Best Dog-Friendly Camping near Ripplemead, VA

We stayed here for vacation last year. There’s a nice dog park, and the facilities are clean. My only negative was that they had us camp up on the top of the hill and it was difficult to navigate back down, with some very sharp turns for our fifth wheel. They seemed to have some nice amenities, and the staff was very friendly.

Nice, clean campground with friendly staff. Outdoor pool, mini golf, bowling alley and more to keep everyone busy. We stayed on Labor Day weekend so it was crowded and of course it was a bit noisy but would definitely recommend anyone to stay here and we would definitely go back. They also have two dog parks in the campground which is nice for your furry family! 😊

I typically steer clear of KOA's because most of the sites are super close together. This KOA is different! There is a row towards the front that are pretty close together, but I think they use those for one-nighters. We were in a tent and loved our spot. The staff was UNBELIEVABLY awesome and nice. They have a pool, a pond, a playground, a dog park, and a great camp store. The bathrooms and laundry room are exceptionally clean. If you order ice or firewood, they bring it to your site. They also have food you can order and they will bring it to your site. I am sure there are many things I am forgetting, but this is a must stay and we will be back.

Beautiful lake surrounded by gorgeous mountains, hiking, fishing and boating, amazing staff, very clean shower houses and laundry facility! Very family oriented and pet friendly!

We stayed a weekend in one of the many cabins at the Campground; pet friendly! The RV/Tent camping sites were closed. Cabin was stocked with minimal kitchen ware, we brought in our groceries, in the town of Hinton there are a couple of grocery stores; so easy access. There was a picnic table and satellite TV; to our surprise. Cabin had a fireplace, two bedrooms and one bath. Very quiet!

Thumbs up and we will likely stay there again, will look into bringing our TT to check out the RV/Tent areas.

Fancy Gap CC is a great small campground with a rustic hotel, cabins, tent camping, and RV/Trailer hook ups. I've stayed here before tent camping, which was nice. This time I was caught in traffic and they had a cabin available, better than pitching a tent in the dark and rain. The cabins are sturdy, very clean, pet friendly, and complete with a refrigerator/microwave and coffee maker. The bath house is relatively new and kept very clean. The whole campground is tidy. You can tell tell the owners love the place. If Fancy Gap is relatively close to your travel plans, I highly suggest you visit for yourself.

I was looking for a campground in the latter half of April and so many of the NF and NP campgrounds were not yet open. My plans had been up in the air, so I hadn’t made reservations anywhere. Jumped on The Dyrt and located this KOA just off the Blue Ridge Parkway that was ideally located for my exploration of the area AND I was able to make a late reservation on a weekday night. The campground was much busier when I departed on a Friday morning. 

Like many KOAs, this has a combination of tent sites and well-equipped RV sites, ranging from back-in to pull-through as well as cabins. I’ve stayed at a few, but not many KOAs and this one had some amenities that I think are worth calling out. In addition to a pet play area, there are a few sites(51, 43& 45) with pet backyards, fenced in areas for your pet to roam and play. For the tent sites there are a couple (T84& T86) with a shared covered kitchen area plus sail-style awnings. There’s also a separate kitchen pavilion for the all campers near site 83. I didn’t explore the seasonal sites, but they are available and somewhat separate from the short-term campers. 

There’s a small camp store, laundry room, clean bathrooms with showers. Firewood can be delivered to your site. They’ll lead you to your site and help you get situated if necessary. I was in site 10, a back-up site with a slight incline. It was quiet apart from the creaking trees during a windstorm😊. 

In peak season, there’s a pool, a small pond (catch& release unless you want to pay), ping pong, rock mining, etc. They have great wifi (they sent a text to campers to let them know they were working to get the cable restored, but in the meantime people could use the wifi to stream movies if needed). I didn’t have a need to use it as I was able to get what I needed on my phone(Verizon). 

If you’re traveling the Blue Ridge Parkway, you may want to make this an overnight stop or use it as a base to explore in different directions. I went online and discovered that Mt Airy(of Andy Griffith fame), was nearby, so I wandered into NC to explore that. I also drove along the Parkway and enjoyed Mabry’s Mill(a lot of activities were closed due to COVID, but I expect they’ll start returning to former levels as restrictions ease). On an early trip, I recall learning about making moonshine as well as the functions of the scenic mill.

You’ve struck gold here at Bull Falls Campground if you’re looking to get away from it all, discover solitude in the heart of West Virginia’s lush, verdant nature garden of Eden. Bull Falls Campground in the Bluestone Wildlife Management Area is along the western banks of the New River, far flung from all of the other nearby campgrounds you’ll find sprinkled up and down and around this river basin. 

This is a fantastic spot for you to bring all your water toys from snorkeling and innertubes to fishing, kayaking and anything else that you want to submerge in this slow moving, tranquil snake-like river. At this campground, there’s about 20 sites or so – very small and not crowded and is open to tent campers as well as campers, trailers and even RV’s.  Campfires and pets are both allowed and there’s plenty of picnic tables.

Nearby there’s about 4-5 really great hiking trails. Insider’s tip? Right off campsite#14, there’s a great opening that will take you down one of the longer hiking trails, which after about 1 mile or so you’ll come to a small little inlet, perfect for inflating an innertube and floating in isolation with your Bluetooth speaker playing some nice jazz with plenty of coozie-hugging beers from your floating cooler. Also, there’s some really great bird watching in these parts, so bring your binoculars.

Happy Camping!

Really cool campground located right on the New River, located at Foster Falls. The river sounds amazing at night. You have to walk everything into the campground from the parking area, but it's not a long walk so you can still bring all of your "car camping" luxuries. There are no RV sites and there are no bathhouses, only pit toilets which can be a little funky, but it is what it is. Just a short walk from the campground, you can explore the area which includes stables, a wildlife center, visitor center with local artisan goods (we got some local teas, stevia, and handmade jewelry/ornaments as gifts), an abandoned hotel/grounds (you can check them out from the outside), an old train car, and much more. Pet-friendly. 

Sites 2, 6, and 9 would be my personal picks for next time. If you have a large group, G17 is HUGE. You can also use this campground for day-use, picnicking, etc.

Shot Tower State Park isn't far from here either, so definitely check that out while you're in the area. Millrace Campground is located within the New River State Park. We went in October and the colors were really starting to change.

My family stayed in a cabin last week in this state forest and checked out the campground. Our cabin was charming and immaculate! The very large bathroom had amazing white towels all folded and hung over towel bars like a nice hotel. The kitchen was very well equipped. Each bed had sheets, a very soft wool blanket, and a quilt and nice pillows. The cabin had a fireplace for heat (free firewood) and two AC units (bedroom/living room) and a ceiling fan in the LR. The cabin area is so beautiful! While there are 14 cabins, they are spread out enough that you don’t feel like they’re too close. Most are under trees. Each cabin has a grill and a fire pit, and there at least three larger ‘community’ fire pits trough the cabin area. Our cabin and others are pet friendly!!! The only issue with the cabin was the beds. They were both very uncomfortable. One was a new fold out couch.

The campground was very wooded and seemed at first to be more like most rustic campgrounds in appearance, but it does, in fact, have electric at some sites. There are pull through sites, camper/tent sites and tent only sites. It’s beautiful, and I hope to camp there this fall!

There are many hiking trails throughout the park and a nice pool. The cabin and camping areas are pretty far from the pool area. Guests in either area would more than likely drive to the pool.

This state forest is within five minutes or so from a four lane highway (64) and several restaurants (Subway, Wendy’s, McDonald’s and a privately owned one) and gas stations. A Food Lion grocery store is about 15 minutes away in White Sulfur Springs, and there’s a hospital about 15 min away in Lewisburg, recently voted the Coolest Small Town in America! While this forest is very close to convenient amenities, we still felt away from the hustle and bustle of life.

I was traveling in this area and was really excited to have found that there is a town called Austinville where Stephen F Austin, a founder of Texas, originated. While driving out to the monument in his honor I found this site and loved what I saw!

Highway access to this area is easy for all types of traveler. there are several stores in the area with just about anything you could need or want only moments away from camp and if you are there in late summer when I was, the sun rises are amazing!!!!

So what is the catch?? Well they don't accept tents!!! NOOOOOO!! I didn't find a single thing about that online when I checked their site following finding out this knowledge, however I did like this site enough to still give them a positive review because they were so nice, their facility was ample and their proximity itself.

In fact, they were so nice they gave me a tour of the campground even though I couldn't stay and gave me some great info about places around me which led me to another campground that served me perfect, a tent campground nearby.

This site has a very nice restroom with multiple sinks, a large laundry room perfect for a camper who is on the road for a while like myself. I noticed there was a very nice pool which is heated, allowing it to be open much longer than many campgrounds in the area. There is a large pet area and also playground and several hiking areas in the direct area which all looked nice.

Nearby are numerous state parks as a part of the New River Trail including the Shot Tower Historical Site which is a very short distance away. In addition, people often come here to watch the birds and deer, which are very relaxing.

Should I return with an RV I also inquired about the rates which are reasonable at $35 for standard hook ups and they do have weekly rates also. I did notice what appeared to be a few long term campers but their areas still looked kept and maintained.

TIPS:

• Call in advance if you will be arriving late in the evening. The management lives on property and will make arrangements to meet you.
• Take advantage of the historic Wrythesville walking tour, you can get information about this in the office and it is WELL WORTH IT!!

This KOA is located in the heart of Virginia's Blue Ridge close to Galax, home of the annual Fiddlers Convention. The site has several lots with private dog runs where your pooch can have space to stretch their legs while you enjoy the beauty of the facilities.

The pool is well maintained and is adjacent to a spring fed mining sluse where for a small fee you can pan for gold and other precious gems.The only down side is the steep access road to the back in campsites.

The sites are hit or miss on size and the host is constantly hovering which is a bit weird but the park is nice and dog friendly. The sites are just gravel. The beach is nice.

We stayed one night at the Fancy Gap Cabins and Campground in our Riverside Retro 199FKS - and absolutely loved it! We did choose on of the 4 pull through sites which provide a great view but they are along the ring road so they are not really private. The back in sites appear to be roomy and rather private. They also offer cabins and tent sites. The couple that own/run the park are super nice and are huge dog lovers. They made me, my wife and our two large dogs very welcome. The park is right off the Blue Ridge Parkway and US52 in Fancy Gap. Also accessible near I77. We are going again in a week for a longer stay.