Best Dispersed Camping near Richwood, WV

Recent Dispersed Reviews in Richwood

39 Reviews of 12 Richwood Campgrounds

• 

  Jadon B.

  Guide

  

  Jan. 15, 2025

  Dispersed camping at Mower Basin

  Abundant beauty

  We strolled up the mountain in our 39ft skoolie. It snowed and we had a really good time!

• R

  Rhys R.

  Guide

  

  Oct. 24, 2024

  Army Camp — New River Gorge National Park and Preserve

  Very relaxing spot

  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.

• 

  Emily L.

  Scout

  

  Sep. 8, 2024

  Monongahela National Forest Dispersed Site

  Secluded

  It was dead when we arrived; only saw two other vehicles. Very quiet and secluded. Easy to navigate and find a spot.

• W

  Waseem H.

  Guide

  

  Sep. 5, 2024

  Dispersed camping at Mower Basin

  Beautiful views

  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.

• 

  Kel J.

  Traveler

  

  Aug. 31, 2024

  Army Camp — New River Gorge National Park and Preserve

  Free Camping & Beautiful Scenary

  Pit toilets, but was nice to have something ++ FREE. Super cool river near by, great scenery.

• 

  Corda B.

  Guide

  

  Jul. 6, 2024

  Army Camp — New River Gorge National Park and Preserve

  Spots fill quickly

  Stayed here for a few nights with 3 other people. We had 1 big tent, 2 vehicles and a few dogs and had plenty of room. The road getting back to the site is a little sketch but worth the trip in. Just remember you have to make that trip all the way back out if you forget anything at the store (like we did) so be prepared to have plenty of food and wood. Water access is not problem if you have a good filtration system. The view of the river is absolutely beautiful!!

• 

  Rachel S.

  Ranger

  

  May. 21, 2024

  Army Camp — New River Gorge National Park and Preserve

  Rare established free camping!

  You can’t beat an established campground (picnic tables, fire pits, bathrooms) in a national park that’s also free! Good amount of spiders and ants but didn’t notice any mosquitoes in mid May. Peaceful and quiet!

• 

  Jim M.

  Guide

  

  Mar. 19, 2024

  Poor Farm Dispersed Recreation Area

  Great "out of the way" spot

  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.

• J

  Jourdan B.

  Scout

  

  Nov. 12, 2023

  Dispersed camping at Mower Basin

  Absolutely gorgeous remote dispersed camping

  25 Beautiful remote sites with Mountain View’s and lake overlook

• 

  Paige H.

  Traveler

  

  Oct. 20, 2023

  Stonecoal Dispersed Camping Area

  Fall 2023

  Unfortunately the road is closed for upgrades until spring of 2024

• 

  Paige H.

  Traveler

  

  Oct. 14, 2023

  Dispersed camping at Mower Basin

  Weekend stay

  We 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.

• 

  Todd C.

  Scout

  

  Aug. 21, 2023

  Gaudineer Knob camp sites

  Moss covered pine forest of silence

  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.

• m

  matthew B.

  Scout

  

  Aug. 6, 2023

  Army Camp — New River Gorge National Park and Preserve

  Really beautiful location

  Army camp is nestled by the new river and has plenty of views of the mountains. None of us had cell phone reception, so if you’re looking for a tech free weekend then this is your spot. Saw plenty of small RV’s and campers at the spot. The road is pretty narrow so I wouldn’t suggest large RV’s go to this spot. Camp had a fire ring and hanging pole with enough room for four back packs on top. Parking spaces at the camp were big enough to accommodate 2-4 vehicles. Plenty of critters were roaming around with a bear spotted two nights in a row.

• 

  Karli P.

  Traveler

  

  Jul. 22, 2023

  Little River Dispersed Campsites

  Secluded but Accessible

  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!

• 

  Kristi D.

  Legend

  

  Jul. 4, 2023

  Army Camp — New River Gorge National Park and Preserve

  You cant beat free!

  We spent a night here on our way to Ohio. It has a small loop of campsites near the river. It is a one lane road to get to the campground and can get tight when other vehicles pass, but we got down there with our F250 truck and camper when a big grater and the park ranger came by. It's very doable. Campsites were mowed and it was a short walk to a really nice spot on the river. No electric/water, so plan to be ready to be off grid. Hard to complain about free!

• 

  Ashley W.

  Scout

  

  May. 28, 2023

  Little River Dispersed Campsites

  Beautiful spots by the river

  Love it here! Wildflowers and ferns and grassy spots right by the river. Some spots even have picnic tables and fire pits. Nice and quiet.

• 

  Mystic S.

  Guide

  

  May. 3, 2023

  Dispersed camping at Mower Basin

  Incredible views, large private sites, easily accessible hiking trails

  This 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.

• 

  Luke M.

  Guide

  

  Apr. 18, 2023

  Little River Dispersed Campsites

  Amazing, but beware bears

  Lost 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!

• 

  Mikaela K.

  Traveler

  

  Mar. 24, 2023

  Poor Farm Dispersed Recreation Area

  Nice spot, even for our conversion van!

  Wasn’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.

• 

  Jon N.

  Guide

  

  Nov. 7, 2022

  Gaudineer Knob camp sites

  It's like being in a fairy tale

  I'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.

• 

  Jon N.

  Guide

  

  Nov. 7, 2022

  Little dispersed site by railtracks

  Very secluded campsite down a bumpy forest service road

  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.

• 

  Jon N.

  Guide

  

  Nov. 7, 2022

  Dispersed camping at Mower Basin

  God tier - best campsite I've ever had

  Words 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.

• 

  Jon N.

  Guide

  

  Nov. 7, 2022

  Dispersed Camping off Forest Road 227

  The most beautiful basin campsites

  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.

• 

  Tommy S.

  Ranger

  

  Sep. 17, 2022

  Little River Dispersed Campsites

  Secluded creek side sites

  Little 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.

• 

  Caroline F.

  Guide

  

  Jun. 26, 2022

  Army Camp — New River Gorge National Park and Preserve

  Quiet, nice free campground

  FCFS. Spots are large enough to fit 2 vehicles. Sites are gravel with fire pit, charcoal grill, and picnic table. Spots are shaded. Easy access to river, able to hear it from campsite. Very clean pit toilet bathroom. Road to access is single lane paved/gravel. Best for cars/vans, but did see some small pull behinds.

• 

  Heather P.

  Ranger

  

  Mar. 9, 2022

  Elk River Dispersed camping

  Dirt Road camping

  Check weather conditions and map before heading here.

  This is a dispersed camping area so be self sufficient 

  This is a dirt road so not for everyone to travel down.  But we did travel on bikes so it is not horrible.  

  We set up camp right next to Rose Run, just East of the closed off bridge.

  Along this road you will see areas to pull off where people have set up fire rings.

  Just pull off and set up camp.  Our camp area apparently was well used with many beer cans and spent shell casings.

  There is not a ton of traffic on this road but since the site is close to the road you will hear some vehicles driving by.

  There is Elk Springs Resort & Fly Shop just down the road.  Here you can hire a guide, or pay to fly fish their well stocked area.  A well stocked fly shop as well.  Everyone there was great on suggestion on flies suggestions.

  The area where we camped is catch and release only!  Please be respectful of the river and rules.  Water levels were pretty low, but was nice to just sit by the river, listen to the sounds and relax.

• 

  Clayton S.

  Guide

  

  Mar. 4, 2022

  Poor Farm Dispersed Recreation Area

  Nice place to pitch a tent or 4x4 in

  I have stayed here twice, once in the spring and once in the winter.  Both times, the main camping area was empty.  There is a large clearing off of Hidden Valley Rd (38.14822,-79.76883) just past Poor Farm Camp A Rd.  that can easily accommodate multiple vehicles with 3 or 4 fire pits.  In the spring, it is covered in wild hares.

  If you follow the road further, about a quarter of a mile, is another spot for about two or three vehicles.  On the map, Hidden Valley Rd says it goes through, but the road is closed.