Best Campgrounds near Orange, 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 spent 2 nights at Creekside Campground in Edinburg, VA on our way to West Virginia—- and found a real gem. 

We paid$50/night for Back-in Creekview FHU Site#20. Once I was able to negotiate a few big trees, the site was plenty roomy and right on the water. Lots of ducks wandering around kept us entertained. 

This picturesque spot, minutes off I-81, has about 30 gravel sites. No amenities like swimming pools or game rooms, but it makes a nice layover or base camp to explore the Shenandoah Valley and local Civil War sites. 

THINGS I LIKED: 

• Great site on the water 

• Clean and level gravel site with well-maintained utility hook-ups 

• Minutes from I-81 

• Super friendly staff 

• The whole park is quiet and well-maintained 

THINGS I DISLIKED: 

• The water leaked and made for a pretty soggy swamp on the utility side of our coach 

WOULD WE COME BACK? 

Absolutely, this is a nice campground staffed by super nice people with close proximity to I-81.