Campground help in Virginia

[dave stein]

I am looking for campgrounds in Virginia. We are fairly new to the camping scene and have tried Smith Mountain Lake and Westmoreland state parks. The main family group is 13 which include seven children (new born to age 9), two sets of parents and one set of grand parents. At present we are all tent camping BUT I have plans to purchase a popup this spring.
My requirements are fairly simple; I need a campground that is family friendly with good activities for the children and has CLEAN bath houses. I have looked at a lot of websites about the different campgrounds but I don

[ColemanCampingFamily]

Dave, personally we LOVE Wildwood Campground (//www.wildwoodcampground.com) just off the Parkway at Rt. 130. For a weekend trip, that may be a bit of a drive for you if you are in No. VA. This campground is fantastic, and they are very kid friendly. They generally have lost of activities for kids and adults (can't miss the LIVE Bluegrass they have every now and then). This campground has plenty of spaces for those that tent camp alongside those that have a PUP....you just have to know which sites to get. If you will be mixing tents and pups, I would personally suggest something near the lake.

As for other campgrounds in VA, I would stay FAR AWAY from Paradise Lake near Appomattox. We drove through there this past weekend and were highly disappointed. This place is dirty, and looks like it was made for folks that only use their RV in the summer. (On a side note, my husband and I talked about buying it and making it back to a family centered campground because it has so much potential). We decided that Wildwood was the best for us. You may also see some negative reviews for Anvil Campground located in Williamsburg, VA. Mostly, the problems other campers have with this campground is that there is either road noise or train noise. Personally, we have stayed there twice for two extended stays (more than 3 nights) and we were in a tent (can't be all back if we went back, lol). You just have to learn to deal with the train noise (even at 3am, lol). The best part about Anvil is that their Bath House is extremely clean, and the pool is great. Not to mention that they have good playgrounds for the kids, and the owners are fantastic.

Hope I have helped a little!!

_____________________
DW - 69
DH - 67
DS - 00

1985 Coleman Aspen (AKA Patches)

[SPXTrader]

Check out the Army COE's campgrounds.  Google Philpott Lake...The Goose Point section is beautiful.  H2O and electric.  It's near Martinsville, VA.

Also check out the GW and Jefferson National Forests site.  There's some good info.

[dave stein]

That is great advice from both of you. I will look into all the suggestions and hopefully have a great trip or trips. Thank you very much.

Don't stop here, if anyone has more suggestions please let me know.

V/R,

Dave

[springer02]

Douthat State Park is our favorite.  Take I-81 south to 64 west and follow the signs.  The fishing is great and the hiking is wonderful.  There is a nice beach in the summer and the park has at least one good sized play ground.  They have activities through out the year for kids and families.  We go there 5 -6 times a year and we had reservations there for this weekend but cancelled them to get ready for a trip next week.

I don't know their web site off the top of my head but I'm sure you could get more info if you Google the park.

Tena

[dave stein]

Thanks Tena