Best Tent Camping near Mathias, WV

Recent Tent Reviews in Mathias

1008 Reviews of 37 Mathias Campgrounds

• 

  Benjamin L.

  Guide

  

  Dec. 10, 2024

  Jess Judy

  Jess Judy is in a beautiful area, with no phone service or ammenities.

  Every year we my family does a "friends and family" camping trip.  We always try to stay somewhere where there are a lot of activities and the campsites are spaced far apart.  (My family tends to be loud).   Jess Judy fits this build.

  We have camped at Jess Judy at least a half dozen times and I aways enjoy it.  We normally go in August so that we can swim, fish, hike, go tubing, rock climbing or just go exploring.  Our last trip was in late September and even though it rained the entire time, it was still a nice trip.  

  Jess Judy is:

  Remote - Jess Judy is in the middle of nowhere, in order to get to the campsites you have to drive 3 miles down a gravel road that tends to wash out into the river.   In addition to the access road, there is no cell service with in a 20 min drive.

  Small - Jess Judy only has 3 group camp sites and there isn't too much separating them from each other. 

  Primitive Sites - Jess Judy doesn't offer any running water, or other amenities besides two latrines that may or may not be clean.  Be prepared to bring in all of you water and be ready to clean a latrine. 

  Tent Camping Only - Jess Judy only offers tent camping for groups, works for us but not for everyone.

  Lots of Activities - Jess Judy offers a lot of outdoor activities including fishing, hiking, kayaking, rafting, river swimming, star gazing, rock climbing, etc.

  In short, we love Jess Judy, but I know that it really isn't for most people.

• 

  Carol B.

  Guide

  

  Dec. 5, 2024

  Big Meadows Campground — Shenandoah National Park

  Clean restrooms, wooded spots, nice overall

  We camped here the last night of the season (Nov30) and shared the campground with a mix of tent campers, car/van campers, and a few larger units. The bathrooms were plentiful, heated, hot running water, and a utility sink available. Our site had some privacy and some extra due to about 50% occupancy. Showers and laundry were closed for the season but are centrally located near entrance area of campground. Elevation above 3000 feet and plenty of deer! It was an especially cold night hitting a low of 14F. Very happy for the nearby heated restrooms with hot running water.

• 

  Kim L.

  Ranger

  

  Nov. 17, 2024

  Big Meadows Campground — Shenandoah National Park

  Clean, neat, and family oriented

  Campground is meticulously clean with daily restroom cleaning and trash pick up. Very small campground store on site but a much larger store at visitor center. Nice amphitheater with interesting ranger programs. Busy traffic in park but nice trails are accessible from campground. Visitor Center, gas station, food walking distance from campground.

• 

  Brett D.

  Guide

  

  Nov. 7, 2024

  Spacious Skies Shenandoah Views

  Best campground we have stayed at

  Best and cleanest campground we have stayed at. Great amenities and close to the national park for hiking and exploring. Luray is a nice little town with some good food options

• S

  Sarah C.

  Guide

  

  Oct. 30, 2024

  Rivers Edge Campground

  Lovely little spot

  Family camping trip and we tagged along in our tent. We’ve been priced out of our area so pleased to find this hidden gem. A small, comfortable, family run campground that has enough amenities to keep the littles entertained and adults relaxing. We stayed in the tent area, which we had all to ourselves. Our site was on the river and able to pull our motorcycles right up. I do think if the tent area is full it will feel crowded. There’s a small bathroom attached to back of camp store nearby. Then the larger bathhouse down the way. The RV sites were flat, clean, in an open area. We will, for sure, be back.

• 

  SJ W.

  Guide

  

  Oct. 27, 2024

  Little Fort Campground

  Nice spot, but noisy ATV/OHV site

  Love staying here for just a night couple small trails around the area not any great views but it is very peaceful in the woods. The only thing is it is next to an off-road vehicle trail and there was a lot of action coming down until about 7 PM. Wouldn’t have bothered me, but it did bother my dogs. 😅

• 

  Missi N.

  Scout

  

  Oct. 19, 2024

  Spacious Skies Shenandoah Views

  Don’t come here if you actually want to camp

  The tent sites are ON TOP of each other. No trees. Zero seclusion. This is an rv resort.

• 

  Kevin C.

  Ranger

  

  Oct. 16, 2024

  Abrams Creek Campground and Retreat Center

  Scenic and secluded

  Tented a cabin for two nights to hide from bad weather. Cabin had electric service, a microwave, electric heater, refrigerator and lights. The campground had no other guests during our stay.

  The campground is long and narrow bordering on Abrams Creek. We took daily walks to the end of the campground and enjoyed the scenic views.

  The campsite has port-a-potties for each cabin and for groups of campsites. Water was clean and had no oder.

  The only concern noted was the bath house. It was poorly lighted and made of what looked like left over materials.

  The gentleman that checked us in was a wealth of knowledge. He told us all about the campground and told us they offer an outdoor shower. Their were two outdoor shower stalls which were shower curtains next to the shower house.

• 

  Kevin C.

  Ranger

  

  Oct. 9, 2024

  Squirrel Hollow Road Camping

  Convenient off the road boondocking

  Sites are located less than a mile from the paved highway. We found 5 spots just off the road. All were easily accessible by cat or with a small teardrop trailer.

  True boondocking, haul it in, pack it out. Evidence of a cat hole in the site we picked

  Sites were quiet at night. Some traffic related to logging activity. Looks like a popular weekend camp spot for locals.

  We camped during the week and had nobody else camping on weekdays.

• 

  Ioan P.

  Legend

  

  Oct. 7, 2024

  Shenandoah River Outfitters Camp Outback

  Nice

  Present! Lytle noise..

• h

  heather

  Traveler

  

  Oct. 7, 2024

  Camp Roosevelt

  Great overnight spot!

  Camped here as a plan B, but it was still a great time. The lookout over the mountain about 5min drive from the campground was breathtaking. As far as camp went, it is a bare bones site with two port a potties (well maintained) and a couple water spouts that didn’t work. The sites are right next to a road, so expect some noise all night. Maybe because of rains there were flying bugs everywhere. Sites were spacious and level, no large rocks. Fire pits were very large and have grates for cooking. First CCC site ever made so there is some cool history if you’re into that.

• 

  Tiel M.

  Traveler

  

  Sep. 25, 2024

  Middle Ridge Campground

  Second Visit just as great

  I came back for the second time in as many months. The owner reached out on the day I was arriving to let me know she was heading out for the weekend and ask if I needed any firework delivered before she left.

  Campground was quiet just like last time. Really only saw one other person the entire weekend.

• 

  Rob O.

  Traveler

  

  Sep. 20, 2024

  Big Meadows Campground — Shenandoah National Park

  Excellent campground especially as a base for hikes

  Reservations are made through the National parks service "recreation.gov" website. Arrived for tent camping for 2 nights and found that my original planned site wasn't very hospitable to tent camping due to the slope, Conferred with park ranger who easily changed my site to a better one with no fee. My stay was quiet and the bathrooms were clean and well stocked. This is a great base camp for getting out to hike the Appalachian trail and the local water falls in the area. Firewood and some camping supplies can be obtained onsite and there is a park wayside store and cafeteria a short distance away (i highly recommend the honey breaded chicken).

• W

  William M.

  Guide

  

  Sep. 19, 2024

  Candy Hill Campground

  Quick and sweet

  A clean and well maintained park. The staff is friendly and quick to respond to anyone’s needs. No restaurant within walking range so have food on hand. There are a few places that will deliver but the food is a 5 out of 10 at best. Hwy 81 is right next door so you will hear road noise.

• C

  Chalang R.

  Traveler

  

  Sep. 16, 2024

  Hone Quarry

  Great for mid week

  If you live in Harrisonburg, Bridgwater and any surrounding area, this place is amazing. Fair warning, this place is DARK DARK, but your campers, so. The campsites are clean, $5 a night will get you a place to stay. Payment box upfront. There’s a pond up the road to fish.

• C

  Chalang R.

  Traveler

  

  Sep. 16, 2024

  Eagle Rock Campground

  Great for a night

  Was coming back from fishing and need a place to sleep without paying for a hotel. Great place honestly. I don’t really have anything negative to say about it. At $10 and fishing, I’ll definitely be back.

• 

  Harley G.

  Guide

  

  Sep. 16, 2024

  Canaan Loop Road Dispersed

  First night

  This was our first night ever for dispersed camping for us. Did have nice secluded spots for camping. Road was a little rough so take your time.

• 

  Tiel M.

  Traveler

  

  Sep. 13, 2024

  Brooklyn Heights Riverfront Campground

  Primitive plus.

  That's the best way to describe this park. It has the primitive feel, campsites are in the natural woods as opposed to a pristine tent pad. I love how open and natural it feels.

  However, the plus is that there are lots of little amentities, a coffee pavilion, wood to buy, portapots, and an incredibly kind "staff." I'm mobility impaired and it was just my dog and I. The guys were super helpful bringing the wheelbarrow of wood to me, which would have been difficult for me.

  The river is beautiful, but you do have to go down a bit of an incline to get there. On the beach there are rafts, paddleboats, chairs, and across the river there is a ladder to climb up on the rocks.

  The property was clean and quiet other than the occasional diesel truck going down the road.

• 

  Gary S.

  Traveler

  

  Sep. 9, 2024

  Elizabeth Furnace Group Camp — George Washington & Jefferson National Forest

  Nice escape!

  A quiet place to disconnect as wifi and cell service for me was spotty at best. Sites are first come, first served. Nice stream nearby. Nice shaded spots. Dump station and community water spigot closed during winter months.

• h

  heather

  Traveler

  

  Sep. 9, 2024

  South Fork Shenandoah River

  Great site, bad timing?

  The site was wonderful! Not too many spaces so it can fill up quick. There is a launch in the middle, so there is a bit of come and go. The real issue was the land directly across the river that had 20+ people playing loud music at almost all hours. Docked one star for that but everything else was great. Bathrooms had no TP so bring your own, and please remember to pack out your trash! Plenty of firewood from downed trees, sites are dirt which makes staking down easy, but I can imagine it would be muddy if it rains.

  EDIT: I went back early October to possibly camp again, shortly after the hurricane rains had passed. The sites were underwater or filled with river mud, making them completely un-campable. Just keep this in mind when you go out.

• W

  Waseem H.

  Guide

  

  Sep. 5, 2024

  Switzer Lake Dispersed Camping

  Quiet peaceful place

  I didn’t find and good spots, but it was quiet and peaceful. I drove from there to flag pole. The trail was really fun and moderately difficult.

• B

  Bobby B.

  Scout

  

  Sep. 2, 2024

  Endless Caverns RV Resort & Cottages

  Beautiful Resort

  The resort is beautiful. Pulling up and checking in, a host takes you to your site. Sites are spacious and there's lots to do! We loved our site because we are the only one on the right side of the hill. I did not get any info email though which I had to contact about. Other than that, everything was great. Drove around the campground to see which other sites I would like to try and get! I def would return.

• 

  Germ E.

  Scout

  

  Aug. 30, 2024

  Sky Meadows State Park Campground

  Great

  Picoworkers often includes mechanisms for users to receive feedback and ratings based on their performance picoworkers login. This performance-based recognition not only helps in building a solid reputation on the platform but also serves as motivation to maintain high standards. Positive ratings and reviews can enhance credibility, leading to more opportunities and potentially higher-paying tasks.

• 

  Tiel M.

  Traveler

  

  Aug. 28, 2024

  Middle Ridge Campground

  Amazing Stay

  We just got back from a few days at Middle ridge campground and it is now one of my favorite campgrounds. The owners are attentive, stopping by each day to check on us and see if we needed anything. The pool is well maintained, as are the restrooms. We were at site 14 which is right across from the pool. The site was a great size and well laid out. 

  I camp a few times a month, different places each time, and this is one of a few that I will return to.

• S

  Sarah C.

  Guide

  

  Aug. 27, 2024

  Mathews Arm Campground — Shenandoah National Park

  Meh

  Wanted an overnight close to home and have never been to Mathew’s Arm so off we went. Campground easy to access off the SNP parkway. Since we didn’t book ahead we had a choice of the first come, first serve sites. Seemed odd that we could not pick any site that wasn’t reserved. The sites were all small and very close together. Some had bear boxes, some did not. All sites able to pull up to but not all sites had a decent spot to pitch a tent. No tent pads. Grass overgrown in many areas. Light not working in women’s bathroom, guess that’s how come you travel with a headlamp. Overall, glad we went, once.

• M

  Marty T.

  Traveler

  

  Aug. 21, 2024

  Bennie’s Beach Campground

  Cool spot by the creek

  Bennies has a cool spot by the creek for tent camping.  I was the only one there - after having driven through the aging RV neighborhood.  Check-in was mystical, but finally reached the groundskeeper by phone and left money in a mailbox.  "$40 cash money..."  Way overpriced considering the unsanitary (gross) showers and restrooms.  I think I felt cleaner before the shower.  If you don't need a shower and don't mind dropping $40 for a place to pitch your tent then Bennies may be for you.

• 

  Kevin C.

  Ranger

  

  Aug. 14, 2024

  Wolf Gap Recreation Area

  An Outstanding Forest Service Campground

  The road leading to the camp site from Wardensville was in excellent condition all the way to the camp site. There are e total of 9 campsites.

  Most sites have a paved parking platform and then a second tier for the camp site. All sites are quite large and include picnic tables, fire rings and large tent platforms.

  The campsite itself is beautifully wooded. Each campsite is mostly secluded from the rest of the park.

  The campground has vaulted toilet and communal garbage receptical. There is a large day use area. There are several trails that intersect with the campsite ànd day hikers are a common site.