Campground: What’s not to love!? Shenandoah National Park is right around the corner. This state park campground is clean, with spacious sites and beautiful views of the mountain ranges and the Shenandoah River that backs right up to the campsite. You will enjoy 30/50 amp electric and water. No sewer at the sites, so plan on using the dump drain on the way out.

Product review: As a ranger for the Dyrt, I get to test products from our awesome partners. While camping at Shenandoah River State Park, I’ve been testing out my Terrain hat from Banner and Oak https://bannerandoak.com. Here is what I think about the hat:

My Banner & Oak hat fits great. It’s durable and looks great. I especially like apparel with Buffalos on them, so this fits the “bill”. Banner & Oak are all about the great outdoors and exploring. Check out their hats, apparel and other things on their website!

Sites were easy to get in and out for trailers. Lots of space and woods between sites. Water and electricity hookups, gravel and paved pads. Picnic table and fire ring. Showers and bathrooms were clean and large size. Plenty of hot water and water pressure. Laundry facilities were great and worked well. Lots of trails around to walk and some to the river. Even a few bike trails. Nice are for kayak launch. They have a horse area as well. Large picnic and day use area. We stayed at site 15 and it was great for camper and large tent. Plenty of space for everyone. Love the area and hope to get back again. Used it as camp while we Day hiked in SNP.

Sites were easy to get in and out for trailers. Lots of space and woods between sites. Water and electricity hookups, gravel and paved pads. Picnic table and fire ring. Showers and bathrooms were clean and large size. Plenty of hot water and water pressure. Laundry facilities were great and worked well. Lots of trails around to walk and some to the river. Even a few bike trails. Nice are for kayak launch. They have a horse area as well. Large picnic and day use area. We stayed at site 15 and it was great for camper and large tent. Plenty of space for everyone. Love the area and hope to get back again. Used it as camp while we Day hiked in SNP.

Important to note that the primitive sites are walk-in only - but the walk is very short.

Primitive sites do not take reservations, so you select your own based on availability when you arrive. If you can get **site 5** that is crucial. The other sites still looked good, but site 5 is large, nicely laid out, and RIGHT on the water. No steps down, but a brilliant view.

The park in general is nice, and while not as grandiose as Shenandoah proper it is less expensive and loss populated. For $25 a had perfect quiet and I will definitely go back.

Sites had water and electric. Flush toilets and showers, a little moldy but hot and good water pressure. Showers were first come first serve unisex. Sites don’t have a lot of trees. We used 2 lantern posts for dog lead and it was hard to find shade. It was a short walk to water and felt fantastic in the July heat. You couldn’t pay me to sleep here in a tent in July. Hot hot hot. Trails were wooded and shaded, but no bugs. Fire flies everywhere tho. There is an honor system for firewood at host site. No verizon service and weak sprint service. Local river companies shuttle tubers back and forth, but they take a different road, so you really don’t cross paths.

We just visited the park this week. Wow what a beautiful state park. Very well up kept, clean and amazingly friendly rangers. We rented a Yurt number 2. In my opinion it has the best location of the 3 Turks they have. It’s it the woods close to a boat landing you can see a bit of the river. In the fall or spring I’m sure the view is amazing. The yurt was clean and simple. Surrounded by a amazing deck with 4 rocking chairs and a picnic table on it. Down below you have a fire pit, a grill and an additional picnic table. Yurt 1 is right next door if you have a larger group that would be perfect. The one we stayed in sleeps 4 comfortably. The park has a huge network of hiking and bike paths all very well maintained. The river water is so clear you can see the bottom. The only only down side is you can not drive your car up to the yurt. But they offer little carts to load your things in and pull. Yurt 2 is the farthest away from the parking area, but well worth it.

Having camped here in late Winter, our experience may be a bit biased; the campgrounds were empty and a gentle snow made an already peaceful setting positively serene.

Still, I have to give 5 stars. There are other activities hosted in this park, but our tent site (pic attached) was very much segregated from the main area and IMMEDIATELY on the water. It felt like we could have paid several hundred a night for lodging right on a charming little river.

I can't wait for an excuse to go back.

Shenandoah River State Park is located right on the Shenandoah River in northern Virginia. It is just a short drive from the northern section of Shenandoah River National Park and includes lots of hiking trails, a few canoe launches, gorgeous views, and nature center, and lots of different camping options. The park encompasses more than 1600 acres and includes 5.2 miles of pristine shoreline.

Campground Review

I stopped at Shenandoah River State Park on a two-week road trip from Vermont to Alabama. I had been traveling for a few days when I stopped here, and I did not make reservations in advance for a Thursday night in May. I arrived at about 3 pm and popped into the visitor center to ask about my options for camping for the night. Turns out that campers have a lot of choices here.

Camping options include huge RV sites with water and electricity hook-ups, small camping cabins, yurts, and large cottages with separate bedrooms, bathrooms, full kitchens, and air conditioning, which I guess isn’t really camping at all. The last option, and the one I chose, is “primitive” camping, which are large, private tent sites along the river. The only thing primitive about them is that they have no vehicle access. You park your car in a lot nearby and truck your stuff out to your campsite.

These primitive sites have access to a large bathhouse with private showers, as well as grungy pit toilets that are a bit closer to many of the sites. The campsites have a fire pit, lantern pole, and picnic table, and some have room for several tents. A few of the sites are right on the Shenandoah River, with incredible views. My site, #3 had a river view but was set back a bit from the banks. All of the sites are wooded and quiet.

There are carts available at the parking area for lugging your stuff out to your site, and there is also a small shed with firewood that you can purchase for $6 a bundle. The rangers come through every so often and are incredibly friendly and knowledgable about the area. I learned that there are copperheads within the park, as well as huge bees that look menacing but are pretty harmless. Bears also frequent the park, so it is very important to pack away your food in your car or your bear-proof cooler. Don’t have a bear-proof cooler? Check out the RovR Rollr 60 below.

This was a clean, quiet campground, with beautiful hiking trails and great river access. The cost for a primitive campsite was $36, which I thought was a bit pricey. It is cheaper for Virginia residents.

It may get really busy on summer weekends, but I only saw a handful of people during my visit. There is a privately run ziplining course within the park, and a local outfitter does paddling trips that begin up-river and include class I and II rapids. All-in-all, I give Shenandoah River State Park 4 stars for their primitive campsites, and I can’t wait to come back to stay in a yurt.

RovR RollR 60 Review:

As a ranger for The Dyrt, I am occasionally given products to test and review on my camping adventures. During this trip, I was thrilled to test out the RovR Rollr 60 cooler. The Rovr was recently ranked #1 for ice retention by Outside Magazine, so I was excited to use it for a mega road trip where I knew I wouldn’t be able to restock it with ice every day. Plus, I was carting large quantities of Vermont beer to my family in Alabama, and warm beer is really lame.

The RovR Rollr is a “rotomolded cooler,” which basically means that it has a consistent wall thickness and two full inches of foam insulation to keep the insides frosty for a lot longer than traditional coolers. They are also made with heavier, more durable plastics that ensure that they last longer than other types of coolers.

The downside to the RovR Rollr, and all high-end rotomolded coolers, is that they are quite a bit heavier than their competitors. Fortunately, the RovR Rollr line includes incredibly rugged tires that make it easy to maneuver just about anywhere. I did have trouble lifting it in and out of my car and dragging it up a full flight of stairs, but because of the tires and the sturdy handle, my issues were minimal.

RovR Rollr 60 Features:

This cooler is really big and holds 60 quarts of food, beverages, and ice. It is a workhorse, and can definitely keep enough food and drink cold for a long weekend or more. The RovR Rollr includes a removable plastic bin that secures snuggly into the cooler to keep your food dry, but still nice and cold. You fill this bin with your eggs, meats, and veggies, and then pour the ice into the cooler on top of your beverages. This system is so great — no more fishing for Hershey bars when your cooler turns into a lake.

The RovR website mentions that the RovR Rollr will give you 10 days of ice retention if you follow some recommended steps, which includes prechilling everything, keeping the cooler full, and keeping it out of full sun. I could do none of these things, but keeping the cooler in the back of my car (in the sun), half full, and not prechilling anything, the ice lasted a good 4 days before needing to be replaced.

There is a handy valve to release excess water, and the dual-grip handle is made of aluminum for easy pushing and pulling. The latches are made of sturdy rubber and the lid is fitted with an airtight gasket, making it entirely bearproof. The cooler comes with a 5-year warranty, and many of the parts can be removed and replaced if necessary.

The RovR Rollr comes with a removable, foldable wagon bin that secures firmly to the top of the cooler for easy transport. I kept dry goods in here that didn’t need to be cold - fruit, cereal, trail mix, peanut butter, etc.

Optional Add-Ons

For this particular adventure, I just got the cooler and the wagon bin that fits on top, but there are a bunch of optional features that would make the RovR even more versatile. These include an attachable cutting board, drink holders, an umbrella holder, and a bike kit for pulling the cooler behind your bike.

Bottom Line

The RovR Rollr 60 is obviously a high-end cooler with a high-end price tag, but the quality is obvious from the very first use. This is an investment for sure, but totally worth it. My biggest complaint is that it is heavy and a bit unwieldy for one person to maneuver. And to be fair, this is a big cooler that is not meant to be used by one person. I was impressed with the rugged tires, the overall design, and its ability to keep stuff cold and dry and would love to invest in a smaller model for smaller adventures.

The sites are generous and well maintained but no trees. Had odd experience with camp host. Apparently old women steal campsites regularly because he thought I had and had to call the ranger and double check because I’m obviously a liar. Not a good experience . To be a state park in the mountains it is a bit Stark. but it’s very new so give it some time when trees can grow up and I’m sure it will be great. There are lovely hiking trails and you can get to the water it is a bit steep and hilly so be careful of your equipment. The other campers there were just amazing and helped me when the transmission fell out of my truck

Great views of the blue ridge mountains with many river access points. The Virginia Canopy Tour is fun. We camped with our pop-up in the RV section. Sites were spacious and the bathhouse clean. We checked out an adventure pack from the visitors center and hiked the River Trail, thus our son became a junior ranger. Tent sites, RV sites, camping cabins and large cabins all available. Firewood for sale in the park. We’ll be back! More trails to hike!