Best Tent Camping near Shenandoah National Park

Tent Camping Reviews near Shenandoah National Park

954 Reviews of 29 Shenandoah National Park Campgrounds

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  Mary S.

  Legend

  Oct. 12, 2018

  Loft Mountain Campground — Shenandoah National Park

  Camping in the national park is the best!

  Loft Mountain was the third stop on our tour of Shenandoah National Park. First stop traveling south on Skyline Drive was Mathews Arm and second was Big Meadows at about the halfway point. Loft Mountain is at about the 3/4 mark. These parks are well spaced for viewing and hiking in between each campground.

  I'm a big fan of campgrounds in national parks. Why do I like this one? Pretty much the same reasons as I liked the other Shenandoah campgrounds:

  • All the basic needs are available in a scenic setting.

  • Generator-free sections (because I hate noisy generators)

  • About 75% of the sites are first-come, first-served sites so you should always be able to find a site if you arrive early.

  • The $15 price is a bargain and our Lifetime Senior Pass cuts the fee in half.

  • Hiking: There's a lot to keep you busy in the entire national park, but rainy, foggy weather kept us from exploring as much as we'd like. We'll be back!

  Things to Know About the Sites

  • Some sites have food storage boxes. Use them as an alternative to keeping food locked in your vehicle.

  • Walk-to tent sites: It's not a long walk to your site from a designated parking spot.

  • I was surprised to see that most sites (other than walk-to tent sites) have long, pull through parking pads, and most have a grass buffer (and possibly a few trees) separating the site from the road. These asphalt pads can accommodate RVs of all sizes and have a spacious area behind the pull through with a picnic table, fire ring and room for a tent. Great sites!

  • Generator-free sites in loop F and part of G are reservable sites. If you want one of these sites, I recommend a reservation. See the site map photo.

  Amenities

  • Restrooms with a utility sink outside some of them

  • Potable water and trash/recycling stations are spread throughout the park. These are all shown on the site map photo.

  • Camp store with ice, wood and limited food choices is a short walk from the campground entrance.

  • Showers: $1.75 for 5.25 minutes. These are located in a restroom near the campstore and look new. There is a handicapped accessible shower/bathroom combination.

  • Laundry facility near the camp store

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• 

  RL

  Legend

  Apr. 13, 2021

  Sky Meadows State Park Campground

  Great views, primitive camping

  We hiked the one mile into the campground and stayed for a night. It was a pretty flat walk from the overnight parking area to the campground. In the campground there is one bathroom facility with two vault toilets (although one of the doors was locked while we were there, which was unpleasant with a full campground). No running water or showers in the bathhouses. Non-potable water pump is near the restroom. Boil water at least three minutes before consuming. There are two areas with firewood (purchase when you check in or pay $6 cash at the kiosk - honor system). Each site has a bear box, fire ring, picnic table, tent pad with pea gravel, and a lantern pole. Definitely will be back!

  The park has wide open rolling hills and mountain views. Lots of families picnicking and flying kites 🪁💙

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• 

  Nick C.

  Guide

  Jul. 25, 2022

  Big Meadows Campground — Shenandoah National Park

  Centralized spot in Shenandoah - hot showers!

  I stayed in the tent only / non generator sites which is definitely the way to go. My site was actually a walk in. So I had to park and lug my gear up some steps about 200 feet. The site was shaded with a nice spot for a hammock. Including a fire ring and grill grate, picnic table and a bear box. You are close to the road, so you get noise and headlights in your tent sometimes. Deer and skunk walk through camp all the time. Heard some owls at night. Whooooooo

• 

  Corey B.

  Guide

  Jun. 15, 2018

  Little Fort Campground

  Great Stay

  Small and simple campground with a handle full of sites. Each site has a picnic table and fire ring. Sites are semi secluded from each other. Some sites have direct access to the Peter's Mill Run OHV complex. Vault toilet for all sites to share. No water, no electricity. Have to pack trash out. Sites were first come first serve. Free to camp.

  We camped so we could spend two days on the OHV Trails with the Jeep. Had an incredible time. We'll be back.

• 

  Matt S.

  Legend

  Aug. 12, 2023

  Spacious Skies Shenandoah Views

  Camping Gem With a Great View

  We had a great stay at Spacious Skies Shenandoah Views in Luray, VA. 

  We stayed in a level back-in site(#39) with picnic table on a concrete patio, Adirondack chairs under a pergola on a second concrete patio, clean gravel surface, and fire pit. The site was big enough for our motor home and Jeep. Full hook-ups with 50-amp service. 

  Wow, what a view! Sunset over the mountains from our campsite each evening. Who could ask for more? 

  The campground is close to Shenandoah National Park and Skyline Drive as well as Luray Caverns and a few smaller tourist attractions including the Luray Zoo and Bear Mountain Zip-lines. 

  They have a clean pool and playground for little kids. The nearby dairy cow farm is fun too. 

  You can tell the new owners are making some upgrades including improving the utilities and adding wi-fi. 

  The drive in requires about 25-miles through the roller coaster of steep grade(7+%) hills. There’s no way around that, you’re in the mountains. Just be aware and be prepared. 

  THINGS I ESPECIALLY LIKED: 

  1. The best view from a campsite we’ve ever experienced 

  2. Less than 20-minutes from Shenandoah National Park and Luray Caverns 

  3. Clean campground

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• 

  Mary S.

  Legend

  Oct. 11, 2018

  Mathews Arm Campground — Shenandoah National Park

  Well-maintained, quiet campground in a national park

  What do I love about Mathews Arm Campground in Shenandoah National Park? So many things!

  • The simplicity of a national park setting: no frills in a beautiful setting.
  • Generator-free area: No generators are allowed in parts of the A and B sections.
  • Non-reservable sites! This makes it easier to travel without a plan other than arriving early at a campground. The entire A section (A1-A116) and a small part of C (C143-C145) cannot be reserved. Sites in B (B117-B141), the rest of C (C146-C164), and D (group sites D165-D167) can be reserved.
  • $15 price: Our Lifetime Senior Pass cuts that in half (and covers the park admission fee).
  • Hiking! You can hike to Overall Run Falls from a trail in the parking lot near the campground and turn this into a loop hike by returning a different way. The ranger at the Dickey Ridge Visitor Center near the Front Royal (North) Entrance Station was extremely helpful. We told her we planned to try 3 of the 4 campgrounds as we drove north to south on Skyline Drive and wanted hiking recommendations. There are 15 separate maps with multiple hikes in each, and we left with several of those marked up by the ranger. We also hiked the Stony Man loop on the way to our next stop at Big Meadows; the 180+ degree view while standing up on top of the rocks was spectacular.
  • It's quiet! People don't come to national park campgrounds to party. They come to see the sights and hike. They're tired at night and don't make a lot of noise.

  I guess that's enough.

  The Sites

  • Sites are large but many are lined up right next to each other. I recommend staying away from A72 to the end of A. They're lined up too closely for my taste, and there isn't much shade.
  • I liked our site A55 and thought A56-A61 were nice sites. When we entered a sparsely populated park in mid-afternoon on a Monday in October, those sites were already taken. By evening, the park was half full. Arrive early in the day if you don't have a reservation, especially later in the week.

  Amenities

  • Bathrooms are adequate. There is potable water and a utility sink near the bathrooms, but there are no showers. The closest (coin-operated) showers are about 30 miles south at Big Meadows Campground, the next campground on Skyline Drive. Bathrooms are newer/nicer at Big Meadows and Loft Mountain.
  • Trash disposal, ash disposal and recycling bins are available.
  • Some sites have food storage lockers. Google reviews indicated park rangers insist you keep all food in a locker, camper or vehicle and you can be fined if you don't. Apparently, bears recognize coolers so you should cover them up in vehicles. (I also heard this at Rocky Mountain NP.)
  • There's no store at the campground, but there's one a couple miles south on Skyline Drive.

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• 

  Terri S.

  Guide

  Sep. 23, 2019

  Big Meadows Campground — Shenandoah National Park

  Beautiful , well maintained

  Big Meadows Campground was wonderful. Facilities were clean and well maintained. Bear box for food storage. Loved seeing the deer so close and other wildlife. Fire ring with grate was available. Large site size. We had site 23. Highly recommend!

• 

  Carol B.

  Guide

  Apr. 19, 2025

  Big Meadows Campground — Shenandoah National Park

  Full campground, but a happy overnight

  I tent camped for one night at the start of Easter weekend. Lots and lots of folks about, but still enough space to NOT feel encroached upon. Level grass spot for a tent, fairly level paved parking area if car camping, picnic table, fire ring with grill grate. I was on the no generator loop, but in a non electric site (vs tent walk in type). Warm bathrooms, utility sinks in several, pay hot showers, lots of greenery. I will visit again! NO Verizon cell service at all!

• A

  Alexandra T.

  Ranger

  May. 26, 2021

  Big Meadows Campground — Shenandoah National Park

  Beautiful Shenandoah

  Beautiful Shenandoah National Park.

  We were tent camping with two young kids on site 93. Sites are hit and miss depending on what you’re looking for. Some are larger than others. 93 was fine except no trees to hang hammocks (which the kids were looking forward to) and the space for the tent was on the opposite side of the parking pad from the fire ring/picnic table. Not a big deal, just FYI. Good location in relation to the restrooms for little kids- close enough to walk but not so close you see the lights all night. Overall this is a large campground and most sites are very close to one another. One side of the campgrounds meets up with the Appalachian Trail which is a nice walk down & back for little kids. Rangers/camp hosts were all pleasant & helpful. There was a small dish washing station in the restrooms which was a nice surprise. Showers are coin operated at entrance. Would be a truly magical place if campsites weren’t so tight.

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