Forest camping near Buena Vista
Spend a few days in Virginia’s Natural Bridge State Park while camping near Buena Vista.
96% (1822 reviews)
- Buena Vista
96% (1822 reviews)
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12 top forest campgrounds near Buena Vista
100%
(321)
Thunder Bridge
23 sites · Lodging, RVs, Tents100 acres · Natural Bridge Station, VA
Situated at the foot of the Blue Ridge Mountains and bordering the Jefferson National Forest, Thunder BRidge has scenic, large, private tent sites and cabins in the woods for those who want to experience camping at its finest. Many of the sites border Elk Creek. Our RV sites are large, flat and at the edge of the forest in a well kept open green space.
Our 100 acres was originally a camp built by the Civilian Conservation Corp in the "30s and early '40s, then a boys' juvenile detention center and Big Brothers'/Big Sisters' camp, which closed in 2009. The tent sites and cabins are in the forest, away from the buildings out front, but you're free to walk around and check out the historic site. We'd like to share the camp with others and see it come back to life.
All within a short driving distance are the Natural Bridge, wineries, breweries, Natural Bridge Zoo, Safari Park, Dinosaur Kingdom, Appalachian Trail, Blue Ridge Parkway, James River, historic Lexington, Devil's Marbleyard, Glenwood Horse Trail, swimming holes, etc. We have river access 2 miles up the road if you'd like to fish or put your kayak or canoe in. Truly, there is something nearby for everyone. We'd be happy to give you recommendations of things to see and do.
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$30
/ night
98%
(269)
Arcadia Sanctuary
15 sites · Lodging, RVs, Tents83 acres · Buena Vista, VA
Arcadia is the name we gave to our 83-acre mountainside retreat center for Earth-Based Spirituality.
It’s nestled on the south-eastern slope of 4000-foot Mount Pleasant in Central Virginia, convenient to I81. (Note, there is a town called Arcadia off I81, but that is not us. Not to confuse.)
We have a mountain creek with waterfalls, towering Beech and Sycamore trees, Witch Hazels leaning over the water, trout, crayfish, snakes, salamanders, and all the rest. We have about 2000 feet of the vertical mountainside with trails to explore. (But the stage and most of the camping is down closer to creek-level.)
There are more sites higher up the mountain if you like more isolated camping.
More of a trek to the bathrooms/showers/freshwater.
We have one of the finest private stages on the East Coast with a top-notch sound system and a natural amphitheater which is like a single pie wedge of a Stadium that has regular live performances throughout the spring, summer, and fall.
Our yurt is regularly booked as a unique glamping experience.
There are chickens, ducks, turkeys, and guinea fowl free-roaming.
Two dogs, nine cats, and several humans are blessed to call this home.
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$30
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97%
(195)
Mane Gait Equestrian Center
2 sites · RVs, Tents140 acres · Natural Bridge, VA
Mane Gait is conveniently located right off route 81 and can accommodate large rigs. You won't find better views of the blue ridge mountains on this gorgeous working horse farm. We have hiking trails through beautiful private scenery for beginners to advanced hikers. Pets are welcome if leashed! Picnic area on site as well as laundry machine. We are 10 minutes from downtown historic Lexington Virginia that provides great restaurants and lots of history in the charming town of Lexington. Site 2 should be booked for smaller campers around 25 feet. Site 1 is better for larger campers.
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$35
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94%
(122)
Camping at Lazy River Farm
3 sites · Lodging, Tents20 acres · Iron Gate, VA
Learn more about this land:
Lazy River Farm has so much to offer. Tents sites are in a wooded setting, on a beautiful hill, spread out for privacy. Camp sites also have fire pits with wood ready for you at your site. Camp sites can be accessed with a 4 wheel drive vehicle or all wheel drive, a short walk up to your site. With easy access down to the river, you can cool off in the beautiful Cow Pasture River.
Glamping in the Vardo Wagon is another option, with its close proximity to the river and cozy interior.
Rent kayaks or paddle boards if you want to go on beautiful floats that wont disappoint you, (paddle boards and kayaks are available for free if you paddle near the farm) drop in a line to fish, or simply sit by the river and listen to the soft rapids.
Lazy River Farm is a working farm, with lovely Scottish Highland Cattle as well as pigs, chickens and horses. Your welcome to come and pet the animals or even possibly help feed them.
Nearby there are vineyards and breweries, the beautiful historic Masonic Theater, C&O heritage center, miles of back roads to explore, as well as local restaurants. Lazy River Farm and Gala Adventures offer many activities, on and off the farm. Contact us directly for a full range of what we have to offer, or have questions regarding any site.
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$35
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98%
(26)
4 Mile Rock Meadow
2 sites · RVs60 acres · Montebello, VA
Nestled in the heart of the Blue Ridge Mountains, just a stone's throw away from Crabtree Falls in Montebello, Virginia, lies a one-of-a-kind campsite. Spread across 60 acres of enchanting hardwood forest, the site boasts a mountain top meadow at the crest of Fork Mountain. Adventure seekers will love the onsite hiking and bird watching opportunities, while biking, fishing, and horseback riding can be enjoyed in the nearby vicinity. As a unique feature, this campsite offers an unobstructed view of the stars, making it a perfect spot for stargazing enthusiasts. Welcome to your very own Dark Sky campsite!
4 Mile Rock Meadow offers
Designated Fire Pit
2 Water Pumps
2 Electric Hookups
Picnic Tables
Pet Friendly Area
Privacy
Dark Sky Area
The state road leading to the property is narrow for the last 1.5 miles.
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$50
/ night
99%
(36)
Meili Mtn - Tye River Waterfall
1 site · RV, Tent35 acres · Wintergreen, VA
A beautiful, convenient yet very private property on the Tye River will be your base camp for all your favorite area attractions. Camp, hike, fish, and relax on 35 heavily wooded acres in the Washington and Jefferson National Forest. The property was bought in 2021 and new features are being added for the ideal hipcamp getaway. Stay tuned for more details and picture as they become available.
Learn more about this land:
This is your perfect, fully unplugged, rustic back country getaway. Conveniently located directly off Route 56 and across from the Tye River, yet heavily wooded with hiking access to a stunning private waterfall and stream. Only 1/2 mile upstream from Crabtree Falls and about 5 miles to the 3 Ridges/Priest Mountain trailhead on the AT. Also easy drives to many of our favorites like: St Mary's Wilderness - Blue Mtn Barrel House - Trager Brothers Coffee - Basic Necessities Cafe - Spy Rock - Wintergreen - The Brewing Tree - White Rock Falls - Blue Ridge Parkway - Montebello General Store (public restroom for customers) - Sweet Bliss Bakery - Jefferson & Washington National Forest - Tantivy Lavender Farm and so much more.
This back-country location has multiple tent sites available* with no amenities and very limited to no cell coverage. We are allowing some camping near the waterfall on an 8x8 wooden tent platform or feel free to camp at a few other spots on the property we will share during booking. (no other campfire site are permitted on the property, although we have a firepit at 2 locations).
*Please note that there is NO camping available at the waterfall.
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$59
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85%
(123)
Cold Sulphur Springs Campground
6 sites · RVs, Tents100 acres · Goshen, VA
Learn more about this land:
ABOUT THE CAMPGROUND:
Tucked away in the small town of Goshen, Virginia, you will find the Historic Cold Sulphur Springs Campground. This beautiful site is situated amongst the mountains of Virginia, and has the amazing views that come with the outstanding location. Our grounds accommodate 3 campsites suited for tent camping, and 14 others appropriate for RV camping. Our site offers access to Cold Sulphur Springs Lake, where visitors can swim, fish, boat, and more. Our secluded location are perfect for a get-away from the city. In addition to our activities, we offer amenities such as a bathhouse, as well as electric and water hook-ups, and a dump station. Please note that we are also a seasonal campground, so we offer accommodations to both nightly and annual visitors. Some seasonal campers leave their vehicles at the site for the season, so you will see a mix of empty and occupied sites.
NOTES ABOUT BOOKING:
***During hunting season (October-December), target practice and shooting will be held on Sundays from 3-6 PM at the dam. Please avoid the lake and lake area during shooting time. The road is safe to use to access the campground. Practice is limited to monthly and seasonal campers.***
Please plan ahead when joining us! Our location really is quite remote, so bring flashlights or headlamps to ensure you have enough light to set-up camp if staying overnight, especially if you are expecting a late arrival.
Please specify if you would like a fire pit and/or picnic table when booking.
We have both tent camping and RV camping sites. Please specify which kind of site you will need. If camping with an RV/camper, please note we offer 30 and 50 amp power at each site.
Finally, please note that we are a campground under new ownership and we will be making improvements as we go (tree trimming, seeding, plumbing, etc.)! Please excuse any noise or mess. We will do our best to schedule our maintenance away from your campsite, but it may be in the vicinity.
OUR LOCATION:
Goshen's location is extremely convenient, with the cities of Lexington and Staunton just a short drive away. Day trips to Lynchburg and Roanoke are also easily done from Goshen. Douthat State Park and the Goshen Pass are nearby as well. We recommend the Goshen Pass as the best swimming hole around!
OUR HISTORY:
In addition to being a beautiful and serene place to be, Cold Sulphur Springs has a wonderful history that can be re-imagined just by stepping on site. The Historic Cold Sulphur Springs Campground dates back to at least the mid-late 1800s, when it was a large, flourishing resort frequented by travelers from near and far. In its heyday, the resort bustled with more than 250 guests who often spent entire summers there playing croquet and enjoying orchestra concerts at the hotel dance hall. They would arrive at the Goshen train station and be brought to the resort by horse and buggy, greeted with ice cold lemonade. Those who visited Cold Sulphur Springs, doctors especially, attributed miraculous medicinal benefits to the water, recommending it as a cure for a variety of ailments and encouraging patients to visit.
However, the 1900s brought the onset of World War I and the advent of the automobile, allowing Americans to travel freely to a variety of locations without the need to summer for months at one resort. These factors caused the hotel at Cold Sulphur Springs to lose patrons and eventually meet its demise through fire and other means of destruction.
Today, the grounds provide a simpler kind of hospitality. Cold Sulphur Springs is a place for travelers from all walks of life to camp, fish, swim, boat, hike, and more. While little remains of the old hotel, the historic Spring House is still in tact at the campground, as are some remnants of original building foundations. Please note the springs are not accessible for guest use.
We invite you to explore the wonder that is the Historic Cold Sulphur Springs Campground and see the beauty that lies within.
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$50
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98%
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Wilderness Adventure
92 sites · Lodging, RVs, Tents500 acres · New Castle, VA
Wilderness Adventure is more than just a campground. Along with our wide range of camping and lodging options, we also offer free and paid adventure activities like tubing, canoeing, hiking, biking, and more!
Don't miss out on our group program offerings like retreats, corporate gatherings, youth groups, and weddings.
Camping
WA offers private and communal campsites to fit the needs of any size group you are traveling with and has a shared bathhouse with showers and toilets. Drinking water is available from multiple locations
Activities for Guests
Hiking, mountain biking, and trail running on our onsite trails, Canoeing, tubing, swimming or fishing in our pond, creek sitting, fire pits, sand volleyball, horseshoes, disc golf, corn hole, and endless open space to wander and relax.
Basecamp Adventure Activities
Canoe Rentals/Shuttle $40/trip/boat
Sit on top Kayak Rentals/Shuttle $30/trip/boat
Tubing/Shuttle $20/trip/person
Mountain Bike Rental $25/half day, $50/full day
Area Activities
Hiking, Mountain Biking, Gravel Biking, Bikepacking, 4-wheeling, Rock Crawling:
Virginia's Triple Crown - Dragon's Tooth, McAfee Knob, and Tinker Cliffs
Hoop Hole
Roaring Run
North Mountain/Dragons Back
Carvins Cove
Mill Mountain
Douthat State Park
Craigs Creek
Food, Summer Events and Festivals
Throughout the summer we have delicious made-to-order meals from our Outpost from Friday dinner to Sunday Breakfast. Campstore: Our camp store is open during select hours. You can purchase firewood, ice, sunscreen, beverages, merchandise, and other items you may enjoy during your stay. (hours vary or by appointment)
Check out our event calendar for all upcoming events.
Annual Events Include:
Camp Reckoning
Yoga Venture
WA Fest
DiscVenture
Appalachian Mountaineer
Retreat Center, Group Program, Corporate Retreats, Family Reunions https://www.wilderness-adventure.com/groups
Whether you’re organizing a group retreat or looking to get away for a weekend with the family in Virginia’s Blue Ridge, let us be your Basecamp for Adventure. Wilderness Adventure offers an extensive list of adventure activities for any group along with easily accessible rentals for quick getaways. All of our listings lie on 500 gorgeous acres run by Wilderness Adventure at Eagle Landing. Bordered by 500 yards of Craigs Creek along the front of our property and mountains in the rear, Wilderness Adventure offers our guests extensive trails to hike, ponds for fishing and swimming, canoeing and tubing. Giant Swing, Team Building, Low Ropes, High Ropes, Caving, Rock Climbing, Mountain bike lessons and guided trips,
Other Cool Stuff
The Swinging bridge Restaurant - Paint Bank VA
The Mill Mountain Star - Roanoke VA
Lasterday Market - New Castle, VA
Lemon & Vale Cakery, New Castle, VA
Bibos Pizzeria - New Castle, VA
Parkway Brewing Company - Salem, VA
And so much more!
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$25
/ night
85%
(86)
12 Gates Farms
10 sites · Lodging, RVs, Tents10 acres · Montvale, VA
This property was once a 300 acre plus tobacco farm.
The original log cabin was built in the 1850s and now serves as our dining room.
The front portion of the house was completed in April of 1861 and the back in the early 1900s.
We have plans to eventually turn it into a working farm which produces tinctures, salves and extracts of various native plants including hemp.
Learn more about this land:
Heavily wooded mountain side with flowing creek. Easy access (walking distance) to Jefferson National Forest, National Forest horse trail and the Blue Ridge Parkway. (Note: You cannot drive to the Blue Ridge Parkway as the path is an old forest road which has been gated, but you can walk up to it.) We also have a small, uncovered tree house which is available on a first come, first served basis. Only site 4 is next to the brook. However, the site positions are for the purposes of the listing only. You may camp anywhere on the property. There is plenty of frontage on the creek and several tents can go up there. We also now have a purple bus which is retrofitted as a camper and has a refrigerator, stove and television which is connected to our internet. The toilets at the treehouse and the bus are flushing, camping toilets with sinks.
To find us easily, use what3words.com and enter the words wished.wobbles.shelves. That square is our driveway. The large white square to the right of it is our house.
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$15
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Thunder BRidge Cabins
1 site · Lodging100 acres · Natural Bridge Station, VA
Situated at the foot of the Blue Ridge Mountains, and bordering the Jefferson National Forest, Thunder BRidge has scenic, large, private campsites in the woods for those who want to experience camping at its finest. Many of the sites border Elk Creek.
Our 100 acres was originally a CCC camp, then a boys’ juvenile detention center and Big Brothers’/Big Sisters’ camp.
All within a short driving distance are the Natural Bridge, wineries, breweries, Natural Bridge Zoo, Safari Park, Dinosaur Kingdom, Appalachian Trail, Blue Ridge Parkway, James River, historic Lexington, Devil’s Marbleyard, Glenwood Horse Trail.
We've decided to keep the cabin open for the winter months (Dec. through March) but the bath house will not be open unless we have unseasonably warm temperatures. There will be outhouses for your use and we can provide drinking water if you need it.
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$95
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96%
(52)
Boondock on the Farm
5 sites · RVs, Tents21 acres · Staunton, VA
Learn more about this land:
21 acres, a mix pasture and woodlands. An old barn residence provides a swimming pool and patio. Cattle freely graze the pasture, chickens run in the yard. Wildlife sightings include whitetail deer, turkeys, rabbits, and foxes. Stargaze, bird watch, hike or bike the hilly landscape, picnic or camp in the secluded clearing at the back of the property. Minutes from bustling downtown Staunton, VA, enjoy the best of both worlds on your trip to Loganberry Hill Farm. Eggs and seasonal fresh produce available for purchase.
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$30
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(1)
Beaverdam Falls
3 sites · Lodging65 acres · Covington, VA
Nestled on a private 65-acre farm in the Alleghany Highlands of Virginia, Beaverdam Falls is located on VA SR-311 (Kanawha Trail) in the Sweet Springs Valley. Nestled in the old community of Earlehurst, between Covington & Roanoke, Beaverdam Falls are an historic series of waterfalls on private property. The Falls are at the headwaters of Dunlap Creek and are the terminus for the Sweet Springs. Available for guest stays & recreation, are the Upper Falls portion. Surrounded by the verdant George Washington National Forest, the Upper Falls, displays a constant waterfall of around 40-feet in height, & decorates the final mile stretch of the Sweet Springs, both on our property. Additional beautiful cascades pepper our tract of Beaverdam Falls as well. This private tract of unparalleled Virginia countryside will simply astonish your expectations. As the source of the Falls, Sweet Springs Creek, serves as a long, unique home for trout, calcified travertine rock, chalybeate water, and ancient beaver dams (as well as active ones!). Beaverdam Falls is a rare place for the lack of stone and the centuries of beavers who have left their trace in & on our creek—and swamp, the Stick Marsh, which has an active beaver dam. Be careful! They do bite!
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from
$100
/ night
Available this weekend
Under $50
Nearby parks
Explore the area’s public lands.
Forest camping near Buena Vista guide
Overview
Looking to embark on an outdoor adventure near Buena Vista, Virginia? Look no further than Hipcamp! With over 1,199 camping options available in the area, you're sure to find the perfect spot to pitch your tent or park your RV. Whether you prefer a secluded private farm like Private Farm Minutes to Cville (354 reviews), a picturesque meadow at Camp Shenandoah Meadows (295 reviews), or a riverside retreat like Rivers Edge Trail Camp (267 reviews), there's something for everyone. Enjoy popular amenities like trash disposal, showers, and pet-friendly locations. And if you're into whitewater paddling, surfing, or biking, you'll find plenty of opportunities to indulge in these exciting activities. So why wait? Start planning your camping trip today!
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