Best Camping near Thurmond, WV

The Dyrt is here to help plan your best camping near Thurmond. There's so much to see and do, from exhilarating hikes or bike rides to exploring the local dining and shopping. At The Dyrt, campers like you share their favorite spots, plus tips and photos. No matter where you're headed in Thurmond, you'll find the best spot for you and your camping crew.

Best Camping Sites Near Thurmond, WV (114)

Showing results 1-10 of 114 campgrounds

Pet-friendly camping near Thurmond

Recent Reviews in Thurmond

489 Reviews of 114 Thurmond Campgrounds


  • Benjy B.The Dyrt PRO User
    Camper-submitted photo from The Outpost at New River Gourge
    Nov. 14, 2024

    The Outpost at New River Gourge

    Loved it here!

    As a car camper I was initially hesitant about paying for a partial hookup RV spot knowing that I wouldn’t be fully utilizing what I was paying for, but man am I glad I chose to stay here.

    The location is great for getting in and out of town and the park alike, and it was the ideal location for a hike base. In terms of the campground itself, I think it set a new standard for me that’ll be pretty hard to beat. The bathrooms were incredible, and the shower was so good that it was almost annoying (I’m jealous and want it at home now too).

    Checking in and out was easy, and the staff was very kind in accommodating me extending my stay another day on two separate occasions. I’d been most in and out in the dark, but finally on the last day got to check out the rest of the place and it really is super nice with a great aesthetic to match.

    The big kicker for me was the lodge/Wi-Fi situation. As someone camping in a Prius, it can get pretty tight at times, so having a nice big space with great internet to get some work done was a huge bonus. Even in my car, the WiFi was plenty good enough to use, albeit not quite as snappy fast as the lodge.

    All in all, I’d happily come back here again and again if I were to find myself back in the area. Could not more highly recommend.

  • licia S.The Dyrt PRO User
    Camper-submitted photo from Meadow Creek Campground — New River Gorge National Park and Preserve
    Nov. 14, 2024

    Meadow Creek Campground — New River Gorge National Park and Preserve

    Calm Tent-Only Campground- with Trains

    I’ve stayed here several times. It’s always been a great visit. There are around 12 sites with tables, grills, and fire rings. Pit toilet and dumpster. The place is monitored via videocamera as signed. No RVs- that is enforced. 1 bar of unboosted cell service with ATT with some drop off if raining, but fine for streaming videos. The coal trains run through at all hours of the night- and blow their horns (earplugs). Open year round- a no hunting campsite.

  • KThe Dyrt PRO User
    Camper-submitted photo from Rifrafters Campground
    Nov. 5, 2024

    Rifrafters Campground

    Nearest CG to New River Gorge bridge and visitor center

    Very comfortable and quiet campground. Camp hosts (owners?) and staff are very friendly and helpful. Close to local towns for services. The full hook up RV sites seem crowded, but the electric only sites were spacious and shady. I had a little deck with a picnic table. Even though the land is hilly, almost every site was level. The area where I camped had a single porta potty, but the main service area had clean showers and reasonably priced laundry. Short hiking trails are nearby. A children’s area is available but looked little used.

  • Molly R.The Dyrt PRO User
    Camper-submitted photo from Rifrafters Campground
    Nov. 1, 2024

    Rifrafters Campground

    Well managed everything you need.

    Beautiful area, close to New River National Park. Very accommodating staff. Includes wifi, PBS TV, small dog run, small playground, picnic shelter, laundry, bathhouse, firewood, ice,etc. Clean, friendly without all the fancy extras. Reasonably priced.

  • Anna S.The Dyrt PRO User
    Camper-submitted photo from Blue Jay Campground — Camp Creek State Park
    Oct. 29, 2024

    Blue Jay Campground — Camp Creek State Park

    Simple but sufficient - great location with miles of trails!

    All 12 non-electric sites appeared to have fire ring, picnic table, trash can, flat parking area. They did vary a bit in size. I was there on Friday and Saturday and there were no more than 4 other sites occupied. I was surprised that the bathrooms had running water! Overall, everything was quiet and relaxing. Some traffic from people driving by, but not bad at this time of year. It was delightful falling asleep and waking up to the sound of the creek! There are miles and miles of trails, I hiked 16 and only encountered 1 couple. The other campgrounds in the park have more amenities, too.

  • RThe Dyrt PRO User
    Camper-submitted photo from Army Camp — New River Gorge National Park and Preserve
    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.

  • Lee D.The Dyrt PRO User
    Camper-submitted photo from Blue Jay Campground — Camp Creek State Park
    Oct. 18, 2024

    Blue Jay Campground — Camp Creek State Park

    Peaceful now but....

    One of three campgrounds in Camp Creek State Park; this is the primitive one (the other two are a horse camp and a developed one with hookups). Most sites are on the creek, but the road runs right past them. On a weekday in the fall, the road was very quiet, but I imagine that in the summer when carloads of people head to Campbell Falls, it would be a different story and would take away from the peacefulness of the campground. 

    This campground would not be suitable for large RVs, but our campervan fit just fine in the mostly level (but rooty) sites, Obviously, good for tents. 

    There are two vault toilets – one for women and one for men. They were in reasonably clean condition. 

    Campbell Falls is just down the road from the campground and there is access to many hiking trails.

    No one other than us was there on a weekday in mid-October so it was very peaceful and quiet.

  • Casey L.
    Camper-submitted photo from Meadow Creek Campground — New River Gorge National Park and Preserve
    Oct. 7, 2024

    Meadow Creek Campground — New River Gorge National Park and Preserve

    Spacious Sites with No Shade

    Nice NPS campground. There are 17 sites, all free FCFS tent only sites. We thought we’d have a hard time finding a spot on a Friday night but it was less than half full the whole 4 nights we were there. Only one vault toilet was open. Sites are flat, large and spaced out. However the trees are very newly planted so they provide no shade or privacy. Quick access to 64 and Sandstone Visitor Center. The biggest con to this is the multi-track railroad right next to the campground. They go by pretty frequently at all hours of day and night and are so loud you can feel the vibrations. But otherwise was a good base camp for exploring New River Gorge.

  • J
    Camper-submitted photo from Brushcreek Falls RV Resort
    Sep. 10, 2024

    Brushcreek Falls RV Resort

    Great stop right off of the highway

    We stayed a night on a long trip up the coast and had a great experience. The shop was well appointed with necessities and wine from local. It was easy to get around the campground, and there were many nice spots and cabins to choose from. We had plenty of room to park our RV and there was a very nice new swingset Nearby. Noticed multiple people utilizing the fishing pond and there was a cornhole tournament going on at the other side of the park. That looks like a lot of fun. The only downside was that the shower house had one shower stall per gender and was not very clean. It also would’ve been nice to have some more places to set belongings or hooks.

  • J
    Camper-submitted photo from Rifrafters Campground
    Sep. 10, 2024

    Rifrafters Campground

    Great overnight stop very shaded and peaceful

    We stayed overnight on our way up the coast and had a great visit. I wish we could’ve stayed longer. The campground was very peaceful and shaded people were very friendly and the facilities were exceptionally clean.

  • Hazel S.
    Camper-submitted photo from Glen Lyn Town Park & Campground
    Sep. 5, 2024

    Glen Lyn Town Park & Campground

    Campground

    Cute place off the freeway with water access and a playground, 6 mile hiking trail to waterfall and not far from town. There is a train station nearby and the trains are loud. They come by every now and then night and day, they do live music some nights and church gatherings where a man basically yells all night long. Lots of freeway noise so the nightly fee is kinda stupid considering you won't get any sleep if you stay here. The river is super planted so I wouldn't swim here either sadly.. and the showers have NO water presser yet you gotta pay for a bathroom key otherwise there's porta-potties by the dumpster.

  • ZThe Dyrt PRO User
    Camper-submitted photo from Kanawha State Forest
    Sep. 4, 2024

    Kanawha State Forest

    Not bad

    Overall not a bad campground. Very pricey in my mind, $43 after taxes for 1 night of primitive camping. Got there at 4 on a monday and no one was in the office, ended up riding 45 minutes up the road to call to reserve a spot, they said everything was a 3 night minimum. I ended up booking online for just 1 night. Campground was clean and quiet, directions aren’t super clear as to where the campground is. Would stay here again if I had to, but wouldn’t be my first pick.

  • ZThe Dyrt PRO User
    Camper-submitted photo from Glade Creek Campground — New River Gorge National Park and Preserve
    Sep. 4, 2024

    Glade Creek Campground — New River Gorge National Park and Preserve

    Great spot!

    Great quiet spot. All primitive, does have a bathhouse with toilets only. Pretty good drive to any stores, so pack in what you need. It is about a 7 mile ride down a gravel road. I did the trip on a motorcycle so the road isn’t bad. I got there at 6pm on a tuesday and got the last spot! Get there early to make sure you get a spot. Very well maintained.

  • Susan B.The Dyrt PRO User
    Camper-submitted photo from Army Camp - New River National Scenic River
    Sep. 4, 2024

    Army Camp - New River National Scenic River

    2-3 dispersed sites before this campground

    The Campground is small...Maybe 15 sites. It was full when we arrived. Luckily, there are 2 or 3 dispersed sites along the road into the Campground. They are on the river, too. Perfect for an overnighter.

  • Tia B.
    Camper-submitted photo from Stone Cliff Campground — New River Gorge National Park and Preserve
    Aug. 19, 2024

    Stone Cliff Campground — New River Gorge National Park and Preserve

    First come first serve river front camping

    We arrived from Cleveland late on a Thursday evening and every one of the 7 sites was full, luckily we met another couple who let us share their site for the night which was great because they let us have their site when they left in the morning. We were on site 2/3 which are right at the bottom of a large staircase down from the parking lot. We put our tent a few feet away from the water facing the river and our canopy further up in the woods by the firepit. Access to a hiking trail at the end of the parking lot - Stonecliff Trail, garbage bins and bathrooms available, no running water so bring hand sanitizer, Dunloup waterfall ~8 min down the road right off the side of the road was beautiful and a great place to swim, hiked a few trails down to town of Thurmond which is a a great little historical train town with a nice visitors center

    Cons - No picnic tables on any of the sites, carrying our things up the 3 flights of stairs to the parking lot was a little exhausting but not bad if you’re more of a minimalist camper, road access to campground is well paved but is very very narrow and windy so be careful of other cars flying around the bends, trains go by on other side of the river ~2-3 times per night, be careful of glass in the sand as well as bees, sites 2-5 are all right on top of each other (within 10 feet) with minimal trees in between so they’re good for groups but not if you don’t want to be right next to people.

  • Pete M.
    Camper-submitted photo from Rifrafters Campground
    Aug. 16, 2024

    Rifrafters Campground

    Nice location and a great location.

    Rifrafters is a wonderful family run campground that was the perfect location for us to explore New River Gorge NP and the surrounding area. The area is very hilly and the campground is no exception but they did a good job of creating roomy, mainly level campsites. Unlike Bear Mountain Campground, Rifrafters is far enough off of US 19 to avoid most of the road noise. The bath house was VERY clean and the showers had great water pressure and plenty of hot water. Cell reception for Verizon was 3 bars, but the campground Wi-Fi was awesome! It was strong enough and had enough bandwidth for my wife to work remotely while the kids and I went whitewater rafting(go with ACE Adventures, they're great). The details make or break your stay and Rifrafters gets them all right. Good, steady power and water at the site, Wi-Fi, dry firewood, great bath house and clean/tidy everywhere. Lastly, the location was perfect for us. You''re just a few miles from the bridge and visitor's center to the north and a few miles to shopping/necessities to the south. Having stayed here made us realize we'd rather camp near US 19 and use our toad to drive the windy roads into t

  • Tomas R.The Dyrt PRO User
    Camper-submitted photo from Gentrys Landing
    Jul. 29, 2024

    Gentrys Landing

    Nice but noisy

    The site is nice, tent stakes went in easily, and the shower is close by, clean and has hot water. The people running this are also very nice. The issue though is the highway the camp is next to, and the railroad across the river. The train do use it every other hour and do use their brakes and horns.

  • Jeremiah S.
    Camper-submitted photo from Meador Campground — Bluestone Lake State Park
    Jul. 22, 2024

    Meador Campground — Bluestone Lake State Park

    Quiet, Underrated, and Dated

    This campground rests by Bluestone Lake, which is where the Bluestone River runs runs into the New River. Meador CG is up the Bluestone portion of the lake and the backwaters do have a swampy appearance. The area is gorgeous with tons to do at both Bluestone State Park, Pipestem State Park (short 20 min drive, and the broader New River area.

    The campground is very quiet and well spaced. Our site was one of only a handful with water and electric but there is a dump station on the way out of the campground area.

    The bathrooms and other facilities are a little dated but the campground is very clean. There is an outdoor pool within walking distance of campground but the playgrounds need upgraded. Lots of space to run around for the kids. It rained one day we were there and we took a quick drive to Pipestem and swam in the heated, indoor pool that is included in camping fee.

  • Jeff E.
    Camper-submitted photo from Old Mill Campground — Bluestone Lake State Park
    Jul. 16, 2024

    Old Mill Campground — Bluestone Lake State Park

    Bathhouse needs repair

    The bathhouse is open air over half of it. Had no soap or toilet paper and the toilets were all plugged up. The sites could also use a little bit of gravel in the parking spaces so that the pavement doesn’t get covered with mud. The site was decent but had trash on it.



Guide to Thurmond

Camping near Thurmond, West Virginia, offers a mix of beautiful scenery and outdoor activities. Whether you're looking for a peaceful retreat or an adventure-filled getaway, there are plenty of campgrounds to choose from.

What to do

  • Explore New River Gorge National Park: This park is just a short drive from Thurmond and is perfect for hiking, rock climbing, and whitewater rafting. One visitor mentioned, "Rifrafters is a wonderful family-run campground that was the perfect location for us to explore New River Gorge NP and the surrounding area."
  • Visit Historic Sites: The nearby town of Thurmond has a rich history tied to the railroad and coal mining. A camper noted, "Thurmond is a great little historical train town with a nice visitor's center."
  • Enjoy Water Activities: The New River is great for kayaking and fishing. One camper shared, "You can kayak near the camp spots. Can be huge hydraulics at times."

What campers like

  • Clean Facilities: Campers appreciate well-maintained restrooms and showers. A review for Rifrafters Campground stated, "The bathhouse was VERY clean and the showers had great water pressure and plenty of hot water."
  • Friendly Staff: Many campgrounds have helpful staff. A visitor at Babcock State Park Campground mentioned, "The staff are also friendly and attentive."
  • Peaceful Atmosphere: Campers enjoy the tranquility of the area. One reviewer said, "It was very peaceful and quiet at night" at Kanawha State Forest.

What you should know

  • Limited Amenities: Some campgrounds, like Grandview Sandbar Campground, do not have drinking water or electric hookups. A camper noted, "The bathrooms are very old and the pits stink throughout the campground."
  • First-Come, First-Serve: Many sites operate on a first-come, first-serve basis. A visitor at Glade Creek Campground advised, "Get there early to make sure you get a spot."
  • Road Conditions: Some campgrounds are accessed via narrow, winding roads. A camper at Kanawha State Forest mentioned, "It is a bit challenging to reach with a large(ish) van like ours."

Tips for camping with families

  • Choose Family-Friendly Campgrounds: Look for places with playgrounds and activities. One reviewer at Babcock State Park Campground highlighted, "There was a playground, group picnic area, tennis courts, and a plethora of other lodging options."
  • Pack for Comfort: Bring games and outdoor gear to keep kids entertained. A camper at Chestnut Creek Campground mentioned, "The sites were spacious and fairly isolated."
  • Plan for Quiet Nights: Many campgrounds are peaceful, making them great for families. A visitor at Rifrafters Campground said, "The campground was very peaceful and shaded."

Tips from RVers

  • Check Site Sizes: Make sure your RV fits the site. A camper at Battle Run noted, "All sites seem to have 20/30/50 amp electrical options."
  • Be Prepared for Limited Services: Some campgrounds may not have full amenities. A visitor at New River Campground shared, "The highway is directly behind the back row of campsites."
  • Book Early: Popular spots fill up quickly, especially during peak seasons. A camper at Little Beaver State Park Campground mentioned, "Make reservations early."

Camping near Thurmond, West Virginia, offers a unique blend of nature and adventure. With a variety of campgrounds to choose from, you're sure to find the perfect spot for your next outdoor getaway.

Frequently Asked Questions

  • What camping is available near Thurmond, WV?

    According to TheDyrt.com, Thurmond, WV offers a wide range of camping options, with 114 campgrounds and RV parks near Thurmond, WV and 1 free dispersed camping spot.

  • Which is the most popular campground near Thurmond, WV?

    According to TheDyrt.com, the most popular campground near Thurmond, WV is Rifrafters Campground with a 4.4-star rating from 29 reviews.

  • Where can I find free dispersed camping near Thurmond, WV?

    According to TheDyrt.com, there is 1 free dispersed camping spot near Thurmond, WV.

  • What parks are near Thurmond, WV?

    According to TheDyrt.com, there are 26 parks near Thurmond, WV that allow camping, notably New River Gorge National River and Summersville Lake.