Came here with family to camp and celebrate my bday. Really cool camp ground. Site has bathrooms with areas to wash dishes. Like a utility sink. No showers which kinda sucks. But toilets and sinks. Trash and recycling area. The camp site security goes around and apparently gives warnings or strikes to people not following rules. Put ur food away and don't leave it out even if it's like bread or chips or even beer in plastic bin on table bench. It's a good idea to just put everything in vehicles when not eating or drinking or keep it in your tent. Very strict on that. They talked to my relative about the beer. Hiking trails with some water falls and a beautiful view too! You can purchase firewood from the facility shack. Really fun cool place. Dog friendly. Spent 2 days and a half here. Sept. 24,25,26 and left at 12pm on Sunday. Cool fun camping experience. read more

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Matthew's Arm is considered the better campground in this Park because it has: More shade and tree cover Fewer crowds en masse But still has flush toilets Electrical outlets in the restroom Spigot and dish sink and spout for pups Your usual fire ring and picnic table There is cell signal near camp entrance Helpful maps and guides at welcome station Spotlessly clean Reservation and first come/ serve options read more

Mathews Arm Campground - Campgrounds Near Me - Rileyville, Virginia

We were lucky enough to get a spot here on a Saturday morning just before noon checkout. First chili weekend of the season and I was super excited to go hiking and build a fire afterwards. Our campsite was conveniently located near facilities and the entrance to Overall Run, the trail with a view of the tallest waterfall in the park. There is a pad on each campsite for a tent, a fire pit, parking space, and food locker(important, keep reading). We got set up, relaxed for a few, then went for our hike to see the 92ft tall waterfall. It was so worth the hike! When we returned, we had a note from the park ranger because one of our group left a trash bag hanging from a tree which is not proper food storage on the campgrounds. The ranger also put the trash bag inside the provided food locker. We drove to buy wood from the park store located just a couple miles away and returned to start our fire! The wood sold in the park was about $7 a bundle. Two bundles lasted us long enough to cook and hang out a few hours. We retreated to our tent around 10:30p by which time the campgrounds were pretty dead. After sleeping for a couple of hours we could hear wolves and bears outside our tent. Needless to say, we appreciated the strict food storage policy at this point. Besides the wildlife snooping around for food, the campgrounds were pretty quiet all night. The only let down was the absence of a shower house. I camped at Big Meadow a couple years ago which does have showers but is located miles away from Matthew's Arm. read more

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Nice campground facilities-wise. Also nicely wooded. Some sites were really great, nice and big, tucked away from neighbors. Some sites were tiny and on top of each other. Get there early to get the best sites! (The middle sites are reservable, but so much more fun to risk it!) We showed up at the northern entrance to skyline drive by 4pm on a Friday. The signpost at the entrance showed the two middle campgrounds (Big Meadow and Lewis(?)) already at capacity. The northern most and southern most still showed vacancies. We pulled in and did a few laps of Mathews Arm before deciding on a nice, largish spot on the A loops. There were probably 40% of the sites left, of those, only about half were big enough for our 2 tent setup. (6 person and 4 person tents) and only about half of those were appropriately spaced from the neighbors. Some of the large sites are situated "long and skinny," which are great if you need a grouping of sites, but not for a solo group like ours. The campground was at capacity for Saturday night only. Bear safe boxes are provided for the perimeter sites, they are very strict (and rightly so!) about food being left out at campsites. The campground is situated in a great spot to explore skyline drive for a few days, and it was easy enough to pop off over to the Shenandoah and play in the river when we wanted to. read more

You're lucky to get any spot in this campground. We rolled-in late on a Saturday afternoon, without a reservation, and there we only four spots left. We parked and then went back to the front to pay and get the ticket for our spot. Plenty of bathrooms dot the campgrounds and there are many hikes, of varying lengths that leave right from this campground. read more

Mathews Arm Campground - Campsite A4 - Campgrounds Near Me - Rileyville, Virginia

This is the perfect example of why I should give some places more than one chance before low-balling them on a Yelp review: If this past weekend had been my first experience at Mathews Arm, I might not want to come back. But it was our fifth time camping there, and the other four visits were really wonderful. Mainly we felt like this last visit the Park Rangers were unfriendly and suspicious. But we'll be back to the Arm for sure, it's a great spot in the Park. I like tent-only Lewis Mountain CG best of all, but getting one of their 30-something spots is almost impossible. We find Mathews Arm a great alternative. Every time we've come, we've been able to find a spot we really liked, the other campers were pleasant, and the rangers and hosts friendly. It's a centrally-located, good-sized (not too big) campground. It's in a beautiful setting, you're guaranteed to see VA white-tail and an awesome variety of birds. If you're lucky, a bear, too! It has three loops, plenty of bathrooms, lots of trash and recycling facilities, and two campground hosts. It sometimes fills to capacity on peak weekends like Memorial Day or Labor Day, but many nights it's not full. Some spots are reservable in advance, others are first-come. I love that there are "generator-free" sections of the campground, too. read more

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Very nicely kept campground. Stayed a full weekend and saw park rangers and maintenance crews throughout the 3 days. They have food containers on site but I preferred to leave mine inside the car. Didn't want any unwanted wildlife to ruin my night because I left out food. Hiking trails within a short walking distance. Bathrooms are fairly clean and stocked with toilet paper. The one negative note, there are no showers in the campground. I ended driving 30 minutes to Walmart and buying a 6 gallon water jug. There was a water fountain ( I personally wouldn't drink from it) right next to the bathrooms. Filled my water jug from the spigot under the fountain and took my freezing cold water showers like that. Will definitely recommend staying here and will do so myself again when in the area. read more

Whoa this place is fantastic!!! Gorgeous setting, friendly park people, convenient car camping to trail head, spectacular hiking (views and waterfalls galore!!!!!!!), and OMG flushing toilets (hurray!!!)!!! Book early and often!!! read more

Mathews Arm Campground - waterfalls! HURRAY!!!! - Campgrounds Near Me - Rileyville, Virginia

Great location, near a trail that leads up to some pretty little waterfalls. Toilet block was fine, although I don't think the electricity outlet was working. The campsite itself was lovely - the grill was much appreciated. We forgot firewood but foraging was not a problem in the dry summer. Right nearby is spectacular Hogback overlook, so yeah this place is a great idea especially if you're entering from the north entrance of the park. We went on a Saturday and I booked a few days in advance but there are also spots available just by driving up, although they were gone by the evening. So book through recreation.gov to secure a place. Tip: the south end of the site is at the bottom of a hill and it goes uphill as you go north, so if you want to be at the top of the hill, or just near the entrance to the Overlook Falls trail, then reserve a site in the north of the campground. Happy camping! read more

It is quiet and nice. $15 a night, first come first serve - no reservation needed. Actually, they don't take reservations. So it is better to call before you head over there. We arrived on a Friday night. There were lots of camp sites, but on Saturday noon, every single one was occupied. The restrooms are clean, but there is no shower (Big Meadows campground has). Some picnic tables in the camp site are new, some are old. read more

Mathews Arm Campground - Campgrounds Near Me - Rileyville, Virginia

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Great camp site. Reasonably priced at $15 a night. It gets busy on the weekends so get there early. The sites are nestled in the woods, so you still have a sense of peace. The grills they have in the fire rings come in very handy. The park staff were all very friendly and patrolled the area. There were a ton of black bear in the area which was amazing to see. I can't wait to make the trip back. read more

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BF and I have come to Matthews Arm many times, primarily because it is the closest campground in Shenandoah National Park. It's a happy medium for us because, while bf may prefer "back country camping," I would prefer bathrooms (and hopefully a shower!). Matthews Arm doesn't provide showers (and we don't want to drive the additional 30 Skyline Drive miles to get to Big Meadows for one), but there are several conveniently located modern bathrooms. There is also a small convenience store/ice cream & burger shop/gas station/gift shop only 2 miles south. The town of Luray is 10 miles down the mountain, and has a great Wal-Mart (i know, i can't believe I'm promoting Wal-Mart) filled with every camping item you could ever want or need. The campground hosts are awesome if you are friendly and approach them, but beware the park police - they are very serious about putting away every food item immediately following meals. Matthews Arm is about half reservable spots, and half first-come, first-serve. I've seen the campground fill up on 4th of July and Labor Day weekends. We've made Matthews Arm a summer tradition, and will definitely be back! read more

Matthews Arm...what can I say. My husband and I (prior to his passing) camped here every weekend. The air clear, the temp much coller than in the valley in the hot summer months. We got to know the Rangers and host by name. Being only 22 miles up the drive from our home town, and our senior discount, where else could we go and get the enjoyment we did at Matthews Arm. Now, my daughter and her family come along with me cammping here, and we enjoy it so much. If you plan on being present on a legal holiday, I always take the camper up on Thursday evening, pick my signt, pay my fees, leave and return back up after work on Friday. No way is there any spots if I were to wait until Friday evening. They fill up quick, believe me. We love it here! and yes, we have had a bear in our site, but he being only coureous, and we got in the camper, and just watched him stroll around, and leave. People from the city do not comprehend just how dangerous the bear are, as they look so "friendly", but be for-warned, they are wild, and YOU are in Bear Country, and it is their habitat, they only let us visit. Please leave no trace that you were there, as the workers try so hard to keep the grounds, bathrooms, etc clean and neat. read more