Join the fun near Stuarts Draft. With tons of outdoor activities and scenic camping, this is an excellent vacation spot for all kinds of travelers. There are tons of hikes and other fun activities to partake in. Experience some of the most stunning views that Virginia camping has to offer. You're sure to find the perfect spot for your Virginia camping adventure.
$15 - $80 / night
"Ranger led park programs are offered year round, this week included a natural history boat tour in the lake, and a naturalist talk on loons."
"We stayed at site 11 in location 2 on the Lake James campgrounds; it’s a paddle-in-only location. Getting there required canoeing in, which was easy for us to do on the lake’s dock."
"service was in and out as well there is a spring but remember to boil or chemical treat the water before use is not tested for parasites another humble bacteria I also recommend investing in a portable toilet"
"the campground is roughly the size of a Walmart parking lot including the store or three football fields you do have to carry all the stuff from your car do the campsite but luckily you don't have to walk"
$15 - $18 / night
"Lake James is a true gem, clean and beautiful, with amazing views of Linville Gorge, Shortoff Mountain, and Table Rock. The State Park has several camping areas."
"This is a lovely little campground set on the shores of James Lake. Sites are big enough for 2 small tents or 1 largish family tent. All sites have a picnic table, fire pit with grate, and bear box."
$15 - $18 / night
"Located in the middle of nowhere off of narrow Virginia secondary roads, we were surprised to get good Verizon reception. We stayed on site 15 which is a long pull-thru."
"First of all, the ranger over the campgrounds is awesome. He’s really, really nice. Secondly, this campground will always be a favorite for us."
"Duration of Stay: Oct 16-18, 2020 Average Daily Temp: 61 Average Evening Temp: 30 On Site Parking: ✅ Potable Water: 🚱 Restrooms: 🚫 Firewood: 🚫 Cell Service: 📵 4x4: ✅ Wildlife and Fishing: ✅
Amazing"
"It was an established site with a fire ring. It had a large clearing with a pretty flat spot for my tent. I accessed the site on my motorcycle. You wouldn't get a car/truck to the site."
$25 - $30 / night
"If you are tent camping or have a camper van the area is fine. Large RV will have a difficult time setting up in the camp area. The camp area is quiet and there is plenty of firewood for use."
"We're excited to welcome this property to the platform. Camp out under a canopy of Red Cedar Trees and make yourself comfortable. Free firewood! Give this place a go and leave your review here."
"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."
"It is a very rocky path, about 50 feet long, to get into the campground, but then it is smooth and well laid out."
$21 - $60 / night
"We're so excited to have this property on our platform! These flat, well maintained sites are perfect to pitch your tent or park your RV. The sites are large and offer ample shade."
LegendOur site was RIGHT on the river. It was peaceful and private. No water, no electricity available. Not for RVs. There is a railroad track that runs along the James River near the sites, but it never bothered us. Great fishing.
A little additional info from the internet:
BREEDEN BOTTOM CAMPGROUND is located on the James River about 1/4 mile down stream of the Arcadia bridge about 5 mile drive from our canoe livery in Buchanan, VA. It is situated about 6 river miles downstream of our Buchanan based canoe livery location near river mile marker 19. This campground can accommodate both paddle in and drive in campers. Each site is numbered and include a fire ring, picnic table, parking area, and level tent pad. Portable toilets and a dumpster are conveniently located in the center of the campground. Guests will need to bring their own water as no potable water source is provided. $36.00 per site for up to 4 campers.
GuideI 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
LegendNorth Carolina certainly puts its state park system as a priority! I am very impressed. This park is beautifully maintained, has myriad opportunities for recreation, and is in a scenic setting along Lake James and the Catawba River at the base of the Blue Ridge mountains. The park is quite large, and has an extensive set of trails for mountain biking as well as hiking, and the National Intermountain Historic Hiking trail also runs through the park. Water recreation includes kayaking, canoeing and boating with rentals available right in the oark, fishing, including trout fishing on the Catawba and feeder streams to it, and just lying on their beautiful beach—yes, even in December! Ranger led park programs are offered year round, this week included a natural history boat tour in the lake, and a naturalist talk on loons. The park encompasses several peninsulas and bays on Lake James, we were at Paddy Creek where there are nice drive in tent sites, but there are also more secluded walk in or hike in tent site options. The drive-in tent campground has a year round campground host, a brand new shower house and nice bathrooms, plentiful water pumps, and each tent site has a picnic table, steel fire ring, tent pad, and a well built “Bear Box.” Yes, this is bear country! Your food needs to be locked away in a bear box or you will have visitors
LegendLoft 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
GuideBig 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!
GuideI 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!
GuideWe did not have a reservation and were lucky to get a site. It is a large campground with 200 sites for RV's & tent campers. The site we had was primitive, no water or electric, but had a picnic table, fire ring, & a bear box. Although the sites were close, they were situated to maximize privacy. The campgrounds had plenty of restrooms with flush toilets & sinks. The camp store has laundry facilities and showers that you must pay for, $1.75 for 5 minutes. The grounds and facilities are very clean. An added bonus, you can access the Appalachian Trail right from the campgrounds that provides amazing views
LegendVery large and very open group campground situated on either side of the picnic area road back out. Each of the campsites provides plenty of tent space, a couple picnic tables, fire pit with grills, bear boxes, potable water, and a shared vault toilets in the middle of the sites and nearer to the picnic area and parking for up to five vehicles at each site. Firewood, ice, laundry, showers and camp store are available three miles north at the Loft Mountain Camp Store.
ScoutThis was my first-ever camping trip and I’m glad that it was here. We stayed at site 11 in location 2 on the Lake James campgrounds; it’s a paddle-in-only location. Getting there required canoeing in, which was easy for us to do on the lake’s dock. (We rented canoes from CBS a ways away.) The trip is beautiful, especially at sunset.
Our campsite was clean and came with a picnic table, a fire and a bear box. We were able to fit 2 tents and 6 camp chairs in the space; a little snug with 6 people and 3 dogs but totally doable. We bought firewood locally, but someone came by on a bike the first night offering to sell us some, too. A few other campers walked past with dogs but mostly it felt very private.
We canoed to the beach at Lake James on Saturday. The water isn’t the most beautiful I’ve ever seen, but it’s perfectly fine for adults to take a dip in. They allow floaties, which is great, but sadly no dogs on the main beach. We also got ice cream and iceees from the concession stand. Also, no alcohol allowed, but that was actually kinda nice because there weren’t loud drunk people anywhere. Lots of families were BBQing and picnicking at the beach.
The bathroom at camp was somewhat primitive—just a toilet with a hole in the ground. It didn’t smell terrible but it gets very hot inside. No sink, but there is toilet paper and Purell. Definitely bring lots of your own hand sanitizer and wipes, if you need to feel super clean. Our campsite was private enough that I felt OK peeing in the woods.
The bugs (mosquitoes)were not too bad with bug spray on. There were spiders and centipedes around and a no poisonous black rat snake. No bears, but lots of loud frogs at night. 🐸
Tent camping near Stuarts Draft, Virginia, offers a variety of scenic locations perfect for outdoor enthusiasts looking to immerse themselves in nature.
Frequently Asked Questions
According to TheDyrt.com, the most popular tent campground near Stuarts Draft, VA is Canoe Landing Group Campsite — James River State Park with a 4.5-star rating from 28 reviews.
TheDyrt.com has all 23 tent camping locations near Stuarts Draft, VA, with real photos and reviews from campers.
Keep Exploring
