Best Tent Camping near Thomas, WV

My wife and I tent camped here for a weekend to go rafting. The whole campground sits in kind of a valley along a creek running into the reservoir. It's kind of spread out but seemed nice. Our tent sites were very nice sitting on raised mounds so you would stay fairly dry if it rained. It looks like it may have been a state park at one time, judging by the layout and bathrooms. Not a bad camp at all.

A great, quiet campground with fewer sites than most.  It is about 5 miles from the summit of Spruce Knob (highest peak in West Virginia).  Tow campers smaller in size can certainly make it, although mostly tent camping which I like.  Some drive up, some drive, park, and walk up.  There is a single water source and I'd highly recommend boiling first.  H20 does NOT taste good at all.  There are a couple of outhouses, and no shower facilities.

Campground Review: Canaan Valley State Park and Resort, Davis, West Virginia

The Canaan Valley State Park and Resort is situated in a very popular outdoor activity area...for every season. Winter brings copious snowfall and the skiing here draws thousands...downhill and XC. The summer sees backpackers, hikers, mountain bikers, gravel grinders, car-campers and RVers. Not only do you have hiking trails here on the State Park location...you can drive up to the nearby Dolly Sods Wilderness Area for camping, day-hikes or multi-day backcountry trips; Blackwater Falls (10 miles north) offers memorable falls, great hikes with long gorge views (Lindy Point a favorite). Even Seneca Rocks and Spruce Knob are only 30 minutes or so away. Possibilities are endless in this neck of the woods. This very weekend was to be the Mountainbike Festival, but due to Covid-19, well you know the rest of that story. The Abe Run Trail was a pleasant trail leaving from the campground.

The campground portion is not expansive but 34 sites are situated in three small loops (see photo of campground map). Primitive tent sites don't have water or electric and parking is roadside but you are within 100 yards of the "Comfort Station." The three "tent only" sites have only been around for a couple years...but sites 1 and 2 are in a nice grassy area away from the RV loop 2. Always verify current rates, but June 18, 2020...mid $30's nightly for nonresidents (WV residents get 30% off). Primitive tent sites were $17 a night.

The Resort Lodge, Golf course, swimming pool and a covered ice skating rink (obviously the last three mentioned being seasonal) were further up the windy park roadway. (See rates on park website).

The campground "Comfort Station," is a restroom/shower/laundry and soda machine building. The gender specific restroom/shower rooms each have two wooden stalled modern facility stools, two shower stalls (men's are separated by a shower curtain, women's by a wall); a separate unisex ADA restroom/shower sits adjacent to the men's and appears newer.

The grounds are well-maintained and manicured as are all WV State Parks. Trails are scattered throughout the park. some are foot traffic only, others permit bicycles. The Back Hollow Trail was predominantly a mown grass trail but occasional wooded sections were rocky two-track. This is Wet Virginia, so expect to experience rain and bring foul weather gear in the summer months. I have mastered the fine art of campsite tarping due to West Virginia camping. It also still gets chilly in these mountains during the early summer months.

Deer meander through the primitive tent sites with their fawns each morning and evening. A kid's playground is situated beside (separated by a field) primitive tent sites 1 & 2.

We spent three days in June and experienced afternoon rain showers daily, but arranged our hikes and bikes around them.

We really Enjoyed the spot, there aren’t a lot of tent sites, it’s mostly RV sites, pretty big campground as far as the RV sites go. The tent sites are by the river. It was a pretty quiet campground.

Tent camping is congested on hilly sites. FACILITIES ARE GREAT! Clean.

Great place to tent camp with about 10 spots available. It was empty when we went and was perfect. The sunset is breathtaking!

Privately owned. Golf carts for rent. Fabulous mtb trail network - worth paying for a pass to ride. Beautiful tent camping...mossy but not too buggy. Bring your own toilet paper.

Caters mostly to RVs & people with boats. The walk-to tent sites are mostly in an open grass field with some trees for shade but clear visibility to adjacent sites. Site 9A is a pleasant tent site with a bit more privacy & located along the creek. It is connected to 10A by a short little path & separated from 8A by a small grassy area. Thick vegetation around 9A & 10A with dense poison ivy encroaching on both camp sites. Seemed to be a periodic sewer gas smell, maybe from septic outfall or the RV dump station a little ways off. Camp store & staff were nice. Bathrooms were fine. Easy access to the lake & nearby marina.

Clean, beautiful and quiet (occasional barking dog or children playing loudly). The basic tent sites each have a picnic table, fire pit w/ grill, and lantern post. The trails to the beautiful falls are a short walk from the campgrounds.

Canaan Valley has 3 loops of sites with hookups as well as a few primitive tent sites. There’s a centrally located bath house with flush toilets and hot showers. Many of the sites are pull-through with parking parallel to the loop road. I was on the last loop in a pull-through site and the main campsite area with picnic table and fire ring were several steps below the parking pad. I was here in April. When I made my reservations, I could only find a site for Friday night, so I went ahead and reserved it, but kept checking back. A few days prior to my arrival, a different site opened for the entire weekend. I couldn’t switch, but I went ahead and reserved the Saturday night at the newly open and then reached out via email to the resort. They were able to change my Friday night reservation to the same site so that I would not have to relocate in the middle of my stay. 

The Canaan Valley area is beautiful and is one of West Virginia’s State Resorts, offering far more than just a campground. Many of the facilities were not yet open fully, but the chairlift to the summit at the ski area was open on weekends. There are a number of nearby parks and forests worth exploring: Blackwater Falls, Dolly Sods Wilderness, Smoke Hole Canyon, Spruce Knob and Seneca Rocks are all within~1 hour drive. You can also stay put at the resort and hike, bike, golf(including mini-golf), swim, geocache, or stargaze. There’s a large open field with a play area near the campground. On of the one clear night I was there, the sky was brilliant. 

The only downside was that there was an event of some sort taking place the morning I left and the racket from the loudspeaker carried over to the campground. I picked up some ice cream at the Purple Fiddle in Thomas, WV on my way to the campground. This place also offers live music. There is an assortment of restaurants in Thomas and Davis.

My girlfriend and I stayed at tent site 21 July 26th and 27th and was a good experience overall. We both agreed that we will only camp there if this particular site is open though. It is the tent site with the most privacy and it is the only one on that side of the road which made it nice. Along with the privacy it is also was right beside a trail that went directly to the lake but it is about 200 yards downhill. We took our kayaks along but opted to drive to the boat launch instead of carrying our kayaks down the trail. It is an option though. The park staff was very friendly and the bath house was pretty clean. Our only complaint is that some of the other campers where throwing food in the woods which attracted raccoons but that isn't the campgrounds fault.

Camp site(Tent camping)

Camp site was pretty small and close to each other. The forest where the camp site was situated was beautiful. We were lucky enough to witness a spectacular light show put up by thousands of fireflies at night.

It is Maryland so watch out for poison ivy when walking through bushes.

Facilities/ Amenities

Bathrooms were clean.

Surrounding area

Walking distance to the huge beach / lake. The area was overcrowded but maintained well and clean.