Best Tent Camping near Monroe, VA

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.

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.

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

Part of the VA State Park system, BCL is exceptionally well-maintained. Most of the site are RV accessible, but there are a few tent-only sites along the lake, which is where we stayed. These sites are absolutely beautiful--great lake views, and while the only swimming allowed is at the roped off beach area, there is a canoe launch and fishing opportunities right at the campsites.

The tent pads are filled with shredded tires instead of gravel or dirt, which provides a little extra cushion, but can be uncomfortable on bare feet.

All sites have fire rings, lantern hooks, and extra long picnic tables. Tent pads are of varying sizes--we stayed in site A12 and our 6 person tent fit easily, and we could have fit a second one-many of our camp neighbors had 10 person tents set up.

The water view loop was not heavily trafficked, though the water does provide a hazard if you have small children as it is not roped off in any way. Our kids loved having the water right there and we loved watching them, it just requires extra vigilance. Loops B and C have more sites that are very shady but closer together, and there is more vehicle and bicycle traffic going past campsites.

Bathrooms are clean, and have showers and electrical outlets to charge devices if needed.

The park has lots of hiking, including trails that go directly from the camp sites to the swimming area, boat/canoe rentals, cabins, fishing, and a lakeside diner that sells concessions. Campsites allegedly have Wifi though we did not test this to see how reliable it is.

Cumberland County is only at 455' elevation, so the heat and humidity in the summer is intense--we were very uncomfortable our first night because of this, so fall would probably be the best time to go as it is when central Virginia has the best weather.

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. 🐸

Sherando Lake is a well-maintained, popular campground located in the George Washington National Forest near Lyndhurst, VA. Convenient to both Richmond and Charlottesville, it brings people in for camping and day-use alike.

There are three camping loops here; a standard non-electric loop (loop A/White Oak Loop), and two RV loops (B and C). Both of the RV loops are very flat and open, with little shade or privacy between sites. They have electric hookups and drinking water available, but do not have water hookups. The tent loop is the oldest loop in this campground, and is heavily wooded, with sites along both meadow and backing up to the mountain. These sites do not have any hookups, but most have driveways large enough for campers and RVs 28' in length or under. All tent sites have fire rings, utility poles, and large picnic tables, and tent pads that are raked clear by campground hosts between guests.

The biggest benefits of this campground are its location, and the recreation area. It's about an hour and a half west of Richmond and only thirty minutes from Charlottesville, making it a great weekend trip without having to take time away from work. And as for recreation, it's wonderful. There are two lakes--the lower lake is the largest at 25 acres, and and while the beach can get crowded during peak season, it's an easy walk from the campground, with a large swimming area roped off. Canoeing is available at the lake, and there are several hiking trails, ranging from the easy lakeside trail, to more difficult trails that connect to the Blue Ridge Parkway, and other trails in George Washington National Forest. Fishing is available at both lakes with the proper licensing. There are several large picnic areas right on the lower lake, and a few smaller creekside spaces with picnic table and grills.

All that said; for RV campers this is an excellent campsite. While the loops with hookups are lacking in shade and privacy, having an RV or camper will afford you what the site itself lacks, and the location and activities make this a great basecamp.

For tent camping, it's good if you live in one of the nearby cities and want the shorter drive time, or if you like tent camping but still want all the benefits of front-country camping. As a place to set up camp and enjoy spending time near your tent, Sherando is exceptionally maintained. There is not a lot of opportunities for foraging for firewood, which means purchasing heat-treated wood nearby, and while the sites are very shady, there is little underbrush between sites to offer a privacy barrier. Many of the sites are staggered, with one or more levels of steps leading from the driveways. Because of all there is to do this is a great site for older kids, but we learned that, especially with toddlers, the steps around the campsites can turn a relaxing trip into one of constant vigilance.

Enjoyment of this campground will largely depend on what type of camper you are. If you are mainly looking for a place to get outside of the city, where you can set up for the night and have easy access to hiking, fishing, swimming, or boating, this is a great campground. This is where we typically chose to take friends if they were new to camping, as the bathrooms are well-lit, the road is paved, and the sites are so well-maintained. Plus at $20 a night, while it's more expensive than its neighbors in Shenandoah National Park or Cave Mountain Lake, it's a shorter drive from the neighboring cities, and doesn't have the additional NPS fee. However, if you want something that feels more rugged, or with campsites that offer a greater feeling of privacy, it would be better to skip this one.

I have to admit that it was an amazing campsite! Double decker with picnic table, lantern pole, and fire pit up stairs and over looking your paved campsite. We were walking distance to the dumpster and public bathroom ( no showers). It also offered no hookups which was fine, there was a dump station on site… The biggest downer for us was just getting to and leaving the site! RVLife took us up and down some insane switchbacks that were just not appropriate for anything larger than maybe 30ft tip to tail?? I wouldn’t advise staying here unless you’re a class B/C, pop up, or 20ft TT. Lodge is nice and has decent prices.

An inexpensive place to sleep within walking distance to restaurant and brewery. New very nice and clean bathhouse. But I can't see how it can handle the amount of campsites. About 25 tent sites, maybe another 22 no hookup RV sites, 24 full hook up. Mens room has 2 toilets 3 sinks and 2 showers. Not a problem on a weekday in November. Water saver in the shower, water warm enough but never had to turn on the cold. No bench or chair to dry feet and put on sox and shoes. No wifi at site. AT&T cell service. Tent sites are close together, maybe 25 feet from table to table with little to no privacy between them. Many of the sites are illuminated by the LED floods from the bathhouse. Found myself hiding my eyes in the shadow of the trees. No trash cans. Hammock campers be aware. Most sites are so small with so few trees you may have trouble finding 2 trees within your own site. So if you want to eat, drink, camp and not have to drive, this will work. Just don't plan on getting up in the middle of the night and pee in the woods because you will probably pee on your neighbor's tent.

Snagged a site in the Paddy's Creek area last minute not thinking to check the weather... but we had a great time despite the storms! 

Lake James is huge and gorgeous, and the beach swimming area is really nice! Kids had a blast in the nice clear water on a HOT August day & got to watch the boats zip by while having picnic lunch. Did a little canoeing before thunderstorms began in earnest. Set up camp QUICK & the fam huddled in the tent while I stayed out and cooked hot dog dinner during a break in the storm 😂 had super lots of fun, rain felt great. Next day the weather was lovely, but we had to go. Wish we could have stayed longer.

Our site (P05) was kind of small, but it was really peaceful & set away from other sites. And because it was storming, there were hardly any people there! Really quiet and you felt like you had your own space. The tent pad & surrounding gravel area filled with water pretty fast in the downpour, but dried out quickly after. BIG mud puddle right beside us, though. 

Nice trail meandering behind the campsites that led to another part of the lake. Pretty blue water! Looks like there was a burn in the last couple years – many of the tree trunks were still scorched. 

Bathrooms were the nicest I've seen in a state park. Really big & modern.

Firewood is locked up, but rangers put some out periodically and you just put cash in a little box on the honor system. Snag some early if you see it so you're not sitting around like me at first, woodless. Signage around the park says that picking up fallen branches for fires is prohibited. 

P05's bear box did not lock or latch properly, so good luck if a bear does wander by... or just keep food in the car. 

When we go back (in good weather!) I'd like to try one of the paddle-in campsites <3