Tygart Lake State Park Campground

My only complaint is that the sites are so close together. But boy did we love this park! Not terrible unlevel rv spots with water and electric. They have free wifi which works pretty well. An adorable camp store with some toiletries and other essentials like condiments and s'mores supplies. A few stuffed animals, tshirts/hoodies, stickers etc. I had to buy a hoodie since it was so ridiculously soft and normal priced at $39. Wood and ice available also along with a pepsi machine. Attendant was a very nice helpful young man. Actually every single worker there was super friendly and helpful and even had some great conversations. Also available are tent sites and gorgeously remodeled cabins we would love to come back and check out. Lovely nature center with a friendly and very knowledgable lady, some gifts and lots of things to check out including furs, microscopes, videos, a cute turtle and a blue hill fish and crayfish. Picnic area outside and playground as well. The lake was beautiful and the lodge was certainly a sight to see. We even checked out the marina and had lunch in the lodge restaurant. Food was good (like your average pub faire) and service was fantastic. Lodge also had quite the gift shop with the average memorabilia but also some things from local artists like candles, lotions, lip balms and soaps. Also some pottery/glass items. Will definitely return.

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 campground is located in the foothills of the Allegheny Mountains, so the scenery is  spectacular.  The campground has 36 sites, 10 with electric and 26 standard sites for RV or tent camping.  You also have the  option to rent one of eleven cabins, or a room at the lodge which as great views of the lake.  The campground closes in the late fall, but some cabins, and the lodge, are open year-round.

     The main attraction is Tygart Lake which is ten-miles long, so it's good for boating, swimming, fishing, kayaking, etc.  The launch ramps and parking lot at Tygart Lake have been expanded recently, so there's easy access for boaters.  

     One sad thing about Tygart Lake:  There was lots of trash on the banks when I visited.  When I spoke to the park superintendent, he says it washes in during the rainy winter months and becomes visible when the water recedes during the summer months.  The U-S Army Corps of Engineers is responsible for the clean-up since the lake and Tygart Lake Dam are part of the local flood control efforts.  They need to do a better job of trash removal!