Best Dog-Friendly Camping near Burnsville Lake

RANGER REVIEW: Renogy Solar Power Bank at Riffle Run Campground, Army Corp of Engineers, Burnsville Lake Dam, West Virginia

Campground Review: Riffle Run Campground, Burnsville Lake Dam, Army Corp of Engineers

Riffle Run Campground, Burnsville Lake, Orlando, WVhttps://corpslakes.erdc.dren.mil/visitors/projects.cfm?ID=H102270

Riffle Run Campground is located on the northern end of the Corp of Army Engineer’s Burnsville Lake. A 60 site campground just beyond the dam and nestled in a mountain valley. Fifty Five sites have water/electric/sewer hookup…and five “primitive” sites (55-60) are allocated to tent campers beyond the turn-around. All sites have a lantern post, fire pit and picnic table. Parking pads are gravel. A centrally located showerhouse is as modern and spotlessly clean as one could want. Water for the primitive sites is located partway to the showerhouse between RV sites combined with a drinking fountain.

The grounds are meticulously maintained (as all Corp of Army Engineer Campgrounds are here in WV) and the grass looks like golf fairways. Campground hosts and volunteers work diligently to keep up the beautiful appearance.

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=_W3j31xkKf0

$30 nightly for RV/Camper sites with full hook-ups, and $20 nightly for the primitive sites. Check-in was self service only on our visit in early May.

Burnsville Lake is a popular power boating and fishing lake, so even on weekdays there is ample activity on the water.

New state of the art playgrounds for the kids. Two exist in the campground and a third playground is located in the Day use picnic area just outside the campground entrance to the left…and a fourth playground in a day use picnic area just below the dam on the right as you enter the Burnsville Lake area. If you have kids…it’ll keep them busy. Both day use loops have restrooms and picnic shelters.

There are several trails that meander around the mountains…some are relatively steep but I would rate them as moderate. However, they are not well-marked or often used in early Spring, so it is very possible to get turned around and onto longer trails. They are exceptionally wide and grassy. Some of the steeper uphill/downhill areas are grassless. Bring a trail map and compass.

Wildlife abounds! Birds of every feather, deer, turkey, reptiles…yes, even copperheads (but we only saw black racers). There is a rather large pack of coyotes in the park that compete for night air-time with the owls.

Currently, this is one of the only campgrounds in West Virginia of the two dozen or so we’ve visited that has cell service. They still offer pay phones like most others, but we were able to send and receive messages, along with checking the weather. Remarkable!

Product Review: Renogy Solar Power Bank

Renogy Solar Power Bank 15000https://www.renogy.com/

PROS

•Small

•Lightweight

•Versatile

•2 USB ports

• Integrated LED light

•Additional detached light

CONS

•No instructions

•Finicky USB ports

The Renogy Solar Power Bank https://www.renogy.com/renogy-15000mah-solar-power-bank/ is a relatively small portable 15000mAh source of energy for handheld personal devices. Boasting a 2W solar panel with two USB outputs of 5.0V each.

As a Review Ranger for TheDyrt.com, the Renogy Solar Power Bank was provided by the company for testing and review.

Box contents:

•Renogy Solar Power Bank

•USB charging cord

•Carabiner clip

•Flexible USB reading light

The unit itself has a short lanyard attached to a plastic tab on the backside “top.” The tab does not appear too robust so I suspect this will be the first area of failure if attached to a backpack and bounces against the pack during hikes. However, there is a duplicate plastic attachment tab on the backside “bottom,” also. I will likely always secure the solar power bank to my pack utilizing both tabs with para cord.

On the “bottom” end of the case are two (2) USB ports, the charging port for AC charging of the power bank and four (4) LED lights that indicate what the current charge level is. As the power bank’s charge capacity diminishes, one or more blue LED lights will blink.

On the opposite side of the solar panel is an integrated six (6) LED light. An “on/off” button is located on the side of the case. A quick double tap activates the light, an additional tap activates the strobe function. I am uncertain of the exact lumens, but it is bright, lighting up an entire room.

The additional and separate light is 7” long, plugs into a USB port and has a flexible rubber shaft for adjusting the light where you desire it. I would describe the illumination more for reading, as it does not project a beam, but rather a soft glow.

At 15000 mAh, there should be plenty of juice to power up several handheld devices before needing recharged itself.

At a single full charge from an electrical outlet, the Renogy Solar Power Bank charged an iPhone 7

•First charge 23% to 100% in 1:35.

•Second charge 19% to 100% in 1:40

•Third charge 14% to 100% in 2:00

•Fourth charge 17% to 100% in 1:30

•Fifth charge iPad 41% to 65% (when the Solar Power Bank ran out of charging power)

Interestingly, the integrated LED lights still illuminated brightly, but it would not charge any devices after five heavy power outputs.

Charging in direct sunlight for 18 hours failed to yield positive results on this unit. Only producing one flashing indicating light of available power. Uncertain what the problem may be.

With continued usage, it appears that direct sunlight charging works, the blue LED charge indicator lights may be the issue. With one intermittent flashing indicator light a full charge on an iPhone 7 was complete in 1:15 from 11%. Upon calling Renogy tech support, they were unaware of any problems as this a new product.

I plugged the Renogy Solar Bank into an outlet shortly after and it fully charged displaying four solid LED indicator lights.

Final Thoughts

When fully charged from an AC outlet, the Renogy Solar Power Bank performs well, charging several handheld devices. When in direct sunlight, it produces a slower, but consistent charge. However, as previously noted, it does not utilize the solar panel to charge itself sufficiently in direct, consistent sunshine to be useful in that way.

On this Renogy Solar Power Bank, the USB ports felt a bit sloppy…as if there is not always positive contact. I found myself unplugging the USB cable and reinserting to receive s positive charge reading.

If used solely as a power bank that I powered up via an outlet and took into the field to get half dozen power-ups on my handheld devices it’s worth consideration, as it was very effective. The jury is out on relying on its solar charging capabilities in the backcountry.

Bulltown Camp, Burnsville Lake, WV

https://www.recreation.gov/camping/bulltown-camp/r/campgroundDetails.do?contractCode=NRSO&parkId=73106

Bulltown campground, is adjacent to the Bulltown Historic Site of Civil War significance. Civil War buffs and historians alike will thrive at this location! Research dates/times for Civil War battle re-enactments. Also check days/times when the historic buildings will be open and tourable…rather than peering wistfully through the windows as we did on a weekday.

Bulltown Camp is at the headwaters of Burnsville Lake and the Little Kanawha River. Another incredible Army Corp of Engineers Campground.

This is an unbelievably beautiful, thus an immensely popular RV/Camper campground. Reservations are highly suggested if you want a site.

Part 1 https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=Lv9ZURGhTf4

Part 2 https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=aXOvWzCp-80

All the grounds are meticulously maintained by Army Corp of Engineer personnel, hosts and volunteers. In fact, one entire camping loop (Volunteer Village) on the hill is for volunteers. I really cannot overstate how impeccably clean all the facilities are here. Whether it’s the Bulltown Historic Area, the showerhouses, bathrooms, grassy areas, pavilions or playgrounds…great pride has been taken to keep this campground a showcase.

Each loop has its own showerhouse, remarkable children’s playground, and pavilion. Out of nearly 200 sites most sites have water/electric and numerous full sewer hookup. The way in which they laid out the loops, most outside loop sites sit on the water…most having their own boat mooring post. Along with lantern post, fire pit and picnic table. Sites are moderately sized with a smattering of singular trees here and there. You will both see and hear your neighbors if you are outside your RV. Depending on the loop chosen, Site costs are either $24, $26 or $30 …which also dictates simply electric or full hook-up.

Be aware when reserving that two loops are not pet friendly (E and F).

This is a large meandering lake that permits power-boaters, but during our visit they were quiet and conscientious. You can also paddle the Lake.

The campground host is to your immediate right once you enter past the entrance office…but there are also loop hosts and numerous volunteers…all nice and helpful.

Bulltown Camp is close to a major highway so access is quick. Plan ahead and enjoy a great stay!

Greenbrier River Trail Milepost 63.8 Primitive Campsite, Located between Clover Lick and Clawson, WV (south of Sharp's Tunnel)

The Greenbrier River Trail is one of the most beautiful and often most remote trail I have had the privilege of bikepacking. If you aren't familiar with camping in West Virginia, you are in for a treat. The WV State Park system is fantastic and the State Park employees take incredible pride in keeping all their parks beautifully maintained despite poor budgets to work with. 

GRT MP 63.8 Primitive Campsite is close to 17 miles south of the Cass Railroad Station. Trail conditions were wonderful, typical Railroad ballast, crushed gravel...at times it was wide like they recently removed the track, and other sections grass has grown down the middle to make it two track. All flat with a gentle one percent downhill grade from Stumptown to North Caldwell. Frankly, it wasn't discernible...but I'll take it.

Wildlife and songbirds were abundant and as shocked to see you as you were them. Oftentimes, the deer would run the trail ahead of you for 200 yards before cutting off onto their sidetrail.

The trail itself is recorded at differing lengths depending on what you read, but we started at MP 80…at Cass Railroad Station...traveling south to North Caldwell.

PROS:

• Free camping(First come, first served) 
• Newer Adirondock Style Shelter 
• Newer Large/Clean/Stocked Pit Latrine 
• Raised Tent pad(pea gravel) 
• Cold well water- Hand pump 
• Metal Fire Ring 
• No Cell Service 

CONS: 

• No Cell Service 

NEARBY HIGHLIGHTS: 

• Cass Railroad Station 
• Snowshoe Mountain Ski Resort 
• Seneca Forest (**Thorny Mountain Fire Tower)
• Seneca Rocks
•  Spruce Knob(WV Highest Elevation) 
• Green Bank Observatory 
• The Greenbrier Resort

*Note in the video, I initially thought the steel containers were bear proof storage, but I was incorrect and they are bear proof trash receptacles. 

This is bear country, so we kept all our food items and toiletries in a bear cannister during our trip. We did not experience any encounters or sightings, but fellow cyclists traveling in the same direction, observed a juvenile bear during the day along the trail.

In fact, WV has an abundant wildlife population and it is evident along the Greenbrier River Trail, which set this trail apart from other bikepacking trails I've traveled.

You will see in a couple photos that a certain slithering resident was unwilling to give up his claim on this Adirondack Shelter, we attempted to dissuade him, we even gently relocated him, but he was neither afraid of our presence nor was he about to pass up a roof over his head. So we acquiesced and moved to the raised tent pad 100' down the trail. He was a very curious character.

In June, you can anticipate random, short afternoon or evening cloudbursts...but they can be gully-washers. Nights were cool and most mornings I wore a long-sleeve Merino shirt.

Riding and camping along the picture-perfect Greenbrier River offers fantastic views and opportunities to cool off...bring your swimwear.

     Bulltown Campground offers a couple hundred spaces, multiple playgrounds, and clean restrooms on the edge of Burnsville Lake, managed by the U-S Army Corps of Engineers. This area is popular for camping, boating, swimming, hiking, and hunting during the deer season.
     It was a beautiful place to camp in the month of October with the fall leaf colors reflected on the surface of the lake. I imagine it could be a bit of zoo during the peak summer months because nearly ever camper in the off-season arrived in a sizeable RV with dogs, children or both.
     Loop A and B are closed in the off-season and all other spaces are first-come, first serve. There’s a self-serve kiosk where you check-in and pay with cash or check. The bulletin board was loaded with lots of helpful posts, including a “boil water” warning on the night I was there.
     I was camping in my van and found a nice shady spot next to Burnsville Lake where I easily dropped my kayak into the water for a peaceful paddle. I was parked next to a group of hunters who bagged a couple of does during the bow season. I imagine the gun season could get a bit noisy. Wear orange, or bright colors if you’re hiking outside the “safety zone” during WV’s hunting season .  The 2020 bow season runs from September 26th to December 31st. The buck firearm season runs from November 23rd to December 6th.
     I particularly enjoyed visiting the nearby Bulltown Historic District, which is the location of a Civil Battle War battle where Confederate and Union soldiers fought to control a critical supply route, including a covered bridge over the Little Kanawha River. You can check out historic structures on the site and hike to the top of the hill where the Union soldiers ultimately withstood the Confederate attack. Pre-covid, there was a reenactment of the battle every other October. I picked up a map for the Weston and Gauley Bridge Turnpike Trail, but found the more remote sections of the trail poorly marked. I didn’t see any official parking lots or trail markers, but I did see a lot of “private property” signs, so I was hesitant to accidentally trespass on a local landowner’s property. I’m guessing some of the access points may have been wiped out by pipeline construction… another reason not to anger the locals who may not be happy with this “invasion.”

If you’re looking for a place to camp in West Virginia, don’t even bother with this campground, head over to Audra State park instead.

We generally love most camping experiences and make it work, but this one was so bad we left 3 days early. When I kindly called to cancel, the nice Park ranger said he completely understood and would actually refund us for our entire trip (which we didn’t even mention or ask for).

The only good things about this campground were the friendly staff and the updated bathrooms.

Almost all sites are walk-ups, which is NOT noted on their site. Also, almost all sites are on a hill. The pictures do not accurately show this. We had site 33 (probably the worst site). The entire site was on a slant and covered in rocks, I tried to capture it in a picture, but it just doesn’t look as slanted as it feels when you are standing there. There was no flat spot for our 10 x 20 tent, so we had to sleep on an angle. (I felt like I was falling out of bed the whole night!) 33 should NOT be a site.

There is a HUGE raccoon problem here, even during the day. I wish we were warned ahead of time. Many people bring an extra tent to keep their food in. Our dog barked the entire night as the racoons kept coming up to our site and even our tent. At one point they even put holes in the outside of our $300 tent!! The next day we tried to make the best of our trip and decided to check out the lake. We had left our cooler and a couple small Rubbermaid bins of food on the table while we headed down for an hour. The car was far and incredibly hot during the day, and we didn’t want to give them any incentive to go after our tent again, so we had no other option. While we were gone the raccoons tore open our cooler, ate some of our food, and scattered the rest of our food and water in the woods. (This is probably why there is so much food that can been seen scattered near the campsites).

The lake was pretty but there was a ton trash all around it, such a shame. I had to pick up a bunch of pieces of glass on the shore of the campground so my dog wouldn’t get hurt. You technically aren’t allowed to swim in the non-beach/swimming area unless you are jumping off a boat, but people were doing it anyway. You cannot bring dogs in the designated swimming area.

While the bathrooms were nice they are a very far walk from any of the shaded/non-electric sites, and you are not permitted to drive up to them. There are only 2 showers. Both were kept clean but had 100’s of little green bugs and a ton of months and mosquitos on the. To get to the bathrooms you must park at the top of the hill and walk down (not a big deal for us, but may be for some).

The electric sites have no shade or privacy, and they are all on top of each other.

This campground was perfect. It’s up on a hill and the sites are spaced out pretty well. It’s behind a hotel. Our site had room for our 26’ hybrid with 3 beds, plus two cars, chairs, and our two dog tie outs. I loved that it was near the main highway but up on a hill so you didn’t hear the traffic. The pool is part of the hotel property and the campground is allowed to use it anytime it’s open. There is a grocery store and a Walmart within a mile. There is also a small dog park on site. Sutton lake was about ten minutes away. I definitely recommend this campground.

Greenbrier River Trail Mile Post 49.3 Primitive Campsite, Watoga, WV

West Virginia's **Greenbrier River Trail  (GRT) **stretches from its Northern Terminus at the Cass Railroad Station, Stumptown 78-80 miles (depending on what resource you read) to it's Southern Terminus in North Caldwell. The Greenbrier River Trail is a Rails-to-Trails initiative, so being a former track bed, the surface is predominantly ballast, though there are some black-topped areas. Some locations of the trail that either see more sunlight or less traffic have seen grass overtake the trail to form a "two-track" or at times a mown grass trail. Most parts drain well and easy to navigate, while some heavily wooded areas adjacent to rocky cliffs see more puddling and thus muddier...but all navigable. 

Because of it's relative remoteness and light traffic, wildlife flourishes along the GRT. This is bear country so I would recommend utilizing a bear bag or bear canister for your food and toiletries. I used a BearVault BV500 that I strapped to the Salsa EXP Anything Cradle attached to my handlebars...worked great. Eliminated concerns about losing food items and attracting Yogi and Boo-Boo. A Father/Daughter duo trailing us observed a juvenile bear not far off the trail mid-day. But bears aside, raccoons, chipmunks and other rodents can wreak havoc on panniers or backpacks containing food and fragrant toiletries. 

At the time of our visit there were 15 Primitive or Rustic Campsites along the Greenbrier River Trail. Each person traveling the Greenbrier River Trail will determine which primitive campsite they prefer for a night's rest. 

All the primitive campsites positioned along the Greenbrier River Trail (GRT) are free, first-come, first-served. Note that some offer more amenities than others, so those will likely be the sought after locations.

Traveling West Virginia's Greenbrier River Trail is a highlight whatever mode of travel permitted, whether on foot, horseback, bicycling or even paddlecraft...no motorized vehicles are permited. The Greenbrier River Trail was chosen by Backpacker Magazine as one of the top ten best hikes in the U.S. of A. That's quite the billing to live up to.

I will add that we chose to bikepack the GRT, so I felt we did not stop at all the available sites, cascades, waterfalls, bridges, etc purely because we were a little spread out and by the time you past by a special site, the others were too far down the trail. While I absolutely loved our entire GRT trip...had I been on foot...more exploring would have taken place.

PROS:

• Raised fine gravel tent pad
• Nice, clean, maintained and stocked pit latrine
• Picnic table
• Metal fire ring
• Metal Bear-proof trash receptacle
• No cell service

CONS:

• No water pump
• No cell service
• Tent pad located very close to elevated trail

NEARBY HIGHLIGHTS:

• Town of Marlinton
• Watoga State Park
• Greenbrier Resort
• Snowshoe Mountain Resort
• Cass Railroad
• Seneca State Forest
• Seneca Rocks
• Spruce Knob (WV highest elevation)
• The Wild Bean Cafe and Thunderbird Taco (Lewisburg)  (Suggestion: Order the Guacadilla!...thank me later)

The GRT Mile Post 49.3 Primitive Campsite does not offer a well water, so fill up before you get there. Although, if you utilize a filter, you can draw water from the river or the tributary down the trail several hundred feet. Even though Mile Post 49.3 tent pad is directly alongside the trail, traffic is so light that it is really a non-issue. There is not a large clearing and with dense vegetation...pack your bug juice.

This is West Virginia, so even in populated areas cell service can be spotty...but on the trail, I would not count on it. This is both a blessing and a curse. However, for safety purposes, I do carry a Garmin InReach Explorer + in case of emergencies.

The GRT Mile Post 49.3 Primitive Campsite makes for a great overnighter from either Marlinton or a nice out-and-back from Cass Railroad from the north or from North Caldwell from the South...eliminating the need for a shuttle.

Final Thoughts: Whether you chose to spend the night at Mile Post 49.3 or not, is not the point...all the primitive campsites along the Greenbrier River Trail are great choices...the point is, mark your calendars, plan this trip and travel West Virginia's Greenbrier River Trail!

Camp Holly is a beautiful campground in the mountains of West Virginia.. Off grid but they do offer Wifi.

You can choose between hammock, tent, cabin or RV camping, I would recommend tenting it down by the beautiful rivers. The owners are super sweet and more than accommodating.

This campground has a shop where you can buy necessities you may have forgotten, ice, snacks and fishing gear are also available. The bathrooms are the cleanest and well kept camp bath houses I have ever seen.

The location is near quite a few waterfalls and about an hour away from the National Forest.. some small towns are nearby as well and worth the visit. Definitely give it a shot! We can't wait to go back!

We did have some GPS issues on Google Maps, so I would recommend a Garmin or calling for directions before getting lost like we did. It wasn't actually hard to find, but GPS messed with us..