Where to go camping in any region of West Virginia.
Known for the natural beauty of its many hills, parks and forests, West Virginia is a great state to visit and offers many excellent camping sites. Every region of the state offers its share of history, splendor, and of course, campgrounds.
A beautiful place in West Virginia to visit, especially during the summer, is Summersville Lake. The lake's visitors enjoy boating, fishing, water sports, swimming, snorkeling and scuba diving. One campground in Summersville is Mountain Lake, open from April to November. It has a significant number of sites available for RVs and tents, as well as a dumping station. There are also bathroom facilities with toilets and showers. Those wishing for something less adventurous or a little bit more romantic can rent cabins, although there are a limited number of them.
Audra State Park, in Buckhannon, is in the northeast part of West Virginia. It has tent and trailer sites and is open from mid-April to October. Each site has a picnic table and a grill. The campground also has a playground, coin laundry, two modern bathhouses, and a site for dumping. The park is near the West Virginia State Wildlife Center, the Philippi Covered Bridge and Museum, as well as three colleges. Campers can enjoy fishing, swimming, and kayaking in the Middle Fork River as well as hunting and hiking.
History buffs may enjoy Harpers Ferry KOA in Harpers Ferry, a historical Civil War site. Located in the state's eastern panhandle, this campground is for tents and trailers. It has a Civil War museum, playground, facilities for barbecuing, and a meeting room. Campers can take pleasure in hiking, horseback riding, and watching or hosting Civil War battle reenactments.
Cabwaylingo State Park, in the southwestern part of the state, gets its name from surrounding counties: Cabell, Wayne, Lincoln, and Mingo. It has two campgrounds: Tick Ridge, with "rustic" and "standard" sites, and Spruce Creek, a newer campground built in 1999 with electric and water hookups and bathroom and shower facilities. Another option the campground offers is a group camping site with barracks, showers, a dining hall, and a campfire circle. There are also log cabins available for rent. The park sponsors special events including an annual festival and a haunted house. Visitors have use of the park's swimming pool, picnic shelters, hiking trails and game court. In addition, sportspeople are allowed to hunt and fish, and trout can be found abundantly in part of the park's creek from February to May. The campgrounds are open from the beginning of April to the end of October.
Rifrafters Campground in Fayetteville is a great place to go for people who enjoy extreme outdoor sports. It is located close to the New River Gorge Bridge, where an annual Bridge Day Festival is held in October and people bungee jump from it. The view from the bridge is gorgeous, especially during the change of seasons. The New River is also a popular whitewater rafting spot. The campground has tent and RV accessible sites, a clean, family environment, and cabins for rent. There are campfire rings, bathhouses, water, electric, and cable hookups, and sites for primitive tent camping.
Tomlinson Run State Park is in New Manchester, in West Virginia's northern panhandle. The park is named after a stream along which it stretches, which was named after early settlers in the area. Flora, fauna, and rocky cliffs abound. The campsite is open from April to October. Tents and trailers are allowed, and some sites have electric hookups. There are grills, picnic tables, and bathroom and laundry facilities as well as a contact station, dumping station, and nearby convenience store. The park has group camping for retreats and also rents yurts, which are unique tent-like structures that come equipped with a cooler, propane stove, beds, and other amenities. Visitors to the park and campground can fish, hike, swim, rent rowboats and paddleboats, and participate in sports such as volleyball, basketball, horseshoes, and miniature golf.
Whatever part of the state campers wish to visit, the various campsites in West Virginia offer something for everyone to enjoy, be they adventurers, nature lovers, or scholars. More information on the state's exhaustive amount of parks and campgrounds can be found on West Virginia's travel and tourism website.
