The best camping near
Summersville Lake, WEST VIRGINIA

I grew up on this campground. It was my home away from home during the summer for Years. I knew the original owner/creator of this campground. I visit here and it brings back so many memories.

It’s a great campground with kayak and canoe trips. Lots of fishing and swimming available. Tubing is the best trip from Ronceverte to the Campground on the Greenbrier River if you have a full day to just unplug and take in all the sites, sounds and smells around you.

Just ignore the train that runs through across the River.

Lots to do here with tent camping, RV, cabin rentals and even some nostalgic RV rentals.

Friendly people, waterfront site on river, 2 hour tubing float down river ending up at my campsite!

A friend and I stayed here 3 nights while visiting Marlinton for the annual Roadkill Cook-off. Facilities are decent however Wi-Fi is extremely weak if you are more than a couple hundred feet from the restrooms. Because this entire area of WV is in the National Radio Quiet Zone, there is zero cellular service with 1-2 hours drive in any direction. If you can't get the weak WiFi service, you won't be using any data services. (Not necessarily a bad thing, but don't expect to notify family that you have arrived or are ok. Also, make sure any electronic devices you will be using for navigation have offline maps loaded before visiting.) One huge gripe is that technically you are limited to 1 sleeping unit per site, even if you only have 2 or 3 people sleeping in individual 1-person tents or a hammock. This either is not listed in the reservations information or is buried in the small print. The person checking us in told us about this, but allowed the 2 of us to camp in the same site. Being strictly a motorcycle camping person, neither I nor any traveling companions would be packing s large tent that could house all of us. The same thing could be said of 2 or 3 backpackers traveling together. For the nearly $30/night charge, this would become FAR too expensive and I'm not likely to stay here again simply because of the fear that the campground's silly rule might be enforced the next time.

Just a quick FYI, there is no camping in the winter. We stopped by for an overnight while enroute to Ohio. I don’t always check ahead while road tripping , I see a recreation sign and decide to stop for the night. This CCC State Park is very picturesque and has several hiking trails and the man-made lake is small but offers plenty of recreation possibilities.

I found the layout a little strange. The visitors center/ office sits right on the entry road but there is no parking in front of it. If you need to stop there use the parking area immediately to your right and then walk up.

The staff was limited , one grumpy older gentleman who never said a word to mej, just gave me sour looks like I was somehow putting him out by walking into the office. The younger gentleman was very informative and helpful. He answered questions about the parks history and suggested the best trails due to the slippery weather that was going on. We enjoyed a hike around the lake and then went on our way. I will be back for their camping season and to check out more of the trails. You could easily spend some time here and enjoy the surrounding area attractions. Check out Chocolate Moose in Beckley if you enjoy unique tasty coffee and excellent, friendly service and Tamarack for some West Virginia local art.

Beautiful RV Park.  Wonderful sites for parking your RV.  Very well lit with very modern water and electric hook ups.  All slips have a fire pit, bar-b-que grill and picnic tables.  Pavilions have great lighting and dimmers for a softer light.  They also have commercial metal tables to use to prepare and serve meals.  One is equipped with a sink for easy cleanup.  The park is right on the beautiful Elk River where you can swim, float or kayak.  I love this park!!

We stayed here to smoke test our new camper trailer and had a great experience! Relatively small and deep within the state forest, you'll start to wonder if you passed it by the time you get there, but keep going and you'll eventually arrive! The staff is finally, the campground well equipped, and the bath house was clean, though it could use a coat of paint inside.

Simple. Free. Next to the dam

We stayed one night at Cranberry Campground during Columbus Day weekend, it was busier than the other two campgrounds (Big Rock and Bishop Knob) and was primarily occupied by RV campers who tended to park nearest the toilets.  We found a good tucked in site (#27) that was close to the water pump and was surrounded by the woods.  The two walk-up site (#23 + #24) were also tucked away nicely and were not far at all from where a car would park, I would suggest this if you needed two sites and wanted some privacy.  $10 a night, has picnic table, water pump, toilets, and lantern thingy.  This campground was close enough to the river but the sites are not directly on the river side. 

With RVers comes generators and happily they complied with the 10pm - 6am quiet times.  However, my style of camping is back country seclusion accessible by car (and a picnic table and a water pump), I know I'm ridiculous.  So we moved the next day to an empty 5-site campground ($5 a night) right on the river and between Big Rock and Cranberry campgrounds.  Highly recommend the campsites along the river!  Access to fishing is directly from your campsite, the water sounds so nice at night, and I love the river side exploring.  

Additional bonus for those visiting in the fall is the periodic apple tree.  We had one right next to our site and happily snacked on a few.  

Monogahela- Gauley Ranger District… 

I found all three campgrounds easy to find and the signage from Forest Road 76 was suffiecient. We rarely had GPS on the back roads and mountain area in WV so be sure to print directions jic. Had service in Richwood though, which I recommend checking out if you have a rainy day or you need last minute camping supplies. They have an outfitter, Four Seasons Outfitter, that we purchased our firewood from(it rained so"dead and down" wasn't gonna help). They might sell fishing license too but we bought our fishing licenses from a different outfitter in Marlinton, WV. Marlinton is also a good pit stop. 

This area of Monogahela was lovely, there were tons of great spots along the Cranberry River to explore. We heard and/or saw some wildlife/signs of wild life. No bears which is good I guess, we were careful not to attract them to our campsite. I was surprised not to see or be visited by a ranger while were at Monogahela (two nights) especially given that it was a holiday weekend.

Bishop Knob Specific…

Visited the camp site Columbus Day weekend and it was empty but for one RV camper.  I imagine this site is a good back up if the Big Rock, Cranberry Campgrounds are full or you just wanted a spot that was quieter.   Very well kept and had all the basics, water, toilet, picnic table, lantern hook, and fire pit.  

The second loop was closed (presumably for the rest of the fall/winter season). The Monogahela National Forest website lists there being fishing nearby, but as far as i could tell you still have to drive to get to the water.  We wanted to fish off our campsite so we did not stay over night at Bishop Knob.

Monogahela - Gauley Ranger District… 

I found all three campgrounds easy to find and the signage from Forest Road 76 was suffiecient.  We rarely had GPS on the back roads and mountain area in WV so be sure to print directions jic.  Had service in Richwood though, which I recommend checking out if you have a rainy day or you need last minute camping supplies.  They have an outfitter, Four Seasons Outfitter, that we purchased our firewood from (it rained so "dead and down" wasn't gonna help).  They might sell fishing license too but we bought our fishing licenses from a different outfitter in Marlinton, WV.  Marlinton is also a good pit stop.   

This area of Monogahela was lovely, there were tons of great spots along the Cranberry River to explore.  We heard and/or saw some wildlife/signs of wild life.  No bears which is good I guess, we were careful not to attract them to our campsite.  I was surprised not to see or be visited by a ranger while were at Monogahela (two nights) especially given that it was a holiday weekend.

Great Campground some spots a little tight for bigger camper we have a 30’ but we were okay. Very quiet nice rangers and very helpful.