Stargazing

Smith Mountain Campground

19 RV Sites, 2 Tent Sites

Smith Mountain Campground in Penhook, VA, offers 20 full-hookup RV sites and 2 tent sites, with 30 and 50-amp service and room for rigs up to 50 feet. Sites come in three categories — back-in 30-amp water-and-electric, back-in 30/50-amp, and pull-thru 30/50-amp — with full-hookup sites carrying water, sewer, and electric plus a fire pit and picnic table. A bathhouse with showers, a general store, firewood, a dump station, a recreation center, and cabins cover the rest. Pets are welcome. A stocked fishing pond, private hiking trails, a pavilion, sport courts, bocce, corn hole, horseshoes, a playground, and creek frontage fill the family-owned grounds, with boating, picnicking, and dark-sky stargazing. Penhook sits on Liberty Road in the Blue Ridge foothills of Franklin County, less than five miles from the nearest public boat launch on Smith Mountain Lake, with the Booker T. Washington Monument, The Homeplace Vineyard, and The Coves Amphitheater all close. Rates for sites and cabins are on the booking page. Twenty sites near Smith Mountain Lake fill quickly in summer, so reserve ahead.

from $35/night

Palmerosa Horse & Hike Campground

13 RV Sites, 22 Tent Sites

Palmerosa Horse & Hike Campground in Laurelville, OH, offers RV sites with water and electric hookups, private tent sites, and cabins, with room for rigs up to 60 feet. Contact the campground for site count and amp service, since those specifics aren't published. Several policies are worth knowing before you book: one vehicle per site, with additional vehicles and trailers directed to overflow parking; RV sites hold up to six guests and tent sites up to four. Guests bringing horses must reserve the right number of stalls and bring their own horse-care tools and bedding — and straw bedding is not permitted. A bathhouse with private bathrooms and hot showers, a general store, firewood, a dump station, fire rings, and picnic tables cover the rest. Pets are welcome. Covered horse stalls and walking trails put this campground squarely in the equestrian category, with more than 40 miles of bridle trails reachable from the property. Download the bridle trail map before you arrive — cell service drops out on the trails. Laurelville sits in the heart of Ohio's Hocking Hills, close to Old Man's Cave, Ash Cave, Cedar Falls, and Conkle's Hollow, but deliberately away from the busiest park areas. Rates for sites, tent spots, and cabins are on the booking page. Reserve stalls alongside your site if you're bringing horses.

from $22/night

Nature's Getaway RV Park

30 RV Sites, 3 Tent Sites

Nature's Getaway RV Park in Schellsburg, Pennsylvania, offers 30 RV sites and three tent sites seven miles west of Bedford on Route 30, with 20, 30, and 50-amp water-and-electric service and rigs accepted to 45 feet. Back-in categories at both amperages join a 30-amp pull-through tier, with an outdoor pool, game room, ball field, and general store. Thirty sites span back-in water-and-electric 30-amp, back-in water-and-electric 50-amp, and pull-thru water-and-electric 30-amp categories, carrying water and electric with site WiFi, sized to 45 feet, with fire pits and picnic tables. Plan around the hookups — sites carry water and electric but not sewer, so manage tank capacity and use the dump station. Three tent sites and cabins round out the lodging. A general store, laundry, dump station, restrooms, and firewood handle the practical side. An outdoor pool anchors the summer, with a game room, arcade, ball field, billiards, shuffleboard, volleyball, horseshoes, a playground, and swimming filling the rest. A state park is nearby, and the dark rural sky makes for genuinely good stargazing. Pets are welcome. Bedford County sits where the Allegheny Mountain ridges meet Shawnee State Park's forested plateau, and the old Lincoln Highway corridor has carried travelers past this spot since the road was built. Historic Bedford's preserved downtown, the Flight 93 National Memorial, and Blue Knob's skiing are all within reach, with the Pennsylvania Turnpike close. Summer and fall foliage drive the heaviest demand in the Alleghenies. Reserve ahead for holiday weekends and peak October color.

from $35/night

Lake Wapusun RV Resort

37 RV Sites, 3 Cabins, 6 Tent Sites, 3 Glamping Sites

Lake Wapusun RV Resort in Shreve, Ohio, offers 37 RV sites, three cabins, six tent sites, and three glamping sites on a lake in Wayne County, with 20 and 30-amp water-and-electric service and rigs accepted to 45 feet. A beach, boat rentals, golf cart rentals, and a jumping pillow anchor a family resort behind a gated entrance in Ohio's Amish Country. Thirty-seven back-in sites carry water and electric on 20 or 30-amp, sized to 45 feet, with fire pits and picnic tables — note there are no sewer hookups at the sites, though a dump station is on site. Three cabins and three glamping sites serve guests without a rig, and six tent sites cover simpler camping. A general store, propane fills and exchange, laundry, restrooms, showers, and firewood handle the practical side, with WiFi throughout. Well-behaved, vaccinated pets are welcome but must be leashed outside your vehicle or attended in the fenced off-leash area. Recreation is the resort's focus after a full redesign. A lake with a beach supports swimming, boating, fishing, canoeing, kayaking, and paddle boats, with boat rentals on site and inflatable water toys in season. A clubhouse, game room, craft room, and pavilion cover indoor hours, with basketball, sports courts, gaga ball, and a jumping pillow outdoors. Golf cart rentals, walking trails, a dog park, and a playground round it out, and food trucks, live music, and planned activities fill the calendar. On-site dining and a wedding venue complete the property. Mohican State Park, Malabar Farm State Park, the Ohio State Reformatory, Amish Country, and area wineries are all close. Summer family demand is the peak — reserve ahead.

from $32/night

Glendale Valley Campground

19 RV Sites, 7 Tent Sites

Glendale Valley Campground in Fallentimber, Pennsylvania, offers 17 full-hookup RV sites and seven tent sites at the edge of the Allegheny Plateau, with 30 and 50-amp service and rigs accepted to 42 feet behind a gated entrance. Pull-through and standard categories join EV charging, a beach, boat ramp, recreation center, and sports courts. Seventeen sites run in pull-through standard and standard categories, both carrying water, sewer, and electric with site WiFi, sized to 42 feet, with fire pits and picnic tables. Two straightforward categories keep booking simple. Seven tent sites round out the lodging. A general store, laundry, propane fills, restrooms, showers, firewood, and EV charging handle the practical side — charging is still uncommon at campgrounds this size and worth knowing about if you tow with an electric vehicle. A beach and boat ramp open the water for boating, canoeing, kayaking, fishing, and swimming, with a recreation center, sports courts, volleyball, gaga ball, walking trails, hiking, biking, mountain biking, and a playground filling the rest. Live music and planned activities run through the season, and the mountain sky makes for good stargazing. The campground sits two miles from Prince Gallitzin State Park — Pennsylvania's third most visited — which protects 1,635-acre Glendale Lake and 26 miles of forested shoreline. DelGrosso's Amusement Park, Tytoona Cave, the Ghost Town Trail, Rock Run Recreation Park, and Altoona Curve baseball are all close. Summer and fall foliage drive demand in the Alleghenies. Reserve ahead for holiday weekends and peak October color.

from $39/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

The Barlow RV Elk Park

4 RV Sites

The Barlow RV in Elk Park, North Carolina, offers 4 full-hookup RV sites in the Blue Ridge Mountains, with 30 and 50-amp service and rigs accepted to 70 feet on a big-rig-friendly layout, open all year behind a gated entrance. Each site is named individually — In The Trees, The Granddaddy, The Mountain Wall, and The Rock — with a general store, community fire pit, walking trails, and on-site dining. Four sites are named rather than numbered, all carrying water, sewer, and electric on 30 and 50-amp with site WiFi, sized to 70 feet, with fire pits, picnic tables, and BBQ pits. Naming each site tells you exactly what you are booking — trees, a rock face, a mountain wall, or the big one — which is a level of specificity no tiered system achieves. Seventy feet accommodates a long coach with a tow. A general store, firewood, RV storage, and on-site dining handle the practical side. Pets are welcome, with a maximum of two per site. A community fire pit, walking trails, and dog park fill the grounds, with mountains all around and genuinely dark skies for stargazing. Wine and beer tasting is nearby, and planned activities run through the season. Four sites is boutique by any measure, and the curation shows. Avery County sits in the North Carolina high country near Banner Elk, with Beech Mountain, Sugar Mountain, and Grandfather Mountain all close — skiing in winter, the Mile High Swinging Bridge and Linville Gorge in summer, and the Blue Ridge Parkway running along the ridgeline. Fall foliage and ski season both drive demand. Reserve as early as you can.

from $110/night