Best Campgrounds near Salem, VA

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.

There were a ton of things for the kids to do here which was great. I really enjoyed the water park myself as it was in the high 90's/low 100's when we were there. Our campsite was fine near the river, nothing spectacular though as we were on the end of the row and our site had a bit of a slope to it. I'd stay here again.

This place has tons of activities for kids and teens. This place has a family feel to it.

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!

This is a very well maintained& clean campground. The owner is great and the camp host was very attentive. There is a good sized catch and release pond, we were at site#17 that was one site from the pond and not sure if you could see the water from#18 but the short walk to the pond is up a small hill/bunker like thing so there’s not a direct view of the water from#17 if that’s what you are looking for. There is a good play area and nice pavilion for groups and a smaller camping area down from the bathhouse. We have a 22’ TT, but I imagine the turn into the campground with a large motorhome would need some consideration for the driver to take their time. The drive to Smith Mountain Lake is not bad. The entry road off of RT 40 is at an angle, not a 90 degree turn so if you are coming from the East, it’s at the top of the hill but more than a 90 deg turn, coming from the West on 40 it’s an easy turn but you can’t see the traffic coming up the hill so be careful. There’s a convenience store, Penhook store, on 40 and it does have some raw and frozen meats, bait, ice, charcoal and the other basic store stuff. We came from the West and Rocky Mount has a Kroger and Wak-Mart. Wi-Fi was standard campground speed, didn’t use the bathhouse,power and water presser were good, site could have been a bit more level but they may work on that over the winter. Check in was a breeze, directly to the site but still greeted and checked on by the host. Some full timers and seasonal trailers but they were in good shape and clean. September stay so still had mosquitoes and fresh stink bugs, yeah! Have fun!

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

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.

This is the most peaceful and quiet campground. The mountain and water views are stunning. Camp hosts are phenomenal! So glad we found them gem. Can’t wait to come back.

Cute place off the freeway with water access and a playground, 6 mile hiking trail to waterfall and not far from town. There is a train station nearby and the trains are loud. They come by every now and then night and day, they do live music some nights and church gatherings where a man basically yells all night long. Lots of freeway noise so the nightly fee is kinda stupid considering you won't get any sleep if you stay here. The river is super planted so I wouldn't swim here either sadly.. and the showers have NO water presser yet you gotta pay for a bathroom key otherwise there's porta-potties by the dumpster.

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!

THE TRAINS: HOLY HELL. The trains alone are reason enough not to camp here. Especially with a tent. Five trains between midnight and 5am. Every one of them blew the horn well past the crossing. This is not an exaggeration; it sounded like the trains were going to come through the tent. We might as well have been on the tracks themselves. We had to cover our 3yo daughters ears to keep her from getting scared awake during every train passing. The tent camping is closest to the tracks which makes zero sense to me as the RV's would be less subject to the noise and would block a lot of it from reaching the tents. The train schedule probably varies, but I assure you, it's not worth the roll of the dice. I would find somewhere else to camp, especially if you like the peace and quiet(which is a huge part of camping). I know this isn't really in their control, but it kind of is. They do mention that the trains do come through and that the guests don't usually mention it after the second night(probably because they leave after the first night LOL JK). They definitely sugar coat it. However, they need to have that in BOLD RED LETTERS"THE TRAINS ARE LOUD AS F**K". I would've just canceled the trip immediately and camped elsewhere. They need one of those huge sound blocking walls you see along the interstate. The Bathrooms: Bathrooms need work. The toilet seats are gross, the walls have mold on them, the shower curtains are piss yellow. All of which would cost around$80 to fix. Those are the"Campers Only" bathrooms. The"Tubing Showers" are basically a wooden shack with a pull string valve. Looks like something out of a horror film. Not sure why they even have them because the river will get you cleaner than those ever will. The River: The river is beautiful. Great views of the mountain sides. The views and fishing were the only saving grace. I was able to catch a small-mouth bass pretty quickly and missed a few others. The water ranges in depth, but nothing deeper than waste deep really. It's rocky and slippery so it's dangerous and not very family friendly. Especially for young children and older people. Honestly, my wife hated the river because it was so hard to move around. So while it looked nice and fished well, that was about it. Tubing: I didn't do the tubing, but I had family with me that did and they said it was NOT worth the money. The water level was said to be good for it, but they said they dragged their butts the majority of the way. I also think that their base level tubes they rent out are not enough to keep you high enough out of the water. They look like inner tubes from some sort of truck and they are not beefy enough for this application, you'll just droop through the middle. If you do tube, bring your own river tube or rent the premium versions with the bottom sewn in. The People: The people were very nice to us during our short stay. This was a non-issue. However, I think they should worry less about the grass and more about the amenities getting updated(build a new bathhouse building). For Young Kids: Nothing really available for younger kids to play on. No playgrounds or anything other than a few ride around toys and a basketball hoop. They have plenty of room for an awesome playground for much younger kids, but I don't think that's their focus. Conclusion: Would I ever stay at New River Junction again? Absolutely not. For me, camping is about getting away from the noise and my house is quieter than this place and I live on a busy street. The trains are awful for tent camping and I'm sure the thin-walled travel trailers too. Had it not been for the trains, the place would have been okay, but even the good parts weren't that great. I didn't set this trip up, a family member did. I'll never let her live this one down lol. Don't let the positive reviews mislead you. The majority of the reviews are from people there just for tubing. In all my years of tent camping, this was the worst trip I've ever had.

Campsite was clean, campsite were close to other campsite. There are no showers. The staff were friendly and were able to help with all questions I had. They went above and beyond to help make you stay a good experience.

The staff is friendly and go out of there way to answer questions you may have. The camp site are spaced out good. They do have showers and rest rooms and water near your camp site. Can’t wait to visit again.