Best Equestrian Camping near Marion, VA

This is a group equestrian camp that can be reserved via Recreation.gov for$50/night for up to 25 people. There is no potable water available, so plan to bring your own. There is a stream at the site where the horses may drink. There's enough space for a number of trailers, including large ones, and up to 25 horses. There's a fair amount of grassy area and it's lined with rhododendron. Dumpster provided. No cell service.

There are a number of horse trails that connect, starting with the Virginia Highlands Horse Trail nearby, so you don't need to trailer your horses to get to the trailhead

This equestrian campground in a beautiful state forest allows for other campers to make reservations no more than 30 days in advance; priority is for campers with horses. This state park has wild horses of its own, but has numerous multi-use and equestrian trails and connects with additional trails in the area for up to 66 miles of riding. Chestnut Hollow is distinct from the Hickory Ridge campground.

The campsites are back-in along a single spur with turn-around at the end. There are  bathrooms with showers and a sink for laundry. Fees are $20-23/night, slightly higher for out of state campers. There are open and closed stall options for an additional fee. These were clean and in good repair. Although the official season runs May - October, it is open for primitive camping March, April, and November.

Site are long, gravel, relatively level with water/electric.

Lot s of wildlife! We camped at an equestrian campgrounds, chestnut ridge perhaps? Saw a Family of black bear about a mile from camp then a bobcat in camp later that day! Great facilities and located very close to Wilbur ridge where the wild ponies are! The AT is very close and waterfall hikes can be accessed from camp.also lots of great bouldering in the area

Way up the road! It's a nice place once you get here on the narrow country road. Nice clean bathhouse. Cabins, RV spots mostly level, paddocks for horses. Lots of exploration in the woods potential.

This is a small quite camp ground with horse stables. Husband and wife working there were very nice. Campground consist of a fire ring in the middle with benches and tables surrounded by back-in camp sites. There was a nice clean bathhouse with showers. Free firewood. No pool or playground, but still a nice peaceful campground.

With a wide network of multi-use trails in this area, Fox Creek Horse Camp provides a nice base for exploring on horseback. Sites have a gravel/grass pads, picnic table, and fire ring. Portable toilets available. Bring your own water. No hookups provided. Hitching posts at sites. Manure collection available. At $5/night, it's hard to beat the price.

Campers are frequently referred to Grindstone campground for potable water and showers, but as of 2021, the dump station and bath houses/water are off; if you need services plan to travel about 15 minutes to Hurricane Campground instead.

I went back and forth on whether I should give this rating two stars or three. In the end, I chose three stars because the mountain itself is so amazing. Geologically this was great place to visit and the trails were well marked and maintained. Beautiful hike. The campground was beautiful but the facilities were run down and dirty. It had, by far, the nastiest park/campground facilities I’ve seen in Kentucky, North Carolina or Virginia this year. I know this park is mobbed on the weekends, but I checked in on a Tuesday and stayed for two nights. The facilities, including the campground bathhouse and the park’s “comfort stations” were dirty, smelly and had bugs in them. The trash in the bathhouse was not emptied in the two days I was there. There was not a single exterior light to the bathhouse, not even something as reasonable as a motion sensor light that would be more energy efficient than a constant lighting option.
Compared to New River State Park, despite the giant Stone Mountain, this was the bottom of the barrel.

This place is by far the windiest place I've ever camped in. We couldn't get a proper fire started due to the wind! It was blowing up all over the trails at some points! But it's all worth it. The views are amazing! The ponies are great, they're come right up to you and check you out. There isn't many places to get water so come prepared with enough. The windchill was a serious issue for some in our group so bring lots of layers and gloves. I'll be going back, hopefully when it's a little warmer!

PS tons of pony poop everywhere. I would imagine it would be a real bummer if you step in it. Avoid at all costs.

I've been here in each season, my favorites being fall and winter. There's a cool large festival in the fall with tons of local vendors and the best apple butter any where. In the winter, it is definitely COLD but absolutely stunning with snow falling. There are 96 campsites available, some with hookups and some without.

The Appalachian Trail can be easily accessed here and there are several backcountry camping options along the trail. Sites in the main park area have gravel pads, picnic tables, fire rings and some have posts for lanterns as well.

As other photos suggest, there are wild ponies here (notice the adjective wild) that are not intimidated by people. Do everyone a favor and keep your distance, please. I experienced a negative interaction with the ponies here that resulted in several backpacks being chewed to bits. The photos of the ponies posted in this review were taken with a zoom lens. This is their home and they should be respected and treated just as you would a bear.

Couldnt have asked for a better birthday gift. The ponies were awesome and the hike was even better. We stayed on the campgrounds at night and we were able to watch a beautiful sunrise while making breakfast. Definitely have plans to go back in the near future.

Wild ponies, endless blueberries, spectacular view of wildflowers make this on of my go to spots to introduce someone to backpacking.

This camp ground is very small and on the side of a very quiet road next to beautiful fields with breath taking views it has no paved roads so bring a truck or suv sedans will get stuck easily there is no cell service and it is very clean of trash perfect quiet getaway

This site should not be confused with any other sites in area by similar name. You have to make a reservation with the park office for your site and drop by the ranger station to pick up your permit. The sites have NO vehicle access at all, you have to hike a mile into the campsite. The hike in is excellent, as it follows the river along the way.

There is NO clean water source, you have to bring a filter system with you. There are no picnic tables but each site does have wood logs as seats. There are fire pits and food storage lockers on site. 

The site is surrounded by excellent hiking trails and is a great place to set as "base camp" for day hikes.

Easy hike in, but far enough that you won’t find High-maintenance campers or crowds. Maybe some horseback people. Campground has tent pads, picnic tables, fire pits, pit toilets, water pump. (I doubt the water pump will be working in the winter.) Near a creek as well. Just follow the basin creek trail for about a mile and then cross bridge. The campsites are well spread out so there is enough room for privacy, but keep in mind that a lot of hikers pass through morning-midday. The trail is amazing—but some spots may be very difficult to cross in the spring. (PS The mike to the campsite is on a gravel road closed to cars/motorized vehicles.) May be accessible for some basic wheelchairs with special wheels that can deal with sand and gravel and shallow fording, but unfortunately not a good option for more high tech wheelchairs.

Campsite is right next to the creek—fun to hear the water at night. Stars are amazing!

Many choices of what kind of site you want and honestly it wasn’t worth the money. Very expensive to get nice level sites. If you choose one of the least expensive sites they are very bumpy and not updated and still cost a lot in my opinion. It’s nice to have things to do on site but they still require a drive and additional fee. The hike to the top of the mountain was short but intense, great view at the top. Playgrounds were beautiful for the kids!!

We enjoyed our stay at Stone Mountain, especially the hiking and camping.  We stayed on a weekend, and the campground was quiet.  The B loop is nice, with most the sites having ample spacing but not very private.  Great area for hiking and waterfalls.  Restrooms were modern and clean.

Cute little campground. Tent only or RV sites. Upper part of loop A is nice and woodsy. We stayed at site 15, up against a wooded hillside. We had some noisy neighbors but not too bad. Bathhouse was great. Sink for dishes there and a spigot nearby the site. Can buy ice and firewood at the office.

I took a hike up the hill behind this campsite and saw several deer.

You should look at Stone Mountain falls while you’re there. It’s only a 15/20 min hike from parking lot. There are A LOT of stairs to get to the bottom of the falls, but it is very worth it!

Definitely visit the falls, it has a lot of stairs, but it is quite close/short walk, and very worth it! Also, the longer trails have amazing views, including the flora, the distant landscapes, and (chiefly) the spectacular rock formations. 

Also good facilities in general. Am going back soon with a group, to explore even more of this park. Another good thing is how easy it is to access from the Triad or Charlotte, and even from Raleigh it isn't that bad of driving time. An extra bonus is all of the wineries nearby!

Great place to spend a night. Everything open during the winter

I stayed here for three nights in early November, 2022. The camp sites are mostly level, well maintained and have tent pads, tables and fire rings. I chose a site that had water and electric hook-ups. The bathrooms were heated, clean and the men’ bathroom had two showers.

Great trails, and lots to do. Climbing up Stone Mountain was fun.

Awesome place! Campgrounds were nice and spaced out, well maintained...we were right by a small stream that you could hear...stone loop mountain trail is incredible! Long and strenuous but all ages were hiking it...homestead was so neat to walk around at the base of the mountain. Only negative is there showers. Very frustrating....you have to push the shower head to get water...great way to conserve but it gave you no time to enjoy the water. Made it hard to shower and it came out blasting all over the place....only complaint :)

First time visiting and camping, really enjoyed how clean and quiet the campground was. Campsite itself was perfect, close to hiking and easily accessible. Definitely will return!

This campground is well-maintained and in a beautiful location.It’s a pretty clean place with a friendly and personable staff.

The campground, paths, and bathrooms were very clean. Beautiful views at Rock Falls. If we didn't have our dogs with us we would have done hikes longer than 4 miles.

Stone Mountain State Park is where it's at! It is off the beaten path but is one of our favorite spots that is not in the mountains. There are so many trails, waterfalls, etc. around here. The land really is gorgeous. The campground is spacious and offers nice views as well. Plenty of wildlife was seen while here! As an added bonus, the Mountains to Sea trail cuts right through the park. Check it out!