amenities with full hookup sites, including water, electric, and sewer. Many of their pull-through sites feature their own outdoor living spaces. For those seeking more basic options, Natural Bridge KOA provides a convenient overnight stop with easy highway access and standard KOA amenities. Most national forest campgrounds offer more limited services, typically providing potable water and vault toilets but fewer hookup options. Dump stations are available at select locations, though not at all campgrounds.
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