Best Tent Camping near Goshen, VA

Dispersed camping options around Goshen, Virginia offer primitive tent sites in scenic mountain terrain within George Washington National Forest. Poor Farm Dispersed Recreation Area provides multiple tent campsites in a mountain valley setting alongside a river, while areas like Hog Camp Gap feature spacious backcountry tent camping areas within hiking distance to scenic vistas. McClintic Point Primitive Campground offers lakeside tent sites with boat access, making it popular for campers seeking water proximity.

Most tent campgrounds near Goshen require self-sufficiency as amenities are minimal. Poor Farm Recreation Area provides vault toilets but no drinking water, requiring campers to bring their own supplies or treat water from natural sources. Dispersed sites off Forest Road 812 feature established fire rings but lack facilities. Walk-in tent sites at Hog Camp Gap require carrying gear from parking areas, with sites spread across an area "roughly the size of a Walmart parking lot including the store or three football fields," according to one visitor. Cell service is limited or nonexistent at most backcountry tent camping locations.

The tent camping experience around Goshen varies with elevation and season. Many sites provide river access, with Poor Farm described as having "maybe 5-ish spots to camp next to a river in this mountain valley." Sites tend to be naturally spaced, offering privacy despite occasional weekend crowds. Breeden Bottom Campground features tent sites with direct river access that are "extremely private and spaced out; we couldn't see or hear anyone." Areas like Greenwood Point are accessible only by water, requiring paddling in with gear, but reward tent campers with secluded experiences. Wildlife sightings are common, with many campers reporting deer, rabbits, and occasional bears, making proper food storage essential at all tent campsites.

Best Tent Sites Near Goshen, Virginia (31)

    1. Poor Farm Dispersed Recreation Area

    5 Reviews
    Warm Springs, VA
    18 miles
    Website

    "Maybe 5-10 min off of highway 220. There are maybe 5 ish spots to camp next to a river in this mountain valley."

    "I pulled in while passing through the area, it was a short ride off the highway and the road in was nice."

    2. McClintic Point Primitive Campground

    2 Reviews
    Hot Springs, VA
    22 miles
    Website
    +1 (540) 839-2521

    "It is primitive. But damn she beautiful. No neighbors. Maybe we just got lucky. I encourage."

    "Beautiful morning, but seems to stay chillier than the surrounding area. It's in a valley and two sites back up to the lake. There is access to the lake for canoes/kayaks."

    3. Longs Campground

    Be the first to review!
    Lexington, VA
    12 miles
    +1 (540) 463-7672

    4. Hog Camp Gap

    2 Reviews
    Montebello, VA
    23 miles
    Website

    "service was in and out as well there is a spring but remember to boil or chemical treat the water before use is not tested for parasites another humble bacteria I also recommend investing in a portable toilet"

    "the campground is roughly the size of a Walmart parking lot including the store or three football fields you do have to carry all the stuff from your car do the campsite but luckily you don't have to walk"

    5. Canoe Landing Group Campsite — James River State Park

    27 Reviews
    Greenway, VA
    46 miles
    Website

    $15 - $80 / night

    "Ranger led park programs are offered year round, this week included a natural history boat tour in the lake, and a naturalist talk on loons."

    "We stayed at site 11 in location 2 on the Lake James campgrounds; it’s a paddle-in-only location. Getting there required canoeing in, which was easy for us to do on the lake’s dock."

    6. Greenwood Point Campground

    1 Review
    Hot Springs, VA
    25 miles
    Website
    +1 (540) 839-2521

    "Beautiful quiet lake, not heavily trafficked. Campsite is only accessible via water, so we packed our gear up on paddle boards to get there."

    7. Dispersed Camping Site off FR 812

    2 Reviews
    Glasgow, VA
    27 miles
    Website
    +1 (540) 291-2188

    "Large open space with several flat areas for tents. There are several spots on this road, maybe 6 but this is the furthest off the road. There are hiking trails and easy access to the stream."

    "It is a very rocky path, about 50 feet long, to get into the campground, but then it is smooth and well laid out."

    8. Breeden Bottom Campground

    4 Reviews
    Buchanan, VA
    30 miles
    Website
    +1 (540) 261-7334

    $40 - $70 / night

    "No water, no electricity available. Not for RVs. There is a railroad track that runs along the James River near the sites, but it never bothered us. Great fishing."

    "This site was in a great location and right on the crystal clear water. The train was loud at times, but we knew that would happen when we booked the site, so no surprises there."

    9. Pocahontas Campground

    1 Review
    Hot Springs, VA
    26 miles
    Website

    "Good facilities and trails"

    10. Meadow Creek Camping Area

    1 Review
    Hot Springs, VA
    27 miles
    Website
    +1 (304) 799-4334

    "Otherwise, you'll be driving several hours back to a hotel after you stay out all night looking at stars."

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Tent Camping Reviews near Goshen, VA

745 Reviews of 31 Goshen Campgrounds


  • RL
    Oct. 2, 2019

    Breeden Bottom Campground

    Wonderful Trip

    Our site was RIGHT on the river. It was peaceful and private. No water, no electricity available. Not for RVs. There is a railroad track that runs along the James River near the sites, but it never bothered us. Great fishing.

    A little additional info from the internet:

    BREEDEN BOTTOM CAMPGROUND is located on the James River about 1/4 mile down stream of the Arcadia bridge about 5 mile drive from our canoe livery in Buchanan, VA. It is situated about 6 river miles downstream of our Buchanan based canoe livery location near river mile marker 19. This campground can accommodate both paddle in and drive in campers. Each site is numbered and include a fire ring, picnic table, parking area, and level tent pad. Portable toilets and a dumpster are conveniently located in the center of the campground. Guests will need to bring their own water as no potable water source is provided. $36.00 per site for up to 4 campers.

  • Hannah V.The Dyrt PRO User
    Nov. 1, 2018

    Peaks Of Otter Campground — Blue Ridge Parkway

    Great Trails

    This is a huge campground it has 137 sites that is right in between two mountains. Each site has picnic tables, lantern poles, tent pads, food storage lockers, and campfire rings. 63 of their sites are available for advanced reservation and then 79 first come-first serve basis. The bath house has flush toilets, water spigots, but no showers. There is also no electric, water, or sewer hook-ups.

    Lots of hiking trails, but make sure you look at the map because we unfortunately did not look at it well enough and thought that the trail was a loop when it led to the opposite side of the mountain and we had to hitch hike back to the campsite. The trails are well marked and lead to awesome views. Rate is $20 a night.

  • Janet R.The Dyrt PRO User
    Dec. 12, 2017

    Canoe Landing Group Campsite — James River State Park

    Lake James

    North Carolina certainly puts its state park system as a priority! I am very impressed. This park is beautifully maintained, has myriad opportunities for recreation, and is in a scenic setting along Lake James and the Catawba River at the base of the Blue Ridge mountains. The park is quite large, and has an extensive set of trails for mountain biking as well as hiking, and the National Intermountain Historic Hiking trail also runs through the park. Water recreation includes kayaking, canoeing and boating with rentals available right in the oark, fishing, including trout fishing on the Catawba and feeder streams to it, and just lying on their beautiful beach—yes, even in December! Ranger led park programs are offered year round, this week included a natural history boat tour in the lake, and a naturalist talk on loons. The park encompasses several peninsulas and bays on Lake James, we were at Paddy Creek where there are nice drive in tent sites, but there are also more secluded walk in or hike in tent site options. The drive-in tent campground has a year round campground host, a brand new shower house and nice bathrooms, plentiful water pumps, and each tent site has a picnic table, steel fire ring, tent pad, and a well built “Bear Box.” Yes, this is bear country! Your food needs to be locked away in a bear box or you will have visitors

  • Mary S.
    Oct. 12, 2018

    Loft Mountain Campground — Shenandoah National Park

    Camping in the national park is the best!

    Loft Mountain was the third stop on our tour of Shenandoah National Park. First stop traveling south on Skyline Drive was Mathews Arm and second was Big Meadows at about the halfway point. Loft Mountain is at about the 3/4 mark. These parks are well spaced for viewing and hiking in between each campground.

    I'm a big fan of campgrounds in national parks. Why do I like this one? Pretty much the same reasons as I liked the other Shenandoah campgrounds:

    • All the basic needs are available in a scenic setting.

    • Generator-free sections (because I hate noisy generators)

    • About 75% of the sites are first-come, first-served sites so you should always be able to find a site if you arrive early.

    • The $15 price is a bargain and our Lifetime Senior Pass cuts the fee in half.

    • Hiking: There's a lot to keep you busy in the entire national park, but rainy, foggy weather kept us from exploring as much as we'd like. We'll be back!

    Things to Know About the Sites

    • Some sites have food storage boxes. Use them as an alternative to keeping food locked in your vehicle.

    • Walk-to tent sites: It's not a long walk to your site from a designated parking spot.

    • I was surprised to see that most sites (other than walk-to tent sites) have long, pull through parking pads, and most have a grass buffer (and possibly a few trees) separating the site from the road. These asphalt pads can accommodate RVs of all sizes and have a spacious area behind the pull through with a picnic table, fire ring and room for a tent. Great sites!

    • Generator-free sites in loop F and part of G are reservable sites. If you want one of these sites, I recommend a reservation. See the site map photo.

    Amenities

    • Restrooms with a utility sink outside some of them

    • Potable water and trash/recycling stations are spread throughout the park. These are all shown on the site map photo.

    • Camp store with ice, wood and limited food choices is a short walk from the campground entrance.

    • Showers: $1.75 for 5.25 minutes. These are located in a restroom near the campstore and look new. There is a handicapped accessible shower/bathroom combination.

    • Laundry facility near the camp store

  • Cindy D.The Dyrt PRO User
    Oct. 7, 2019

    Loft Mountain Campground — Shenandoah National Park

    Shenandoah National Park

    We did not have a reservation and were lucky to get a site. It is a large campground with 200 sites for RV's & tent campers. The site we had was primitive, no water or electric, but had a picnic table, fire ring, & a bear box. Although the sites were close, they were situated to maximize privacy. The campgrounds had plenty of restrooms with flush toilets & sinks. The camp store has laundry facilities and showers that you must pay for, $1.75 for 5 minutes. The grounds and facilities are very clean. An added bonus, you can access the Appalachian Trail right from the campgrounds that provides amazing views

  • Elliott B.
    Jul. 11, 2017

    Dundo Group Campground — Shenandoah National Park

    Very open group campground

    Very large and very open group campground situated on either side of the picnic area road back out. Each of the campsites provides plenty of tent space, a couple picnic tables, fire pit with grills, bear boxes, potable water, and a shared vault toilets in the middle of the sites and nearer to the picnic area and parking for up to five vehicles at each site. Firewood, ice, laundry, showers and camp store are available three miles north at the Loft Mountain Camp Store.

  • Christy M.
    Jul. 21, 2020

    Day Run Campground

    Spent 4 days here July 17-20

    Nice size sites for tents and/or RV. All come with Lantern pole, fire ring with grate for cooking on, and picnic table. There are 2 restrooms located in this camping area with vault toilets only. Take your own toilet paper if campground isn’t busy because it doesn’t get maintained daily and we ran out. Trash cans are in fencing for bear proofing. Self pay.

  • Dave V.
    Oct. 31, 2019

    Spruce Knob and Spruce Knob Observation Tower

    Peak Bagging Coolness!

    Spruce Knob is West Virginia's highest peak and on a clear day offers breathtaking 360 degree views from the Observation Tower.      https://www.fs.usda.gov/recarea/mnf/recarea/?recid=7053

    Because of the thick conifer growth, long mountain views don't occur till nearly to the top and that only along the western roadway...but once you climb the observation tower...(as mentioned, on a clear day) you are rewarded with wonderful views of WV and VA mountains.  Watching storm clouds or simple clouds roll in and envelope the Knob offers a wonderful experience.

    I've taken the opportunity to camp on Spruce Knob on several occasions, once to the NE of the parking lot just into the pines, once a couple hundred yards down the Seneca Backcountry trail to the right and once directly south of the Tower in the pines.  Each offered a differ experience.  There is no cost, which is a huge plus!

    In the pines, just below the summit, it is eerily quiet and muffled.  I've never seen another camper when I've stayed, so the solitude is glorious.

    If you want shelter and a picnic table for cooking/eating...they are available, but only along the parking lot.  Pit latrines are nearly on the summit in the parking lot near the trailhead for the Observation Tower.  So practice leave no trace when camping and hiking!! No water, so bring enough with you. There are waste receptacles but be wise and take trash with you. 

    There are two levels to the concrete Observation Tower...and best views are from the upper level. I've often though about cowboy camping on the second level after the last sightseer has left for the night, but haven't seen, heard or read if its forbidden or permitted...so I haven't...yet.

    Obviously, on a clear night, star gazing is incredible as there no ambient light. It is much cooler at this elevation, even in the summer...and the winds on the summit cut through like a knife. 

    Note: utilize good camping practices and set camp on a previous location where there is an established fire ring. Again, use caution with campfires because of the wind.

    If you desire a more established campground, Spruce Knob Lake Campground is not too far away...down the mountain.

    Spruce Knob summit camping is a family highlight!

  • Jessica W.
    Jun. 7, 2021

    Canoe Landing Group Campsite — James River State Park

    Beautiful!

    This was my first-ever camping trip and I’m glad that it was here. We stayed at site 11 in location 2 on the Lake James campgrounds; it’s a paddle-in-only location. Getting there required canoeing in, which was easy for us to do on the lake’s dock. (We rented canoes from CBS a ways away.) The trip is beautiful, especially at sunset.

    Our campsite was clean and came with a picnic table, a fire and a bear box. We were able to fit 2 tents and 6 camp chairs in the space; a little snug with 6 people and 3 dogs but totally doable. We bought firewood locally, but someone came by on a bike the first night offering to sell us some, too. A few other campers walked past with dogs but mostly it felt very private.

    We canoed to the beach at Lake James on Saturday. The water isn’t the most beautiful I’ve ever seen, but it’s perfectly fine for adults to take a dip in. They allow floaties, which is great, but sadly no dogs on the main beach. We also got ice cream and iceees from the concession stand. Also, no alcohol allowed, but that was actually kinda nice because there weren’t loud drunk people anywhere. Lots of families were BBQing and picnicking at the beach.

    The bathroom at camp was somewhat primitive—just a toilet with a hole in the ground. It didn’t smell terrible but it gets very hot inside. No sink, but there is toilet paper and Purell. Definitely bring lots of your own hand sanitizer and wipes, if you need to feel super clean. Our campsite was private enough that I felt OK peeing in the woods.

    The bugs (mosquitoes)were not too bad with bug spray on. There were spiders and centipedes around and a no poisonous black rat snake. No bears, but lots of loud frogs at night. 🐸


Guide to Goshen

Tent camping near Goshen, Virginia offers a chance to immerse yourself in nature while enjoying a variety of scenic locations. With options ranging from peaceful lakesides to secluded forest spots, there’s something for every outdoor enthusiast.

Local Activities for Tent Campers

Tips for Tent Camping Near Goshen

  • Be prepared for limited amenities at Poor Farm Dispersed Recreation Area, which has no drinking water or electric hookups, making it essential to bring your own supplies.
  • For a more equipped experience, consider Waltons Campground, where you’ll find clean facilities and the option to purchase firewood on-site.
  • If you’re looking for a quieter spot, Breeden Bottom Campground offers spacious sites along the James River, ideal for fishing and relaxing by the water.

Some Prices for Tent Camping

  • Camping at Longs Campground typically ranges from $20 to $30 per night, making it an affordable option for families.
  • At Lynchburg KOA (formerly Wildwood Campground), expect to pay around $40 to $60 per night for a site with amenities like showers and firewood.
  • For a unique experience, Pine Run Camping Area offers tent sites for approximately $25 to $35 per night, with access to beautiful hiking trails.

Frequently Asked Questions

Which is the most popular tent campsite near Goshen, VA?

According to TheDyrt.com, the most popular tent campground near Goshen, VA is Poor Farm Dispersed Recreation Area with a 4.6-star rating from 5 reviews.

What is the best site to find tent camping near Goshen, VA?

TheDyrt.com has all 31 tent camping locations near Goshen, VA, with real photos and reviews from campers.