Best Dispersed Camping near Paint Bank, VA

Really enjoyed this place. 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 took the one and only site just before the proper camp site (it was the best one IMO). Need to be self sufficient though, only convenience is a toilet house. No cell coverage. Highly recommend for primitive camping.

We had the absolute best time. It was so peaceful being by the creek and just relaxing. You are off the road of the national forest so cars come by but nobody bothers you and it stays quiet. Will definitely be back soon!

Unexpectedly found this site after planning on doing some primitive camping off the road. There's 2 sites that I saw on the road with pits.

There's access to the App Trail on the road so you might see some hikers but it was real quiet otherwise. Pretty nice scenery (you're smack in the middle of the forest) so if you want to get out and away from people this is a great site.

Nice camping spot in George Washington NF. There are multiple spots along the road - some are drive in and some require you to park and walk in. Definitely get there early to get a prime spot. We didn’t arrive until late afternoon but we were able to snag one down toward the end of the road. The spot was nice and flat, backed up to a little creek and had an established stone fire ring.

My only complaint - that whoever used it last decided to walk a few yards down the trail and use the bathroom right in the middle of the path, leaving their mess and a pile of used wipes on the ground. Gross.

Other than that disgusting discovery this is a very nice woodsy campsite close to Natural Bridge!

We spent a night here on our way to Ohio. It has a small loop of campsites near the river. It is a one lane road to get to the campground and can get tight when other vehicles pass, but we got down there with our F250 truck and camper when a big grater and the park ranger came by. It's very doable. Campsites were mowed and it was a short walk to a really nice spot on the river. No electric/water, so plan to be ready to be off grid. Hard to complain about free!

It's hard to beat a free campsite right on the river.

Got lucky to find a site here after trying both Grandview Sandbar and Glade's Creek on the other side of the road.

No AT&T service so I only stayed two nights (gotta work during the week!).

Still, it wasn't crowded and I enjoyed evening river dips before bed.

Sheriff did arrive late the second night to visit my neighbors and lit up my tent pretty good.

Didn't ask too many questions this morning and I had to get up to pee anyway!

Great camp site!! I pulled in while passing through the area, it was a short ride off the highway and the road in was nice. Quiet spot with a nice grassy level area. will definitely stay here again when I get back up this way.

Pit toilets, but was nice to have something ++ FREE. Super cool river near by, great scenery.

FCFS. Spots are large enough to fit 2 vehicles. Sites are gravel with fire pit, charcoal grill, and picnic table. Spots are shaded. Easy access to river, able to hear it from campsite. Very clean pit toilet bathroom. Road to access is single lane paved/gravel. Best for cars/vans, but did see some small pull behinds.

You can’t beat an established campground (picnic tables, fire pits, bathrooms) in a national park that’s also free! Good amount of spiders and ants but didn’t notice any mosquitoes in mid May. Peaceful and quiet!

I was originally looking for a different camp site earlier on the road when I stumbled upon this one. It is a very rocky path, about 50 feet long, to get into the campground, but then it is smooth and well laid out. There is a giant fire circle in the middle and enough room to fit about 10 vehicles/groups if people don't mind being next to each other.

No cell service(T-Mobile), but if I drove towards the main road, Route 501, I could get some service.

August 31, 2024, Labor Day weekend camping trip. Spent a night here camping with my younger sister.  She could only do one night, as she lives up north and had to be back up by Monday to go back to work on Tuesday. We arrived around 10:30am, we got everything set up before we ventured out. Very nice spot we found, very quiet except for nature. Best sounds ever. We visited the Natural bridge, which was about 20 minutes or so from the camp site. It did some light rain from around 8p til sometime after midnight, but stayed comfy and dry.

Army camp is nestled by the new river and has plenty of views of the mountains. None of us had cell phone reception, so if you’re looking for a tech free weekend then this is your spot. Saw plenty of small RV’s and campers at the spot. The road is pretty narrow so I wouldn’t suggest large RV’s go to this spot. Camp had a fire ring and hanging pole with enough room for four back packs on top. Parking spaces at the camp were big enough to accommodate 2-4 vehicles. Plenty of critters were roaming around with a bear spotted two nights in a row.

This is another of the free national park campgrounds in the New River Gorge, with sites that are more developed than many of the others. These are in a small open loop, largely level gravel parking and tent pads. They have picnic tables, fire rings, and lantern poles. No drinking water, so bring your own. No hookups. The river is nearby, but none of the sites are on the river. There’s an accessible site and also accessible trail to a bench along the river. There are latrines.

If you enjoy fishing, the New River Gorge website offers a lot of specific information about species, bait, and lures. 

If you can't find a site at one of the other campgrounds or you have a slightly larger rig, ths may be a better option for you. No cell service, so download your maps. The New River Gorge also offers rafting, and hiking options. Check out some of the mining history at the Beckley Exhibition Coal Mine, abuut 30 minutes away, and get up early to catch the sunrise from Grandview Point.

CAMPGROUND REVIEW: Army Camp Campground, New River Gorge National River, WV

Army Camp Campground, New River Gorge National River, Prince, WV https://www.nps.gov/neri/learn/historyculture/army-camp.htm

If you have never treated yourself to the beautiful diversity of the New River Gorge National River, you are truly missing out!

Rock climbing, mountain biking, whitewater paddling, rafting, hiking, camping, birding?…it’s all here and more. I’ve spent over 150 days camping and hiking in West Virginia n the past four years and keep finding new, wonderful places to enjoy.

There are three very nice, somewhat primitive, free, campgrounds located within six miles of each other right outside Prince, WV. Grandview Sandbar and Glades Creek along one side of the New River and Army Camp across the Rt 41 bridge and downriver.

Note: vitally important to realize there is no running water at any of these campgrounds. You must bring water or filter it from the New River…which I wouldn’t recommend.

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=3QnnaIl-xgE

Each site has a picnic table, grill, fire pit, dual lantern post and pit latrines. Of the three New River Gorge National River campgrounds in this immediate area, Army Camps pit latrines are maintained but in dire need of paint. Parking and tent pads are gravel…(making tent peg placement laborious). Plenty of hammocking opportunities.

Army Camp is open for day use fishing and picnicking. The campground consists of one small loop with five sites on the outside perimeter and five on the inner perimeter. Scattered mature trees dot the inner circle with open line of sight. Outside perimeter sites are wooded and offer more privacy. Though all sites are separated by 50 ft or more.

Army Camp lies in a narrow river valley between steep, wooded 2500-3200 ft mountains offering spectacular views.

Military history buffs will appreciate the remains of an Army training encampment along the gravel road driving in. Known for equipping soldiers to build floating bridges across rivers to move troops and heavy artillery.

Though all campground trails are short and directly to the edge of the New River…innumerable trails are a short drive away.

Caution: Use extreme prudence if choosing to enter the New River itself. This is an incredibly popular whitewater rafting and paddling river…currents are fast, powerful and dangerous.

At this visit, after a night of rainfall, the New River has swollen beyond its boundaries by 50 feet or more on either shoreline.

Song birds, robins and crows competed vocally during daylight hours. Interesting insects crawled the river’s sandy shore and a brightly colored Eastern box turtle searched for higher-dryer ground. The powerful drone of the New River never subsides.

**When breaking camp, it was noted the New River had encroached another 100ft through the woodland, flowing alongside the campground loop gravel drive…30 ft from our tent pad. Even though it had not rained in 18 hours, the New River continued to swell beyond what I thought probable. Exercise greater wisdom than I did.

Product Review: New Primus Trailbottle S/S 1.0 liter

The new Primus Trailbottle stainless steel line offers a 0.6L, a 1.0L, a vacuum 0.5L, and a vacuum 0.8L. For purposes of this review, I’m putting the 1.0L S/S Trailbottle through its paces. https://primus.us/products/trailbottle-s-s-1-0l?variant=38421366546

The Primus Trailbottle 1.0L comes in four (4) color options: black, red, light green and powder blue. Being on the trail or kayak in direct sunlight, I opted to not pursue the black so I could keep fluids cooler. The added bonus of brighter colors decreases the chances of me losing the bottle.

As a Review Ranger for TheDyrt, these products were provided by Primus https://primus.us/ .

I have been using various Primus stoves for many years with great success while backpacking and paddling, so I look forward to their new innovative and trustworthy products.

The new Primus Trailbottle S/S 1.0L appears larger than it is. I was initially surprised by that illusion and feared it wouldn’t fit in my Gregory Baltoro Sidewinder Bottle holster…but fitment was actually easier than most water bottles. The bottom is a full inch smaller in diameter than the shoulder.

Dimensions:

•Height: 9” Base to Top of cap

•O.D. Base: 10.25”/ O.D. Top: 11.25”

•Weight: 10 grams

Materials:

•18/8 Food Grade stainless steel

•Tritan lid (BPA free)

One clear benefit of the S/S…it doesn’t possess or retain flavors…you get only what put in it.

While the Primus Trailbottle S/S version has lightweight, thin walls that can likely dent with misuse…longevity of use sets this apart from the basic plastic or Lexan bottle. The mouth of the bottle is fairly large, making it easier to fill or add ice. Not being double walled, exterior sides sweat with ice cold beverages, but the painted surface has just enough grip texture not to slip when wet. The temperature of the Trailbottle contents will be felt by your hand.

The screw-on lid has an additional small screw-on tethered cap. Instead of knurling around the sides of both caps, Primus uses a triangle pattern that mimics the cutout pattern on their stove/pot cooking systems Primus states the bottle opening and thread pattern fits some water filtration systems, but not my Katadyn Vario…nor does my Sawyer Mini thread onto the cap, as the threads are located on the inside of the spout..

The rubber lanyard attaches to the small threaded cap by a recessed ring, then snakes through a bar on the larger bottle screw lid and attaches to that lid via a rubber style pop-rivet. Personally, I would not attach the Primus bottle to my pack by this rubber lanyard, but will run some para cord through the integrated bar on the lid…to carabiner to my pack (if I didn’t have a water bottle pocket).

When partaking of its contents through the smaller lid opening, it is like any other solid-sided bottle. However, I found it was much easier pouring Trailbottle contents into a cup than a wide-mouth bottle.

Final Thoughts

I like it’s distinctiveness, versatility and light weight. I’m looking forward to many years of service from the Primus Trailbottle S/S 1.0 liter.

I stayed at this AT shelter when I was doing a section hike with some friends. It's not bad as far as shelters on the AT go. There is not a water source too close to the shelter. The closest one is about 3 miles North. The sites aren't bad though, pretty flat. There is also a wooden shelter maintained by the AT, but those aren't my favorite to sleep in. Seemed nice as far as they go though.

I was hiking a little section that includes Mcafee Knob, one of the most photographed spots on the AT. This spot is really awesome. It can also just be done as a day hike, so I recommend it to anyone who doesn't mind a 8ish mile hike. Another cool thing about this area is that there's some fairly nice bouldering to be found near the top. Some of the routes are a little under maintained and mossy, but there are some fun ones. Lugging a crash pad all the way to the top isn't the most fun, but worth it if you want to get some cool bouldering in.

As far as AT shelters go this is pretty basic, except for the lack of a good water source. However, it's a decent spot to stay the night especially if it's not crowded! There's a few other shelters and stealth sites in the area that are also great options though.

Nice and peaceful. First time camping there and had a nice time. Nice trials.

I stopped here for a night while traveling across the country. It is a hilly drive down back roads off of 81. You loose cell service a couple miles from the site. The site itself is nice, perfect for car camping. Fire ring and river are right there, no toilets. I didn’t see anyone else near this site when I stayed.

Went with our little teardrop trailer (13ft), no issues with the road and enough space at the spot for both car and the trailer. Quiet place with a creek and fire ring. Previous folks left us some firewood, thank you! No bear encounter.

We came for this site specifically but it was already occupied so we kept going down the road. Luckily there were 4-5 additional site & we got one for 3 nights. They are all lovely & creekside with fire pits & there is a hike at the end of the road that takes you to a gorgeous summit & links to AT!

Multiple road sites that fit my van with room to spare - 80% were full on a beautiful fall Friday evening around 6pm but still snagged one

Happened to pull up and snag this beauty. Had one other person later on drive by while I was scorching a fire, felt bad snagged it from them but hey oh well. Yeah so not sure how popular it is but I bet you’ll be good. Anyways, did one night here and really enjoyed, just wish all the spray paint and whatnot wasnt put on the trees, kind of a shame. Also, if someone is at the spot with the big rocks. You could park next to them and ask if its cool to set up a little into the woods. If you keep walking you’ll find other areas with stone pits and whatnot.

Stayed 5-5-25 It was clean, creek for water if you have filter. Nice fire ring and wood. Did not see another person.

I’m all about trails so this place was greaaat!