Shenandoah National Park was full when we arrived Friday so the lady at the check in window referred us to Swift Run.
It wasn't that far away, and the checkin process was quick and painless. Our first assigned site (18) was next to a creek. I loved the sound of the water, but the knats were a bit much! I felt like a cartoon character running around with a cloud of knats around my head.
We were told they would probably leave that night since the weather was dropping, but we couldn't wait that long. The new site (19B) was spacious, but didn't have electricity. This wasn't a problem until the temperature dropped from the 60's to the 30's that night. Nurse! I had to go to the restroom at 4 in the morning and wanted to cry! I think I put on every piece of clothes I had in my bag and I still wasn't ready for that cold.
Thank goodness it warmed up during the day, but we already knew we couldn't take another night like that one. Thank goodness the camp attendants allowed us to move to an electrical site (11 or 11A). One of the campers told us the area had recently flooded which was why the ground was really soft, but it was fine for one night. The point was we weren't going to freeze to death! We ran up to Harrisonburg and bought a heater and additional supplies. That night was sooo much better except for the dog that barked for way too long.
During the day my husband and son rode around on their bikes, and my son had alot of fun on the swings. Their were two pools on site, but they both were closed. There's a large grassy area in the middle of the camp that my son enjoyed running around, but there wasn't much else to do.
We hung out by the camp fire grilling hotdogs and burgers, and toasting marsh mellows. We mostly enjoyed our stay.
"Know before you go" section:
1. Tent sites are $24. $28 for electricity and maybe water.
2. Country Deli store is right next door. There a path and stairs to walk to the store from the campground near the swings.
3. Morning bathroom smells clean, but as someone else mentioned the spider webs are left behind...maybe for decor or something idk. Saw a couple daddy long legs, but nbd. Two bathroom stalls and to showers with changing room. The water was nice and hot.
4. There isn't a grate for the firepit, so bring your own or buy one at the front store for around $17, if you want to grill that way.
4. Firewood is $1 a stick.
5. If you want to shop for something just save yourself some time and run up to Harrisonburg. They have Walmart, Home Depot etc. Nothing wrong with local shopping, we just spent a lot of time, and gas, trying to find different things at different stores. Just my opinion, but do you.
6. I think the traffic noise ended up being my biggest con. From around 1am to 6am was when it seemed to die down the most, but before then was pretty noisy for me. It affected my sleep, but didn't seem to bother my husband or son that much. read more