Best Glamping near New Castle, VA

Site 034 Loop Morr Dates of Stay: August 30-Sept 1 Average Daily Temp: 78 Average Nighlty Tem: 64 Pet friendly spot with access to firewood on site for small fee. Tent pad, fire pit, one picnic table, and lamp post on site. Close access to Lake area with a 100 yard walk through pathway off the site. Great shade for those hot sunny days. Plenty of room on the site for tents and vehicle parking. Neighboring sites offer fair amount of privacy. Site had some trash scattered around by previous visitors. Needed to do some checking for broken flashlight pieces and glass before I allowed my dog free roam.

Campground Review:

We stayed in Yurt#4 for 2 nights at Fairy Stone State Park, about a 4 hour drive from where we live. The Yurt overall was very clean and cozy. The outside of the Yurt looks like it needed a powerwashing, but that didn’t really affect us at all, just kind of unsightly. They have a nice large deck that is great for hanging out on while the kids were asleep. The inside of the Yurt has a full size bed with a twin sized trundle bed that rolls under the full. It also had some rocking chairs inside, a small table and chairs, and a couch. We ended up eating and hanging out inside the Yurt or on the deck most of the time. 

There are 4 Yurts to choose from. Two of them (Yurts#1 & 2) do not have a parking spot right in front of them, they are a short walk from a parking area, so I made sure to get one that did since we would be arriving after dark. The Yurt we stayed in was a little weird because the Fire Pit and Picnic table is behind and almost under the yurt, down a decently step slope and the yurt sits on stilts on the back side. The Yurt next to us#3 had the fire pit and table right up front next to the parking spot which would be better I think. I would try to get Yurt#3 next time! Overall Yurt camping is so fun! We have done it once before, and it is such a great mix between cabin and tent camping. You get the protection from the elements, a real bed to sleep in, and it’s quick to pack-up- but still a bit rustic since there’s no ac or electricity. 

There are hiking trails right across the street from the Yurt, which was awesome! The bathrooms and showers were fine and in close walking distance. They could probably use some updating but didn’t have any major issues with them. Overall the campground is pretty big and a bit of a maze getting around, we needed to use the park map a lot! Probably due to the park being so old there are a lot of old buildings not in use that are pretty cool. 

The park is big and there is lots to do! There is a beautiful lake for swimming Tons of hiking trails. They had a great playground for the kids nearby. They had a concert going on somewhere at the park so we had some beautiful orchestral music playing as we were winding down for bed one night. We saw lots of deer roaming around. Note that there is not great cell service in this area. 

The place to find the Fairy Stones are outside of the park, down the street a little bit beside a gas station. It was tricky knowing exactly what to look for, but once we found a few Fairy Stones, they were everywhere! So fun searching for them with the kids! 

It was such a fun trip, very peaceful, beautiful scenery everywhere!

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Product Review:

As a Ranger for The Dyrt, I get products to test from time to time - we tested out the Banner& Oak Men’s Nebo Hat– Olive  

The quality of this hat is great. Nice and thick but breathable fabric, durable construction. We’ve put this hat through the ringer so far with sweaty hikes, long beach and lake days, and everyday wear and tear and it has performed spectacularly. The adjustable snapback makes fitting easy. Has a nice shape, looks great! Love this hat’s patch with well-designed graphics and the neutral olive color– goes with everything. Will definitely purchase again! Also appreciate the fact that the hats are made in the USA! It is my husband’s new go-to daily hat and I think it will last for a long time.

A friend and I stayed here 3 nights while visiting Marlinton for the annual Roadkill Cook-off. Facilities are decent however Wi-Fi is extremely weak if you are more than a couple hundred feet from the restrooms. Because this entire area of WV is in the National Radio Quiet Zone, there is zero cellular service with 1-2 hours drive in any direction. If you can't get the weak WiFi service, you won't be using any data services. (Not necessarily a bad thing, but don't expect to notify family that you have arrived or are ok. Also, make sure any electronic devices you will be using for navigation have offline maps loaded before visiting.) One huge gripe is that technically you are limited to 1 sleeping unit per site, even if you only have 2 or 3 people sleeping in individual 1-person tents or a hammock. This either is not listed in the reservations information or is buried in the small print. The person checking us in told us about this, but allowed the 2 of us to camp in the same site. Being strictly a motorcycle camping person, neither I nor any traveling companions would be packing s large tent that could house all of us. The same thing could be said of 2 or 3 backpackers traveling together. For the nearly $30/night charge, this would become FAR too expensive and I'm not likely to stay here again simply because of the fear that the campground's silly rule might be enforced the next time.

We had a great weekend with the whole family! There was a carnival for the kids, trick-or-treating, hiking, tons of bike riding, campfire watching, hammock swinging, laughing, loving, and hanging out! We had a campsite with electric and water close to the bathhouse which is great because we have a popup camper with no bathroom and six kids. There were plenty of decorations for Halloween and the kids had a super time. Great for families. There are also a couple of playgrounds, two bouncy pads, basketball court, and gaga ball. During peak season there is also a water play area with a waterslide and mini golf. It is located on the James River. We had a great time.

This weekend was a great adventure in SW Virginia. We stayed in a Yurt. It has no electricity or water but the bath house was close. The yurt has a double bed, a twin trundle, a couch and some chairs, and a table and chairs. It also has a large wrap around deck with rocking chairs. A picnic table, lamp post, and fire ring are also provided at the site. We hunted and found fairy stones which made the trip that much more fun. It was just after covid 19 started and lessening restrictions began so the beach was closed and there were few people at the campground but we had a great time riding bikes and hiking. We even went to the Creeper Trail and rode our bikes from White Top to Damascus.

MY husband and I stayed two nights in a 1 bed efficiency CCC Cabin at Fairy Stone State Park for a short weekend away from the kids. We visited in December so it was pretty cold weather but the cabin was so cozy and comfortable! We loved having the fireplace! The cabins have a bathroom, shower, kitchen with sink, fridge, oven/stove, microwave, toaster, everything you need! They have heating and a/c as well. The cabin was built in the 1930s and is so charming! Loved everytihg about our experience here.

There is no cell service or internet/wifi at the cabins though so come prepared with something to do! We found it to be very relaxing to unplug!

This 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.