North River Campground

I’d rate this campsite 3.5 stars if I could. It has a lot going for it. The roads are paved up to the last mile, which turns to a well maintained gravel road, so no need for an off roading vehicle. Look out for potholes though—the paved roads were sprinkled with large ones that come out of nowhere.

I bet the site is pretty nice during the spring and early summer. Several of the spots are right next to the river bed, which was dry by mid-September. Some spots also border a through road, so there might be some unappreciated traffic noise.

It is just remote enough. There’s no service for Verizon, but if you have an emergency, you can drive a mile or two and send out a call. There are toilets but no running water. The ground was level, and relatively free of rocks. Of the nine spots, only three were occupied on the weekend I stayed.

It’s 2.5-3 hours from the dmv area, and cheaper than Shenandoah. I don’t know why the website says Staunton or West Augusta is the closest town; Stockesville is a 10 minute drive from the campsite and has a well stocked general store that sells firewood at a decent price. Taking the directions from Staunton added an hour to our drive time. The address/gps coordinates this app provides got us there just fine using Apple Maps.

There is a small lake (Todd Lake) open for swimming, kayaking, and fishing, that is a mile or two away. Admission for the lake is $8/vehicle. There are also several trails within walking distance/10 minute drive.

I thought the campsite would be at a higher altitude and therefore a little cooler this time of year, but I was wrong—the weather app set for the Stokesville was pretty accurate. There were signs that say it is in a flooding zone, so I would avoid it after heavy rains.

The camp host was friendly towards me (I am white), but unfortunately vocalized open hostility toward Mexicans during a conversation. He does keep a close eye on the site and makes sure everyone pays the $5/night fee. He says it’s $180 fine if the Ranger sees that you haven’t paid.

This is by far the best campground I've found within a few hours of DC.  I've posted some pix, take a look.

Small, quiet, directly on two streams, one of which is trout-stocked.  I stayed on a Tues-Wed evening during the summer, and was the only person there both nights.  My campsite was the best one, right in the corner where two streams join together.  

The streams were awesome...fast-flowing, ranging from ankle to knee deep.  There are trails from the campground along the streams, with several crossings.

Campground is small--only nine sites total, seven of which are on the streams, two in the interior (about 40 yards from the streams).  Clean cinder-block toilet.  Bear-proof trash cans.  First-come, first-serve, no reservations.

A couple of caveats about this place: 

1. it is small, and according to the manager it is full pretty much every weekend during the summer, so don't count on getting a spot there--plan to arrive early and have a Plan B in case it is full.

2)  For some reason alcoholic beverages are not allowed in this campground.  Not sure how strictly it is enforced, but if you want to bring some beers you should probably be discrete about it.