It's true even if it's cliché. Spending time in the great outdoors can really change your…read moreperspective and give you a hopefulness that things will be alright. We decided to check out Paul's place because it was fairly close and he was so friendly on the phone when I called for more specific info. It's definitely a laid back and rustic environment but I was all in. Paul takes care of his customers and he was very adamant in teaching us the rules of the river before letting us launch. I had $60 in cash and he would only take $40 even thought the price was listed as $50. It's a great deal for you to kayak, paddle board and tube on the gorgeous river. We had it basically to ourselves that day and it was a revelation. The only thing I'd say is there needs to be upgrades to the life jackets. Most of them were child sized. However, all of the other equipment was well maintained. Please go and support this business!

Mr. Paul is just as good a person you would ever meet..... This is great for all ages and skill…read morelevels.... God Bless you Mr. Moody.

The worst tubing experience ever! The facility was gross... nasty bathrooms and even worse shower…read morethat I wouldn't even step foot in. The staff seemed like they hate their jobs and wouldn't go out of their way at all, not even to smile. The tubes were nothing more than a car tire inner tube. What a joke!

Outstanding tubing and camping. I've been coming here for years and always have a fantastic…read moreexperience. The staff is so helpful, the tubes are comfy and the float is unforgettable. Put this place on your must do!

Meadow Creek Campground is a terrific place stay outdoors while exploring around New River Gorge…read moreNational Park. When first planning out my itinerary for visiting the park, I had researched that there were plentiful campgrounds located within the area. So...I knew I would be camping out somewhere for my first night at New River Gorge. I just didn't know where exactly I would end my day. Well...after finishing hanging out at the Grand View section of the park in late afternoon, I was okay to start looking for a campground. I always refer to the trusty app on my phone called Campendium, to find my campsites. And as usual, Campendium did not disappoint! I quickly browsed all the reviews for Meadow Creek and was excited to come here. From the Grand View part of New River Gorge (which btw, is one of the primary highlights of the park), it was just 17 miles to drive to Meadow Creek. And best of all the location of the campground was in the proper direction for my next destination, being Sandstone Falls. Let me give some details about how simple it is come to Meadow Creek and get a campsite for the night... and yes, it has to be one of the easiest spots (in terms of finding a place to rest at while on a whim) I have ever come across along my journeys around the USA. - Cell phone reception works fine in the area, so simply plug "Meadow Creek Campground" into Google Maps and you'll easily be directed here. - It is free to camp out! How cool. Once I arrived, the instruction board mentioned to just pick a campsite and it's yours! How simple! - There must have been about 25 - 30 campsites available for choosing, and basically there was no one here. I had my pick of any site. - All the sites were situated on soft, fluffy grass, which always is beneficial when pitching a tent. This way you can have a gentle, comfortable sleep. - The sites all had barbecue pits. They were well spaced apart from each other to feel like you have privacy. You can start charcoal grills also. - A very interesting fact is this...trailers and RVs are not allowed!!! Prohibited! That's so peculiar? Usually, you have RV sites and parks that don't allow tents. But here it was the opposite. So nice for me, someone who carries a tent in the trunk of my car, to feel like I was prioritized, lol. Btw, I noticed the folks that were spending the night here actually slept in their cars rather than pitching tents. - They have vault toilets houses but they're extremely well maintained and clean. In fact, when I stepped inside one of them, it smelt beautifully, with a nice fragrance. - Located just 2.5 miles down the road is the Sandstone General Store and Eatery. This local little joint has groceries, gas and supplies...ideal for picking up anything to cook on your barbecue. You could even purchase prepared sandwiches if you don't feel like cooking. And prices here were extremely cheap, considering there's not much around to this part of the park. - You can do some hiking/walking right along the New River to get some fresh air and appreciate the woodsy/forestry setting. - When I visited back in the middle of May of 2022, the weather was perfect and not too chilly at night. Couldn't have asked for a better evening with a few stars up in the sky. - I believe you can stay up to 14 evenings here, all for free! You can camp for free, use the facilities for free, and occupy a campsite all for free. Thank you to the National Parks Services for Meadow Creek Campground! Although Meadow Creek was a wonderful experience for me...I do need to mention some parts that were a little bit of a letdown... 1. Cell phone coverage in this specific campground was minimal. Yet, when I walked down the creek area, my reception worked just fine. Hmmm? 2. Okay, yes, the train tracks. During the night I did hear trains running on the tracks that were very loud. Still, I don't mind these types of things as I'm an easy sleeper. 3. This is going a bit overboard, no there aren't any AMP power stations, lol. Overall, I can't say enough good things about Meadow Creek Campground. It was certainly one of the best highlights to my time visiting New River Gorge National Park.

Never a bad time! Repeat customer! I love that you can wake up and throw your pole in the water…read morewithout going anywhere. Best campground I've been to

This is the best campground I've stayed at. The sites were clean and clear in view. Each had a fire…read morering and picnic tables. Rvs welcome. The bathrooms were the cleanest I've seen. I couldn't believe it. Nice showers, nice sink area and clean. Area for washing dishes. Couple playgrounds. Sun site and shade sites and every single person there smiled and said hello. Lots of respect here because at 10pm on the nose, everyone got quiet in an instant. That almost never happens! I loved camping here. Check out is 12pm! A bundle of wood is $6 and there's a lot in there. I hope I get to come back.

We had to stop here for a dump station. People were nice and helpful. It's conveniently located…read morenext to the main road. It has a nice playground.

Friendly owners, a great place to set up camp or just rent a cabin. Washer/dryer machine on site…read more Dish washing station and restrooms facility with hot showers on site for both sexes. Variety of cabins closer to a group or further away depending on privacy level. Fire pits available for grilling near each cabin and a communal big grill that requires charcoal. Dog friendly, and perfect location between all the major whitewater attractions and local Walmart if needed to make a run to the grocery store. If you have a family most of the the cabins has a queen bed and double bunk beds if traveling with friends. What I like most about Ray's campground is you still have the outdoorsy feeling and not too commercialized. You can still unwind and feel zen and unplug. Overall peaceful.

This is by far the best and only place you should stay if you are looking for a great place to stay…read moreeat the new river gorge . I have been staying here for years and it is the only place I will ever go. Tent camping, rv, cabin rentals and even a great campground dog named milo, this place is where you need to stay

The cabins are awesome, the view and sound at the river retreat are priceless. The cabins are…read morealways very clean and well maintained. We were here twice last year and three times this year. Hot tubs sitting with a view of the river is a bonus. If you are into kayaking or taking in the local fare this is the perfect place. Lewisburg is only 20 minutes away and there is great coffee, wings and pizza. The staff and owners are the best. They will drop you off with your kayaks and take your vehicle back to the campground. Yes there are trains on the other side of the river, but it only adds character to the location. Cellphone service and internet access is intermittent, another plus in my opinion, it lets us get away from work and spend quality time together. If you are looking for a place to get away this is the place for you.

This campground is about a 30-minute drive from The Greenbrier Hotel and is located on the…read moreGreenbrier rushing river. We were in the area visiting Smooth Ambler distillery and we were happy to find so much to do within an hour drive. When you first pull in, the check-in area doubles as an outdoor adventure company's post. I assume it's the same owner. The kayaks and canoes are over to the side and would've been totally tempting had it not have been like 40 degrees and rainy when we were there. This was unlike any campground that I'd ever been to before. It's privately owned and most of the sites were already occupied by the seasonal RVs, whose occupants weren't even there. There was one other RV that had an actual person camping. We were in site 24, which was the first site that wasn't seasonally occupied. The pad was narrow, but there were parking spots parallel from the road. The parking spots made good back in opportunities. With full hookups and cable tv, I would consider and did consider this as a favorable campground. The downside... this campground runs between a busy road and a river. On the other side of the river is a train track. If you're looking for tranquility and not use to the sound of passing cars and random trains, then this isn't the place for you. The bathhouse was quite new and you could tell that it wasn't often occupied. In addition to the RV sites, there were tent/popup sites as well as cabins... heck, you can even rent an RV that includes a hot tub.

We were in West Virginia for my husband's work and made it a little leaf peeping Excursion. Babcock…read moreis on the top of the list of places I like to go the mill and the lake plus the colors around the area are just gorgeous lots of Reds oranges and yellows. No fee to enter they have restrooms that are easy to access and flushy bathrooms. There is a Almost Heaven swing by the mill. But what the pictures don't show is the sound of the Rushing Water it's just all so beautiful. Recommend bringing snacks in a beverage have a little picnic. Fall is the prettiest time but I'm sure it's beautiful anytime of year I'm sure with some snow would be gorgeous but I'd be a little scared to tackle all the West Virginia curvy roads with some ice and snow. This year we had such a dry drought year that no one thought the fall was going to be worth seeing so we didn't make any Leaf peeping vacations. If he hadn't had this work trip we would have missed out on on this for the year. Considering the dryness the colors were doing pretty good around here we had went to other areas where the leaves were already down around black around Blackwater and Seneca Rock. But the bugs were quite annoying mainly lots of gnats that if you stopped moving they were really annoying. We've been here a few other times in other years and this is the only time that was an issue. At the lake they have porta potties and the moved them to block the lake view Which is unfortunate. Please move them. !!

Did a quick stopover on the way to Hawk's Nest SP, and wow, this place is beautiful! One of the…read moremost frequently visited state parks in WV and it's easy to see why! The grist mill is absolutely iconic, sitting atop a picturesque waterfall. The park has a mountain lake for water activities, plenty of trails, and even cabins for longer stays! There's an Almost Heaven swing right by the mill and visitor's center, and the CCC stonework is stunning. The New River Gorge bridge is about 20-30 minutes away depending on how well you drive on mountain roads, and there's plenty to do in the area for a fun weekend or even longer! I will definitely be back myself!

I was really looking forward to stopping here, especially to see the lighthouse, but visiting in…read morethe off season definitely took away from the experience. This area is known for the lake and for boating and outdoor recreation, so I understand that coming during a colder time probably put a slight damper on everything that should be taken with a grain of salt if you're reading this review. When we arrived there was no one in the office. It felt closed off and unattended. I wasn't able to go up into the lighthouse at all, which was super disappointing because for me it was the main draw. From the outside, the lighthouse was lovely to look at but I was really really hoping to be able to climb to the top. The rest of the grounds looked fine and this is definitely a place designed for overnight stays. I would definitely return but during the right season and when I am able to explore the lighthouse!

We absolutely loved our time at Summersville Lake Retreat & Campground. The staff is very friendly…read moreand helpful. The location is only 20-25 minutes from the New River Gorge area which makes visiting the bridge or downtown Fayetteville a breeze. The gift shop has a large selection of items just in case you forgot something or need a souvenir. There is a large community firepit and pavilion with Adirondack chairs. Each full hookup site also has it's own firepit with chairs. The property is well maintained. Make sure you take a walk to the hammock area...this was the kids favorite part! We already booked a trip back for next year and cannot wait to spend more time in WV.

OK we went here in the fall, but I bet this place is hopping in the summer. It has everything a…read moresummer RV-er could want. Beautiful campgrounds kept very clean. Playgrounds for the kids. A swimming pool (no swimming in the lake). A gorgeous lake that you can take a boat out on. Trails to hike. Camper's paradise. There were no real campers there when we stopped by, probably because it was late October and it gets pretty cold in WV that time of year. It's pretty "off the beaten path" too. Oh, but what a place to go camping.

I wish I could do multiple rankings. I would give this place 5 stars based on our first two nights…read morethere (we were alone in the tent campground), but a group of men with ~15 bear hunting dogs showed up the third day, and their incessant howling (and the campground host's refusal to do anything about it) caused us to leave early. Another camping couple who had just arrived was equally concerned. If we'd arrived that day, I'd be giving this place 1 star. Here is a link to our full experience of Moncove Lake State Park and surrounds (some of which was quite magical): http://www.melissarooneywriting.com/blog/2021/10/covid-camping-and-bear-hounding/

We've been lucky enough to visit a lot of national parks while touring the country and each one has…read moreits own personality. New River Gorge hits a little bit differently because we're such big fans of Fallout so seeing the bridge in person was especially cool. Driving over the bridge to get to the park almost made me feel like I was stepping into the game. That big beautiful arch stretching across the gorge was an incredible sight to behold but I was quickly overwhelmed by the incredible natural beauty all around me and soon forgot all about the game. I just wanted to explore this gorgeous place. The overlooks are easy to access and genuinely breathtaking. The gorge is dramatic and beautiful. The bridge is the star of course and the way it frames the landscape is stunning. It just felt so peaceful in scenic the whole time we were in this park. Of all the parks we visited, this one stands out because it blends natural beauty with something personal, so it wasn't just scenic, It was kind of an iconic moment. I'm so glad that I got a chance to come here and see it for myself.

Hiked the endless wall trail and long point trail and 10/10 recommend! The views are breathtaking!…read moreBoth hikes are pretty easy, maybe slightly moderate due to some uneven terrain. Played some Jurassic park music at the overlook to really add to the effect, but to each their own.