Blue Ridge, Skyline Drive & Beyond
I should have started this post 2 weeks ago because I am having issues remembering all the details. (See what happens when you are "an over the hill van dweller" 😂). I will now have to rely on my Polar Steps app which is an online journal creator that is totally awesome!
So after leaving Rocky Knob Campground on the Blue Ridge Parkway, we headed a bit east to spend a wonderful 2 weeks at Philpott Lake in Virginia. There are several Army Corps of Engineer campgrounds there and we stayed at two of them: Horseshoe Point & Goose Point.
We really enjoyed our stay at both campgrounds although both required driving on some pretty steep and curvy roads. If staying at Goose Point, I would recommend getting a site on the lower level near the lake as the upper level area is tightly packed with campsites and requires a long walk down a very steep roadway to access the water. Besides the amenities at the campground, we went to the nearby Fairy Stone State Park and searched for fairy stones and we visited the Martinsville NASCAR race track.
The Blue Ridge Parkway has a detour in the Roanoke VA area so when we left Philpott Lake, we headed north to regain access to the parkway in the vicinity of the Peaks of Otter Campground. The last section of the roadway between Bedford Virginia and the campground was super steep. The Peaks of Otter Campground was a bit run down and the camp host explained that it was due for some much-needed updates. Our picnic table was practically embedded in the dirt due to erosion but we were only there for one night and we practically had the whole place to ourselves.
After leaving Peaks of Otter Campground, we enjoyed the many beautiful vistas on our way to Sherando Lake Campground which is just south of Waynesboro Virginia.
Since the July 4th holiday was coming up, we decided to stay at Sherando for a whole 2 weeks since trying to find a spot anywhere over a holiday weekend is a challenge. We loved Sherando Campground even though the swimming lake was a little disappointing but we jumped in anyhow to cool off. We had an electrical hookup site there and potable water was available in between two day use parking lots where you could pull up and fill your tanks. We loved our site (B10) and the camp hosts there were amazing and the bathrooms were spotless.
There was just so much to do there: hiking, fishing, checking out the quaint town of Waynesboro and relaxing 😊. We had no Verizon cell service but our AT&T hotspot did work so we could stay connected.
The highlight of our stay was the wonderful people we met. People who we hope to stay in touch with and who will remain in our hearts forever 🥰.
Oh, I forgot to mention that this campground is not one of the Blue Ridge Parkway National Park campgrounds but is a Forest Service Campground. So it was a bit more expensive to stay here plus there was a reservation fee and all sites are now "online reservations only" and no more first come/first serve.
After leaving Sherando, we finished the last section of the Blue Ridge Parkway & jumped on the Skyline Drive to continue our travels and the views were gorgeous.
Our next camping stop was Loft Mountain Campground. We found the campgrounds on the Skyline Drive to be in better shape than most of those on the Blue Ridge Parkway. Maybe it's a revenue issue since there is a fee to enter the Shenandoah National Park/Skyline Drive whereas the Blue Ridge Parkway is for free. ??
There were deer everywhere and we really enjoyed our one-night stay there.
The next day we headed out and once again enjoyed all the beautiful views before arriving at our next spot which was the Big Meadows Campground. A "must do" thing here is to walk through the Big Meadow area which is across the street from the campground and there were so many gorgeous wildflowers.
This campground was pretty amazing because it really caters to the Appalachian trail hikers as well as to regular campers so it had coin operated showers and laundry facilities. The washers were only a dollar a load!!! The showers were really nice!!
Okay, this is turning out to be a very long post. Sorry 😊.
We spent our last night on the Skyline Drive at Matthews Arm Campground. This campground was a bit more rustic compared to Big Meadows but it was just fine for us and we had a nice stopover there.
The next day brought more amazing views.
So I'm hoping that my post will entice other van dwellers to explore these beautiful areas. One can easily spend an entire summer hiking the many trails and visiting the historical locations on both parkways. On a cautionary note, we learned that fog and bad weather can roll in very quickly so you need to allow time for those occasions when you may need to stop and pull over and wait for better driving conditions. Safe travels 🥰🚐.