Best Campgrounds near Glady, WV

Dispersed camping options near Glady, West Virginia include several primitive sites in the Monongahela National Forest, with Gandy Creek offering free tent and RV camping without developed amenities. The mountainous region encompasses established campgrounds like Spruce Knob Lake Campground and Seneca Shadows, providing varying levels of facilities from basic to more developed. Seneca Shadows features tent-only sections with views of Seneca Rocks, while Little River Dispersed Campsites offers free camping with basic amenities. Most camping areas sit at higher elevations between 3,000-4,800 feet, creating distinct forest environments dominated by spruce and hardwoods.

Road conditions vary significantly throughout the region, with many campgrounds accessible only via narrow, winding forest roads that may be unpaved or contain potholes. "The drive to the Spruce Knob Lake Campground is on a combination of narrow, winding, mostly unpaved roads. Go slow because there are plenty of blind curves," noted one camper. Weather patterns at these elevations can change rapidly, with cool temperatures even during summer months and frequent rainfall throughout the year. Cell service remains limited or non-existent at most sites, though some established campgrounds like Five River Campground maintain better connectivity. Campers should prepare for potential wildlife encounters, including bears, requiring proper food storage in this remote region.

The natural landscape dominates the camping experience near Glady, with several visitors highlighting the exceptional night sky viewing opportunities. Many campgrounds provide access to hiking trails, fishing areas, and scenic viewpoints. Spruce Knob, West Virginia's highest peak at 4,863 feet, remains a popular destination accessible from several nearby camping areas. A visitor described the region as "one of the most beautiful and often most remote trail I have had the privilege of bikepacking." Primitive sites generally offer more seclusion but fewer amenities, while established campgrounds like Blackwater Falls State Park Campground provide more facilities including showers, flush toilets, and electric hookups. The region experiences significant seasonal variation, with some campgrounds closing during winter months and others remaining open year-round but with limited accessibility during snow and ice conditions.

Best Camping Sites Near Glady, West Virginia (127)

    1. Gandy Creek Dispersed Camping

    18 Reviews
    Whitmer, WV
    8 miles
    Website

    "The main reason I'm reluctant to give it five stars(I gave it 4) is because nearly all of its many campsites cannot be entered by vehicle; you have to park next to the dirt road that runs north-south through"

    "Some you walk-in a short distance but are rewarded with amazing sites on the creek, secluded and wooded. Other places you can camp in your vehicle or park at the site."

    2. Spruce Knob Lake Campground

    17 Reviews
    Riverton, WV
    12 miles
    Website
    +1 (304) 567-3082

    $15 - $32 / night

    "It is about 5 miles from the summit of Spruce Knob (highest peak in West Virginia).  Tow campers smaller in size can certainly make it, although mostly tent camping which I like. "

    "The Spruce Knob Lake Campground offers extra-large camp sites with lots of shade and so much undergrowth I only saw my neighbors when I took a walk to check out the campground."

    3. Seneca Shadows

    32 Reviews
    Seneca Rocks, WV
    18 miles
    Website
    +1 (304) 567-3082

    $17 - $65 / night

    "I stayed here for a single night while I was exploring West Virginia, but I wish I had stayed longer. This is one of the most beautiful campgrounds I've ever seen."

    "West Virginia is packed with some of the best hiking, climbing, rafting, biking, canyons, mountains, rivers, valleys, and forests in the U.S...and the beauty is few people take advantage of it."

    4. Spruce Knob and Spruce Knob Observation Tower

    8 Reviews
    Circleville, WV
    9 miles

    "Spruce Knob is the highest point in West Virginia and offers great views."

    "Spruce Knob is West Virginia's highest peak and on a clear day offers breathtaking 360 degree views from the Observation Tower.      https://www.fs.usda.gov/recarea/mnf/recarea/?"

    5. Blackwater Falls State Park Campground

    53 Reviews
    Davis, WV
    25 miles
    Website
    +1 (304) 259-5216

    $50 / night

    "Blackwater State Park, Davis, WV https://wvstateparks.com/park/blackwater-falls-state-park/ Camping anywhere in West Virginia is a highlight, but this area offers hiking views aplenty."

    "This was our first stay in a state park campground in West Virginia and it was a great stay. Arrived during a steady downpour and rented a cabin for the first night but camped the second night."

    6. Revelle’s River Resort

    6 Reviews
    Bowden, WV
    8 miles
    Website
    +1 (304) 636-0023

    "Restaurant, Shavers Saloon, was walking distance and had full bar with good food. Service there was great. Bathrooms were older but very clean. Plenty of hot water."

    "This seemed to be a well laid out campground with sites for weekenders in maybe the best location right along the river and the seasonal campers spread out around."

    7. Bear Heaven Campground

    7 Reviews
    Bowden, WV
    9 miles
    Website

    "It’s a nice base camp if you don’t mind driving to other trails nearby. Visit in spring with mountain laurel, rhododendrons, etc. are blooming in the nearby lands, it’s like nothing else!"

    "You can either walk through or climb these boulders. The area has several great hiking and mountains biking trails."

    8. Laurel Fork Campground

    5 Reviews
    Glady, WV
    4 miles
    Website

    "Laurel fork campground is a nice place to go if you are looking to get away from the busy life. It’s not a very large camp ground or heavily populated. Finding a spot shouldn’t be a problem."

    "Biggest surprise, given the location on the creek and remoteness of the campground ( settled deep in the woods) , there were No Bugs to speak of! Tons of wildflowers and butterflies!"

    9. Five River Campground

    27 Reviews
    Parsons, WV
    21 miles
    Website
    +1 (304) 478-3515

    $15 / night

    "This is a hidden gem right outside of town. We utilized one of the rv sites with 50 amp service and full hookups."

    "It sets at the end of a side street (Walnut St) at the edge of town (Parsons). A small, quaint mountain town."

    10. Lower Glady Dispersed Campground

    9 Reviews
    Harman, WV
    13 miles
    Website
    +1 (304) 636-1800

    "simply would not like it all, but might be ideal for your purposes, such as two or three areas where there is essentially a big field with a short loop road with maybe half a dozen campsites right next to"

    "We parked on a site be the creek on a big loop near a vault toilet (nothing better than a 20° toilet seat to wake you up in the morning)."

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Recent Reviews near Glady, WV

588 Reviews of 127 Glady Campgrounds


  • JThe Dyrt PRO User
    Jan. 9, 2026

    Canaan Loop Road Dispersed

    Fun Trail

    Fun beginner trail, nice dispersed camping spots. Went there when it was dry so it was an easy drive. Very close to Blackwater Falls so you have all the trails there also have trails down the road with nice lookout points

  • JThe Dyrt PRO User
    Jan. 9, 2026

    Gandy Creek Dispersed Camping

    Peaceful place

    Great spots by the creek. Its nice to wake up by the water and relax with a cup of coffee. Good trails to walk also

  • Camp With Me The Dyrt PRO User
    Jan. 8, 2026

    Tea Creek Campground

    Well Spaced out National Forest Campground

    This was a nice, secluded National Forest campground tucked away at the intersection of Tea Creek and the Williams River. The 28 sites are well spaced, giving you plenty of privacy, and most are flat, with the creekside sites being especially nice.

    Each campsite includes a picnic table, fire ring with grill, waste receptacle, and lantern hook. The campground was clean, with vault toilets on each loop and bear-proof trash cages throughout. I noticed four trailheads at the campground. There is no cell service. Camping is $10 per night or $5 with a discount, making this a great, affordable place to stay in the Monongahela National Forest.

    Check out our 360° drive though of the campground, it will help you get a good sense of the place.

    https://youtu.be/FlOco2p8T2Q

  • TThe Dyrt PRO User
    Jan. 2, 2026

    Lower Glady Dispersed Campground

    Secluded & Quiet

    We came in late Friday & could tell from the 7+" snow covered road in that no one else was going to be here (unless they'd been parked for two days of snowfall). We parked on a site be the creek on a big loop near a vault toilet (nothing better than a 20° toilet seat to wake you up in the morning). These sites were easy to recognize as safe driving spots under the blanket of snow. The road was well marked. The hairpin turn at entrance was wide enough that it was not a problem to navigate in the snow / icy road. Main roads had been plowed thoroughly. Anyway, great stay. Could not see stars but the moonrise was beautiful.

  • RThe Dyrt PRO User
    Dec. 29, 2025

    Walmart supercenter parking lot in Elkins

    confirmed with manager: overnight RV parking permitted

    I spoke with the Walmart manager and confirmed that they are okay with RVs parking in the section of the parking lot closest to the road, but overnight only(i.e. not consecutive nights). It is conveniently located on a major north/south highway at the south end of Elkins. Of course this also means that you will have a four lane road near where you are parked, so not ideal for quiet, but can work well for a free overnight stay while you are traveling.

  • Alex G.The Dyrt PRO User
    Dec. 28, 2025

    Switzer Lake Dispersed Camping

    Lots of Campsites Available

    Switzer lake has a lot of campsites to choose from, however this is a popular destination so I would recommend securing a site as early as possible. Due to the conditions of the road I would not recommend taking a car with a low clearance. Preferably a car with at least AWD is recommended. As others have pointed out some sites get trashed by ne’er-do-wells, but besides that it's a very beautiful area.

  • RThe Dyrt PRO User
    Dec. 27, 2025

    Bear Heaven Campground

    Not very dispersed, but lovely

    One of the advantages of this particular campground is that it's not far from the town of Elkins, so you can go back into town if you don't feel like campsite cooking— lots of good restaurants and entertainment opportunities in Elkins. 

    While this is truly primitive camping, you are not so primitive that you need to dig a hole to go to the bathroom— they do have porta-potty's. It's also noteworthy that this is likely not available year-round. The road becomes impassable in winter when there is a lot of snow, and they start maintaining it, often even blocking the road with gates during the winter. Understandable but unfortunate, since it is beautiful added is not always snowing even in winter, right?

    The campground is not free but also not very expensive. I think the senior citizens price is under five dollars, or at least it was when I camped there a couple years ago(2023). The sites themselves are first-come first-served, the kind of camping ground where you simply go back up to the entranceway to fill out a form and state where you are and make the payment in a box. While the campground is at a fairly high altitude, most of the sites don't have expansive views, and I think only a couple of the sites even have an expansive view down below. But that's okay if you are into wooded views, because there's plenty of that all around, and even a small rock climbing area for you and your kids to scramble on the rocks.

  • RThe Dyrt PRO User
    Dec. 27, 2025

    Canaan Loop Road

    A remote loop route with about 10 dispersed, free campsites

    This swath of land, sandwiched between two state parks(Canaan Valley State Park to the south& Blackwater Falls State Park to the north) is managed by the US Forest Service. The nearest town is Davis, WV. 

    There is just one dirt road running through it, the first few miles of which are fairly tame: navigable by most standard cars and medium or smaller sized RVs. The further back in you go, the rougher the road gets until it is truly just a jeeps-only type of road. But the good news is that all of the camping sites take place before you get to that rough part. 

    And this is TRULY dispersed camping, with most of the camp spots being a good half-mile from each other! The one downside, if you are into privacy, is that all of the sites are RIGHT NEXT to that dirt road, so others will be driving past your site. The good news is that it is not a heavily trafficked road, used primarily just by the other campers in the 10 available spots, by the occasional hunter, and by the even-less-frequent off-roader, hoping to challenge their vehicle on the rough stuff several miles in. 

    This is all free camping, and all primitive. There are no restroom facilities, no showers, no electrical, no water supply. 

    The campsites themselves are mostly surrounded by forest, making even the smallest of them quite beautiful. They vary in size from being little more than a 20 foot driveway to back an RV up to those sites that are significantly larger with room enough for more than one vehicle and perhaps a couple or three tents. 

    While this loop road region has very few activities itself, you are just a few miles from the two state parks and from private facilities offering horseback riding, skiing, snowboarding, swimming, and more. 

    The loop road region itself has MANY trails for hiking or mountain biking (possibly horseback riding— I saw no signage either for or against it), and one trail that is specifically marked as a cross country ski route. Although, from what I can see, several of the trails could work for cross-country skiing, as even the road itself could right after a storm. 

    While the area is at a fairly high altitude, around 3000 feet, it seems to be built on a kind of high altitude plateau, so the road itself is not that hilly, nor are the camping sites. I don't know for sure if it's a year-round site, but I can tell you that I was camping there in December, no problem. I do understand that the road is minimally maintained, so it might be impossible or difficult to access during very snowy weather.

  • Camp With Me The Dyrt PRO User
    Dec. 22, 2025

    Day Run Campground

    National Forest Campground near the Highland Scenic Hwy

    Stayed one night at Day Run Campground and overall it was a solid experience. Nothing fancy, but for$8 a night it’s a good deal. The campground is quiet, simple, and easy to access, with sites spread out it feels private. It is along the Williams River. The river is nice to walk along and check out, and the sound of the water adds to the relaxed atmosphere. There are also plenty of nearby trails and scenic stops along the Highland Scenic Highway, which makes this a good base for hiking and exploring the area. If you’re looking for a basic, affordable place to camp in a scenic location, Day Run fits the bill.

    Check out all of the sites in our video.

    https://youtu.be/HmvLiWtx7H0


Guide to Glady

Dispersed camping sites near Glady, West Virginia provide access to remote forest areas at elevations between 3,000-4,800 feet throughout the Monongahela National Forest. Many sites feature creek-side locations on rough gravel roads that require high-clearance vehicles to access. Winter camping remains possible at lower elevations, though temperatures frequently drop below freezing from November through March.

What to do

Fishing in mountain streams: At Gandy Creek Dispersed Camping, visitors can find excellent fishing opportunities along the creek. "Great dispersed camping area. Camped here in winter and just pulled into the first designated spot. There was snow but the fire pit was easy to dig out. Very quiet in late December and the sound of the creek was really peaceful," notes Justin L.

Swimming in forest creeks: During summer months, several spots along the creeks are deep enough for swimming. At Little River Dispersed Campsites, "When you park and walk down to the river, if you turn right, there's a beach area about 50 yards down that offers a great spot to take a dip!" according to Tommy S.

Hiking on interconnected trail systems: The area contains numerous hiking trails across varied terrain. Jennifer R. describes Gandy Creek: "There are lots of trails, LOTS, all around that area. There's a really cool rock formation where the creek goes under the Whitmer Road Bridge."

Exploring unique rock formations: The region contains distinctive boulder fields and rock structures. Adam W. notes that at Bear Heaven Campground, "Right beside the camp ground is a really cool area to explore unique boulders and rock structures. You can either walk through or climb these boulders."

What campers like

Dark sky viewing: The area offers exceptional stargazing opportunities due to minimal light pollution. Bryan G. from Spruce Knob and Spruce Knob Observation Tower states: "Spruce Knob Lake was a great spot for Milky Way star gazing."

Creek-side camping: Many campers appreciate sites directly along water features. At Little River Dispersed Campsites, Ashley W. describes "Beautiful spots by the river. Wildflowers and ferns and grassy spots right by the river. Some spots even have picnic tables and fire pits."

Privacy between sites: The natural spacing between sites provides seclusion. At Spruce Knob Lake Campground, Jennifer B. observed, "The Spruce Knob Lake Campground offers extra-large camp sites with lots of shade and so much undergrowth I only saw my neighbors when I took a walk to check out the campground."

Cool mountain temperatures: The higher elevation provides relief during summer heat. Jean C. notes that Spruce Knob Lake is "a great spot to take a day trip to for fishing or site seeing. They have an awesome wooded hiking trail that goes around the entire lake approximately 1 mile long."

What you should know

Wildlife encounters: Bear activity requires proper precautions. Luke M. from Little River Dispersed Campsites warns: "Not even 2 minutes from our dispersed camp site we were charged by an extremely aggressive black bear... We decided to keep ALL FOOD in the car's trunk those nights and not hanging in a tree just to be safe."

Frequently Asked Questions

What camping is available near Glady, WV?

According to TheDyrt.com, Glady, WV offers a wide range of camping options, with 127 campgrounds and RV parks near Glady, WV and 23 free dispersed camping spots.

Which is the most popular campground near Glady, WV?

According to TheDyrt.com, the most popular campground near Glady, WV is Gandy Creek Dispersed Camping with a 4.9-star rating from 18 reviews.

Where can I find free dispersed camping near Glady, WV?

According to TheDyrt.com, there are 23 free dispersed camping spots near Glady, WV.

What parks are near Glady, WV?

According to TheDyrt.com, there are 28 parks near Glady, WV that allow camping, notably Monongahela National Forest and Burnsville Lake.