We camped here again at Staunton River State Park, this time we stayed in site 21, which is an electric site near the bathrooms/showers and one of the best for viewing stars. There is little tree cover and a sort of field behind the campsite where you can set up your telescope and see the stars really well. We were also able to rent one of the telescopes they have at the Visitors center (for free!) and use it throughout the stay.

We came the weekend after the fourth of July which was hot but surprisingly not too crowded. We participated in some of the parks' programs this time around and it made it such a great experience, especially for the kids. They had smores around the fire on a Friday night, where they handed out smores ingredients around a big campfire near the visitors center and you could chat with other campers. It was so nice! Then they had a outdoor movie afterwards. The next day we went to a "feed the animals" program, where the kids got to meet and help feed all the animals in the visitors center and learn more about them. There were turtles, snakes, fish! The kids loved it! We did the Junior Ranger hike and the kids all got badges. Hopefully the pool will be open next summer because it was so hot and that would have been awesome! But there is another Virginia State Park nearby, Occoneechee, that has a splash pad that we went to. Such a fun time!

This campground has an awesome location between Harrisonburg and Luray/Shenandoah. It has great amenities like a pool and playground, a camp store and lots of friendly and helpful employees. I love that they will pick up your trash and deliver firewood. We stayed in a non-electric grass tent site in loop D. The sites are great! Nice and flat and shady. They come with a huge fire pit and a picnic table. There is only one bath house in the campground that has plenty of bathrooms and showers. A very nice stay!

This campground is awesome for beach camping. Beautiful sunsets on the bay. You can even see rocket launches from Wallops Island from the beach! The majority of the sites are a short walk from the beach. Beautiful live oaks in all the campsites. We've stayed in a few different sites and the noise from Shore Drive can sometimes be loud, so try to get a site away from the road. Great amenities and camp store here. Bathrooms could definitely use an update but are functional. We like to come on the off-season when the mosquitos aren't bad and it's less busy. Lots of easy hikes - and great geocaching!

Machicomoco State Park is one of Virginia’s brand-new parks in a great location on the York River! All the facilities are new and very clean. I love that the campground bathrooms are all unisex/family bathrooms and there are plenty of them, at least eight I believe. The non-electric sites are in little loops off the main road. You have to park on the road and walk all your gear in. It’s not very far though, I counted about 100 steps to site 13, the one farthest from the road. The non-electric sites back up to trees but are not particularly shaded or private. There is a water spigot in each loop. The sites are meticulously maintained. Lots to do in park including trails, a car-top boat launch, and tons of information on the Native American tribes of the area. Definitely worth a visit!

Moncove Lake is a State Park in West Virginia right over the Virginia border and about 40 mins from Lewisburg in Gap Mills, WV.  This park is off the beaten path, so be prepared to drive a ways on country roads to get there.

It is a small park, but so beautiful and scenic. There are two campground loops here, one is for electric sites and one is for non-electric. The non-electric site where we stayed are large and spacious wooded sites, some more shaded than others. They come with all the basic amenities of fire pit, picnic table etc. All campsites are walking distance to the lake and they will deliver firewood to your campsite.  The bathrooms are in desperate need an update and a good cleaning.

The lake is so gorgeous! We brought our canoe and were able to row around the whole lake. They also offer kayak, boat and paddle boat rentals. There is a nice playground for the kids and some great hiking trails. There is a pool here (you have to pay to get in- it's not included if you're camping). Bring cash if you want to swim in the pool. There is no ATM at the campground and the closest town is like 40 mins away. 

There is no cell or internet service here so we were really able to unwind and relax! Summer camping in the WV mountains is one of my favorite things. No bugs, cool nights, and beautiful views!

This campground has full-hookup sites, tent-only sites, and some hip camp sites as well. We tent camped here in January at a full hook-up site so we could have heaters in the tent. During the summer we would definitely choose one of the tent only sites because they have more privacy and are more so in the trees. Site 23 is a pull-through site. It was super cold and windy (it snowed while we were there!) and being out in the open like that is not ideal but it was ok for what it was! We set up close to the electric outlets and didn't have any issues with that. This campground is so fun! There are trails in the campground a beautiful view of the mountains all around. It is really in the best location. You are in walking distance to Devils Backbone and Blue Frog Cidery and a short drive to Wintergreen Resort, awesome restaurants, amazing hiking, and so many places on the Brew Ridge Trail. I can guess that during the summer this place is probably very busy but in the middle of winter it was pretty quiet! The bathrooms are nice and new looking but really far away from the RV sites, so keep that in mind. Fire wood was available for a fee. Self check-in to the sites because of COVID and masks are required in bathrooms. Reservations required if you want to eat or drink at Devils Backbone Restaurant and Brewery :)

We got a non-electric site and in November is was in the 30's at night - pretty cold for tent camping! But we bundled up and made lots of fires! Fire wood is available at the visitors center for a fee. The campsites come with a fire ring, picnic table, room for two cars. We have a pretty large tent so I was a little concerned we weren't going to be able to fit, but were able to squeeze two tents on the tent pad, it worked out just fine. The amenities are great. Bathrooms are within walking distance from all campsites. Ours was a bit of a walk uphill but not bad. Nice clean, hot showers! Lots of friendly families camping here but was overall very quiet and peaceful. The visitors center is awesome! We didn't try it this time, but you can rent a telescope for free to view the stars! They have a huge gift shop as well. And a fun playground that the kids enjoyed. We made a reservation here because the park is an International Dark Sky park and we wanted a great view of the stars. Boy did it deliver! Beautiful starry skies! And some great views of the river and hiking close to the campground was awesome as well. Would love to come back again soon!

This is one of the best Virginia State Parks I have camped at!

The area is just so incredibly beautiful and the park is huge, there is so much to do and explore. The ponies, hikes of all kinds, waterfalls, mountains. It is a trip I will remember forever.

We got a non-site specific tent site reservation so we rolled up and I think we got the best one, site 13. It is the most private and very comfortable. Close to the bathrooms and water. I have no complaints! It was great!

Check out Molly Chomper Cidery if you venture out of the park!

This is a pretty simple, straightforward campground in Greenbrier State Forest. Semi-private campsites with water and electric. They are very large sites and have lots of trees. The bathrooms are centrally located. There are only two showers, so we had to wait a couple times to get a shower, but it wasn't a big deal. There is a heated pool at the campground but we didn't see it open in the four days we were there. It is so beautiful! We really enjoyed our time here!

Love the location of this park, it is close to so much fun stuff to do in West Virginia! The nearby town of Lewisburg is very cute and has a great coffee and taco joint!

This was our first time staying in a yurt at Kiptopeake State Park. We love staying in the yurts at Virginia State Parks because they are always an affordable, easy way to camping without having to set up a tent or spend the extra money for a cabin. The ones at here are $75/night. This one was awesome! It is hidden down a long walkway from the parking area and is very secluded. The one we stayed in, Yurt 4, only has neighbors on one side. It comes with two picnic tables, a water spigot, fire pit, grill, a big deck around the yurt with rocking chairs, and a refreshing breeze coming off the bay. Unfortunately, the way the yurt is situated, none of that breeze gets inside the yurt and it was very hot inside. Especially if staying here in the summer, I would suggest bringing some fans or a portable a/c for a more comfortable nights sleep. The bathrooms are farther away than I would like with little kids. You have to walk through to the tent campground loop to get to them. Even with a couple negative things about it, I think this is the way to stay here at Kiptopeake and I am already planning our next yurt trip here for next year!

Love this park so much! The beach is amazing. This time we discovered the dog-friendly beach, which was less crowded than the main one. I always like to go out and watch the sunset over the bay, it is magical!

While overall our stay here was okay, we were not in love with this campground. The mosquitos were really bad despite using tons of bug spray and candles. There was no privacy at all. The campground was noisy at night, lots of parties going on. Our next door neighbors snored extremely loudly all night and they were so close we go no sleep at all until they left. The campground is pretty big so you have to drive to get fire wood. Our campsite backed up to the main road into the campground so there were cars driving by the whole time. It was mostly too hot to hike too much so we spent most of the time exploring nearby Blacksburg to avoid the mosquitos at the campsite. The lake is beautiful but it was closed because of COVID so we couldn't swim.

The campsites are pretty typical of Virginia State Parks and were great with plenty of space and nice flat area to put the tent. Picnic table, fire ring, etc. Very friendly and helpful Rangers here as well.

We love this area of Virginia so I would be willing to give it another chance in the spring or fall when it is cooler, less buggy, and less crowded. Lots of fun stuff to do nearby!

We had a wonderful time camping at Smith Mountain Lake State Park! We stayed at the end of March and it was definitely spring weather. Warmish during the day and very cool at night. Staying here in the late winter/early spring, the campground is not as crowded as it would be in summer! 

We stayed in site 32, which was awesome. It is a non-specific reservation and there were plenty of good sites to choose from. We arrived late at night and set up in the rain. We were very happy with the campsite we chose! It was big enough for our larger tent and had plenty of room for the kids to run around. It looks like it is typically wooded but since there were no leaves on the trees, there wasn't a ton of privacy. The non-electric sites are definitely more private than the electric sites. Our site was a short walk from the bathrooms, which had hot showers and flush toilets.

We did lots of hiking and enjoyed spending time on the beautiful lake!

We stayed here in March and it was very cold for tent camping, I think it got into the 20's at night! There were no other campers staying there while we were there in the canoe-in campground so it was very peaceful and quiet. This campground is primitive so there is no electricity or water. The sites include a picnic table and fire ring. Our tent pad was pretty level and pretty big! You could probably fit two small tents on there. There is a short .2 mile hike from a parking lot so we packed light and backpacked in. We stayed in site 4, which is towards the back of the loop. Not much privacy in the winter because there are no leaves on the trees. This campground has a pit toilet at the front of the campground and fire wood available for purchase near the canoe launch. 

We loved this park! The trails are fun and love all the beautiful views. We saw some incredible sunsets over the James River. There are all sorts of fun, gnarly trees for the kids to play on at the campsite! They had so much fun!

There are some great breweries nearby and only a short drive from Richmond and Charlottesville!

Love this park. Lots of biting flies and mosquitoes during the summer! The left loop sites are a good size but not much shade or privacy. I would definitely stay in the right loop area next time for tent camping. Newer bathrooms and showers. Pretty basic camping setup with fire ring and picnic table. 

We love the pool in the summer! Free pool passes when you camp there. It has never been too crowded for us. The plantation area is pretty cool with a farming equipment museum and  farm animals. Great playgrounds for the kids. Love the hiking trails here and hunting for fossils at the beach. 

Overall, not a bad experience, just bring your bug spray and sunscreen!

MY husband and I stayed two nights in a 1 bed efficiency CCC Cabin at Fairy Stone State Park for a short weekend away from the kids. We visited in December so it was pretty cold weather but the cabin was so cozy and comfortable! We loved having the fireplace! The cabins have a bathroom, shower, kitchen with sink, fridge, oven/stove, microwave, toaster, everything you need! They have heating and a/c as well. The cabin was built in the 1930s and is so charming! Loved everytihg about our experience here.

There is no cell service or internet/wifi at the cabins though so come prepared with something to do! We found it to be very relaxing to unplug!

This campground is great! Primitive camping at its best. Very friendly staff. We stayed here and went tubing on the Rappahannock River one day. The tubing trip was organized by the same people that run the campground so that was very convenient!

Love this park. Bear Island is only accessible by boat. So you have to pay a small fee for the ferry ride that takes you to Bear Island. Or you can canoe or kayak. You have to hike with all your camping gear less than a mile to the beach. There is not much shade on the hike there but it wasn't bad on a hot summer day. 

The beach camping spots are right in front of the dunes. We went on Labor Day weekend and there was no one there! So peaceful and serene. Lots of shells to find! And what a beautiful beach. There are nice bathrooms, water, and a snack bar that is open during the summer (cash only). Lots of picnic tables here as well.

Planning on coming back here next summer and staying longer! Such a unique camping experience!

We spent one night here in April. It was great! 

There are some pretty easy hiking trails, great for kids. Really beautiful wooded area. The campground was everything you could ask for! Large, level sites that are very secluded and far apart from each other. Bathrooms were clean and well situated. Very family-friendly!

We want to come back soon!

Carolina Beach State park has an awesome location if you’re looking for an inexpensive place to stay at the beach. It’s a short drive to Carolina Beach, Kure Beach, and Fort Fisher. There is no swimming area at this park. There is a marina and some great hiking though! We took a day trip to Bald Head Island as well! The campsites are large and well secluded from each other. The restroom and showers are centrally located, and clean enough. One thing I will mention is the pack of gigantic raccoons that kept us up all night while we were there. We accidentally left some food out one night and they were bothering us all weekend, even during the day! Some of the biggest raccoons I’ve ever seen. Don’t be like us and leave food out, lol!

A great National Park Service Campground! If you are lucky you can get a site with private access to the beach. You can't reserve a specific site online so you have to choose it when you get there. We camped here in October, so we had tons to choose from! 

The campsite was multi-tiered with a flat grassy area with a picnic table at the bottom, a path to another flat sandy area where we put our tent, and then a path over the dune to the beach. The bathrooms have cold showers and are pretty basic. No fires at this campground but you can have a fire in the grill.

Ocracoke is such a special place with lots of fun things to do and see in town or just spend the whole time at the beach!