Grindstone Campground

It’s a long, uphill and winding road but it’s worth the drive I promise. Sites all seem to be large pretty level. Lots of room between sites and plenty of privacy. 30 amp and water at the site and a dump station. Very well staffed and they couldn’t be nicer. There is WiFi at the checkin station so be sure to ask for the password when you see someone. There is ZERO cell service. Even with our WeBoost we were dead. But drive 10 min down the road to Skulls Gap overlook and have full bars and a gorgeous view. There are 3 loops. We stayed in Groundhog. It was great but I would choose one of the other 2 if we return. Groundhog sits closest to the access road and even though it was lightly traveled I feel like it may have been quieter in one of the inner loops. That being said, if Groundhog is all that’s available take it for sure. The campground stays damp nearly all year, I think due the elevation, so it is full of a variety of beautiful ferns and mosses. There was a state wide fire ban when we were there but the campground was not enforcing it due to the conditions that apparently only exist on that part of the mountain. What a great place! Be sure to find Sarah’s Fox Creek Store and have some lunch or grab a 6 pack and some homemade baked goods. Friendly people and a great BBQ sandwich.

Clean and quiet with nice hosts. The bathhouse on my loop was clean with a warm shower and clean toilets. The tent area for my site was asphalt but a lot of others were not. Trailhead to Mt Rogers can be found in the CG but this route DOES NOT include the primary primary pony viewing trails without a detour. Bear activity is high. I encountered a large adolescent about 2.5 miles on the trail at noon

Quiet campground and well maintained. You may hike to the highest point in Virginia, Mt. Rogers from the trailhead at the campground. I chose to drive to the Elk Garden trailhead located off Route 600 to avoid the steep climb out of the campground. Mt. Rogers is a 4.5 mile trek from the Elk Garden Trailhead, and 6.2 miles from the Grindstone Campground. Made a day trip to Grayson Highlands State Park (campground there is too tight for big rigs). There is Backpacker Trailhead located within this state park to hike to Mt. Rogers summit via Wilburn Ridge. Departing from Grayson Highlands SP takes you immediately into an alpine environment with spectacular views. Will camp again at Grindstone, and backpack the Mount Rogers National Recreation Area and the Crest Trail from Grayson and do an overnight on the mountain. There is no cell service at Grindstone.

We have stayed at Grindstone many times in the past; it is one of our yearly "goto" campgrounds. It is a federal campground in the Washington & Jefferson National Forest run by American Land & Leisure. VEry wooded campsites with plenty of privacy. There is NO cell service and up until recently they now have wifi at the check-in station. That was one of my major complaints, no internet, but not anymore. Sometimes its great to get unconnected but when you work online, it's good to have. We stay here when we do the Virginia Creeper trail out of Damascus, VA. That is a "must do". The hosts are awesome!

On our way up to the Shenandoah, we decided to stop here at Grindstone campground because it was close to the Appalachian Trail, Damascus, and Grayson Highlands SP. This park is a Biodiversity Wilderness, our first day we saw a Black Bear crossing the street, deer, otters, groundhogs, and plenty of birds. The park has a nature trail through the forest, and by the waters of a large creek, and a trail leading up to Mt. Rogers. Due to the high elevation of the park, most of the sites are deep into the driveway making a little hard to access. Our original site we had reserved online was totally downhill, making it impossible for our Motorhome to be balanced. Thanks to the camp host we were able to move to site 24, which was much easier to back in, and balance. We were surrounded by nature at its fullest. The park was very green, and mountain laurel in full bloom. Our site was close to the showers, and restrooms. We stayed in the "Cottontail" loop, there are two other loops in the park, a parking lot with day time use picnic area, and playground near the wading pool. The pool gets water from the creek, and overflow back into the creek. We had electricity and water, but no sewer; the dump station is at the entrance to the park. The park is about 45 minutes from Grayson Highlands State Park, also approximately 30 minutes from Whitetop Mountain the second tallest mountain in Virginia. Damascus is about an hour drive, and all because of the road leading to the town from the campground low speed, and treacherous turns. The closest town with amenities is Chilhowie which is 15 miles from the campground, there is also Troutdale, and Sugar Grove, but these towns just have gas station and convenient stores. Down side to this campground NO SERVICE, none at all! If you really want to get away from civilization this is the place to do it. The bathrooms, and showers are old, and the showers have only one setting "Very Hot." Other than that, this place was fantastic, quiet, peaceful, serene. We had the opportunity to hike on the Appalachian Trail, Ride down the Virginia Creeper Trail, and Hike The Channels. If you are near Damascus, or Abingdon take a little ride to Meadowville, and visit The Harvest Table, it was an awesome place to dine, organic, vegetarian, with a terrific staff. We stayed from July 5 through July 19th, and half the time it rained, but the weather was delicious, and our Air Conditioner took a 14 day break. Temperatures at night in the low 60's and during clear days 77.

We traveled across country staying in national and state and national forest campgrounds. One thing we realized is that Virginia seems to have high standards for campgrounds, not just their state ones. So, this is a national forest campground with both water and electric hookups, plenty of space and trees between sites and spotless bath houses. I was there in mid October and the rv sites were full, although there were plenty of tent sites free probably because of the below freezing night temps. There were many multi-rv families staying in adjacent sites. Very friendly campers and camp hosts. It reminds me of the campgrounds of my childhood. Nearby are many breathtaking hiking trails (Mt. Rogers National Forest and Grayson Highlands SP) and the famous mostly downhill Virginia Creeper bike trail. The majority of family clumps included trailers full of bikes. Site was perfectly level. This was also the first time I've seen a dump station with a picture how to dump sign (maybe because of the boom in rv rentals?). No cell service or wifi. Addendum: Returned in June and discovered they also have a nice, large, wading pond by diverting the creek and a spur trail to the Mt. Rogers summit Trail. Also, the tiny trail town of Damascus is about a 20 minute drive away if you need to get some wifi. Most of the sites are heavily shaded, except for #45 and 47.