Often times, the national parks get the best territory and the states get leftovers. However, the…read moreShenandoah River State Park, down the mountain from well known Skyline Drive and its accompanying federal parkland, is by no means inferior. A rural drive leads to a visitor center, trails, an overlook, river access, and campgrounds. I had time for only a brief visit, but the views were majestic. It would be an excellent place to return for a hike. As with most of Virginia's state parks, there is a modest entrance fee, but I'm sure it's well worth it.

I travel and stay at a lot of parks during the course of the year, and I have only repeated a few…read moreof them. This location is incredible, rich with things to do, views to see, and adventures to have with enough time. The cabins are gorgeous, fair warning that there is no television, but honestly who cares?! I had great phone signal which almost never happens on these excursions, and I loved making a fire in my fireplace and sitting on the porch with coffee for sunrise, which I could see from Cabin 11. This cabin also was at the end and felt private, even though I could see my neighbors (who had set up Christmas lights! How fun!) There's also a wonderful hiking trail right by these cabins, 10 and 11, the Red Tail Ridge, that was semi-short (2.5 miles or so if desired to create a loop with Big Oak) and had views of the river and Shenandoah valley below!

Absolutely loved hiking at Bear's Den Overlook! The trail was peaceful, well-maintained, and had…read morebeautiful scenery the entire way up. The hike itself was fairly easy and can be finish under a hour. It is dog friendly, fairly shaded, and trail is well marked. You can sit down on the rock ledges and look at the incredible panoramic views of the Shenandoah Valley and the Blue Ridge Mountains. There is a small parking lot. It's a perfect spot for a quick getaway from the city, whether you're going for sunrise, sunset, or just a relaxing day outdoors. After can hit up Bear Chase Brewery close by.

A great quick out and back hike! It took us about 20-30 minutes from the parking lot to get to the…read moretop with no breaks. Great view from the top and a quick walk to the bear den hostel from the top. Well maintained trail. Lots of parking even on the weekends although it can get rather crowded on the trail

I stayed at gooney Creek for three nights beginning October 11th. I am confident that I had the…read moremost pristine site in the campground right on the creek with water and electric hookup. I've camped for the past 50 years and sitting by the creek at gooney Creek was one of the most beautiful campsites I've ever sat in. Although I did not meet the owner, I spoke with her and she was very helpful! On site a gentleman named James was incredibly helpful! I'm a woman traveling alone in a pop-up camper and he helped me set the whole thing up... A very kind and generous soul! If you're interested in a bunch of bells and whistles... This would not be the campsite for you... What it offers is amazing nature along a creek... If that's what you're interested in... Then this would be the spot for you. Yes, there is some highway noise at times but if you sit close enough to the creek like I did... I couldn't even hear it I loved it here and totally give it a solid five stars for letting you immerse yourself in nature... Thank you to the owner and thank you to James! Mary

The pictures are deceiving. Campground was dirty, tires and old tarps layed out on the dirt. Grass…read morewas overgrown and the "Airbnb" looked like shambles from the exterior. For an "Airbnb"," it did not look safe nor welcoming. The cabin and tiny home don't look anything like the pictures, it's dull looking and has trash everywhere. I expected more based on the ratings and pictures. Owners need to do better.

Very nice site. Staff were friendly. Sites are well maintained…read more I have a couple of recommendations. The dog park is nice, but it would be great if you had a trash can to throw away the poop at the site. Hope to be back again

Beautiful campground Laundry room was clean…read more It was a rainy weekend but the kids enjoyed playing on the playground when it wasn't raining It's a small playground but enough for our little ones The wifi worked fine There are some toys in the shop for kids to play with on rainy days The owner makes custom tumblers; I bought two, one of which she made custom for me. They are all beautiful! We would've stayed longer but the following weekend was fully booked so we are on the road again

I went to a 420 festival here and it wasn't what I was expecting. The people were nice and so were…read morethe vendors. I was expecting more companies trying to sell you things on how to grow your herbs. If the government would stay out of this everyone would benefit from each other. Whether from a economic standpoint and for the help it does for others. Now only the government is making the money because they are the only ones who are allowed to sell you the herb and then they have you in the system . The government allows these companies to functionson, so they get the profi. You can't buy seeds for your 4 plants you are allowed to grow. I didn't give it low stars because it really isn't their fault. Maybe next year the government with get off its heiney and get on with what was promised to the voters.

This place is a hidden gem! Our crew of 6 went tubing and it was a great time! The water level was…read morea little low so it was a little slow moving but it was beautiful weather and the float down the river was gorgeous! So don't let the water level keep you away! The owner was so kind and we will definitely be back!

This place is amazing! It seems to be a family run place which adds so much to the charm. The staff…read moreis extremely nice and helpful. They are so inviting to everyone and seem to really care about making sure your stay is as good as it could be. And it's all a great value. The sites are close and not very private. The people next to us had rented two sites next to each other and were being extremely loud during the day which kinda sucked because we came to relax, but that is no fault of the campgrounds. We've had two different spots on the river and it is amazing to wake up to the sound of a flowing river in the morning. Port a Johns are the only bathrooms in the campground area, but in the main building, a short few minute walk away, there are four bathrooms with toilets and full warm showers. They are kinda dirty but it's camping and to have a hot shower was amazing no matter how dirty they were. I was just happy they were there at all. You can rent tubes from them to float the river and they give you a ride a couple miles down the river and drop you off to float and you can float right back up to you campsite when you reach the campgrounds! It's amazing! Make sure you check the river levels before going so you can have a smooth float. If the river is too low, you'll scrape your bum on rocks but it's still fun none the less! My go to. Can't wait to go again.

Terrible smell from the portal potty dirty no toilet papper! Lady tried to charge me for extra…read moreheads on the first night I had not even checked in till the following morning. Rude couple made us turn down the music and not allow us to sing . Camping was to be singing songs and fun . Rude ass couple ruined the entire stay . NEVER AGAIN!

This place is rundown and all sites are unbelievably un-level. The person in charge of contractor…read morespaces is so unprofessional. She drives around all day smoking cigarette after cigarette and rents you a space from her car (which I guess is the office). There seems to be no rules regarding what junk you can pile outside your RV. The rent here is $750 monthly plus electric. This place charges double what other parks in the vicinity charge for electricity. When it rains you have flood water running down the middle of the road. If you are planning to stay in the short term contractor spots be prepared to have a lot of base material to level your RV. Spaces are very tight and unkempt. First RV Resort I've ever known that requires their tenants to mow and/or weedeat their spaces. Also you basically sit on an ant hill here so be prepared to deal with ants. If you are lucky enough to get a picnic bench at your site it is most likely in pitiful condition. Rusty nails sticking out and barely standing. The employees that man the guard shack are very nice and the maintenance department are very nice respectful people. Watch out for Jeri (manager of short term contractor sites) she is toxic and completely unprofessional.

We stayed here about 10 years ago and it reminded me of a poorly maintained trailer park.  I…read morerecently came across some Youtube videos reviewing this campground and it appeared to have changed names and become a "resort".  I called and made the booking with the office, not as friendly as one would expect.  I drove up to the kiosk to check in and gave the woman my name.  She gave me this puzzled look, I then said "I have a booking" and her reply was "why didn't you tell me that", in this argumentative tone.  I was so taken aback with her response.  I asked if there were other sites available and if so could we be assigned to another site.  Right away her reply was "that's all we have".  I drove down towards the assigned site and right away it appeared quiet but my site was between campers that were unoccupied.  In fact most campers appeared to be stored there, not weekend campers.  My site was littered with plastic bottles, paper and plastic utensils.  I called the office right away and a woman answered.  I asked if I could move to another site and I was told, nope, that's all we have as other people are coming in over the weekend.  I explained to her this is not at all what I had expected.  The woman then stated "you can leave if you want and we will refund your money.  I hooked up the camper and drove to the exit, left and drove home.  It was a waste of time and money driving out to Front Royal. This is NOT a resort, it's more like a run down trailer park with a ton of stored campers.

Amazing campground in the national park! Our site was fairly level and plenty of room for our truck…read moreand camper. The restrooms were clean, and the camp hosts were super friendly! Every site had a bear proof box to store food and coolers in, and the site we were on was pretty private with dense vegetation on 3 sides. (Site B140) I loved the hike to the waterfall right from the campground, it was a great hike and the payoff was well worth the 4.5 mile journey. Even better was that we only saw a handful of other people on the hike!

Matthew's Arm is considered the better campground in this Park because it has:…read more 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

This is now a Spacious Skies…read more The good: beautiful sunset view from the pergola pull thru sites (#28). Immaculate bathrooms and grounds. Quiet. Close to the National Park. The bad: the flies. I've never experienced anything like this. It turns out the campground is surrounded by active farmland. The farmer sprays manure on the cornfield. This created a plague of flies. I suggest avoiding the campground during peak corn season and/or picking a campsite in the center of the grounds as far away from the fields as possible. It was unbearable and we had to purchase a net for our canopy and that still didn't keep them out.

It has changed to spacious skies campground It is a…read morebeautiful campground would've given five stars but the wifi did not work at all The spots were not easy to pull into (the pull through spots) The playground needs to be fixed up but my 2 year old still enjoyed playing on it They have 2 pools, a billiards house, the bounce pillow, and a few other things Plenty to keep you busy without wifi unless of course it's a rainy day