Best Campgrounds near Stuarts Draft, VA

After several nights of not sleeping at a busy campground at another national park, I was prepared for no sleep here. But that was not the case.

Though this campground is HUGE, the sites are not piled on top of each other. Our site, B112, was surrounded by shrubs under the canopy of trees which provided tons of privacy. Plus the accessible site across from us was empty during our whole stay, which added to the privacy.

The bathroom was a nice short walk away, but the proximity did have some drawbacks. The vent sounds like a diesel truck idling nonstop. At night people using flashlights and headlamps walking away from the bathroom shine them into your tent. The smell sometimes wafted over as well.

The bugs when we got here were kinda crazy. They don’t bite but they swarm your head and try to enter every orifice for some reason. A head net was helpful to get the tent and screen room set up.

Though there is privacy and it was fairly quiet in the afternoon, at night it can get loud with kids running around and being noisy.

Like all huge, busy campgrounds, it gets very Smoky in the evenings.

No cell service. We went to the visitor center and connected to the WiFi if we needed to do something online. The camp store has a lot of stuff! The showers are $5 for 10 minutes. Kind of a steep price. Make sure you test that it works BEFORE you get set up and get naked. My first quarter got jammed and I had to redress and pack up to move to a different one.

You will definitely see deer in the campground as they walk through and browse the understory. They are unafraid of humans unless directly approached (I did not do this, but I watched someone’s child do it).

And finally, the fireflies are spectacular. At dusk, the ground shimmers, and then after they disperse, you will still see them flit by the tent throughout the night.

This is a lovely RV park built up a mountain side overlooking the picturesque Shenandoah Valley, located in a deep old hardwood forest. Care has been given to support the original trees and native plants. The ‘resort’ features include a pool, laundry, pickleball courts, volleyball courts, disk golf, horseshoes, picnic tables and fire rings, a kid’s activity area, a rec center that includes an arcade, swings, and tables. There are some local trails and the 15-minute hike up to the Endless Caverns sign offers a lovely view of the valley and an acre+ field of wildflowers they have sewn.. Picnic tables are provided up there. The bathhouse was fully tiled and very clean. The office offers ice,  firewood, and a gift store with a few RV components. In addition to RV sites they have added a nice set of cabins. The Endless Caverns actually adjoin the office welcome center and tours are offered multiple times daily. It would be tough for arthritic knees… but we really enjoyed the raw nature of the caverns. There is plenty to keep kids occupied! 

Many FHU sites in our area (C) are large enough for a trailer, TV and a clam. Pull-through sites are available. Sites in C usually back up into a wooded or naturally landscaped area that allow a nice sense of woodsy privacy. Sites are mostly level. Sites in section E appear tighter with less shelter. The higher sites might require your TV have 4WD. Be very particular with your site selection! 

While Wi-Fi routers are set up at the bathhouses, we had some connection at the trailer. We picked up a dozen channels on our antenna and the 2-3 bar Verizon LTE enabled us to stream some channels on Fire TV. 

Locally you can enjoy wineries, orchards and cideries. Luray Caverns (an absolute MUST) is a pleasant 35-minute drive. Virginia’s Skyline Drive and the Shenandoah National Park crosses near Luray. New Market offers significant Civil War appeal. We greatly enjoyed the Virginia Museum of the Civil War and the New Market Battlefield Museum. 

Be aware that, as a resort, they will tack on a$10 daily resort fee to the booking price. Given how nice the RV park is, the fee feels appropriate. There are 3-night and 5-night stay discount codes on the Promos tab. When you make a reservation there is an extra cost to lock in a site(something we see often these days). We reserved our spot for another week in the Fall at a discount before leaving.

We stayed here in early June with a tent— only 5 sites were occupied, so it felt quiet and peaceful. The campground is very clean, with plenty of trash bins and protected drinking water spigots— almost every site has one nearby. Each site has a fire ring and a grill grate, which was a nice touch. 

The bathrooms were spotless, and the showers were hot— almost too hot! Definitely one of the best free showers we’ve had. 

Payment is self-serve:$20 per night in the box, with discounts available for various groups. 

• Heads-up: There’s no cell service at the sites. 

• Starlink users beware: 0/5— the entire campground is under heavy tree cover.

 Would recommend for a quiet offline stay in nature.

The visit was great. The campground is small and the amenities are limited. It’s not going to be a spend all your time at the campground and never get bored experience. However, the grounds are well kept, the shower and bathrooms were clean and the people working the grounds were friendly and helpful. Cell service is spotty but WiFi is available and adequate enough to stream movies. I was in site B31 full hookup and it was nearly at the front of the park. My water pressure was good but talking to other campers, the farther away you get from the front of the park the worse the water pressure gets. This came from a gentleman who had a site at the very back of the campground. This is a great place to use as a stop or a jumping off point for other adventures in the area.