Best Tent Camping near Iron Gate, VA

We legit loved this park! I took my grandkids tent camping and we had a wonderful experience. We brought our bikes and hit the trails. It was some great times. We had electricity and water and the bathrooms were close to our site. The park is on the Shenandoah River and there are multiple spots to put in and take out. There is primitive tent camping down by the river which looks fantastic. We definitely loved the trails with hiking and biking options. We will definitely go here again.

Tent camped here last Labor Day weekend. Site was a good size. Fantastic KOA. Tons of things to do for our 9 year old!

Great site. Cement parking area and tent site is designated with log surround. Clean and airy.

Great place! Lots to do on-site. Tent camped and really had a great time. Harper’s Ferry is a beautiful place to hike, camp and visit. Highly recommended!

This is our second time here. This place is quiet the spaces are big. They can accommodate large campers,ours is 35 ft. Tent camping have big areas. Lost of nature trails.

I love the Shenandoah. Nice escape from city life. Tent sites vary. A couple trails near campsite but you must drive to good ones

This campground has an abundance of things to do. The campground offers adventures like rafting, biking, tubing and zip lining to name a few. If you would like to do some exploring, then you can walk the trail right next to the campground into the historical town of Harper's Ferry (If you’re facing the river then the trail is to the right of the campground with a sign reading that you have entered Harper’s Ferry National Park. The trail is about 1.5 miles one way). From there you can grab a bite, visit the history of Harper's Ferry or continue exploring more hiking trails. There are train tracks behind the campground with a train going through day and night. For me it’s a minor inconvenience and my daughter, who even as a baby, slept through it. Do bring ear plugs if you’re a light sleeper. Bathroom and showers located nearby. You’re not allowed to park at the tent sites but most of the tent sites allow you to drop all your camping gear off and then park in a designated area. Between the tent sites being close together and the campground being part of zip lining/rafting courses there’s not a ton of privacy (especially during the weekend). Overall, it's a great adventurous spot!

Great views of the blue ridge mountains with many river access points. The Virginia Canopy Tour is fun. We camped with our pop-up in the RV section. Sites were spacious and the bathhouse clean. We checked out an adventure pack from the visitors center and hiked the River Trail, thus our son became a junior ranger. Tent sites, RV sites, camping cabins and large cabins all available. Firewood for sale in the park. We’ll be back! More trails to hike!

I found it expensive for a tent site. No electric or water and was over $40. Out of area fee and a transaction fee (I even paid cash) If your traveling looking for a cheaper place to park for the night, this is not it.

We loved our stay at a tent site on the river in June 2022. It was peaceful, and we spent a lot of our stay in the water. Will definitely be coming back! The staff was nice, service good, and bathrooms adequate.

We tent camped there with 2 other families memorial day weekend. It rained the entire time but we still had a blast.

The best review I can give us of the bathrooms. They're with staying again alone. Locking doors, individual stalls. Hot dog. Best camping showers I've ever had.

Only draw back is that there's only one playground that's awkwardly located.

had to stay here for a climbing trip in the offseason when other sites in the park were closed. definitely glamping with people all around. seems like a fun time for a family.

they have a pool, pillow trampoline, playground, basketball court..

drinking water, showers and flush toilets are available if you're tent camping. there are also cabins and rv spots available.

Jake from the Dyrt here!  Casa Vargas offers secluded RV & Tent sites near the famous Skyline Drive that offers great views of the Shenandoah Mountains.  Make this your homebase for a weekend to explore the area, and make sure to post some pictures and leave a review on the Dyrt!

Reservations are made through the National parks service "recreation.gov" website. Arrived for tent camping for 1 nights, park ranger met me at the entrance to ensure i could find my site. My stay was quiet and the bathrooms were clean and well stocked with HOT water in the private showers. This is a great base camp for getting out to hike the various trails in Prince William Forrest. Firewood is gather your own from fallen limbs in the park.

There are spots of the camp ground for travel trailers that are right on top of each other. No big deal though as there is plenty to choose from. The tent sites are all wooded and nice. My site with my 26’ was tight to get into. Took a little maneuvering to get in but all is well. Overall, will come back many times more.

Arrived after 8 pm on a Friday evening, and was pleasantly surprised that park rangers were still manning check-in process as it was close to filling up. He gave us his best option left for a small tent. Site was quite open to HC accessible adjacent sites and had a bit of light trespass from the restrooms. Can't complain for a last minute trip!

Our layout - May 28 (memorial day)- 30th. Tent camping for 3 nights with 3 kids ages 12, 10, and 8. Campground was mostly empty, 1 other tenter and 3 RVs

Good -

1. Easy Check in - drive to your reserved site and done. If you just pull in with no reservation then you'll have to call or go online. Money is never taken at the campground, as it's a national park.

2. It's a National Park - which means you're supporting your national parks, they have interpretive programs and junior ranger for the kids!

3. The BEST PART - it's proximity to DC, whether you choose to drive or use the train it's soooo easy (take the train)

Time for the BAD

1. Cleanliness - this is why this campground gets such low marks. The bathrooms are disgusting...even after they are "cleaned". This was not our first stay here, each time they have been disgusting. We used baby wipes.

2. No hook ups - even with tent camping we like to be plugged in but no RV services are offered here.

3. No playground - There are hiking trails but really nothing for the kids to do in the campground itself.

4. Overall care of the facility - tall grass in the campgrounds means more ticks and other bugs. Just has a general neglected feel.

This is a cool place to camp if you are just getting into backpacking or are just looking for an easy but primitive camp experience. The primitive tent sites are private, on the river and only a short hike from the parking area. The bathhouse facilities are excellent maintained as well. There are fun local activities nearby such as boat and float rentals as well as zip lining