Grandview Sandbar Campground — New River Gorge National Park and Preserve

Set in a lovely woods about 200 yards off the New River, this was a decent campground, reached by a curvy gravel road. Pit toilets were relatively clean. Dumpster in the parking lot was overflowing with trash, including a pile of about a dozen tires. The drive in campsites are level, and some back up to the woods. Ours happened to be full of cigarette butts and melted plastic bottles in the fire pit, which we cleaned up and threw away. It’s free, so hard to complain about the lack of attention, but still …

Absolutely beautiful. Decent vault toilets.

Campground if FF and free. 10 sites. We fit our 25’ truck camper and Jeep Wrangler on site 6. Walk to the boat ramp for beautiful views on the river. Problem is the bathrooms are very old and the pits stink throughout the campground. They need to be bulldozed for real. Hence campers are using the woods so now human waste. Trains run at night bin the distance so didn’t bother us. National Park Service clean this beautiful place up!!!

GLADE CREEK - New River Gorge (Scale 1- bad, 5-Very good 70 yr olds in 17’ trailer: Overall Rating: 4.5 Price. Free Usage during visit: Trailer sites usually filled up by the end of the day. Site Privacy: 2. Little understory plants Site 1 is very private. Site Spacing: 5. Very large sotes Site surface: Gravel/ mud Reservations: First come, first serve Campground Noise : 5. Very little Road Noise: 4.5 Glade Rd is behind site 1., but not close. Site 1 is still the best trailer site. Traffic can hardly be seen through the trees. Minimal traffic and minimal noise . Through Traffic: Access to the boat ramp is through the campground. Though, traffic is minimal, folks on the way to the ramp and picnic area often drive pretty fast. Electricity: No Water: River only - bring drinking water. Sewer: No Dump: No Generators: Allowed Bathroom: Nice pit toilet near site 2(a nice handicap site.
Showers: No Pull Throughs: Most sites Cell Service (Verizon): No Setting: 5. We can hear the river from all sites, which is just a short walk away. Weather: Rain, clouds, sunshine Bugs: None Solar: Minimal and surely less when the trees leaf out more. Site 2 looks to have the best solar for a roof mount. Still minimal . Host: None Rig size: Limited by a narrow one lane . bridge on Glade Rd . A 30’ trailer arrived. There is plenty of room in the 5 trailer sites.
Access: 20 minute drive from 41 on maintained and pretty smooth gravel road. UPON ARRIVAL, IF PULLING A TRAILER , I SUGGEST THAT YOU OCCUPY THE FIRST SITS YOU SEE. That is because reentry into the campground, while pulling a trailer, requires extra driving away from the campground entry for turn around. Sites: Site 1 is best for a trailer - isolated from the rest . Site 2 is a handicap site, which is not enforced by park service . Sites 3-5 are nice and large but not very private . Site 6, as looping back around, is the absolute best site, right on the river. It is suitable for truck campers, vans, and tents. A small trailer which can be hand maneuvered will also work there. There are some walk-in tent sites I did not evaluate.
Notes: There are reports from others of safety concerns. I checked with park ranger officers and they said there are no safety concerns, “especially way back here.” We didn’t experience any issues. That said, this issues reported in other reviews took place at the boat ramp, which is in ear shot of the walk-in sites, for sure.

Sandbar: (Scale 1- bad, 5-Very good (70 yr olds in 17’ trailer) Overall Rating: 4.5 Price: Free Usage during visit: 80% full Site Privacy: 4 Pretty good if you’re backing in a trailer or van Site Spacing: 4.0. Pretty good Reservations: First come - first serve Campground Noise: 5. Very Quiet while there Road Noise: 5. None. May be some boat noise Through Traffic: None. Campground is a circle drive. Electricity: No Water: No Sewer: No Dump: No Generators: Allowed Bathroom: Yes Showers: No Pull Throughs: Most, if not all we’re back-ins. Short pads .
Cell Service (Verizon): 3 Fair .
Setting: 4.5 Very nice setting surrounded by deciduous forest. The trailer sites are all on the outer perimeter of a circle drive. Large diameter , so not close to the folks across the way.
Fixed Roof Solar: A couple sites might be okay Host: None Rig size: Some sites look like they will only accommodate a 20’ - 25’ trailer., Carefully check website There is enough room on the pad to park vehicle next to the trailer.

This is an exceptionally well maintained camping area. There are 2 separate pit toilet bathrooms with dumpsters, one by the dispersed camping and one by the main parking area.

There was a man in an official forestry truck cleaning and restocking the bathrooms everyday, including the weekends. The sites a have established fire rings, metal picnic tables, and hooks for food/trash.

It's first come first serve, I was the first one there, getting there around noon. 3 guys came in about an hour or 2 after me and they took up 5 sites. They must have had 15 or 20 fishing poles sitting on little rigs all up and down the river bank. So that kind of sucked, I heard many cars come in and turn around because these 3 guys decided that they owned the entire riverbank. They were nice enough though, and their behavior doesn't reflect on the campground itself.

The really bad thing is that there is a train station directly across the river. And trains will and do pull through every couple of hours 24/7. That includes during the night, yes. Ear plugs only did so much for me, as I am a tent camper with an inflatable sleeping mat, and the vibrations through the ground coming from the trains was enough to wake me up every couple hours. BUT! Such is life, and considering the toilets and dumpsters, not so bad

Really simple campground. We stayed in the drive in loop. Arrived at 7 pm on a Monday and grabbed the last spot available. Pit toilet could be cleaner but suffices. The sandbar was fun to explore. The walk in campsites were very nice all on the river. Going back I would go for one of those and sleeping in a tent over the drive in loop.

Main negatives are that it’s fairly out of the way and not near / on the way to hikes or destinations, and there’s a road going up the other side of the gorge that was fairly loud whenever periodic trucks drove by. The train was also fairly loud but a much more pleasant sound imo, you can hear it coming from fairly far away and the horn sounds angelic with the echo of the deep gorge.

I arrived late Thursday evening in May. It’s first come, first serve so I was worried I wouldn’t get a site as there are only a handful, maybe 10. I was delighted to find a level, spacious site for my teardrop and side tent. There was plenty of room and the site was well drained, shaded and level. If you’re using solar power the shade will limit charging capacity. The sites are a short walk to the river which is gorgeous. Plenty of recreation opportunities for kayakers, rafters and fishing. Site access is via gravel road which is short, steep and switches back. Amenities are as described and vault toilets are clean. The only negative is there is very weak to no cell signal in the park which seems to be a general issue with a couple bars even in the Walmart parking lot and slow wifi in the Starbucks in the nearest city. : )

This was probably one of my favorite campsites. We came in and drove through the drive up sites, but there was no question once we saw the riverfront walk-in sites. Flat sanded area, riverfront with little beaches lining the river, and a bathroom. We loved it there, and the view was unmatched.

Sites here are first come first serve. It was not too busy when we were here so we had a spot with a view of the river. I believe if you have a tent you can stay right on the banks of the river. The site itself was a little dirty and the dumpster overflowing. This may have been because we were at the end of the off season and the campground was not being tended to as frequently. This site has pit toilets and NO WATER. There is a town that is about 10-15 mins away but you feel a little bit remote because there is also absolutely no cell service. But the park itself has some amazing views.

Nice sites. Pit toilet

Pretty limited space so get there early if you want a spot. Right near the River, which was beautiful.

Showed up Saturday evening and was able to get a great spot with a view of the river.

I stayed 3 nights, and first two were fantastic. On the 3rd night a vehicle parked in the boat ramp lot and blasted music started at 2am, lots of yelling. I heard from several people that the walk-in spots can get pretty rowdy with locals. The pull-in spots were fine. Picnic table, fire ring, grill, camping pad. They were all at least partially shaded, with trees all around. Some girls at site 2 got some food taken from their picnic table overnight and we found bear tracks around their site - don't be stupid like them - keep your food in your car or in a bear safe bag. From the looks of it, people were using the camp as a base, and going out during the day - lots of kayaks and bikes. I ran to the Little Laurel trailhead and took that up to the Grandview park - a long run but fantastic. I drove down to Glade Creek and had a great 12 mile run there, too - I think I'll camp there next time. Anyways, definitely a nice little spot. Bathrooms were clean. Limited cell signal at best (Verizon). No running water.

Beautiful but small campground. There are probably only 10 spaces, one is handicap only. Spaces are relatively close together and the drive down the valley to it is relatively steep - our sprinter van still made it. If the camping areas are full you could stay in the adjacent parking lot beside the ramp. There is a nearby trail and the river is easy to access.

Tent spots have the best access to and views of the river, which is glorious. Car spots lack the view, but they're quiet. Trains passing in the night are oddly soothing. Lots of damp in and after a rain.

This was a peaceful, nice area but when there is a lot of rain there is definitely the chance it’ll flood.

really nice campground as long as the local crowd has'nt taken over. been there several times and left early as did other families due the disruptive nonsense of a few. if not for that, very nice campground

It rained the entire time I was there, yet I still enjoyed my stay. Campsite was clean and the other campers were quiet. I spoke to one group who stayed Saturday night only and that was just in passing at the bathroom. Cell reception is scarce, but that's not a problem, just an observation.

It is very quiet and private. My husband and I went there last July for our honeymoon. There are fantastic swimming and fishing spots. If you feel daring you can get your favorite people together and go tubing down the New River. A campers dream.

RANGER REIVEW: PRIMUS 4-SEASON STAINLESS STEEL 0.3L MUG AT GRANDVIEW SANDBAR CAMPGROUND, NEW RIVER GORGE NATIONAL RIVER, WV

CAMPGROUND REVIEW:

Grandview Sandbar Campground situated along the New River, just outside of Prince, WV off Route 41 offers upclose and personal riverside camping. https://www.nps.gov/neri/planyourvisit/campgrounds.htm

This and the other riverside campgrounds in the New River Gorge National River offer a minimal number of sites, no water, no electric, no modern facilities…however, they are free and its all about location. Site availability is first come, first served. Length of stay is limited to 14 days.

On the higher, wooded loop to the right as you travel down a very narrow, serpentine gravel road, there are 10 campsites. There are gravel parking pads that could accommodate a small RV/Camper/Pop-up…and a couple Pop-ups were present. How they navigated the winding steep park gravel road, is a mystery to me…the rains were eroding corners causing my truck to scrape.

The sites do have a picnic table, lantern post and firepit. Depending on thr site you choose, the initial sites to the right are all below the campground roadway you wind down. The pit latrine is a short walking distance and directly next to the host site in the River Access parking lot and boat ramp area.

The 8 tent sites are located on the far side of the boat ramp parking area and all but the two Handicap sites require a short walk to reach.

Numbers are on the lantern posts and blend together but are distinguished by the firepit. These are directly on the sand "beach" area of the New River…and as seen in my photos are not only a bit angled, they can be a dangerous choice.

The two handicap accessible sites are bordered by timbers, leveled and much more desirable, but you must possess a handicap placard/permit. It is not permissible to utilize them as overflow without a placard/permit.

The walk-up tent area has its own pit latrine. Nothing special…but private.

There is a river trail that will take you to Glade Creek and additional trails. Within a short drive are several additional nice hiking trails in the New River Gorge and nearby State parks.

Note: This is a busier campground with the public access boat ramp and very busy on weekends. A very popular spot for locals. While alcohol is prohibited, there was substantial physical evidence to the contrary, mere steps from the dumpster. Also keep in mind, during rains, tributaries flow into the New River causing it to overflow its banks with some regularity in thr spring and early summer.

Spring weekdays still saw several campers, even with the torrential rains and flooding. Free is a big draw.

PRODUCT REVIEW:

PRIMUS 4-SEASON STAINLESS STEEL 0.3L MUG

https://primus.us/products/four-seasons-mug-35l-stainless-steel?variant=358039683090

The Primus 4-Season Stainless Steel 0.3L Mug is a great option for the outdoorsperson searching for a do-all cup.

With it's all stainless steel double wall construction, it offers rust resistance, a clean appearance, the ability to keep contents their desired temperature longer, and remains odorless/tasteless. The mug is lightweight at just under 4 ounces.

The 0.3L/10 oz. mug is convenient and held single servings of beverage and food. However, I might migrate to Primus' other offering in the 0.2L/8 oz. mug for the volume I prefer.

The only potential achilles heel, would be the same with any other mug and that is the handle. Though I experienced no issues and don't foresee any…if there were to be one, it's likely with a mug's handle.

All in all, a great mug choice!

Great Weather. Nice elevated fire pits at most campsites. best of all it was free.(NO FEES)