Roaoke VA Camping Options

Another vote for Salem Village. Stayed here several times in the past and it worked well. Check the driving distance to your daughters soccer field, that may help you decide.

Roanoke is a beautiful community. Make sure you visit the downtown flea market, and the old hotel (sorry I can't remember the name) but everyone knows it. Lots of history.

Cecilt wrote:

dlos wrote:
Thanks for the suggestions! It really is bewildering as to why there are so few choices in that entire area. BRP, mountains, colleges all around it and nowhere to camp!

Dixie Caverns does not look appealing at all. Alta Mons might be ok but I've got some other reservations about that place.

I have stayed at the Natural Bridge KOA several times now and think it is the best option, however, traveling back and forth to Roanoke College 50 minutes each way kinda stinks. Oh well, still beats a hotel.

Since you will be on the Salem side of Roanoke you could stay at Claytor Lake State Park just south of Radford. About same distance as Natural Bridge KOA.

Now that's a thought! Thanks for the suggestion!

dlos wrote:
Thanks for the suggestions! It really is bewildering as to why there are so few choices in that entire area. BRP, mountains, colleges all around it and nowhere to camp!

Dixie Caverns does not look appealing at all. Alta Mons might be ok but I've got some other reservations about that place.

I have stayed at the Natural Bridge KOA several times now and think it is the best option, however, traveling back and forth to Roanoke College 50 minutes each way kinda stinks. Oh well, still beats a hotel.

Since you will be on the Salem side of Roanoke you could stay at Claytor Lake State Park just south of Radford. About same distance as Natural Bridge KOA.

Thanks for the suggestions! It really is bewildering as to why there are so few choices in that entire area. BRP, mountains, colleges all around it and nowhere to camp!

Dixie Caverns does not look appealing at all. Alta Mons might be ok but I've got some other reservations about that place.

I have stayed at the Natural Bridge KOA several times now and think it is the best option, however, traveling back and forth to Roanoke College 50 minutes each way kinda stinks. Oh well, still beats a hotel.

State parks would be Smith Mountain Lake and Douthat. SML about 45-50 minutes from Roanoke and Douthat, depending on where in Roanoke about 1 hour 15 minutes.

I would try Natural Bridge KOA. About 50 minutes and a nice CG.

Don't stay at Dixie Caverns. I live in Roanoke BTW

This place in Salem is a place that we were going to check out if we went there. It sure sounds better than Dixie Caverns.

Surprisingly, with all the outdoor opportunities the Roanoke Valley offers, camping choices are terrible. Which part of the area is your daughter going to be playing in? It can be 30 minutes or more from one side of the valley to the other.

Dixie Caverns rates as an "okay" place to stay for a couple nights out of necessity, but I would not call it a relaxing place (it is sandwiched between an interstate and another major highway) and its weekly/seasonal clientele can be "iffy" at times.

It will be a little bit of a drive, part of which is a windy two-lane country road, but Camp Alta Mons in Shawsville would be my pick. Any campground is likely to be full, crowded, and rowdy that weekend, but they have some nice sites on a small river/creek that are less crowded, if you are lucky enough to snag one before they all fill up. This would be about a 30-min. drive to the western side of the valley.

Alta Mons Camping

Good luck!
Regan