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Free Camping Collection

Established Camping

Wolf Gap

Wolf Gap, near Wardensville, West Virginia, is a serene campground tucked away in the George Washington & Jefferson National Forest. This spot is perfect for those who appreciate a simple, back-to-nature experience without the frills—just you, your tent or RV, and the great outdoors.

The campground offers a peaceful atmosphere with easy access to hiking trails, making it a great base for outdoor adventures. Visitors have enjoyed the privacy of the sites, with many noting the tranquility of the area. One camper shared, “What an amazing beautiful forest... very peaceful, quiet, no complaints.”

Facilities are basic but functional, featuring pit toilets and a spigot for water about a mile away. Campers are encouraged to bring their own supplies, including water, as there are no hookups or showers available. The simplicity of the campground is part of its charm, with one reviewer stating, “If you are self-sustained and just need a lovely place to camp - this is it!”

For those looking to explore, the nearby hiking trails offer stunning views, including a trek up Tibbet's Knob. Whether you're here for a weekend or a longer stay, Wolf Gap provides a quiet retreat for those wanting to escape the hustle and bustle of everyday life.

Description

National Forest

George Washington & Jefferson National Forest

Overview

This location is available on a first-come, first-served basis only. Visitors are required to physically arrive at the campground to purchase and claim a site. Once on-site, you may be able to pay for your campsite(s) by scanning a QR code using the Recreation.gov mobile app, and the Scan and Pay feature. If this option is available, you will need to first download the free Recreation.gov mobile app https://www.recreation.gov/mobile-app prior to your arrival as some remote areas have limited or no cellular service.

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Location

Wolf Gap is located in West Virginia

Detail location of campground

Directions

Directions: From I-81: Take exit 279. Turn west on SR 675. Drive 3.5 miles to STOP sign at VA 42. Turn right, and take next left to continue on SR 675. Drive 3.1 miles to a fork in the road. Stay right, on SR 675, and drive another 3.4 miles to the top of the mountain. The entrance is on your right.

Coordinates

38.924544 N
78.689088 W

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Access

  • Drive-In
    Park next to your site
  • Walk-In
    Park in a lot, walk to your site.

Stay Connected

  • WiFi
    Unknown
  • Verizon
    Poor
  • AT&T
    Fair
  • T-Mobile
    Poor

Site Types

  • Tent Sites
  • RV Sites
  • Standard (Tent/RV)

Features

For Campers

  • Trash
  • Phone Service
  • Toilets

For Vehicles

  • Sanitary Dump

FREE established camping

Enjoy camping on government land. Limited or no services at this camping area.

Contact

General Info


Reviews

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4.5

out of 5

20 Reviews

Reviewed Aug. 12, 2024

Wonderful scenic getaway

Drove in on a very good road for 15 miles. Camp road and each of the 9 sites have a paved pad to park a short trailer or car.

Each camp site had a slights had a parking pad at road level with the rest of the site 3 to 5 feet lower in elevation, giving each site a two tiered feel.

The site does offer a bear-proof garbage can next to the pit toilet.

Each site has a fire ring, a compacted sand platform for a tent and a picnic table.

Site9
Month of VisitAugust
Reviewed May. 13, 2024

Beautiful Forrest gotta love it 😊

Hi we are 2 Ricans 🇵🇷 traveling with our dog 🐶 stood in site#8 with a travel trailer no one could believe we did it but we did it's right by the trail theirs a fire pit and a picnick table for your convenience the only thing that was weird was this bird 🕊️ sounding off like a 🐓 at 8:30 pm and 4:30 am theirs a spigot down the road before you get to the campsite on the left hand side about a mile before you get their otherwise thank you guys for having us here what a amazing beautiful Forrest my wife got to do some writing so it worked out perfect very peaceful quiet no complaints. Please follow us we are the Outsider's follow us on YouTube @path7781 thankyou again MADLUV 💓

Site#8
Month of VisitMay
  • Review photo of Wolf Gap by Juan S D., May 13, 2024
  • Review photo of Wolf Gap by Juan S D., May 13, 2024
  • Review photo of Wolf Gap by Juan S D., May 13, 2024
Reviewed Apr. 17, 2024

Absolutely perfect

Camp sights are close together but bathroom are close to all. You fill out a card completely free camping you van stay 14 days out of a 30 day time period. Picnic table at camp 6 which I think is the best!

Sitesite #6
Month of VisitApril
  • Review photo of Wolf Gap by Sara M., April 17, 2024
Reviewed Jan. 6, 2024

Didn't Feel Safe as a Solo Female

I stopped here on my last night of a 30 day RT trek from RI to CA.  It is a USFS campground above I-81 that straddles the VA/WV line. The drive is back-woodsy and populated in a rural way (homes on the road).  Once you hit the steeper climb, there are some switchbacks and narrow areas that would not be at all fun in an RV.  The campground itself is in a bit of disrepair although the tent pads looked fine.  Being on a hill, most of them are terraced.  The rock steps to them seemed in good shape.  It was difficult to find level parking though, if you want to sleep in your vehicle.  

After finding a spot, I moseyed over to the check in board and read about some of the people staying there (you leave a card with your information, and how long you are staying).  One of the cards indicated that the man who wrote it was perhaps a little "off" as he was thankful that "the noise police left today." Hmmmm.  I looked at the rest.  All of them were staying for 30 days. I saw one young man getting in his truck . . but I didn't see anyone else.  It was very quiet. 

I noted that there was one narrow loop and lots of trees in the way of any off-road egress. It seemed to me that I could easily be blocked into my campsite. As a small solo female, I decided to play it safe and went back down the hill and found the Elizabeth Furnace Family Campground on the other side of 81, which was perfect. 

One other note:  the USFS had put a note on the board indicating that they were in the process of initiating a charge a $14 fee to stay at the CG to raise money for maintenance purposes.  They were taking public comments.

Month of VisitOctober
Reviewed Jan. 27, 2023

Peaceful and simple

Small campground, quiet. Easily accessible. Bring everything you need including water. Love this place :)

Month of VisitJanuary
  • Review photo of Wolf Gap by marc C., January 27, 2023
  • Review photo of Wolf Gap by marc C., January 27, 2023
Reviewed Sep. 2, 2022

Nice and simple

If you are self sustained and just need a lovely place camp - this is it! The roads are paved and the little one toilet hole bathroom is helpful. Bring plenty of water and everything you need/want.

Site3
Month of VisitSeptember
  • Review photo of Wolf Gap by Shandi B., September 2, 2022
Reviewed Aug. 17, 2022

Chill site

Perfect weather & spacious site. Friends hiked to see the sunrise in the AM - great trip!

Month of VisitAugust
  • Review photo of Wolf Gap by Jessica A., August 17, 2022
  • Review photo of Wolf Gap by Jessica A., August 17, 2022
  • Review photo of Wolf Gap by Jessica A., August 17, 2022
  • (4) View All
Reviewed Aug. 13, 2022

Nice, secluded

Pulled up in the late afternoon. Only one other camper on the grounds. Pit toilet. Easy access to hiking trails.

Month of VisitAugust
  • Review photo of Wolf Gap by Scott R., August 13, 2022
  • Review photo of Wolf Gap by Scott R., August 13, 2022
  • Review photo of Wolf Gap by Scott R., August 13, 2022
Reviewed Aug. 3, 2022

Super spot right in the VA / WV border

Wolf Gap really came through for us, as a staging post for the start of our camping road trip. Being able to drop down into Woodstock (all the stores you could need, including Walmart etc) in around 20 mins was a bonus, as we got prepared to head to more remote spots, and we finished our time there with a stunning walk up Tibbet's Knob. There were only a couple of other units there, on a Thursday and Friday night in mid July.

Site1
Month of VisitJuly
  • Review photo of Wolf Gap by Jack C., August 3, 2022
  • Review photo of Wolf Gap by Jack C., August 3, 2022
  • Review photo of Wolf Gap by Jack C., August 3, 2022
  • (4) View All
Reviewed Sep. 17, 2021

Squeezing in a trailer

We made a decision to camp on the eve of a potential blizzard. The grounds have sites in close proximity to a toilet without running water. When we arrived, half of the sites were occupied, but only a few left notes on the board as was requested by the service. We were pulling a 15' trailer and could only access the sites from driving reverse along the one way road. The trailer barely fit the back-in site and we were able to detach and park our vehicle perpendicular to the trailer. It was perfect for our set up, but I wouldn't recommend anything larger than 15'.

Month of VisitJanuary
  • Review photo of Wolf Gap by Vy N., September 17, 2021
  • Review photo of Wolf Gap by Vy N., September 17, 2021
Reviewed May. 31, 2021

Great campaite

This is a small campsite but we had a lot of fun. There is a trail right next to the sites and they have a nice little picnic area as well that you can throw a ball around in. There are only 8 sites I believe that are first come first serve. There is no firewood on-site but there was a place on the way in that was selling some. No showers but there is a bathroom although it’s just a hole in the ground with a toilet over it. The sites are nice and they are spread out pretty well. I felt like the sites are plenty big enough and I think bigger than some other large campgrounds.

Month of VisitNovember
Reviewed Apr. 18, 2021

Great on weekdays

This was a great midweek site. The reservation board is straightforward, the history of the campground is interesting, and the trail access is excellent. Has everything you need with a tent pad, parking spot, fire ring, picnic table, and vault toilets on site. Decent cell service in the hiker parking area and on the road.

The weekend folks ceased to use the reservation board system and were very noisy.

Site3 and 5
Month of VisitMarch
  • Review photo of Wolf Gap by Michelle M., April 18, 2021
  • Review photo of Wolf Gap by Michelle M., April 18, 2021
  • Review photo of Wolf Gap by Michelle M., April 18, 2021
  • (6) View All
Reviewed Oct. 6, 2020

Tent only, expect trail traffic

We did not camp here, but we scoped it out for a future trip. It is tent only (or camper van) because there are barriers between your parking pad and the tent area. Also, be sure to expect a lot of traffic and parked cars and extra people because people park here to do the Big Schloss hike. The vault toilet is very clean and very well stocked with toilet paper, but you will have to share it with all the hikers.

Month of VisitOctober
Reviewed May. 18, 2020

High quality campground

9 sites first-come, first-served, and free. Wolf Gap is great—the campsites are high quality and well-maintained. There’s overflow camping across the road, which is good since this campground usually fills up on good weekends. The hiking around here is first rate—Big Schloss offers one of the most unique views in the region!

  • Review photo of Wolf Gap by Andrew M., May 18, 2020
  • Review photo of Wolf Gap by Andrew M., May 18, 2020
Reviewed Sep. 7, 2018

First come first served basic sites near great hikes!

Camped here two nights: first night in main area near bathrooms, second night across the street in the overflow camping area. We actually preferred the second night more than the first! Even though there were lots of hikers during the day, in the evening it quieted down and was lovely. I recommend you start your hikes to early, right after breakfast before the day hikers start, and that you visit Wardensville and the Lost River Trading Post!

  • Review photo of Wolf Gap by Jenna L., September 7, 2018
  • Review photo of Wolf Gap by Jenna L., September 7, 2018
Reviewed Aug. 6, 2018

A little piece of heaven

This campsite is by far one of my favorite free campsites that Virginia has to offer. what makes Wolf Gap so speacial is the the 4 mile hike that leads to a rocky overlook of the valley. Plus if you looking for some piece of mind this campsite is isolated from the outside world. So pack the kids and spend a couple days in paradise.

  • Review photo of Wolf Gap by Casey C., August 6, 2018
  • Review photo of Wolf Gap by Casey C., August 6, 2018
  • Review photo of Wolf Gap by Casey C., August 6, 2018
  • (4) View All
Reviewed Aug. 5, 2018

Talk about a get away

We made a spur of the moment one night trip up here from Virginia, and I do glad we stumbled upon it! There are only 8 or 9 camp spots, each with a leveled area for a tent and a designated fire pit. There was a notice saying wood was for sale, but didn't say where. Luckily we had our own, just needed to be sure to burn it all. There were hiking trails leading to the Appalachian Trail, I wish we had been able to hike more! I honestly was most thrilled by how quiet it was with only a few neighbors. Definitely worth checking out ❤

  • Review photo of Wolf Gap by Victoriana P., August 5, 2018
Reviewed Jun. 22, 2018

Great hiking

Great place to go tent camping and hiking. The sites are free and are first come first serve. Highly recommended you bring your own water or container to fill at the spring down the road.

Frequently Asked Questions

  • Does Wolf Gap have wifi?

    No, according to campers on TheDyrt.com, Wolf Gap does not have wifi.

  • Is there cell phone reception at Wolf Gap?

    According to campers on TheDyrt.com, Verizon signal is poor, AT&T is fair, and T-Mobile is poor.

  • How hard is it to get a campsite at Wolf Gap?

    Some campers book as far as 6 months in advance, so on high-demand weekends it can be very difficult to get a campsite at Wolf Gap. If you want to get a last-minute campsite at Wolf Gap, try setting up a text message Alert atTheDyrt.com/alerts

  • Why is it so hard to get a campsite at Wolf Gap?

    There are 4 campsites at Wolf Gap and over 80 million Americans who camp! Try snagging a cancellation by setting up a text message Alert atTheDyrt.com/alerts