Best Dog-Friendly Camping near Morgantown, WV

This is the largest state forest in West Virginia, it has a total of 25 sites that vary in their privacy. Each site has electrical hookups, picnic tables, fire grates, and utility post. The sites in the middle of the loop lack privacy that the outer loop sites have. There is one bath house that has hot showers, flush toilets, water spigots, and now WIFI. Pets are allowed but must be kept on a leash. There are gravel pull-ins for the sites, there are a couple of pull through sites for RVs.

The campground gets busy during the fall because it is so close to Morgantown and Mountaineer games. There are lots of hiking trails, coopers rock is definitely a must to see during sunset. Ravens rock is also a beautiful look out trail. Rock climbers have a lot of rock outcroppings on short trails for climbers to utilize. Fishing, biking, and hunting are also popular activities that can be done here.

If you’re looking for a place to camp in West Virginia, don’t even bother with this campground, head over to Audra State park instead.

We generally love most camping experiences and make it work, but this one was so bad we left 3 days early. When I kindly called to cancel, the nice Park ranger said he completely understood and would actually refund us for our entire trip (which we didn’t even mention or ask for).

The only good things about this campground were the friendly staff and the updated bathrooms.

Almost all sites are walk-ups, which is NOT noted on their site. Also, almost all sites are on a hill. The pictures do not accurately show this. We had site 33 (probably the worst site). The entire site was on a slant and covered in rocks, I tried to capture it in a picture, but it just doesn’t look as slanted as it feels when you are standing there. There was no flat spot for our 10 x 20 tent, so we had to sleep on an angle. (I felt like I was falling out of bed the whole night!) 33 should NOT be a site.

There is a HUGE raccoon problem here, even during the day. I wish we were warned ahead of time. Many people bring an extra tent to keep their food in. Our dog barked the entire night as the racoons kept coming up to our site and even our tent. At one point they even put holes in the outside of our $300 tent!! The next day we tried to make the best of our trip and decided to check out the lake. We had left our cooler and a couple small Rubbermaid bins of food on the table while we headed down for an hour. The car was far and incredibly hot during the day, and we didn’t want to give them any incentive to go after our tent again, so we had no other option. While we were gone the raccoons tore open our cooler, ate some of our food, and scattered the rest of our food and water in the woods. (This is probably why there is so much food that can been seen scattered near the campsites).

The lake was pretty but there was a ton trash all around it, such a shame. I had to pick up a bunch of pieces of glass on the shore of the campground so my dog wouldn’t get hurt. You technically aren’t allowed to swim in the non-beach/swimming area unless you are jumping off a boat, but people were doing it anyway. You cannot bring dogs in the designated swimming area.

While the bathrooms were nice they are a very far walk from any of the shaded/non-electric sites, and you are not permitted to drive up to them. There are only 2 showers. Both were kept clean but had 100’s of little green bugs and a ton of months and mosquitos on the. To get to the bathrooms you must park at the top of the hill and walk down (not a big deal for us, but may be for some).

The electric sites have no shade or privacy, and they are all on top of each other.

This small campground is just a couple of miles from busy Hwy 68, but amazingly quiet. Sites are average to large, with a few that can accommodate larger RV’s. All have electricity, a picnic table, fire ring, and lantern pole.

There is almost no privacy between sites, but sites are spacious. The campground is kept very clean. Bathrooms are older, but kept clean and have nice HOT showers. There is also a small laundry room with dishwashing sink behind the bathhouse. Both ice and firewood are sold onsite.

There are many hiking trails in the area, including the very popular Raven Rock trail that leads to an incredible overlook of the Cheat River Valley and Canyon. Also very popular are both the Big Sandy and Cheat Rivers, both within 10 miles to the put ins. Lots of options nearby for just a few hours and/or a full day of whitewater fun.

Morgantown, about 10 miles away, is the closest town and is filled with everything you need. We enjoyed a great cycling day on the Mon River Trail which runs along the Monongahela River, accessible from downtown Morgantown or Star City.

This campground is the highest in West Virginia, it has a total of 65 campsites 30 of which are electric and 35 are non-electric. Each site has a picnic table and fire pit, most of the campsites are open and have little privacy from neighbors. No tent pads, but no more than two tents permitted (but may be charged for the second tent). It has a bath house with hot showers, flush toilets, and coin laundry. There is a dumping station. Reservations can be made by phone or at campground registration but is otherwise first come-first serve. Pets are permitted. The sites are $25 a night.

The park has tons of hiking trails to choose from and two viewable waterfalls. There is a lake that is open to swimming, volleyball, basketball, and tennis courts are in the vicinity as well. Fishing is a large draw as well to this area, both catch and release and catch and keep permitted on the Blackwater River.

Coopers Rock State Forest is located in the northeast area of WV, just east of Morgantown…home of WVU. Easy to access, feels remote, yet close to a great college town.

We camped in McCollum campground within Coopers Rock State Forest. A small campground, but during the week it was quiet while being full. Surprisingly, you had wifi service, which is a modern day miracle, seeing most of WV has "no service" emblazoned across your phone. You have one shower house/flush toilet…but its sufficient. Downside: campsites enjoy no privacy or seclustion…

Trails inside the park are excellent and varied. There are plenty of trails to keep you occupied for a week or more, and the scenary will keep you coming back.

The Raven Rock Trail culminated with an incredible long view of the Cheat River Gorge. You could easily spend an entire morning reveling in the beauty of the gorge and the bluffs offer fantastic photo opportunities…as does Coopers Rock, especially at sunset. A memorable visit.

Much history surrounds this state forest. The Henry Clay Furnace Trail revealed some of the interesting history of the area, prompting you to dig deeper.

At some point during your stay at Coopers Rock, find your way down to Morgantown. Its really a cool town. Take a lunch break at Black Bear Burrito…you will thank me later. For all your outdoor enthusiast needs alot an hour or two for Pathfinder outdoor retailer. The staff were fantastic, knowledgeable of all the surrounding outdoor pursuits and experts of all adventure gear that they sell. If you desire the burger, choose Tailpipes.

We used Coopers Rock as a jump-off point for three weeks of nearby camping and hiking…Lovin' West Virginia!

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.