Searching for a tent camping spot near Gauley Bridge? You can find tent campsites by type, including drive-in, walk-in, and even hike-in for a backpacking adventure. Each tent campsite offers quick access to one or more of Gauley Bridge's most popular destinations.
The closest campground to the New River Gorge Bridge. Chestnut Creek Campground offers quiet primitive camping in the woods. We are a mere half a mile (0.5mi) from the New River Gorge Bridge! That's walking distance folks. Our hygienic facility has hot showers, lavatory stalls, hand washing sinks, and a wash basin located outside for dish washing and filling up water jugs. Firewood and Ice are available on site as well. Each campsite has a picnic table and a fire pit. A general store and burrito bar are located literally around the corner; Both are within walking distance. Hiking and Climbing trail-heads (Fern Buttress, Endless Wall, Beauty Mountain; to name a few) are just down the way and access to the river is a stone's throw away (our drive is just across from Fayette Station Rd). If you're wanting to venture further to more local restaurants/shops; we are only a 5 minute drive from downtown Fayetteville. We are a pet friendly establishment for those with dogs who love to travel as much as you do. We keep quiet hours from 11pm-7am (starts @ midnight on weekends). Mainly we accommodate rustic tent camping, however; some sites are able to accommodate pop-up campers and trailers up to 20ft (we do not have hookups/electric). Call today to reserve a site for your upcoming adventure at the New River Gorge.
$10 - $11 / night
This tent only campground located near the historic railroad town of Thurmond offers 7 walk-in sites, 5 on the sandy beach of the New River and 2 in the nearby forest. There are no drive-in sites at this location. RV, camper, or car camping is prohibited. The Stone Cliff Trailhead also starts at the campground.
The American Alpine Club (AAC) campground at the New River Gorge resides in Fayetteville, WV, on a 40-acre parcel adjacent to the National Park and within walking distance of popular crags at the New River Gorge. There are 40 private sites and ten communal sites. No RVs, no trailers, and no vehicles over 20' are permitted. There are two large communal fire pits, a bathhouse with coin-operated showers ($1 for minutes), and a pavilion. We're working on a wifi solution, but it comes and goes.
$8 - $30 / night
$10 / night
This tent only campground is located on the banks of the New River near the Cunard River Access point and Southside Trailhead. It offers 4 walk-in tents sites and 1 tent-only drive-in site. There are no drive-in sites for RVs or campers at this location. RV, camper, or car camping is prohibited.
This tent-only primitive campground located along the New River is only one mile from the Sandstone Visitor Center. It offers 17 tent sites in an open field. There are no drive-in sites at this campground. The railroad crossing is dangerous for RVs and trailers. RV, trailer, or car camping is prohibited. Campers should expect to hear some noise such as train horns. There is a group site for groups of 8 or more available by permit - contact the permits office at 304-465-6517.
Old Mill Campground offers 44 rustic campsites. This campground is not suggested for larger RVs and campers. The campground has a central bathhouse available for all guests.
Looking for a remote experience? Then East Shore Campground is for you. The campground offers 39 primitive sites that are accessible by boat only. East Shore campsite availability depends upon the Army Corps of Engineer (ACE) Phase 5 renovation/construction of the Bluestone Dam project. Call the park for further information. Remember, when experiencing this camping venue, please pack-out what you pack-in and keep the area clean and green.
Want to get even more out of the time you spend partaking in outdoor West Virginia fun with the New & Gauley Adventures team? Stay with us! We have both cabins and a campground available to accommodate you.
If you love to rough it, we offer you your choice of campsite — in “the field” next to the shower house or in a site a short walk away down our wooded trails. Our campground is conveniently located on our base camp, and our newly built shower house has hot water, bathrooms and electricity. And just in case you don’t want to rough it too much (or campfire cooking isn’t your thing), right next to the shower house is our own Undercut Pub and our great room.
For those who wish to stay close to the action but want a little more luxury — or a lot more — our Cabins are available for rent. There are affordable mini cabins available on our base camp that are close to everything; these rustic cabins have no electricity, come with a queen-sized bunk with mattress and require you to bring your own sleeping bag.
Enjoy a night of camping!. Our camping facilities are complete with a newly built shower house and bath rooms with hot water and electricity. Our camp ground is located right on our base camp, and you are allowed to choose where you camp! Wonderful adventure hikes and a cliff overlooking the Gorge are just a few miles’ walk!
How do you like the freedom of choosing your own campsite? We have 2 areas for camping with your choice of campsite! You have the option of camping in “the field” next to the shower house facilities or you can camp down our trail of wooded sites, just a short walk from the shower house as well.
Electricity and water is provided in the shower house.
$12 - $160 / night
Ranger
We stayed 3 nights here, enjoyed it very much even though the power was out due to Hurricane Helene's wrath. Two nice waterfalls to walk or bike to, the campsites are spread out fairly well, and it's quiet. Pinnacle Rock SP & Pipestem SP not too far away. Just a good place to kick back & relax.
Traveler
As a car camper I was initially hesitant about paying for a partial hookup RV spot knowing that I wouldn’t be fully utilizing what I was paying for, but man am I glad I chose to stay here.
The location is great for getting in and out of town and the park alike, and it was the ideal location for a hike base. In terms of the campground itself, I think it set a new standard for me that’ll be pretty hard to beat. The bathrooms were incredible, and the shower was so good that it was almost annoying (I’m jealous and want it at home now too).
Checking in and out was easy, and the staff was very kind in accommodating me extending my stay another day on two separate occasions. I’d been most in and out in the dark, but finally on the last day got to check out the rest of the place and it really is super nice with a great aesthetic to match.
The big kicker for me was the lodge/Wi-Fi situation. As someone camping in a Prius, it can get pretty tight at times, so having a nice big space with great internet to get some work done was a huge bonus. Even in my car, the WiFi was plenty good enough to use, albeit not quite as snappy fast as the lodge.
All in all, I’d happily come back here again and again if I were to find myself back in the area. Could not more highly recommend.
Guide
I’ve stayed here several times. It’s always been a great visit. There are around 12 sites with tables, grills, and fire rings. Pit toilet and dumpster. The place is monitored via videocamera as signed. No RVs- that is enforced. 1 bar of unboosted cell service with ATT with some drop off if raining, but fine for streaming videos. The coal trains run through at all hours of the night- and blow their horns (earplugs). Open year round- a no hunting campsite.
Ranger
Very comfortable and quiet campground. Camp hosts (owners?) and staff are very friendly and helpful. Close to local towns for services. The full hook up RV sites seem crowded, but the electric only sites were spacious and shady. I had a little deck with a picnic table. Even though the land is hilly, almost every site was level. The area where I camped had a single porta potty, but the main service area had clean showers and reasonably priced laundry. Short hiking trails are nearby. A children’s area is available but looked little used.
ScoutBeautiful area, close to New River National Park. Very accommodating staff. Includes wifi, PBS TV, small dog run, small playground, picnic shelter, laundry, bathhouse, firewood, ice,etc. Clean, friendly without all the fancy extras. Reasonably priced.
Ranger
All 12 non-electric sites appeared to have fire ring, picnic table, trash can, flat parking area. They did vary a bit in size. I was there on Friday and Saturday and there were no more than 4 other sites occupied. I was surprised that the bathrooms had running water! Overall, everything was quiet and relaxing. Some traffic from people driving by, but not bad at this time of year. It was delightful falling asleep and waking up to the sound of the creek! There are miles and miles of trails, I hiked 16 and only encountered 1 couple. The other campgrounds in the park have more amenities, too.
Guide
Very nice spot, right by the river with plenty of spaces to hammock down by there. We were lucky and got one of the last spots, there’s only 11. Fire rings with grill, and bench at each site. The ground is great for tents, no rocks. If you’re planning on coming here, make sure and come early. Pit toilets also available.
Guide
Great place along the river. Low traffic, spots are large and spread out, there is s nice trail (5.6miles). Down side, no tmobile cell service, and a train runs on the other side if the river every few hours
LegendOne of three campgrounds in Camp Creek State Park; this is the primitive one (the other two are a horse camp and a developed one with hookups). Most sites are on the creek, but the road runs right past them. On a weekday in the fall, the road was very quiet, but I imagine that in the summer when carloads of people head to Campbell Falls, it would be a different story and would take away from the peacefulness of the campground.
This campground would not be suitable for large RVs, but our campervan fit just fine in the mostly level (but rooty) sites, Obviously, good for tents.
There are two vault toilets – one for women and one for men. They were in reasonably clean condition.
Campbell Falls is just down the road from the campground and there is access to many hiking trails.
No one other than us was there on a weekday in mid-October so it was very peaceful and quiet.
Scout
Stopped here for a quick overnight and this beautiful campground had us wishing we could stay longer.
RangerNice NPS campground. There are 17 sites, all free FCFS tent only sites. We thought we’d have a hard time finding a spot on a Friday night but it was less than half full the whole 4 nights we were there. Only one vault toilet was open. Sites are flat, large and spaced out. However the trees are very newly planted so they provide no shade or privacy. Quick access to 64 and Sandstone Visitor Center. The biggest con to this is the multi-track railroad right next to the campground. They go by pretty frequently at all hours of day and night and are so loud you can feel the vibrations. But otherwise was a good base camp for exploring New River Gorge.
Legend
This campground is situated in the woods, near Lake. Has a good WFI everywhere, very clean and quiet.
GuideNice spot to stop for a night on our way north - level private spot for our rooftop tent. Sites 38-45 have the most privacy. Check website as we were there during a fire ban.
Scout
Great spot and very close to the national park, but site 5 was very un-level.
TravelerWe stayed overnight on our way up the coast and had a great visit. I wish we could’ve stayed longer. The campground was very peaceful and shaded people were very friendly and the facilities were exceptionally clean.
Traveler
Overall not a bad campground. Very pricey in my mind, $43 after taxes for 1 night of primitive camping. Got there at 4 on a monday and no one was in the office, ended up riding 45 minutes up the road to call to reserve a spot, they said everything was a 3 night minimum. I ended up booking online for just 1 night. Campground was clean and quiet, directions aren’t super clear as to where the campground is. Would stay here again if I had to, but wouldn’t be my first pick.
TravelerGreat quiet spot. All primitive, does have a bathhouse with toilets only. Pretty good drive to any stores, so pack in what you need. It is about a 7 mile ride down a gravel road. I did the trip on a motorcycle so the road isn’t bad. I got there at 6pm on a tuesday and got the last spot! Get there early to make sure you get a spot. Very well maintained.
TravelerThe Campground is small...Maybe 15 sites. It was full when we arrived. Luckily, there are 2 or 3 dispersed sites along the road into the Campground. They are on the river, too. Perfect for an overnighter.
TravelerPit toilets, but was nice to have something ++ FREE. Super cool river near by, great scenery.
Scout
Fantastic campground! Staff was super friendly and we were escorted to our camp site. Facilities a little dated but clean! Pool area was clean! We tent camp, but walking around, the camping trailers did not appear to be crowded together. For us this is a fantastic place to overnight and will return again when traveling through the area!!
Traveler
We arrived from Cleveland late on a Thursday evening and every one of the 7 sites was full, luckily we met another couple who let us share their site for the night which was great because they let us have their site when they left in the morning. We were on site 2/3 which are right at the bottom of a large staircase down from the parking lot. We put our tent a few feet away from the water facing the river and our canopy further up in the woods by the firepit. Access to a hiking trail at the end of the parking lot - Stonecliff Trail, garbage bins and bathrooms available, no running water so bring hand sanitizer, Dunloup waterfall ~8 min down the road right off the side of the road was beautiful and a great place to swim, hiked a few trails down to town of Thurmond which is a a great little historical train town with a nice visitors center
Cons - No picnic tables on any of the sites, carrying our things up the 3 flights of stairs to the parking lot was a little exhausting but not bad if you’re more of a minimalist camper, road access to campground is well paved but is very very narrow and windy so be careful of other cars flying around the bends, trains go by on other side of the river ~2-3 times per night, be careful of glass in the sand as well as bees, sites 2-5 are all right on top of each other (within 10 feet) with minimal trees in between so they’re good for groups but not if you don’t want to be right next to people.
ScoutRifrafters is a wonderful family run campground that was the perfect location for us to explore New River Gorge NP and the surrounding area. The area is very hilly and the campground is no exception but they did a good job of creating roomy, mainly level campsites. Unlike Bear Mountain Campground, Rifrafters is far enough off of US 19 to avoid most of the road noise. The bath house was VERY clean and the showers had great water pressure and plenty of hot water. Cell reception for Verizon was 3 bars, but the campground Wi-Fi was awesome! It was strong enough and had enough bandwidth for my wife to work remotely while the kids and I went whitewater rafting(go with ACE Adventures, they're great). The details make or break your stay and Rifrafters gets them all right. Good, steady power and water at the site, Wi-Fi, dry firewood, great bath house and clean/tidy everywhere. Lastly, the location was perfect for us. You''re just a few miles from the bridge and visitor's center to the north and a few miles to shopping/necessities to the south. Having stayed here made us realize we'd rather camp near US 19 and use our toad to drive the windy roads into t
Guide
This campground rests by Bluestone Lake, which is where the Bluestone River runs runs into the New River. Meador CG is up the Bluestone portion of the lake and the backwaters do have a swampy appearance. The area is gorgeous with tons to do at both Bluestone State Park, Pipestem State Park (short 20 min drive, and the broader New River area.
The campground is very quiet and well spaced. Our site was one of only a handful with water and electric but there is a dump station on the way out of the campground area.
The bathrooms and other facilities are a little dated but the campground is very clean. There is an outdoor pool within walking distance of campground but the playgrounds need upgraded. Lots of space to run around for the kids. It rained one day we were there and we took a quick drive to Pipestem and swam in the heated, indoor pool that is included in camping fee.
TravelerStayed in the tent area. Site was good. Bathhouse was great and newly remodeled. Had a band and food trucks.
TravelerStayed here with friends and everything was good except the fact that there were about a half dozen skunks. Kinda kept me on edge.
Traveler
The bathhouse is open air over half of it. Had no soap or toilet paper and the toilets were all plugged up. The sites could also use a little bit of gravel in the parking spaces so that the pavement doesn’t get covered with mud. The site was decent but had trash on it.
Guide
Chief Logan has a lot of interesting things to see, including an outdoor animal exhibit, a lodge, a pool, a theatre, and a museum all close together.
Our site was full hook up and very level. There was creek nearby and walking paths all over. We went over to the lodge and was able to swim in the pool and hot tub as part of the price of our campsite. There was solar event with super rare aurora light show for this part of the world while we were there.
Gauley Bridge, West Virginia, offers a fantastic backdrop for tent camping enthusiasts, with a variety of campgrounds that cater to outdoor lovers seeking adventure and tranquility.
Frequently Asked Questions
Which is the most popular tent campsite near Gauley Bridge, WV?
According to TheDyrt.com, the most popular tent campground near Gauley Bridge, WV is Chestnut Creek Campground with a 4.4-star rating from 19 reviews.
What is the best site to find tent camping near Gauley Bridge, WV?
TheDyrt.com has all 22 tent camping locations near Gauley Bridge, WV, with real photos and reviews from campers.
