If we take Monday's temperatures and today's lovely sunshine we have a great reminder that it's time to think about getting the sleeping bags out of the attic and the tent aired out. Yes, March 1 marks the start of camping season on Virginia State Parks!
We have a few campgrounds with year round camping, but our traditional season starts March 1. As I visited Natural Tunnel State Park last week, I saw that they were readying their campgrounds for the season start. Their Lover's Leap Campground is one of our three newest camping facilities and opened last summer.
Lover's Leap added an additional 18 electric (20, 30 and 50 amp) and water sites and new bathhouse. The sites accommodate up to a 50 foot RV. The park's original campground, now called Cove View, has 16 electric (20 and 30 amp) and water sites accommodating up to 38 foot RVs.
Shenandoah River State Park also opened their new campground last summer. Theirs is the only full service campground we have open year round. We have four camping cabins in addition to 32 sites with water and electric (20 and 50 amp) hookups. Site accommodate up to a 60 foot RV. This campground augments the very popular ten site tent campground the park has operated for many years. There is also a group campground (the park takes the group campground reservations). This picture shows a campsite and one of the camping cabins with the wonderful backdrop of a mountain view.
Our newest campground opened today at Holliday Lake State Park. This campground, named Laurel Ridge, adds another seven electric (20, 30 and 50 amp) and water campsites, up to 38 foot RVs, and bathhouse to the park's original campground. Red Bud campground has 30 electric (20 and 30 amp) sites that accommodate tents, popups and small RVs up to 20 feet. They also have a new group campground for up to 30 campers. Hopefully we will get some pictures of this new campground soon.
Additional camping facilities are still under construction. Construction on equestrian campgrounds is under way at Royal Canin.
Whether you want a primitive campsite or a site for your 50 foot motor coach, we have camping opportunities in our Virginia State Parks. New to camping?Try our camping cabins at Westmoreland state parks. And if you aren't in to the camping scene but want an outdoor experience, we have cabins! Details on maximum size equipment, utilities, amenities and rules in our campgrounds can be found on each park's web page.
Don't forget the spring burn ban in effect through April 30. Wood and charcoal fires are prohibited between midnight and 4 p.m. Gas and propane stoves are allowed as well as fires after 4 p.m. (as long as they are fully extinguished by midnight).
One final camping reminder. We do allow dogs in our campgrounds (please refer to False Cape State Park's website for dog access restrictions). They must be on a leash of no longer than six feet and cannot be left unattended. We have capped our per night per dog pet fee of $5 to a $15 per dog maximum for the stay. Dog owners are expected to clean up after their dog and make sure it is well behaved at all times.
Reservations can be made through our call center at 800-933-7275 from Monday through Friday, 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. or you can book on line any time. On line reservations can be made up until midnight of the day prior to arrival. Same day camping reservations can be made up to 2 p.m. through the call center only. Reservations can be made up to eleven months in advance.