Camping sites in virginia

Posted: 02/09/2007--25/11/2008 || Rate this Article: 3 || Views|| Sign In || Register ||Hello Guest

Virginia is home to a variety of camping opportunities. From lake-side hide-aways to mountain-top sites, you will likely find exactly what you are looking for in a camping trip in Virginia. The following three camping sites are examples of the diversity and opportunity available in Virginia.

Note: While many tourist areas provide basic nationally-organized camping sites, this article will focus on the camping opportunities that are unique to Virginia. The camp sites listed below cannot be replicated anywhere in the nation and are a destination rather than a basic accommodation.

1. Natural Chimneys

Natural Chimneys, located just west of Staunton, Virginia off of Interstate 81, provides several dozen campsites to tent campers as well as Recreational Vehicle campers. There is no distinction between the RV and tent camper sites and sites are situated closely together, which can make the grounds seem cluttered. Visitors register their campsite with local forest rangers stationed at the on-site office.

Attractions within ten miles include Natural Chimneys, Todd Lake and scenic Virginia countryside. Natural Chimneys is a naturally-formed limestone creation resembling chimneys. The insides of tall pillars are hollow, allowing visitors to gaze up through the pipe-like formation. Children enjoy crawling in and out of caves. Adults enjoy hiking to the summit of the chimneys and gazing in from atop.

Todd Lake is a popular recreational lake located in the George Washington National Forest, just south of Natural Chimneys. Families enjoy swimming, canoeing and sunbathing in the lake. Life guards are on duty during daytime hours. Todd Lake is also a popular picnicking, hiking and mountain biking destination.

The scenery around Natural Chimneys is truly unique to Virginia. The community is mostly comprised of Mennonites and farmers. Cows roam local fields. A one-lane wooden bridge spans the river. Rocks- jumping into the water is a popular pastime for local children. Only a few miles away is Virginias railway museum. Campers enjoy exploring these country back roads on bike, foot and car.

2. Hone Quarry

Hone Quarry is located north of Natural Chimneys in the George Washington National Forest. To access Hone Quarry, campers must take back roads that wind between Harrisonburg and Staunton Virginia.

The campsite is at low elevation and each site is generally well removed from its neighbor, allowing plenty of privacy. Visitors pay a small fee through an honor box and can park their vehicles on the camping ground. Generally, this is not an RV-friendly campground, though use of RVs is not discouraged.

Most campers to Hone Quarry come because the campsite is remote and situated at the base of some challenging hiking and backpacking trails. A two-mile flat hike into the forest will land visitors at the base of a steep climbing wall. Climbers from all over Virginia come to this wall for practice bouldering. The wall is not terribly challenging to a seasoned climber (the maximum route scores a 5.9 on the climbers scale.)

3. Shenandoah National Forest

Exploring Shenandoah National Forest can take months. Campsites are ubiquitous, clean and somewhat expensive to obtain. To access the forest by Skyline Drive, visitors pay a nominal toll, which goes towards maintaining the roadway. Additionally, due to the popularity of the campgrounds, often visitors will find that they have to try many grounds before finding one with a vacancy. RVs are not encouraged, as the roads are steep and the terrain still relatively pristine.

In general, most campers decide which camp ground to stay at after they have chosen which hike they would like to undertake. In the Shenandoah National Forest, many campers choose to do remote camping in off-trail campsite huts. If you choose this backpacking method, it is critically important that you study a map so that you understand where and when campsites will be available to you during your hike. Camping without shelter or away from a designated spot can lead to personal injury and/or steep fines.

If you are camping at a spot accessible by car, it is important that you remember to store food in your car, as bears and other wild animals are a common feature of the Shenandoah National Forest. You will be expected to respect the serenity of nature. Loud parties and a messy campsite may be permissible at other campgrounds, but in the Shenandoah National Forest, there are rules and expectations against it.

Once you enter into the Forest, you enter into a self-contained world. Camping here is unlike any other place in Virginia because of the community of campers. Local stores provide firewood and camping equipment, such as tent stakes and tin cooking pots. Stay for a night or stay for a weekend, but campers agree that the general feeling around the Shenandoah National Forest is that of being at a camping resort: it is pure wilderness luxury.