Sky Meadows State Park Campground

Nice area to hike around, with access to the AT. There is also a stretch of trail that they deem the "old AT" before it was relocated.

Part of the trail cuts through some areas with cows - beware the cow pies!

Good area!

It's about a mile hike in to the campground, which sits in the woods in the park. Firewood is available for sale and there are fire rings with grates and a picnic table. Sites are large enough for three one person tents. Pit toilets, no showers, cell service. Make sure you bring a bear bag or box with you.

Great hike in campground

This is a great campground! It is about a mile hike-in. They have wheelbarrows you can borrow to help bring in your stuff from the car. There are pit toilets and non potable water available as well as firewood when you get to the campground. The campsites are pretty secluded and spaced out so you have some privacy. It is so peaceful and quiet! Lots of great hiking to do in the area. When we were there they were having a historical reenactment near the visitors center that was so cool! We came in August and it was super hot, but that is just Virginia. Lots of friendly staff and campers there.

Peace and quiet!

My brother and I really only got to check out the trails leading to and from the overnight camping spots - but the rest of the park looks like a lot of fun, plenty of things to do.

  

The campsites are about 1 mile from the overnight lot, which was a great hike-in if you don't overpack! We brought a wagon with extra gear with us, but we definitely took in too many items. Ended up pairing it down after night 1 and took extra stuff back to our cars. The hike-in get mostly uphill in the second half with plenty of tree roots and decent sized rocks - for those of you taking in a wagon.

  

The campsites themselves were great, with plenty of space for 2-3 tents, bear lockers, bathrooms with hand sanitizers, and friendly park rangers to clean up the trash and re-stock the firewood. Make sure you pay for the wood you take, it's on the honor system with a dropbox. We had a family of deer pay us a visit each morning - didn't come across any bears.

  

We didn't get to check out the Appalachian Trail - but it was only a few miles from the campsites. I'll def. come back! Worth the 7-8 hour trip from both South Carolina and New Hampshire.

Hike-in to great tent sites - don't overback!

Everything at the park is laid out pretty clearly and straight forward enough so you shouldn't have too many issues. Make sure to have cash to simplify paying for things such as firewood (you can pay upfront). 

There are camp toilets with toilet paper and hand sanitizer near the Red 1 tent site (not sure if there are others) which were clean enough. The trails are beautiful and I'm sure there was more to do, but didn't have a chance to see. Definitely a reason to return!

Simple Adventure

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 🪁💙

Great views, primitive camping 

I understand why people are lugging wheeled carts a mile into this campground, but it is technically not allowed. This is a backcountry/backpacking experience. Most of the hike-in is on Hadow Trail, which is dirt, not gravel. It is technically an equestrian trail too, but there's no way a horse could make it without breaking an ankle right now; the trail is so worn down by wheeled cart usage that the park has created a service project on the American Hiking Society's website calling for volunteers to do restoration work on Hadow Trail on this year's upcoming National Trails Day.

  

I hiked in while it was raining, and the mud wasn't as bad as I'd feared. However, the worn down parts of the trail attracted rainwater drainage, and the runoff narrowed the trail significantly. When I got to Boston Mill Rd Trail, which is gravel, the hike was easy, until the spur turning into the campground, when the trek goes uphill. If your site is further back, you will be hiking up and down many hills throughout the campground. The hills are fantastic for helping each site feel like a little private oasis. Even if the campground is full, I think most of the sites would still feel shaded and private because of how they're dispersed throughout the hills. 

  

My site bordered the buddy site and scout group sites at the beginning of the campground, so there was noise from loud kids but not as bad as I thought it might be. I was still able to enjoy peace and quiet, as the group respected quiet hours and was busy hiking the rest of the state park during the daytime, so don't shy away from this site if it's the only one available. The group sites also have their own latrine at the beginning of the campground, which pleasantly surprised me because this meant there were two latrines fairly close to each other, just to accommodate projected usage. There are many thoughtful details like this throughout the design of the campground facilities. 

  

For a backcountry campground, I was SO impressed with how stocked and clean everything was. Firewood is $8 (honor system), but there was some leftover at my site already. My firepit had a quality grill gate too. There are LOTS of bear trash cans available, and having a bear box at my campsite to store my food/trash/toiletries was _so_ much easier than hanging a bear bag. If it hadn't rained, I also would've been able to use the hammock posts at my site (you could use these to hang a clothesline too if you wanted). When I talked over the phone with a ranger, she told me that only a few campsites didn't have hammock stands. If you think a lantern is worth its weight to carry in, there's a lantern post on the tent pad. I loved how level the tent pad was even on a hill. I couldn't figure out how to use the potable water pump, but there are plentiful creeks you can filter water from.

  

Overall, this is a fantastic campground for a beginner backpacking experience in the real backcountry. Use the Avenza Maps app that the park has its map uploaded into, and you won't get lost finding the overnight parking/self check-in station like I did. Know the gate code of this area before you go. The gate takes a hard push and pull. If you're prepared for all this, you'll arrive at camp before dusk when the wild animals come out. At night I saw white-tailed deer and heard owls and cattle! During the day I saw/heard SOOO many birds on the South Ridge Trail and found a bear track after the Cpt. Morgan Trail on the creek side of Hadow Trail!! If all this sounds awful rather than exciting to you, just drive in for the day and stick to the historic areas rather than venture into the park's backcountry areas.