Searching for a dispersed camping spot near Monongahela National Forest? Dispersed camping is an excellent way to get away from it all and to disconnect. Find the perfect dispersed campsite for your next adventure.
Hiking and fishing opportunities are abundant at Poor Farm Dispersed Recreation Area. Enjoy hiking trails that meander along the Jackson River, or break out that rod and reel as the trout stocked waters are popular amongst fly and traditional fishermen alike.
Braley Pond Day Use Area is a very popular access to multiple trailheads including Ramsey's Draft Wilderness. Outdoor enthusiasts will enjoy this universally accessible area perfect for family picnics, or plan to stay overnight in the adjacent dispersed camping site.
No dispersed camping allowed in picnic area.
This scenic area is managed to feature an undisturbed condition of the West Virginia highlands for study and enjoyment. Maintaining the natural appearance of the area is an essential management goal here.
Approximately 50 acres of the Gaudineer Scenic Area is typical of, and considered part of, the virgin red spruce type that originally occupied large portions of the highland areas of West Virginia. The composition of this impressive timber stand consists of virgin and second growth red spruce, yellow birch, beech, red maple, sugar maple and other hardwood species. Individual trees range up to 40 inches in diameter at breast height and 300 years of age.
While the remaining 90 acres has had some cutting, mainly salvage of blow-down, most of the original growth still is standing. The total wood volume of the 140 acre tract is estimated at one and a half million board feet.
Scout
It was dead when we arrived; only saw two other vehicles. Very quiet and secluded. Easy to navigate and find a spot.
Guide
Very quiet, beautiful views, amazing drive from VA. Multiple campsites and they all have beautiful views. I have T-Mobile and had signal only by the first campsite for some reason. I had no signal for almost two hours heading towards VA.
Guide
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.
Guide
I drove to Switzer Lake first and from there stayed on the trail all the way to Flag Pole. The drive took a few hours but was a ton of fun. There are a few good spots up there and it gets fairly busy.
GuideThey said, no way, I chuckled. They Said , you need a high clearance vehicle, I cleared my throat. They said, you need 4 wheel drive, I SAID "ILL SEND YOU PICTURES!!!" what an Amazing view, don't use me as an example , you definitely should not drive your 2018 Ram ProMaster 2500 159 wb campervan up that road like I did. so now that that's clear how about some pics?.it's absolutely pouring down rain and hail. how about some security cam footage?
GuideI drive a low vehicle so it probably wasn’t the best idea to make my way in but i was exhausted and needed to rest a couple days . The road was the worst and really not worth the drive in . The sites were trashy , glass, bullet holes in trees and bullet shells . The sites were fairly decent size but you really have to drive way in to get to them . I won’t stay here again although it was really beautiful on the drive out . The lake is gorgeous .
Guide
Great camp site!! I pulled in while passing through the area, it was a short ride off the highway and the road in was nice. Quiet spot with a nice grassy level area. will definitely stay here again when I get back up this way.
TravelerI have been camping here for the past 10 years. Beautiful area and pretty secluded dispersed campsites. Over the years, it seems that some people leave more trash here, but not always. Please do NOT camp next to the lake even if you see fire rings. If the rangers come (which they did twice in 10 years), they will be very upset with you and make you pack up.
The road is a mix of gravel but also dirt so it can become muddy during rain. If you follow the road, there is a river crossing that will take you to additional camp spots. The road beyond the river can get more tricky for low clearance vehicles.
There are bears here, so lock up your food in the car. We have encountered a bear at or around the campsite 3 times.
The fishing is decent, and we have caught some trout there in the past. There is a boat ramp at the lake, but only electric motors and paddle boats are allowed.
Just a heads up, there is no cellphone signal for any carrier from what I could tell.
Scout25 Beautiful remote sites with Mountain View’s and lake overlook
Traveler
Unfortunately the road is closed for upgrades until spring of 2024
TravelerWe drove In Thursday evening intending to go to stonecoal but the road was blocked off so we headed out to mowers basin and were lucky enough to snag this beautiful view. The few people we did encounter were friendly.
ScoutI made a spontaneous trip this past weekend. Easy to find and a beautiful area. Some things to note- the lake front campsites fill up quickly and they are not drive in. Since I sleep in my Jeep, I needed a drive in spot. I drove past the lakefront sites and there are a few really nice spots right past the paved bridge on the dirt road, some next to the creek and some out further. I drove down a path that would not be accessible with a car, however there are spots closer to the dirt road that you don’t need a vehicle with high clearance. I’ll definitely be going back!
Scout
Just wow! First off, it's not a campsite, it's day use only, but I got there too late to go anywhere else. The forest floor is only moss. Like miles of moss and other than the trail that was it. No other trees either. Just Spruce?I think it was spruce but I'm not a treeologist. That combination created the world's most quiet environment ever. You wouldn't hear a marching band if they were feet behind you. It was super erie to camp in, but also the most peaceful and amazing spot I've been to in years. I loved it! I did the old growth loop down the road too. The whole place was magical.
ScoutMy site was great. It was an established site with a fire ring. It had a large clearing with a pretty flat spot for my tent. I accessed the site on my motorcycle. You wouldn't get a car/truck to the site. The trail is only about 30 yards. I am not sure I was in a camping allowed spot though. Some reviews say you have to go farther down the road. So there is that. I need to get more specific guidelines. Regardless, it was a great night if camping. I was pretty discouraged by the amount of trash. I grabbed as much as I could fit, but I didn't have extra bags or extra room, being the bike.
Traveler
My husband and I stayed her for one night with our dog! We arrived around 6pm on a Friday evening. A couple of the spots were taken but we found a lovely spot in the group campsite - there was no one else there! The group campsite had 5 spots spread around a smallish gravel loop.
Just a heads up, the road to access these campsites is tucked in the back of a residential area. We missed it the first time by and had to turn around!
If you are just passing through or staying a while, this is a great dispersed camping area!
TravelerI only stopped there one night on my way through to Delaware, but it was just what I needed. Great views too, it was quite windy though on the lake. Might be something to keep in mind. Most vehicles should be fine coming in off of 33. From what I hear from another camper, it is rough coming the other way with anything other than something that can scale rocks
ScoutLove it here! Wildflowers and ferns and grassy spots right by the river. Some spots even have picnic tables and fire pits. Nice and quiet.
GuideThis has been the best spot I've found so far in terms of what it offers. It's easy to find, the roads are gravel and maintained enough for just about any vehicle to get back there, the views are truly incredible with great star gazing opportunities, and MOST IMPORTANTLY it is absolutely littered with marked hiking trails.
Following the road all the way to the final site you will cross paths with no fewer than 5 distinct and different toughness hiking trails, there are likely more, but I was only there for a week and would usually just do one trail a day.
I saw forestry trucks coming in and out during the day, day hikers, and the entire week that I was there I only saw 3 other cars coming in to camp. But the sites are so spread out/the foliage is so thick that you can't see or hear anyone.
This is a spot that I will make a special trip to go back out to, just to enjoy those trails and views again. In the months that I've been slowly moving across the country, this is 1 of 2 sites that I will FOR SURE come back to. I'll probably invite friends from out of state to make a several hours drive to hangout there, it's that good.
GuideLost cell service an hour before reaching the area. Utterly beautiful, pretty untouched wilderness. Very very quiet location. You can collect fallen material for fires, and we marched off into the woodlands for a little hike. Not even 2 minutes from our dispersed camp site we were charged by an extremely aggressive black bear, fortunately with plenty of noise and shouting and slowly backing away we avoided further conflict! But, it was very very close to the site we had our tent! We decided to keep ALL FOOD in the car's trunk those nights and not hanging in a tree just to be safe. While the wilderness is beautiful and untouched, the previous campers left behind some sweet teas and cans, which probably is why the wildlife was so close. Be mindful to pick up your own litter and if you can take out the litter from the previous campers. Also a warning ⚠️ the road is narrow and you'll need to pull off to the side to let cars pass coming in, and the road is riddled with pot holes and is entirely gravel. Just beware and you'll have a great time!
Guide
Sites had plenty of space with fire rings built out of rocks. Loved exploring the area and pond. Pond had a lot of trash along the shoreline and vault toilet was rather full. Otherwise, a great place for a night of camping.
TravelerWe took our conversion van and had no problems parking and pulling through to turn around when we left. Plenty of places to park or set up a tent along the road or at the end near the bathrooms and information center. A few nice hikes, and plenty of privacy. We did have to clean up after the last campers in our spot though, but other than that it was well taken care of
TravelerWasn’t too hard to get there and park in our van. Peaceful for the most part (a few campers were there). No signal, so make sure you have a map or know which way you came.
GuideI've seen a lot of beautiful sights, but this may be one of the top of all time.
You park in the little lot that has a cassette toilet and a trash dump bin. Then there is a 1/2 mile loop with little campsites all along it. It looked like most of them had a table and fire ring. I also only did half the loop lol, but there must be at least 10+ spots.
The spots are not huge, so don't plan on a big group, but if your group wants to spread out, that could work as the sites are fairly tightly packed in there. When I went in November on a rainy weekend, there was no one else there.
Even if you choose to not camp here, it is at least worth it to walk the trail and see the overlook.
Guide
You will want a car with decent clearance to get down here. I went in my Subaru Forester and was fine.
The spot is about 20 feet from the railroad, so just be ready to hear a train if you're lucky lol. When I went there it seemed like there was recent work done as there was hay, presumably to grow grass, and some cut and stacked firewood.
You are also along the Shaver's Fork River, so if you have a filtration system, you can get some water. I did see signs driving in about this being a catch and release zone, but I'm not a fisherman so I didn't look them over thoroughly.
I have some pictures from a little up the river the I'll add to here, so you can get an idea of the landscape and what to expect. The river is small and shallow, so when it isn't so cold, it could be fun to play in.
GuideWords cannot describe how amazing this site was to camp in. I took the road all the way to the end passing other sites, some taken and some open. The moon was bright but you could still see hundreds of stars. There was a fire ring and enough space to fit a car and tent, but other sites were large enough to fit many cars and a dozen people. It is all first come first service, so if you want those bigger group sites, come early.
I also love this place as it has a small network of single track trails for anyone with a bike, or in my case, Electric unicycle. The trails were well maintained and offered a wonderful variety of wooded and open space riding.
I cannot wait to get back to this place, maybe even in the snow.
Guide
So instead of putting in 20+ reviews, I'm just going to lump them all into one. There are a lot of campsites along this road, many of which could fit an RV, but many of which have some rough roads that an RC or trailer might not do well on.
Each site has a clear marker put there by the Forest Service, something I haven't seen before, and plenty of signs asking to limit your stay to 14 days. Each site also has a campfire ring and is well spaced out from the next one, but not always from the road.
You are sort of in a valley/basin kind of area. There used to be a lot of spruce tree farming here so I think that is why it is so cleared out. It doesn't seem to be an active logging zone now though, so it's just peaceful and quiet.
I have t-mobile and got zero service. I wouldn't expect any carrier to get any service out there though.
RangerLittle river has about 15 campsites along Little River Road. Most are decent, but a few are absolutely gorgeous. I stayed at site 13 last time (which was occupied) but this time at site 9 was just as magical. There’s a couple fire rings up by the parking spot, but we chose to set up a little closer to the creek. It rained a lot while we were there but there were ample trees to set up tarps. The creek rose a few inches one night, so keep an eye on it if there’s heavy rainfall.
When you park and walk down to the river, if you turn right, there’s a beach area about 50 yards down that offers a great spot to take a dip!
There’s also a nice trailhead at the south end of little river road.
Frequently Asked Questions
Which is the most popular dispersed campsite near Monongahela National Forest?
According to TheDyrt.com, the most popular dispersed campground near Monongahela National Forest is Poor Farm Dispersed Recreation Area with a 4.5-star rating from 4 reviews.
What is the best site to find dispersed camping near Monongahela National Forest?
TheDyrt.com has all 17 dispersed camping locations near Monongahela National Forest, with real photos and reviews from campers.
