Fishing

Smith Mountain Campground

20 RV Sites, 2 Tent Sites

On Liberty Road in Penhook, Virginia—in the rolling Blue Ridge foothills of Franklin County less than five miles from the nearest public boat launch on Smith Mountain Lake—Smith Mountain Campground operates as a family-owned RV facility with full hookup sites, a stocked fishing pond, private hiking trail, and the quiet country character that the lake region's residential neighborhoods have preserved across the decades since Appalachian Power dammed the Roanoke River to create what has become Virginia's second-largest lake and the surrounding community's defining natural asset. The campground's private pond, four-unit bathhouse with individual tiled rooms, and boat parking give guests who came to fish and be near the water the specific combination of amenities that lake-country camping specifically demands. Full hookup sites with 30 and 50-amp electric, water, and sewer connections, picnic tables, and fire rings serve both back-in and pull-through configurations across the property's site inventory, and complimentary high-speed WiFi keeps connected guests online through the site footprint. A four-unit private bathhouse with individually tiled rooms—each containing a shower, sink, toilet, and electrical outlet—provides a level of bathroom privacy that the typical campground shower-house arrangement doesn't supply. A dedicated laundry facility handles the practical needs of extended stays. Dedicated boat parking accommodates the trailered watercraft that lake-bound guests consistently arrive with, and a pavilion available for private reservation serves the group gathering needs of family reunions and organized camping events. A playground and outdoor recreation area serve families with younger campers and children in tow. The private hiking trail and stocked fishing pond are the property's most distinctive natural amenities—giving guests who want to fish without launching a boat an on-property option that the lake's five-mile distance doesn't otherwise provide. Smith Mountain Lake's character—a 20,600-acre reservoir on the Roanoke and Blackwater Rivers at the base of the Blue Ridge, with 500 miles of wooded shoreline and an elevation of 795 feet—provides the fishing and boating programming that organizes the Franklin County camping calendar from spring through fall. Striped bass, largemouth bass, crappie, and bluegill populate the lake in numbers and quality that have established Smith Mountain Lake among Virginia's premier fishing destinations, and the shoreline's development as a residential and resort community has produced a marina and restaurant infrastructure that gives boating guests on-water dining access that few Virginia lakes match. Smith Mountain Lake State Park, on the Halesford Arm of the lake's western reach, provides the hiking, swimming beach, boat rental, and educational programming that bring non-boating visitors specifically to the state park when a day on the water doesn't require owning a vessel. The park's mountain bike trails and the lake's kayaking and paddleboarding resources extend the recreational programming beyond powerboating into the quieter water-access categories. Roanoke—Virginia's largest city in the western part of the state, with the Taubman Museum of Art, the Virginia Museum of Transportation, and the Blue Ridge Parkway access via the Roanoke Valley—is accessible for the urban cultural programming that a lakeside camping base supplements naturally. Smith Mountain Campground is open seasonally through the Virginia camping calendar, with the prime season running from April through October when Smith Mountain Lake's fishing, boating, and outdoor recreation are at their most active. Fall foliage on the Blue Ridge foothills surrounding the lake creates one of the most visually rewarding shoulder-season camping opportunities in western Virginia. Reserve your site with boat parking early for the spring bass season and let the Franklin County lake country earn the reputation that Virginia's recreational community has assigned to it for decades.

from $35/night

Jellystone Park™ Natural Bridge

126 RV Sites, 22 Cabins, 23 Tent Sites, 9 Lodges

Jellystone Park at Natural Bridge in Natural Bridge Station, Virginia, offers 126 RV sites, 31 cabin and lodge units, and 23 tent sites in the Shenandoah Valley foothills, with 20, 30, and 50-amp full hookups, cable TV, and rigs accepted to 45 feet. Waterfront back-ins join deluxe, premium, and pull-through categories, alongside a water park, swim lake, and movie theater. One hundred twenty-six sites span 30/50-amp back-ins, deluxe back-ins, premium back-ins, pull-throughs, and waterfront back-ins, all carrying water, sewer, and electric with cable TV and site WiFi, sized to 45 feet, with fire pits, picnic tables, and BBQ pits. Thirty-one cabins and lodges and 23 tent sites round out the accommodations. A general store, laundry, propane fills and exchange, dump station, restrooms, showers, and firewood handle the practical side. A daily resort fee applies and covers cable and WiFi, aquatic facility access including the resort pool, waterslides, splash pad, and swim lake, the dog park, the movie theater, and 24-hour on-site management. Recreation is the product. A water park with waterslides, splash pad, swim lake, beach, and outdoor pool anchors the summer, with mini-golf, a jumping pillow, gaga ball, arcade, game room, and recreation center besides. Sports courts, basketball, a playground, pavilion, barn, golf cart rentals, and a pond for fishing fill the grounds. Pets are welcome. Natural Bridge State Park — one of Virginia's most striking natural landmarks — is close, with the upper Shenandoah Valley and Blue Ridge corridor beyond. Summer families and fall foliage drive demand. Reserve well ahead.

from $34/night

Indian Heritage RV Park

46 RV Sites, 1 Cabin, 12 Tent Sites

At 184 Tensbury Drive in Martinsville, Virginia—in Henry County on the Smith River in the Virginia Piedmont where the Blue Ridge's eastern foothills create the transition between the Appalachian mountain terrain and the rolling agricultural landscape of central Virginia, and where the Smith River's cold-water trout fishery below Philpott Dam has made the Martinsville area one of the most productive and least-crowded trout fishing destinations on the Virginia Blue Ridge corridor—Indian Heritage RV Park provides 60 full hookup sites, tent sites, and three cabins on the Smith River's wooded bank in the year-round operation that makes the park accessible for trout fishing across the winter catch-and-release season as well as the open spring and summer schedule. The Smith River running beside the park, the trout fishery, and the wooded campsite character define a property whose amenity list matters considerably less than its river position. Sixty full hookup RV sites with 30 and 50-amp electric, water, and sewer in both back-in and pull-through configurations accommodate the full range of RV types and driver experience levels. Three tent sites provide the primitive camping option. Three cabin rentals—including a spacious structure with three bedrooms, one and a half baths, and DirecTV satellite service—serve the long-term guest population that Martinsville's extended-stay employment and visit market supports, with the cabins providing the furnished comfort that multi-week stays require. Three bathhouses maintained at regular sanitation standards serve the campground's shared hygiene infrastructure, with laundry facilities in the largest bathhouse for extended-stay guests' practical needs. Fire rings at individual sites provide the evening campfire that wooded riverbank camping makes most atmospheric. The park's direct Smith River access—from a wooded bank where the river's cold, clear water is audible from the sites—is the amenity that no bathhouse or hookup count can quantify. The Smith River below Philpott Dam provides one of the finest tailwater trout fisheries in the mid-Atlantic states. The dam's cold-water release from the bottom of Philpott Reservoir maintains the temperature that rainbow and brown trout require in a Virginia Piedmont river whose ambient temperature would otherwise be too warm for cold-water fish in summer. The result is a year-round trout fishery in a scenic, wooded river corridor that receives considerably less fishing pressure than the more famous Virginia trout streams of the Shenandoah Valley, giving Indian Heritage's Smith River frontage a fishing quality that reputation hasn't yet overwhelmed with demand. Martinsville's additional attractions extend the campground's utility as a base beyond the single-purpose trout fishing visit. Martinsville Speedway—one of the oldest NASCAR tracks in continuous operation, producing some of the most physically demanding short-track racing in the professional series schedule—hosts NASCAR Cup Series events in spring and fall that fill Henry County's accommodations completely in the event weekends. Philpott Lake, accessible 20 minutes west, provides the warm-water boating and bass fishing alternative for guests whose interests extend beyond the Smith River's trout. The Blue Ridge Parkway—accessible within the broader Henry County region—provides the Blue Ridge overlook and trail access that the Piedmont's proximity to the mountain makes available as a half-day drive. Indian Heritage RV Park is open year-round in Martinsville's four-season Piedmont climate. The trout fishing season's year-round character, the NASCAR race weekends, and the fall foliage season create three distinct demand periods. Reserve well in advance for NASCAR race weekends, pack the fly rod for the Smith River morning, and let Henry County's wooded river position earn the mid-Atlantic trout fishing reputation that the campground's bank access makes specific and immediate.

from $34/night

Wilderness Adventure at Eagle Landing

11 RV Sites

Wilderness Adventure at Eagle Landing in New Castle, Virginia, offers 11 dry-camping RV sites and cabin accommodations on an adventure property in Craig County, with a high ropes course, disc golf, kayak and bike rentals, and a hot tub. Sites take rigs to 45 feet with fire pits and picnic tables. One thing to know upfront: the campground spots are dry camping with no hookups. Eleven pull-through RV sites operate without hookups, sized to 45 feet, with fire pits and picnic tables. Portable toilets serve the sites, and a bathhouse provides flushing toilets and hot showers. Cabins offer enclosed lodging for guests who would rather not camp. A general store covers basics and firewood is available. From May through November, the Outpost opens Friday evenings through Sunday morning for food and drinks, including beer and wine. Adventure programming is what sets this property apart. A high ropes and adventure course provides aerial challenge elements almost never found at a campground, and a disc golf course, bike rentals, and kayak rentals fill the rest of the day. Trails, a pond, and a creek run the property for swimming, fishing, canoeing, and mountain biking. Volleyball, horseshoes, corn hole, and a pavilion round out the on-site recreation, with planned activities through the season and strong birding in the surrounding forest. Pets are welcome. New Castle sits in Craig County, Virginia's least-populated county, in the ridge-and-valley country of the Jefferson National Forest. Craig Creek's cold, clear water runs nearby, and the surrounding Allegheny highlands carry extensive trail access. The property serves both family recreation guests and corporate and group retreats. The May-to-November window is when food service runs and the adventure programming is at full strength — plan dry camping supplies accordingly, and book group dates well ahead.

from $45/night

Montebello Camping & Fishing Resort

38 RV Sites, 5 Cabins, 17 Tent Sites, 2 Cottages

High in the Blue Ridge Mountains of Nelson County, Virginia—less than three miles from the Blue Ridge Parkway where the Virginia highlands' apple orchards, vineyards, and the watershed of the Tye and Piney rivers create the elevated rural landscape that Nelson County's outdoor and agricultural community has built its identity around—Montebello Camping and Fishing Resort offers authentic log cabin and cottage rentals available year-round, full-service RV and tent camping from April through October, a 5-acre private lake with complimentary kayaks and paddleboats, a fee-based trout pond requiring no fishing license, and the historic country store that has occupied its Blue Ridge Mountain post since 1894, providing a camping and fishing experience in the Virginia highlands whose combination of mountain setting, free-use lake, and license-free trout pond makes it the most complete fishing resort on the Nelson County side of the Blue Ridge. The trout pond needs no license. The country store has been open since 1894. Log cabins and cottages available year-round provide the enclosed accommodation for the Blue Ridge winter visitor whose mountain hiking and wine country touring calendar runs twelve months, while the full-service RV and tent sites with electric hookups, restrooms, showers, dump station, and laundry provide the spring-through-fall camping infrastructure from April through October. The 5-acre private lake's complimentary kayaks and paddleboats eliminate the boat rental transaction and create the self-directed water recreation that the lake's fishing, the leisurely paddle around the mountain-reflected perimeter, and the wildlife watching from the water deliver without additional daily charges. The fee-based trout pond—no fishing license required—provides the accessible, managed angling experience that non-licensed guests and the family with young anglers learning the sport use specifically to avoid the license paperwork. Montebello sits in Nelson County at the Blue Ridge's eastern escarpment, in the watershed between the mountains and the Shenandoah Valley's Rockfish River corridor where the Appalachian Trail, the Blue Ridge Parkway, and the Skyline Drive converge in the concentration of Virginia's most significant long-distance trails and scenic routes. Crabtree Falls, 5 miles north on VA-56, cascades 1,000 feet in a series of five distinct drops that makes it the highest waterfall east of the Mississippi in the Virginia Blue Ridge—the 1.7-mile trail to the falls' upper viewpoint through the hemlock and hardwood forest is one of the most rewarding short hikes in the Virginia highlands. Wintergreen Resort, 15 miles north via VA-56 and Wintergreen Drive, operates Virginia's most complete four-season mountain resort with skiing and snowboarding from December through March and the Devils Knob Golf Course, spa, hiking, and mountain biking from spring through fall on the Blue Ridge plateau at 3,500 to 4,000 feet elevation. The Nelson County wine trail—the concentration of boutique wineries along US-151 south of the resort in the Rockfish Valley—provides the wine tasting alternative that the valley's elevation and the well-drained clay soils have made increasingly productive for Virginia viticulture. Montebello Camping and Fishing Resort's cabin and cottage accommodations operate year-round in Nelson County's Blue Ridge climate, with the apple harvest season from September through October, the fall foliage peak in late October, and the spring wildflower season from April through May providing the three most visually distinctive periods in the mountain calendar. The RV and tent camping season from April through October corresponds with the Blue Ridge Parkway's most comfortable driving and cycling conditions. Reserve your cabin, cottage, or RV site at Montebello and let the fee-based trout pond, the 5-acre lake's complimentary kayaks, the Blue Ridge Parkway's proximity, and the 1894 country store make the Virginia highlands the mountain escape the Nelson County Blue Ridge has always provided.

from $25/night

Lake Ridge RV Resort

84 RV Sites, 20 Cabins, 7 Tent Sites

Lake Ridge RV Resort in Hillsville, Virginia, offers 84 RV sites, 20 cabins, and seven tent sites on a lake in Carroll County's Blue Ridge Mountains, with 30 and 50-amp full-hookup service and rigs accepted to 65 feet. An outdoor pool with water slides, a clubhouse, and a full activity calendar make this a family resort rather than an overnight stop. Sites run from back-in and deluxe back-in with 30-amp water and electric to VIP back-in and pull-through options and super pull-throughs with 50-amp, all sized for rigs to 65 feet. Twenty cabins serve guests traveling without a rig, and seven tent sites cover simpler camping. A general store, snack bar, laundry, propane fills and exchange, and a dump station handle the practical side, and WiFi reaches the property. On-site recreation is extensive. An outdoor pool with water slides anchors the summer, with a lake on the property for fishing, boating, paddle boats, and paddle boarding. Sports courts, basketball, horseshoes, shuffleboard, and gaga ball spread across the grounds, with an arcade and clubhouse indoors and a playground, pavilion, dog park, and walking trails besides. Golf cart rentals make the resort easy to cross, and planned activities run through the season. Pets are welcome. Hillsville sits near the Blue Ridge Parkway close to the Virginia–North Carolina line. Galax and its Old Fiddlers' Convention, the New River Trail State Park, and Grayson Highlands State Park are all close. Roanoke and Winston-Salem are each about 75 minutes; Virginia Tech is 52 miles. The resort runs the Blue Ridge season, with summer families and October foliage driving peak demand. Reserve ahead for both, and check pool and slide operating dates when booking shoulder-season stays.

Sun Retreats Shenandoah Valley

52 RV Sites, 10 Cottages, 4 Lodges

Sun Retreats Shenandoah Valley in Stuarts Draft, Virginia, offers 52 RV sites and 14 cottage and lodge units across more than 130 wooded acres, with 30 and 50-amp service and rigs accepted to 76 feet. Full-hookup and water-and-electric back-in categories join a pull-through tier, with an outdoor pool, mini-golf, jumping pillow, and a spring-fed lake. Fifty-two sites span back-in 30/50-amp, back-in water-and-electric 30/50-amp, and pull-thru 30/50-amp categories, carrying water, sewer, and electric where noted with site WiFi, sized to 76 feet, with fire pits and picnic tables. Confirm your tier, as the water-and-electric category does not carry sewer at the site. Seventy-six feet is generous for a wooded valley property. Fourteen cottages and lodges round out the lodging. A general store, laundry, propane fills and exchange, dump station, restrooms, showers, and firewood handle the practical side. The property was long established as Shenandoah Acres Family Campground. An outdoor pool anchors the summer, with a lake and pond supporting swimming and fishing. Mini-golf, a jumping pillow, arcade, game room, barn, sports courts, volleyball, basketball, corn hole, a playground, pavilion, dog park, on-site dining, and a snack bar fill the rest, with planned activities and wine tasting nearby. Stuarts Draft sits in Augusta County between Waynesboro and Staunton, minutes from the Blue Ridge Parkway, Skyline Drive, and the Shenandoah Valley's orchards and wineries. Fall foliage and summer drive demand. Reserve well ahead for October.

from $59/night

Camp Holly

8 RV Sites

Camp Holly in Diana, West Virginia, offers eight full-hookup RV sites across a 22-acre mountain property in Webster County, with 30-amp service and rigs accepted to 36 feet. Cabins, glamping structures, and tent camping join a pond, playground, and general store in the state's most rugged interior. Eight back-in sites carry water, sewer, and electric on 30-amp, sized to 36 feet, with site WiFi. Note the 36-foot cap before booking a larger rig. Cabins, glamping structures, and tent camping round out the accommodations. A general store, restrooms, showers, and firewood handle the practical side. Two useful tips from the operators: buy fishing passes when you book your campsite for a discounted rate, and add a jumbo firewood square at booking and they will deliver it to your site. Pets are welcome. A pond anchors the on-site recreation with fishing, swimming, paddle boats, boating, canoeing, and kayaking from the water. A community fire pit, playground, hiking, and biking fill the rest, with planned activities through the season. Diana sits on WV-20 in the heartland of the Mountain State's most remote interior. The Cranberry Wilderness, the Gauley River National Recreation Area, and the Williams River's wild brook trout stream give this the most complete wilderness and outdoor adventure access of any campground in central West Virginia's Chestnut Ridge and Back Allegheny country. Summer water recreation and October foliage drive demand. With eight RV sites, reserve well ahead.

from $10/night

Endless Caverns RV Resort & Campground

95 RV Sites, 15 Cabins

Endless Caverns RV Resort & Campground in New Market, Virginia, offers 95 RV sites and 15 cabins at the base of Massanutten Mountain, with 20, 30, and 50-amp full hookups and rigs accepted to 45 feet on a big-rig-friendly layout. The resort has its own six-mile limestone cave system — discovered in 1879 and still geologically active — accessible directly from your campsite. Ninety-five sites run in 30-amp and 50-amp back-ins and pull-throughs, carrying water, sewer, and electric on 20, 30, and 50-amp, sized to 45 feet, with fire pits and picnic tables. Fifteen cabins serve guests without a rig. A laundry, dump station, restrooms, showers, firewood, and boutique shop handle the practical side, with WiFi throughout. The caverns are the distinguishing feature. Tours run about 75 minutes, led by guides who cover the history and composition of the system, and the underground temperature stays cool regardless of the season — comfortable walking shoes are recommended. Above ground, an outdoor pool anchors the summer, with a disc golf course, jumping pillow, gem mining, sports courts, pickleball, volleyball, horseshoes, a game room, and a recreation center filling the grounds. Walking trails, hiking, biking, fishing in the pond, a playground, and live music round it out, and the property also serves as a wedding venue. Pets are welcome. New Market sits on US-11 in the central Shenandoah Valley between Luray and Harrisonburg, which makes this one of the most comprehensive single-stop bases in the Valley. Summer families and October foliage drive demand. Reserve well ahead for fall color weekends.

Phoenix Mountain Campground

9 RV Sites

Phoenix Mountain Campground in Lansing, North Carolina, offers nine full-hookup RV sites with water, sewer, and electric service on 30 and 50-amp, taking rigs up to 60 feet, steps from the New River in Ashe County. Site WiFi reaches the campground. At nine sites, this is a deliberately small operation in the Blue Ridge Mountains of North Carolina's northwestern corner. Nine full-hookup sites offer 30 and 50-amp service with water and sewer, accommodating rigs to 60 feet in back-in configurations. WiFi reaches the sites. The small site count is the point: guests get river frontage and quiet rather than a programmed resort, and the campground fills accordingly. The New River is the property's defining feature. Sites sit adjacent to its clear, rocky-bottom flow, putting guests within walking distance for morning fishing, afternoon paddling, and evening time by the water. Fishing, kayaking, canoeing, paddle boats, and boating all run from the property, and picnicking areas serve daytime use. The surrounding hills and river corridor make for exceptional birding — warblers and vireos in the canopy, waterthrushes along the stream edges, raptors on the ridgeline thermals. Pets are welcome. The New River is a National Wild and Scenic River and among the oldest rivers on Earth, an ancient drainage that predates the Appalachians and still runs north and west against them. Lansing's revitalized downtown is walkable and close by, with Pie on the Mountain, Old Orchard Creek General Store, and Molley Chomper Cidery among the local draws. The campground runs through the Ashe County mountain season, with summer river recreation and October foliage driving demand. With only nine sites, weekends book out well in advance — reserve early for any summer or fall stay.

from $65/night

Luray RV Resort on Shenandoah River

178 RV Sites, 3 Cabins, 9 Tent Sites, 32 Glamping Sites, 44 Cottages, 8 Airstreams

Luray RV Resort on the Shenandoah River in Virginia offers 178 full-hookup RV sites, 47 cabin and cottage units, nine tent sites, and 40 Airstreams and glamping sites across 100 acres, with 20, 30, and 50-amp service, ADA-accessible sites, and rigs accepted to 50 feet behind a gated entrance. Skyline, Scenic View Deluxe, and Superior pull-through categories join a water park, bar, and river access. One hundred seventy-eight sites span back-in, deluxe back-in, scenic view deluxe back-in, Skyline back-in, Skyline deluxe back-in, and superior pull-thru categories, all carrying water, sewer, and electric with site WiFi, sized to 50 feet, with fire pits, picnic tables, and BBQ pits. Accessible sites are available, and the Skyline and scenic view categories are named for exactly what they deliver. Forty-seven cabins and cottages, nine tent sites, and 40 Airstreams and glamping sites make the lodging inventory genuinely exceptional. A water park and outdoor pool anchor the summer, with the South Fork supporting canoeing, kayaking, fishing, and swimming. A recreation center, sports courts, pickleball, basketball, corn hole, golf cart rentals, walking trails, hiking, biking, a pond, playground, pavilion, dog park, bar, and on-site dining fill the rest, with live music and strong birding. Skyline Drive's entrance to Shenandoah National Park is 30 minutes away, with Luray Caverns close. Washington is two hours, Richmond 90 minutes. Fall foliage drives the sharpest demand. Reserve well ahead for October.

from $35/night

Growing Faith Farms

Enjoy all that nature has to offer at our mountainview glamping retreat. Growing Faith Farms is a small farm and glamping retreat located in the Brushy Mountains of NC. We are about 30 minutes from Boone, 15 minutes from Wilkesboro or Lenoir, and 90 minutes from Charlotte. Owned and operated by Joseph and Christina Angott, Growing Faith Farms was established in 2021 to introduce people from all walks of life to a slower pace. There is so much history and beauty in these mountains just waiting to be explored. Come visit and see where humanity and heritage unite to form a magical connection with the land and nature in a unique experience.

from $30/night