Searching for the perfect place to pitch your tent near Pamplin? Finding a place to camp in Virginia with your tent has never been easier. Whether you're looking for a quiet, dispersed site or an established camgpround with amenities, The Dyrt makes it easy to find the perfect place to pitch your tent.
Canoe Landing Group Campsite (one primitive site) - There's a group site near the canoe landing. The site accommodates up to 42 people - no hookups, tents only. It's near a restroom and features a fire ring with a flip grill, picnic tables and a pedestal grill. There's a $30 fee for canceling a group-camping reservation.
$15 - $80 / night
Camping reservations are highly recommended, and all campgrounds are site-specific - call 1-800-933-7275. The park has five campgrounds. Three of them, Branch Pond, Walnut Grove and Canoe Landing, are open year-round for primitive camping. There are primitive restrooms at those campgrounds. Drinking water is unavailable in the primitive campgrounds, but potable water is available at five of the six picnic shelters. Canoe Landing is the only campground on the river. Please note that primitive sites do not have electricity.
$15 - $18 / night
Camping reservations are highly recommended, and all campgrounds are site-specific - call 1-800-933-7275. The park has five campgrounds. Three of them, Branch Pond, Walnut Grove and Canoe Landing, are open year-round for primitive camping. There are primitive restrooms at those campgrounds. Drinking water is unavailable in the primitive campgrounds, but potable water is available at five of the six picnic shelters. Canoe Landing is the only campground on the river. Please note that primitive sites do not have electricity.
Branch Pond - Seven primitive sites in a wooded area about two miles from the river (BranchPondPrimTent). Tents only. Each site has a tent pad.
$15 - $18 / night
$40 / night
At Daybreak Glamp Camp you will have the opportunity to treat yourself to a personalized Glamping Experience or Camp Out at a private location. This is a great place for an intimate retreat or family/group outing while enjoying a special time outdoors.
Some of the onsite RV campers are nestled alongside a shallow creek, along with tent sites in a wooded area surrounded by the peace and beauty of nature's surroundings. Throughout the property you will have access to trails, fire pits, hammocks, outdoors seating and tables and children's play areas. Enjoy a night walk with trails that are lit up to guide your path.
Whether you are a first timer or seasoned camper this is where you want to be for your glamping or camping experience.
To make your stay here with us even more special. You can select one of these extras when you make your bookings with us.
$25 - $150 / night
Come enjoy Warren Ferry Landing, our expansive and shaded property just steps from the James River! Our property boasts 400+ feet of river frontage for you to enjoy and you can swim, fish, or even launch a canoe directly from our sites. There are TWO available camping sites on this property.
About the property
Our property is located adjacent to the historic Warren Ferry crossing of the James River. This is one of two historic ferry crossings near Scottsville, VA! The other, Hatton Ferry, is located a little bit down river from this location.
Our property is only 8 miles from Scottsville so if you need to pop into town for something you forgot it is quite easy. There are many other activities that you can partake in nearby or on our property. There is fishing, swimming, hiking, and kayaking all within easy reach of our property.
We do not live onsite but we aim to be easily reachable over the phone or text. If you have any questions before or during your stay please don’t hesitate to reach out. Keep in mind that during the night it is possible to hear some train activity from across the river.
$21 - $60 / night
6 acres lightly wooded with outhouses
great for relaxation, birdwatching, and returning to nature. I am a licensed master Falconer, so I have Raptors on my property. Eurasian, eagle, owl, and Harris hocks. Also have horses, goats, rabbits, and chickens.
$75 - $125 / night
The best way to find out what areas are open to dispersed camping is to contact the nearest District Office to the area you wish to visit. Dispersed camping is not allowed in the vicinity of developed recreation areas such as campgrounds, picnic areas, or trailheads. Many people drive out on Forest Service roads and look for a clearing or a spot with a view. Do not drive on meadows to access your camping site. Drive on existing roads to prevent resource damage. Dispersed camping is allowed in a one-mile perimeter away from campgrounds and 200 feet from any stream. To prevent resource damage please keep your campsite within 150 feet from a roadway.
Traveler
My partner and I were traveling to Richmond, we needed a quick place to stop and rest. We reached out the day of and the owners of the property were so kind, accommodating, and understanding. They set us up with firewood, and all the necessary equipment to have a wonderful night under the stars. The icing on the cake was waking up and spending some time with their horses and goats and this really sweet orange cat. The property was gorgeous and the experience was wonderful.
Guide
Went in August and it was very buggy, also had someone park pretty close which when I drive down a really long dirt road that is questionable for my van, i want it to be private and this was about 5 miles of dirt road to get to it.
Traveler
I love this campground, it’s 5 to 10 minutes from BV, right on the river, primitive with bathrooms, which is fine with me, I sleep in my forerunner with my two dogs, plenty of land and trails, it’s perfect for what I need👍
TravelerLess than 10 campsites, all with fire circles and a public bathroom site. each campsite is on the river, very beautiful.
ScoutLoved this little campground. Nice and quiet, toilets available (though not very clean but good enough). Only thing is that there’s a dog, we think from a property nearby, that acts aggressive towards campers. Luckily it went home around 18h, so we had a great night, but it was back the next morning and immediately had aggressive behavior. So watch out and be careful with your food!
Scout
My boyfriend and I went camping here for our anniversary last October, and it was so fun! The owner and his family were super sweet and helpful. They definitely set you up for success!! He even let us borrow some gear when our tent got raind out and showed us a few tricks. We are definitely coming back for our next anniversary!! It was just so much fun.!
Traveler
Probably a great place to camp during the fall. During the summer they lease space to the 4-H club that teaches people to shoot black powder muskets for the civil war reenactments. From 8:30am until 3-5pm it sounds like a gun range. It’s not a shot here and there, its volleys of black powder guns (think cannons) being shot all at once. It echos off the water and is the opposite of peaceful. The ranger said it would only be for an hour a day, unless it was a competition day, well for the 5 days we were there it must have been competition. We ended up leaving the park during the day.
The sites are good. Most need lots of leveling help (bring spare wood!). The newer part has a nice bathhouse. The older part had a really old bathhouse. (So old it’s hard to tell if it’s dirty or just old.)
It’s not a bad place to visit. But combat veterans should avoid during the summer months.
The sites are nice. The ones in the newer area (laurel ridge) are close to the nice bathhouse. Both bathhouses have WiFi. No cell service to speak of. (We have Verizon but most of these places have none.)
Scout
Nice campground in line with expectations for most Virginia state parks. Verizon service is spotty 1 to 2 bars and unreliable data but with a directional cell booster we are able to get enough signal for our Verizon Jetpack to work
Scout
$150 per night is crazy. Nothing special about the campground except proximity to devils backbone. This is a parking spot in a field with no trees and the sewer likely on the wrong side. There are no amenities. We’ve stayed many times but plan to go elsewhere going forward.
Traveler
Spent 4 nights here (during a heat wave, no less) and really enjoyed it. Campsites are large and not right on top of each other, and especially if you can book one of the campsites that are on the water, they really do have beautiful views (see pictures).
Pros:
Kid-friendly. We spent an afternoon at the splash pad, which is a great way to cool off in the summer and free once you're in the park. I never felt unsafe with my kids running around up to the bath-house or the loop, felt very secluded and safe.
Lake is scenic, we saw fireflies at dusk, it was a great setting for a camping trip.
Everything seems pretty well-maintained. Bathrooms are aging but were cleaned at least once a day, it was fine. There is firewood at every bathhouse you can take on the honor system and pay for via cashbox, which is nice. Campsites are clean and well-maintained.
Lots of lake recreation options (boat rental, fishing, etc.) in or near the park.
Cons:
Maybe it was just our campsite, which backed up to a large wooded area, but they were the most aggressive squirrels I've ever come across. If we went to the bathroom for five minutes and left food on the table, the squirrels would be there eating it when we came back. And would hover at the edge of the campsite or get into the car if the hatchback was open.
Camp store is....fine, pretty minimal in terms of provisions. But not a big deal because Clarksville is five minutes or so away and has plenty of stores.
Tents pads are all gravel. Didn't bother us but definitely would not want to tent camp here if you didn't have a good high-quality sleeping pad.
The biggest con was that there is no swimming area/beach in the park. You can try to wade in from the campsite but that generally requires scaling up/down some fairly treacherous rocks, and navigating driftwood and rocks in the water. We drove a few minutes away outside the park to find one, but would be really nice to have some kind of little swimming area inside the park, very strange to me they don't have one.
But all in all a lovely place for a camping trip, we all had a great time.
Guide
Chris is establishing a couple of sites on his private property and getting organized. Simple and just off the road, but quiet. Chris is friendly and reachable by phone. A short 100 yards to a rushing creek. We needed a last minute spot during Memorial Day weekend and Chris set us up. Now showers, flat gravel site with pull through between hookups and picnic table platform.
Traveler
Bike packed in from my house yesterday evening, camped for the night, and heading back this morning. Shower/toilet facilities are clean, good water/power, etc. This park isn’t bad for just chilling out and getting some nature time in, but there aren’t any breathtaking views and so on. Most campsites are on a very slight slope, shouldn’t have any issues if you set up right.
ScoutNice camping spots on the pedlar river in Amherst county. Multiple spots along reservoir rd.
TravelerGreat spot with clean facilities. Cell phones worked just fine. They are adding more electric sites. Walk to the brewery. Probably my favorite improved camp site for beer enthusiasts!
ScoutI am a retired major. My wife and I bought an older motorhome, and this location was great to test it out. I come again. Bath house is a few blocks way, but for 25 dollars a night. The price was right.
Ranger
I have been to many music festivals here, and always find myself impressed by the view and the river. Lots of great site options for whatever your preference is! It's also a convenient walking or driving distance from the rest of town.
ScoutNice sites in a pretty open area. This area is designated as a national forest campground, but didn’t have a fee or closure dates like others. Creek runs through. Pit toilet bathrooms were open when we visited in early march. Not a huge area, maybe 10 sites or so. 2 other people camping midweek in March so I’d imagine it would fill up in warmer months. No cell service for AT&T or T-mobile. Great location, 5 minutes from the BRP. Easy access for small vehicles, backed my sedan into the site.
Scout
Large open space with several flat areas for tents. There are several spots on this road, maybe 6 but this is the furthest off the road. There are hiking trails and easy access to the stream.
Guide
I stay here at least once every summer. Has beautiful pool and lake, playground, arcade, and boat rentals. Fishing, hiking, basketball. Very friendly staff all the time. Close to stores and restaurants but far enough out to not hear any noise. Phone service is superb. Clean shower and restrooms. Hot water. Electric tent sites!!! Has everything I live and will continue to go here as long as I’m in the state of Va. def recommended
Scout
I am a premium DYRT member and purchased this campsite for reservation this past weekend oct. 14-15th 2023. My reservation was followed by a email giving me a confirmation and coordinates to the location I reserved. Upon viewing the coordinates it shows you at a main road with no entrance…. Skeptical but confident we showed up to the area Irish road which has no cell service and what do we know we are taken to a location that is a gravel side shoulder off of a 50mph road next to us being nothing but dumped trash and woods , no entrance for a vehicle or even a person, No trespassing signs everywhere … after driving around the area on having to back in and out on the narrow roads in order to turn around we found multiple locked gates all stating no trespassing, we then decided to contact the owner of the facility through the number and email provided we were not able to get into contact… turns out we had service the number provided was not in service at all. We got stranded and rained on with no response or proper coordinates. I wish to get my full refund and I do not recommend wasting money on this site .
GuideJust a short walk from the Campground is a very nice brewery with fantastic food and events regularly. 10/10 will camp again.
GuideA very unique place to stay. The highlight is proximity to a brewery and live music. Campground is definitely not fancy, but certainly adequate for our pop top.
Legend
This campground is located in the George Washington and Jefferson National Forest. We stayed for 6 nights here and had a nice private site. With the lifetime senior National Park pass the cost was $21 a night. The sites are big and many with shade. I think we had one of the best sites at this campground Site# C05. We like the C loop better the sites have more privacy. The B loop is nice too yet C loop better. The A loop is for tents it’s harder to drive through it. Our site was more level than some yet we still needed to raise one side. Nice shaded sites in the C loop are C05, Co8, C10, C12, C13 and C 14, C16.If you want a site in the sun C01, C02, C04.
We had a great view of sunset. Nice stars at night the park is darker than some. Each site has small pebble in the site which is raked and makes it nice no dirt. There is a regular picnic table, fire pit, bear box and a wooden table with a cement base you could place where you want it. We set our grill on it. The camp host Wes & Jackie were so nice and helpful. They gave us great ideas for things to do.
Restrooms are nice and very clean, the park is maintained very well. There is a dump station onsite. Easy to access but the wash hose doesn’t have any pressure so check that out before you head to dump out.
We had song birds, hawks and rabbits at our site. Early evening the lightning bugs were fun to watch.
The sites are not on the lake which we prefer yet is all worked out well. The lower lake is spring fed so it holds a nice temperature.
There is a local guy that will deliver a good amount of wood for $20.00. Good burning wood. He also brought kindling in a paper bag which was nice. They park will call him for you and he comes right out.There isn’t any cell service so they will call him, the host called for us. There is an upper lake and a lower lake. The campsites are between the two. You can hike to the upper lake.
You have to fill with water there is a fill station across from the beach parking area. Our site had electric. The lake is beautiful and refreshing. You can swim out to an Island if you want to. The beach is big with plenty of room for everyone. Nice sandy beach and shaded in some areas. To the left of the beach is a picnic area with grills and tables. There’s a dock over that way too.
There is a fishing area that you can drive to and park your car to fish. You do have to walk up and down some steps.Canoes and kayaks are welcome yet no motorboats allowed.
The campground is located very close to the Blue Ridge Parkway and the Skyline drive. What a beautiful drive on the parkway. There are a lot of look outs with amazing views. We spent days driving each way on the parkway. My favorite overlook is Ravens Roost. You can walk up a wall where there is one lone neat tree to get a real special view with the tree in it. Watch out for the lone Turkey who likes to be out in the road and when you slow down it comes to your vehicle and stand in the way so you can’t move. The Parkway didn’t have much traffic at all but do pay attention to the speed limit they police do sit throughout the park. There is a few NP stores on the parkway and Skyline drive we found some good Souvenirs.
There is a small store and gas station not far from the campground yet it is limited with what they sell. Waynesboro is not that far and it has a Walmart, grocery, hardware stores and more. We stopped at Weasies (home cooking) and had lunch. It was delicious.
Guide
We love staying right on the creek, the view and sound of it is the best. The ones down by the creek don’t have an electric or water but they’re so worth it. The bathroom is at the top of the hill so that’s kind of a pain but the the only downfall for us. Everyone has always been kind and friendly, our dogs love it here too!
Scout
We didn't visit the park itself so can't judge on RV overnight stays. We kindly asked if we could fill up water and dump our RV (as you can do in a lot of campgrounds for a small fee), they refused to do so.
Scout
He never responded to the reservation request or my email. Dont waste your time, find somewhere else.
GuideThis is a real gem in the woods . I have no idea why it is listed as closed when it is open and very nice. Call them to book a site as the apps will not let u
Frequently Asked Questions
Which is the most popular tent campsite near Pamplin, VA?
According to TheDyrt.com, the most popular tent campground near Pamplin, VA is Canoe Landing Group Campsite — James River State Park with a 4.5-star rating from 28 reviews.
What is the best site to find tent camping near Pamplin, VA?
TheDyrt.com has all 11 tent camping locations near Pamplin, VA, with real photos and reviews from campers.
