Best Glamping near Great Cacapon, WV

We stayed in the Bear Branch Loop of the William Houch Camping Area.  This is a lovely area if you're a beginner camper or just looking for the glamping experience.  The sites are small and not very private but are well defined.  It's very clear where to park, set up the tent etc.  The park itself is very scenic with nice hiking trails and a lake to enjoy.  I was there in the fall so didn't go out on the water but can imagine it would be popular during the warmer months.

This campground is huge, and very crowded. We were there in the days leading up to 4th of July, and there was not a single empty site. Our section had mostly pop-ups and mid-size travel trailers, so the sites were all grass and gravel. However, the area with pull-through sites for big rigs was just a huge RV parking lot. All roads were very narrow and winding. We did fine with the pup, but can’t imagine trying to navigate a large motorhome through there. Crowding/space issues aside, this is a really nice (albeit expensive) campground. Almost everything, from the grounds, to rec halls, to pool and laundry, was sparkling clean and beautifully maintained. Bathrooms were reasonably clean as well, although they could certainly use some TLC and updating (most MD state park bathhouses are nicer).Staff was very friendly, as well. Tons of stuff to do here, especially for families: arts & crafts, indoor movie theatre, games, civil war reenactments, wine tastings, etc. We were certainly never bored, and the kids thought they had died and gone to heaven. Our site was extremely close to our neighbor's site, but still surprisingly roomy and decently shaded. We were right next to the pancake hut (free daily pancake breakfast included during the on-season) and playground, and very close to other activities. Harpers Ferry National Historical Park is just a stone's throw away, with great hiking, sight-seeing, and cute little shops.

Overall, this is a really nice place, but much more of a resort than a campground in my opinion. The kids loved it, but I’ll always prefer the wooded seclusion of a state or national park. However, if I was looking for a more action-packed, activities-filled “glamping” experience, I wouldn’t hesitate to return.

The hike that leads to the lookout about harpers ferry was fantastic. This hike takes you well above the town settled in West Virginia. While some points are pretty steep don’t let this deter you from completing it. The trail is well maintained, marked, and exciting. It is filled with tons of history and when you walk across the bridge from the town be looking out for all the locks on the bridge that have been left behind by other avid hikers

Harper's Ferry is a little town in WV nestled right next to the Potomac River. It's also a convenient halfwayish point on the Appalachian Trail. One of my friends and I stayed here while we were section hiking the AT. The campground is pretty nice, with cabins, tent sites, and RV sites. It's also got a lot of extra activities that you can do. Zip lining, tubing, rafting the Potomac, and even an adventure park, you name it. You definitely won't be bored wile staying at this campground.

Harper's Ferry is a pretty neat place too. There are some great restaurants, cool shops, and make sure to make a stop at the AT Conservatory. There you can see cool pictures of all the people who have through hiked the AT and learn more about it.

Speaking of the AT, there are great hiking and biking trails right around Harper's Ferry. You can even say you hiked all the way to Virginia from West Virginia. Just don't tell anyone that Harper's Ferry is right on the border.

This is a nice and large campground by Maryland State Park Standards. Sites are nice and not stacked right on top of one another. Some sites have electric, but the bathhouses are clean and decently well kept. The real draw here is the very large lake stocked with fish, and the casino. Botha are just a short walk from the campground. It is incredibly convenient from I68 but you do t get any highway noise. There are even yurts to rent.

We set up camp at Harpers Ferry/Civil War Battlefields KOA Holiday as our launchpad to visit the historic sites in and around Harpers Ferry, West Virginia, and Frederick, Maryland. 

We paid$114/night(average per night, including fees and taxes) for Site# 94. A bit pricey considering a lack of elbow room, but it’s a great location and everything is well-kept. 

THINGS I LIKED: 

• Location, Location, Location! Close proximity to plenty of historic and tourist places to visit. The Harpers Ferry National Historical Park Visitor Center is literally next door. Harpers Ferry Lower Town and Bolivar Heights are a few minutes by car(or shuttle from the Visitor Center). Frederick and Antietam are each barely 30-minutes by car. Gettysburg, Baltimore, and DC are about an hour’s drive. 

• Clean and level gravel site with well-maintained utility hook-ups. 

• Great campground store filled with food, drinks, camp supplies, souvenirs, and essentials you may need while away from home. 

• Friendly staff in the office& store. 

• The whole park is quiet and well-maintained. 

THINGS I DIDN’T LIKE SO MUCH: 

• Heads up, big rig owners! Our Pull-thru FHU Patio site(#199) had a serious slope. It was impossible to level my 45’ motorhome without elevating the front wheels dangerously in the air. The nice staff kindly moved us to a FHU site without the patio and furniture. And refunded the difference in price for the lesser site. Thanks for providing the move but ‘premium’ sites should be somewhat level, am I right? 

• Get cozy, the sites are quite small and tightly packed together. 

• A $3 per night“Pet Fee” for our small, mostly-indoor dog felt a bit like nickel-and-diming. I realize it only amounted to an extra$12, but he didn’t need any extra gravel. 

WOULD WE COME BACK? 

• Absolutely, this is a nice campground with lots of great places nearby including Harpers Ferry, Antietam, Frederick, Washington DC, Baltimore, and more.

This park is about half way on a trip form NC to NY I take and it is a great way to split a long day into two nice days.

Fifteen Mile Creek is part of the larger C&O Canal park. If I remember correctly it winds its way for about 150 miles. For this portion, at least, the campground is good and the tow path along the canal is great for a run and quite scenic. There are spots along the canal for through hikers and bikers to camp and various drive up spots. 

About the campground:

- 6 or 8 campsites reservations are a good idea

- picnic tables and grills / fire rings

- two pit toilets

- no showers

It is right next to a boat launch and parking lot. 

More info

Small campground perfectly located & suited for perfect traditional camping experience!

Cute location right on the river and the C&O bike path. Would be great for through bike camping. Not much regulation. Our campsite had been taken by another family so we had to use a different one. Good for a quick camp weekend.

Small clean campground on the CO Canal with vault toilets. Easy water access with a small boat ramp. A number of kayakers, canoes, and paddle boarders made use. Also a number of people fishing. At the entrance there is a small convenience store to grab supplies that you may have forgot. Did not go in, but their signs indicated they had a bit of everything.

Quiet during the week. Water access and biking/hiking trail. Beautiful place in the early morning hours

This is a more traditional NPS campground along the Potomac River and C&O Towpath Trail where you can actually drive in, instead of just hiking or cycling. It would make a great shuttle point, or RV base camp for the weekend if you plan to ride the C&O Trail.  We stopped for lunch at the picnic sites next to this campground.  It was nearly empty in October!

Many sites have a lovely view of the Potomac River. In addition to being situated on the C&O Towpath Trail, you can launch a paddle boat or electric motor, but no gas-powered engines. The sites were clean, the water pump worked well, and the pit toilets were kept clean and well-stocked. There are no electrical hook-ups at this site, so come prepared with solar power.

The nearby town, Little Orleans, offers a few places to eat and grab some minimal supplies. Bill’s Place is a popular eatery just off the trail.

Open space in a pine forest, nothing but a picnic table ans space. If you need it you better bring it.

Lots of weekend events and bingo at the camp store, friendly helpful staff! Great sites!

Enjoyed our 3 night stay , would prefer a little more privacy but everyone was friendly . Overall a very pleasant experience

Nice little campground for families. Tent area is okay, good for large groups. We got really lucky to book the site we did because it was just a little more private than the rest, which were along the tree line and not very big (I suggest either sites T1 or T3 for more privacy!) We had no phone service which we were okay with but it’s something we wish we had known before hand. Bath houses were kept clean but there was no hooks in the showers. Staff was nice, wood wasn’t badly priced and the camp store had a huge selection of things you may need!

Nice bathrooms in the rv portion of the campground, reasonably priced wood and a great well-stocked camp store. Field tent spaces have little cover, but have all the essentials as well as porta potties nearby. On busy weekends there can be the traffic road noise in the field tenting area.Plenty of activities nearby, potomac for watersports, C&O for hiking and biking and greenridge state forest is just up the road.

We had a nice, spacious site with inconsiderate neighbors. The website says quiet hours are enforced but sadly there was no one to enforce them. There was one bathhouse that was fairly clean. They offer many seasonal sites and cabins. The best part was the convenience to the Western MD Rail Trail and the C&O Canal.

Nice campground for families with bathrooms, pool, pond, and general store. If you are looking for somewhere peaceful and secluded, this probably isn’t it. BUT there are some positives- it’s extremely close to 15 mile creek, the Potomac, and Bill’s bar. A lot of the sites are rented all year for RVs.

Campground is pretty big. The RV sites and tent sites are separated by a drive down the road. The RV side has all the cool stuff; store, pavilion, basketball courts, playground, etc. The tent camping side is just an open field with a pit and picnic table. I tent camped this time around and it's was pretty well spaced out. There weren't many of us in the field so it was pretty nice. The RV side has a ton of seasonal residences. The most half RV/half homes I've ever scene! (A few in the pictures) it's wild. Those sites have a pretty decent amount of space too. The pond has a bunch of ducks that are VERY well fed. One in particular might have been too well fed and maybe sick? Not sure.

I’ve only been camping here in a tent. We couldn’t find anywhere to go with such short notice but they took us in and treated us as there own. We ran out of firewood after the store had shut down but we called them anyway and they still delivered it right to our campsite. Awesome experience and a very pretty women running the front desk:)

We closed out the season with a trip here. It was absolutely serene and beautiful as the leaves were changing, fall vastly approaching. The sites are close together but there is still privacy as most sites are surrounded by trees. Bathhouses are in fair shape. Staff was super friendly. Would definitely go here again.

It is a monday so I imagine this place would be much busier on the weekend but it's nice and quiet. Sites are very close together with a couple trees in between, overall lots of trees. There was only one other active camper in our section maybe 3 or 4 sites down so it was a very peaceful stay and felt like we mostly had the section to ourselves. Our site P1 is a full hook up pull through but it's really unlevel. We ran out of blocks trying to level on this site and were still off a bit. If we were staying more than a night we may have asked for a different site. Sites and roads are gravel, nice newer fire pit and picnic table at each. There is a pool, basketball hoops, and a fully stocked camp store with campground merch, blankets, snacks, toiletries, a lot of rv parts, refrigerated food necessities, pantry items, alcohol, cigarettes, games, fishing gear....really a lot of stuff! Really cute duck/goose pond you can even fish in (catch and release) and a nice gazebo to relax in. Really a nice campground with great hosts. Only complaint is the closeness of other sites, luckily no one else was around.