3 Days in VA

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Dusther210

Dusther210

Rank VII
Member

World Traveler III

5,483
Oakland, Bergen County, New Jersey, United States
First Name
Dustin
Last Name
Helms
Member #

24720

Ham/GMRS Callsign
KD2UNH
Service Branch
USAF
Due to... 2020 my wife and I had to change our normal Thanksgiving plans. We found this camp site in Luray, VA (in the GW National Forest). The place is called #1 Rock Tavern River Kamp. It's got an interesting name and everything else in the area is closed. The owner seems very nice, in addition to the yurts the place is famous for, she offered us a deal on one of their tent spots right on the waterfront. It's gravel and it seems like any neighbours would be very close. My wife really liked the place for the view from the spot, it was an easy to get to and set up site, and the hot water bathhouse just across from the site. I'm pretty sure it would be a popular spot with any wife/ girlfriend. It wasn't what I was looking for though, and then I learned they have 2 primitive camp sites. I have seen NO info on these primitive sites online, but the owner compared them to camping in Shenandoah National Park... I've never camped there.

I plan to give a little review of the place after our trip, but also while we are down there we plan to explore the nearby Flagpole Knob trail. Big shout out and thanks to @Boucher on here who was awesome and shared the route with me. After spending the last 24 hours watching youtube videos we decided on that route because it seemed most scenic, not too difficult and wasn't a dead end. I hope it's not closed.

This is an invitation to anyone that wants to join us on the trail. We probably won't get there too early (after coffee for sure), but probably late morning on the 25th. I hear it takes a good chunk of the day to do the trail. Feel free to reach out to me on here or DM if you want to join. We will also be monitoring FM 146.46 (KD2UNH) and GMRS channel 15 (462.55). If you are interested in camping, I know of a waterfront tent site that's available lol.

May also cruise Skyline drive on the 26th or 27th. After the trip I plan to share some pictures and summary of the camp and trail.
 
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Boucher

Boucher

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2,011
Maidens, VA, USA
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John
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Boucher
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Retired USN
Would love to go but I’m headed to my parents in Maine this week . Pm me if you need any help
 
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RedLeg

RedLeg

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646
Locust Grove, VA
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Leif
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Henecke
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Well... there have been at least 3 rollovers in that area this past year. After it rains, it becomes more treacherous, common sense. Pack your patience... it’s become a Mecca for all types of folks with 4WD/2WD/AWD and varying levels of experience and knowledge of trail etiquette. In decent weather you can see conga-lines of 20+ vehicles trekking up and down the trails leading to the top. You’ll probably be challenged to find a decent spot to camp as well and recently there have had to be groups going up there for the specific purpose of doing trash clean-up.
 
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Dusther210

Dusther210

Rank VII
Member

World Traveler III

5,483
Oakland, Bergen County, New Jersey, United States
First Name
Dustin
Last Name
Helms
Member #

24720

Ham/GMRS Callsign
KD2UNH
Service Branch
USAF
Took Switzer Lake Rd up and Union Springs Rd down. Had a late start and halfway up Switzer Lake Rd it was dark. According to the Youtuber Corgily people drive their cars up their, after driving that I am sure those people hate their cars and I still have no idea how they do it.

The fog at the top was NO JOKE lol. Didn’t get into enjoy much of a view, but it was quite an experience.

Very fun and interesting doing Union Springs in the dark. Very glad the rain held off. That last obstacle gave us some trouble and took us a few tries... even had to bust out the max trax. I think I probably picked a bad line, went far left.

But otherwise it was a very positive experience. Thank you again @Boucher for the maps!


I will soon be posting a review and pictures of the #1 Rock River Kamp
 

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Dusther210

Dusther210

Rank VII
Member

World Traveler III

5,483
Oakland, Bergen County, New Jersey, United States
First Name
Dustin
Last Name
Helms
Member #

24720

Ham/GMRS Callsign
KD2UNH
Service Branch
USAF
We’ve been wanting to take these side steps off for a while. Pretty sure that happened on that last obstacle.

WTB: rock sliders for 2000 Nissan Frontier CC SB lol

For sale: steps for 2000 Nissan Frontier, slightly used. No lowballers, I know what I got :)
 

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Dusther210

Dusther210

Rank VII
Member

World Traveler III

5,483
Oakland, Bergen County, New Jersey, United States
First Name
Dustin
Last Name
Helms
Member #

24720

Ham/GMRS Callsign
KD2UNH
Service Branch
USAF
Because I was not aware of free camping in GWF I paid for 3.5 days at #1 Rock River Tavern Kamp. It is popular for its yurts and there is a sign there that reads “glamping at it’s finest”.

The bathroom is not the fanciest but it was greatly appreciated by the wife. The bathroom has a familiar feel for a former grunt/ Afghanistan vet. This was the low point of the experience, but I wouldn’t consider the bathrooms bad, the water was warm and it was pretty clean. The wife was very happy she could shower and feel human during our 3 day trip.

Moving on to the other parts of the camp (...or kamp?) the owner seems very nice and genuine. She also seemed very surprised anyone would want to camp away from people and not in a yurt with neighbours lol, but she does have 2 dispersed camping spots. We tried them both.

Spot #1 is small and it is a bit difficult to back up to. I wouldn’t suggest this for anyone with an RTT. In both spots you can hear cars off in the distance, as well as the sound of the flow the south fork of the Shenandoah River. We camped here the first night and it was the best sleep we have ever had in our life. The tent area of this site is perfectly flat. The wood around here burns pretty good too.

We learned the owner is pretty hands off with these spots. At other camps we have had to check in and out. Her response when we called her on the 2nd day asking about this was great. We arrived at about 3:30am, set up the tent and passed out. She asked if we were in a tent spot, no problems? What needs to be checked, enjoy. And like that we were on our own and only saw another person when we went to the shower or into town.

Rain was coming in on the 2nd day and we moved to the other spot which had space...a LOT of space for our awning. So we moved. This spot is about the size of 5 or 6 regular tent sites. There are 2 fire pits and I couldn’t fit it all in one picture. I’m not a fan of the placement of the fire pits, but otherwise this spot was sweeet. It is on the crest of a hill with a creek on one side. Which btw, we got woken up one night to the sounds of a bear by the creek. There is a nice clearing where you can really appreciate the night sky and plenty of firewood scattered about at both camp sites although we also bought 2 log bundles from the camp.

Overall #1 Rock River Tavern Kamp was a bit pricey, especially compared with free options nearby. But the owner was very nice, we don’t regret one penny of it. We spent less for the 3.5 days here than one night at the hotel we usually stay at for thanksgiving. I would say if you are looking for a nice place to camp in the Shenandoah area with clean showers/bathrooms this is a great option.
 

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sappy96

sappy96

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Off-Road Ranger I

875
King George, VA, USA
First Name
Alex
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Kaliniowski
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23829

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WRKU477
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USAF
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Dusther210

Dusther210

Rank VII
Member

World Traveler III

5,483
Oakland, Bergen County, New Jersey, United States
First Name
Dustin
Last Name
Helms
Member #

24720

Ham/GMRS Callsign
KD2UNH
Service Branch
USAF
Boucher said:
Dusther210 said:
I’m also thinking about doing Peters Mill Run. Has anyone done that? How does that compare with Flagpole Knob?
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Let me know when you are coming back, I would like to join up for some trail time
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Actively planning on another trip down there hitting trails on a Monday or a Wednesday/ Thursday (most likely a Wednesday/Thursday) in either spring or fall.

After I get what works for you guys we can figure out which month, then the specific days and probably get a rally point going etc
 
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