Established Camping
Stuart Recreation Area
About
National Forest
Monongahela National Forest
Overview
Stuart Recreation Area is set in a mixed forest along the banks of the Shavers Fork River. The river provides excellent fishing and is regularly stocked with trout. Hiking trails lead to outstanding overlooks, local caves and Blackwater Falls.
Recreation
River swimming is a lot of fun, and there are plenty of trout to tempt anglers of all skill levels. The 2-mile River Loop Hiking Trail is enjoyed by many visitors, and is a great way to watch for birds and wildlife.
Facilities
The campground lies on a single loop with long spurs. Drinking water and accessible flush toilets and showers are provided, with a dump station is on-site. Each site comes with a campfire ring, tent pad, lantern post and electric hookups. The day-use area has three picnic pavilions with maintained fields and a beach on the riverfront.
Natural Features
The campground is perched along a bend on the Shavers Fork River. Shavers is a tributary of the Cheat River, a popular rafting river with rocky rapids. Stuart is in the Allegheny Mountains of West Virginia. The Monongahela Forest extends over the north central highlands of the state, straddling many of the region's highest peaks. Elevations here range from 1,000 to 4,863 feet above sea level.
Nearby Attractions
The town of Elkins is a 14-minute drive from the campground. An annual Mountain State Forest Festival takes place here every October.
Access
- Drive-InPark next to your site
Stay Connected
- WiFiUnknown
- VerizonUnknown
- AT&TGood
- T-MobileUnknown
Site Types
- Tent Sites
- RV Sites
- Standard (Tent/RV)
- Group
Features
For Campers
- Trash
- Firewood Available
- Phone Service
- Drinking Water
- Electric Hookups
- Toilets
- Pets
For Vehicles
- Sanitary Dump
- Big Rig Friendly
GuideBackward spaces, but nice private area.
After reading previous review about the camp hosts, I think they have changed. They still have plumbing issues and the showers are still non-functional, but we brought our own anyway.
Although we are wondering if the host is changing the pricing on his own. We have a senior pass good for 1/2 price camping and recreation.gov lists the site at $30 per night. The host charged us $19. I am not sure if this is something he can do.
We pulled straight in to our site instead of backing in. We like our door to face the picnic table and campfire! Good thing we have a long electrical cable.
Nice private camping areas more well suited to tents than RV. Most of the sites are very out of level.
As far as cell signals, we have either AT&T and Sprint/TMobile onboard. There is no Sprint connectivity but AT&T was a full 5G signal.
AT&T Speedtest 42.3 Mbps down, 20.5 Mbps up.
TravelerCampsites Not Really Close to Day Use Area
Campsites were easily accessible. Most of them were on the larger size, with nicely paved driveways, and big, flat, gravel tent pads. Campsites were pretty private for the most part.
The Stuart Recreation Day Use area isn’t really accessible to the campground unless you drive down the hill to it. You could walk/bike it, but it’d be quite the hike and definitely not do able with kids.
Picture is from the day use area on the river.
RangerCamp hosts were very strange
The camp hosts during our visit were very strange. I wanted to take a shower and asking them questions was like talking to a riddling cartoon character. They collected our money and then told us to go to their camper to use the shower. Then we figured out where the ACTUAL showers were.
Location
Stuart Recreation Area is located in West Virginia
Directions
From Elkins, West Virginia: Take Highway 219 to Highway 33. Travel east for approximately 4 miles, turn north on old Route 33 and travel for 2 miles. Turn left at Highway 6 (at the Stuart Recreation Area directional sign) and drive .25 miles to entrance.
Address
CHEAT RANGER DIST PO BOX 368
Parsons, WV 26287
Coordinates
38.9175 N
79.7711111 W