Stony Fork Campground

Stony Fork campground is a beautiful, wooded location with some reservable sites and many FCFS sites. I booked the only pull-thru 6 months in advance. It was a good choice for us with our 46' fifth wheel pulled by a Freightliner HDT. We got into it easily. Some of the curves at the middle of the campground loop road are tight, but we made it. We had friends visit that are big like us too, and they easily backed into #8. There are a few sites that will accommodate larger rigs, but the road is only one narrow lane wide, so room for the truck to manuever could be an issue in some of them. Some sites are level, some have a pretty good slope to them. The hosts on duty were amazing and couldn't have been kinder or more helpful. The bathrooms/showers were clean. AT&T coverage was good enough to stream TV, there were no OTA channels. Verizon was slightly better. I don't measure using "bars", they are a useless measurement, and especially so if you have data only.

Stony Fork has large, private, shady sites. Some with water and electric ($30), electric only ($26), and dry ($20). Discount with pass, but less than 50%. $8 reservation fee. Campground is wooded with stream meandering through. Very peaceful and quiet. Host Steve does an excellent job and is very visible. There’s a 1 mile Nature Loop from camp that connects to the 5 mile Seven Sisters Trail. Strong Verizon signal. No OTA tv.

Park is very quiet at least during the week. Mostly level paved sites. Some have no hookups. Some have 30 amp only and some at 30 amp and water. Dump station is across the road from the campground. No over the air TV signal at least for us. T-Mobile was very fast. AT&T was not far behind but a little more spotty. We have a large rig and it was a "bear" backing into our site (46). Leaving was easier but we still had to be very careful. Any of the sites close to the creek does not have much room to back a trailered long rig. We were just passing through north and back south a week or so later and enjoyed the quiet woody setting. Wytheville is just a few mins away with most of the standard restaurants and business.

Driving along on SR 717 into Stony Fork Campground reminded me of my beloved Huron National Forest in northern Michigan. The biggest difference being the mountains and hills surrounding this camp in Virginia. But the feeling is the same. Beautiful pines and their smells everywhere.

The campground itself is basically a ¾ mile loop. There are no playgrounds or water slides so a major influx of loud and busy young children is not likely. This is nature at its best. The surrounding area includes the small town of Wytheville which held promise but ultimately failed in keeping its bloom. There is a rich history, though a bit unknown by the general public. Wytheville was named after George Wythe who (from Wikipedia) “was an American academic, scholar and judge who was one of the Founding Fathers of the United States. The first of the seven signatories of the United States Declaration of Independence from Virginia, Wythe served as one of Virginia's representatives to the Continental Congress and the Philadelphia Convention and served on a committee that established the convention's rules and procedures. He left the convention before signing the United States Constitution to tend to his dying wife. He was elected to the Virginia Ratifying Convention and helped ensure that his home state ratified the Constitution. Wythe taught and was a mentor to Thomas Jefferson, John Marshall, Henry Clay and other men who became American leaders.”

The dedicated wife of the 28th president Woodrow Wilson, Edith Bolling Wilson, was born in Wytheville about 8 miles south of the campground. We visited her family home downtown and had a tour of the museum.

From Wikipedia: “The Edith Bolling Wilson Birthplace Foundation & Museum in Wytheville, Virginia was established in 2008. The foundation has stabilized the first lady's birthplace and childhood home; it had been identified in May 2013 by Preservation Virginia as an Endangered Historic Site. The foundation's programs and exhibits aspire to build public awareness "honoring Mrs. Wilson's name, the contributions she made to this country, the institution of the presidency, and for the example she sets for women." The Foundation shares First Lady Mrs. Wilson's journey "From Wytheville to The White House."

Our site #9 was completely private and bordered the creek running along a steep dropoff below. AT&T service was 2 bars (sometimes only 1) of 5G and was enough to take care of limited online responsibilities. There may be stronger signals at other sites. The cell tower is actually nearby. We paid $18 per night for the four nights we visited here. That price reflects the geezer discount.

Our site had only electricity but there was a water spigot across the street from us. We use a Berkey water filter system and a bucket so it was no problem keeping us supplied with fresh clean water to drink. Our onboard fresh water tank was used as sparingly as possible due to the only potable water connection available to refill our onboard tank was situated outside the campground itself at the dump station. There are upgraded sites that do provide both electricity and water. We preferred the privacy afforded at site #9.

Just outside of the campground, and turning left on SR 717, the road runs into Hwy 52. Another left and you head back to Wytheville through bucolic country. Turning right and you head up into the mountains and the amazing views this route provides. Hwy 52 ends at the Big Walker Mountain General Store which has a Civil war historical marker and a tower you can climb for around $8. Turning left on 623 and the road quickly turns into dirt and gravel for twelve miles up and around the mountains and is for vehicles with clearance and power enough to navigate the switchbacks and occasional rock or boulder. We were lucky not to have met another vehicle on the one-lane road as there was nowhere (anywhere) to pull over. The Burkes Garden Farm was closed but we ate a sandwich at Burkes Garden General Store. We continued on the now-paved 623 to a right turn on Hwy 61 and then another right onto 614 to get us home on paved roads. 614 was a beautiful trip and safe, though not recommended for RV’s and/or large trucks.. Going up the mountains took an hour or more and we traveled twenty-two miles. The return trip was forty miles and also took an hour or more.

There are a couple trails nearby. The Stony Fork Nature Trail is within the campground itself and is a one mile semi-circle through the woods. The other trail called Seven Sisters connects to this trail and runs a total of four miles one-way. Our nice campground host offered to pick us up at the end of the Seven Sisters trail if we chose to call him. Being a bit crippled up of late we opted to just use the one mile loop which also has the remains of an old homestead and the signage providing the history behind it. This is a five-star campground for aesthetic reasons, however four nights for us was enough of a visit.

We stayed here in our 38' motorhome with toad. The park is 4 miles off I-77 and on a good two-lane road. The entrance was well marked. The park host did come up to us upon arrival, but we were prepared to find our own site. You do need advance reservations. Our site was # 24 and an easy back in for us, not all sites would be an easy back in for our size rig. Site #29 would also have been an easy back in. The host did suggest we unhook in front of site 21, as it was flat and straight and that worked out perfectly. There were lots of pretty trees and you could not see your neighbors, no one was close together. It was a very peaceful and pretty spot.

$30 for E/W, $28 for E, $20 a basic site

Wonderful place. I came on a Thurs and left on a Sun during the off-season. The views were beautiful, the trees smelled amazing, and the running creek sounded charming while going to bed.

The dump station was a little wonky as the main island dumping stations are cemented over and the new station doesn't have a waste water washer rinse. But the island that no longer has a dump does. I was by myself so I didn't care too much.

I Have A Small Camper. It’s actually an A-Frame Forest River. So I Can’t Judge For Bigger Rigs. But In My Opinion This Is The Best Campground I Have Stayed In. I’m Partial To The Mountains. So That Is Some Bias. But This Campground Is Clean The Sites Are Well Spaced Out. It Has Dark Skies. It’s Very Quiet. The Host Was Great. It’s Close To Things To Do That Are Relaxing. Don’t Miss A Trip Over To Burkes Garden. Big Walker Mountain General Store Is A Neat Place To Visit In with Fantastic Overlook Vistas. Lots Of Dirt Roads To Drive In Scenic Pastoral And Mountain Settings. The Campground Hooks Up To Long Distance Trails. Town is nearby but the setting feels remote.
It’s Probably My New Most Favorite Campground.

This campground will fit big rigs but is not big rig friendly. The dump station across the highway is very narrow - this is also where you can fill your water tank for the electric only or dry camp sites. Signage on the highway is terrible and most GPS's are "challenged" with the exact address for the entrance. Interior roads are very narrow so watch for ditches when backing in. Clean bathroom and showerhouses. 30 amp worked fine. Able to get level on asphalt pad with nice grass space, picnic table and fire pit. Quiet and dark at night. All staff are volunteer, no "office" so know your site number before you arrive.

Stayed for 1 night while traveling South. Very quiet with spacious sites. Such a beautiful area! Campsites require leveling blocks, but not unexpected since it is in the mountains. We enjoyed a nice hike along the nature trail within the campground. Will definitely stay again, however will ensure heavy rain is not in the forecast as this campground is subject to flash flooding which would close the campground road.