Best Campgrounds near Kerens, WV

  This is a great state park! We really enjoyed the falls & were able to take a couple of hikes. Wonderful views from the lodge & one of Pendleton Falls from the road. The Falls of Elakala is a short walk from the lodge. Lindy Point overlook was a.3M one way for a fabulous view. 

There's a nature center by a small lake. You can fish there & they have kayaks to rent. Skiing must be very popular in the winter. 

  Besides the lodge There's 39 cabins, which looked nice. You have a huge yard area with the ones I saw.

  Now for the campground...hmmm. There's 64 campsites, I believe they are all electric. There's water at the bathhouse which is inconvenient. You can't drive close to the bathhouse, There's pedestrian paths.

 The handicapped sites are in the first loop by the bathroom.

 There's a dump that's in the middle of the first loop. You have to go the wrong way on a one way road to dump. Campsite 40 I would avoid since it's close to the dump.

The bath houses are MUCH cleaner than Pipestem & checked often. There's more of a staff presence here also. More driving through the campground at regular intervals. 

The office has some basics.

  This is a very oddly laid out campground. I'm including a Pic of the campground map. I made some notations. We were in the 2nd loop on site 27. Since it's been raining for a week it was very muddy. We fit in the site, barely. We have a 16' BTW.

 Site 25 next to it first look better, but I noticed something odd. You back in & your door is facing the correct way, but your picnic table & fireplace are on the wrong side! A lot of sites on this loops are like that. 25 would make a lovely tent site.

The pull throughs are too close to backin sites, so if you come in to pull through, you may have to ask your neighbor to move his vehicle. Some places have pull through sites with connecting driveways.

 There's a trail that literally goes through someone's site.

 Choose your site wisely!

I love Gandy Creek! I have camped at 4 different sites and have explored and reconned almost all of them! 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. My favorite areas are on the creek. Lots of privacy, every site is unique and special in it's own way. There's minimal cell reception and by that I mean you'll be walking along and all the sudden your phone will start dinging because you hit a pocket where you get one bar of reception and the text messages pour in lol! Used to be a gravel packed road but they started some paving last year. I haven't been there in 10 months or so but plan to later this summer.

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 (I forget the name of it). There is a pit toilet on either end of the camping area but you're not really close to one. I totally recommend being self-contained. Dispose of your waste properly, please. It's one of my favorite areas and even when it's hot it's a great place to camp because the elevation and the creek.

We stayed here in early June with a tent— only 5 sites were occupied, so it felt quiet and peaceful. The campground is very clean, with plenty of trash bins and protected drinking water spigots— almost every site has one nearby. Each site has a fire ring and a grill grate, which was a nice touch. 

The bathrooms were spotless, and the showers were hot— almost too hot! Definitely one of the best free showers we’ve had. 

Payment is self-serve:$20 per night in the box, with discounts available for various groups. 

• Heads-up: There’s no cell service at the sites. 

• Starlink users beware: 0/5— the entire campground is under heavy tree cover.

 Would recommend for a quiet offline stay in nature.

To my surprise, the camp site itself was ran by using a self serve station. Signing ourselves in was extremely easy and we were settled in and unpacked in only an hour. On weekdays it’s not that busy and you see more empty cars than people. As for the campsite, everyone is equipped with a pole for hanging things, campfire pit with a grille, picnic table, and a place to put your tent. From there you are free to walk or drive anywhere you want in the state park. There are tons of trails with amazing sights to see. It felt like every turn was a different biome. With all of the biodiversity, you’ll never be bored of seeing everything it has. Once our stay went into the weekend it got extremely busy. Tons of cars flooded the parking spots and when we packed up and left, someone had already claimed our spot. Locals are nice and everyone is pretty reserved. Had no encounters with bears and loved the untouched nature everywhere. One problem is the weather, even though the weather was in our favor, at night there is extreme winds and it’s enough to completely destroy your tent. Other than that it is definitely worth a visit!