Blueridge Parkway Campgrounds

[wbwood]

We camped in two different campgrounds on the Blueridge Parkway this weekend and had two different experiences.

The first one was Julian Price Campground. Beautiful area. Campground needs updating. Roads are terrible and all sites are pretty much unlevel. Some more so than others. Someone defecated in one of the toilets and did not flush it in the bath house. Smelled real bad. Not sure how long it had been sitting. Wasn't using the bath house, but checked it out. There are no showers at this campground also.

What our firepit looked like. Why are people such pigs? And I wonder why it wasn't cleaned before our arrival at 7:30pm? Checkout was at noon, so there was plenty of time to clean it up.:




Our campsite:


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The 2nd campground was Linville Falls Campground and what a world of difference. But it may be because it was flooded in 2004 and rebuilt according to one of the rangers there. Didn't check out the bath house, but the outside appearance was much better. Sites were also better and the majority were more way level than the other campground, which is only about 20 miles up the road.

[Terryallan]

wbwood wrote:
Might would of considered TJ's, but since they are CW now, no thanks...lol

Come on now. you like CW. Besides you can use your GS discount for the CG. And it's not all that steep anyway. $30.00 pre night.

You may know, there are actually 2 CGs, One is the rally Park just across form the dealership, and there is the Cg out past that. It has huge paved sites, some on the river, and a small grill in the service center. From the Cg you would never know there is a dealership nearby.

Plus IF you wanted to. You could go over and shop in the new great big CW accessory store. Never saw so much RV stuff in one place. I'm thinkin of using the "Family" discount, and buying a new tongue jack as mine has developed a resistance to working.

We also use the CG as a base for going up to Black mountain and just messing around up there. By that time. It should be cool enough to enjoy.

[wbwood]

Might would of considered TJ's, but since they are CW now, no thanks...lol

[wbwood]

Terryallan wrote:

wbwood wrote:

Terryallan wrote:
Totally agree with Julian Price being let go and run down. everything needs maint, and JP gets very little of it.

We still go there every now and then, and have learned which loops to stay in, and which we can't. When we had the pup, it wasn't a problem. but now due to our size, there are only 4 or 5 sites we can squeeze into. If we can't reserve one we like online we don't go.

Linville is very nice. But we have the same problem there as well. The Blue ridge Parkway Campgrounds were not really designed for large RVs.

You should have no issues at Linville with your TT. Our Class C is nearly 33' long and there were only a handful of sites we wouldn't be able to stay in or didn't want to stay in. Our site was slated for 28' maximum length, but as you can see, we fit just fine. While we were able to put the back end of the MH over the end of the site a couple feet, we still had several feet in front of it. I called the campground to ask if there was enough room to over hang and they told me yes. The sites on "A" loop (before you get to the hill) were our favorite. They aren't shaded (as much of the campground isn't), but they are way better than JP. I do agree, JP is much better suited for small rigs like pop-ups, small TT's and small MH's. I would say anything less than 25', then you should be ok.

At JP there are a few sites in E loop we fit in.

At Linville. We would need a double park site like you had. Need to park the TV as well. The last time we were there we let the old TT hang over the end. Problem with this one is. It sits so low, the jacks won't clear the stone curb. But I know there are sites we will fit in, and DW wants to go there. However it will prolly be next year, as my work will keep me busy weekends until the end of Oct. We will have to see about the weather then.

BTW. I am taking a day off to go to Tom Johnson Campground Oct 16. You should give it a shot, I believe you would like it. Site so level all you need to do it level front to back, and very large as well.

At Linville, there are two nice big (seem level) sites in A loop right before our site #13 we had. I believe they are sites #6 and #9. They are plenty big for your trailer and truck and probably at least another vehicle. There was a Bounder Class A in site #9. Over 30' long. They had a tow vehicle parked behind it with plenty of room left and room in front of it for a large vehicle. Below is an aerial showing those sites. As you can tell, they (6 & 9) are much, much larger than my #13 was. I just noticed that #9 is not reserveable though.

[Terryallan]

wbwood wrote:

Terryallan wrote:
Totally agree with Julian Price being let go and run down. everything needs maint, and JP gets very little of it.

We still go there every now and then, and have learned which loops to stay in, and which we can't. When we had the pup, it wasn't a problem. but now due to our size, there are only 4 or 5 sites we can squeeze into. If we can't reserve one we like online we don't go.

Linville is very nice. But we have the same problem there as well. The Blue ridge Parkway Campgrounds were not really designed for large RVs.

You should have no issues at Linville with your TT. Our Class C is nearly 33' long and there were only a handful of sites we wouldn't be able to stay in or didn't want to stay in. Our site was slated for 28' maximum length, but as you can see, we fit just fine. While we were able to put the back end of the MH over the end of the site a couple feet, we still had several feet in front of it. I called the campground to ask if there was enough room to over hang and they told me yes. The sites on "A" loop (before you get to the hill) were our favorite. They aren't shaded (as much of the campground isn't), but they are way better than JP. I do agree, JP is much better suited for small rigs like pop-ups, small TT's and small MH's. I would say anything less than 25', then you should be ok.

At JP there are a few sites in E loop we fit in.

At Linville. We would need a double park site like you had. Need to park the TV as well. The last time we were there we let the old TT hang over the end. Problem with this one is. It sits so low, the jacks won't clear the stone curb. But I know there are sites we will fit in, and DW wants to go there. However it will prolly be next year, as my work will keep me busy weekends until the end of Oct. We will have to see about the weather then.

BTW. I am taking a day off to go to Tom Johnson Campground Oct 16. You should give it a shot, I believe you would like it. Site so level all you need to do it level front to back, and very large as well.

[wbwood]

RDMueller wrote:
Interesting point about the camp host (or lack thereof). I have never seen a host at JP, not even sure if they have one. I see the Park Rangers making their rounds occasionally, but most campgrounds seem to have hosts too and they usually check/clean campsites after people break camp.

They have a host there. When you check in, the house behind it has the host site next to it. But as I mentioned, I never saw them go around. We were there until around 11am. Only saw the one employee stop at bathroom and go to it.

[RDMueller]

Interesting point about the camp host (or lack thereof). I have never seen a host at JP, not even sure if they have one. I see the Park Rangers making their rounds occasionally, but most campgrounds seem to have hosts too and they usually check/clean campsites after people break camp.

[wbwood]

Terryallan wrote:
Totally agree with Julian Price being let go and run down. everything needs maint, and JP gets very little of it.

We still go there every now and then, and have learned which loops to stay in, and which we can't. When we had the pup, it wasn't a problem. but now due to our size, there are only 4 or 5 sites we can squeeze into. If we can't reserve one we like online we don't go.

Linville is very nice. But we have the same problem there as well. The Blue ridge Parkway Campgrounds were not really designed for large RVs.

You should have no issues at Linville with your TT. Our Class C is nearly 33' long and there were only a handful of sites we wouldn't be able to stay in or didn't want to stay in. Our site was slated for 28' maximum length, but as you can see, we fit just fine. While we were able to put the back end of the MH over the end of the site a couple feet, we still had several feet in front of it. I called the campground to ask if there was enough room to over hang and they told me yes. The sites on "A" loop (before you get to the hill) were our favorite. They aren't shaded (as much of the campground isn't), but they are way better than JP. I do agree, JP is much better suited for small rigs like pop-ups, small TT's and small MH's. I would say anything less than 25', then you should be ok.

[wbwood]

RDMueller wrote:
One other thought... Because it is a holiday weekend, many or most campgrounds in the area were probably full. People who would normally never camp at a National Park end up there because all the other CG's are full. We have camped at Julian Price many times and normally you only encounter people who love nature and would never trash up a National Park. But I do remember being there one year at a major holiday and encountering some really disrespectful people. Ended up discussing it with a Park Ranger and he said it happens around major holidays when all the other places are booked up.

Personally I still love Julian Price and want to go back again, but I don't think I'll ever go again over a holiday.

I would go with that, if this was Sunday or Monday, but this was Friday evening at 7:30 when we got there and it was like this. Check out time is at noon. That's almost an entire 8 hr shift to clean out the fire pit. No excuse for it.

[wbwood]

RDMueller wrote:
This is a real shame to see. Julian Price is one of our favorite campgrounds on the Parkway, though it has been a few years since our last visit. I totally agree that the roads need some work and that some of the campsites are not very level, but the rest of it comes down to disrespectful campers and that really bugs me. Julian Price is operated by the National Park Service and due to federal budget cutbacks, they probably don't have the staffing to clean up each campsite after someone leaves. Daily cleanings for the bathrooms are probably the most we can expect. I think anyone who visits a National Park should do so with the utmost respect and leave everything as clean or cleaner then they found it. What you encountered is simply awful! I sure wish people like that would stay away from the National Parks.

It's funny the difference between night and day at the two parks, both NPS, just 20 miles apart. At Julian Price, we never saw the host. At Linville Falls, he rode around on a golf cart at least once an hour or so and stopped and talked. The fire pit was clean as well.

[Terryallan]

Totally agree with Julian Price being let go and run down. everything needs maint, and JP gets very little of it.

We still go there every now and then, and have learned which loops to stay in, and which we can't. When we had the pup, it wasn't a problem. but now due to our size, there are only 4 or 5 sites we can squeeze into. If we can't reserve one we like online we don't go.

Linville is very nice. But we have the same problem there as well. The Blue ridge Parkway Campgrounds were not really designed for large RVs.

[RDMueller]

One other thought... Because it is a holiday weekend, many or most campgrounds in the area were probably full. People who would normally never camp at a National Park end up there because all the other CG's are full. We have camped at Julian Price many times and normally you only encounter people who love nature and would never trash up a National Park. But I do remember being there one year at a major holiday and encountering some really disrespectful people. Ended up discussing it with a Park Ranger and he said it happens around major holidays when all the other places are booked up.

Personally I still love Julian Price and want to go back again, but I don't think I'll ever go again over a holiday.

[RDMueller]

This is a real shame to see. Julian Price is one of our favorite campgrounds on the Parkway, though it has been a few years since our last visit. I totally agree that the roads need some work and that some of the campsites are not very level, but the rest of it comes down to disrespectful campers and that really bugs me. Julian Price is operated by the National Park Service and due to federal budget cutbacks, they probably don't have the staffing to clean up each campsite after someone leaves. Daily cleanings for the bathrooms are probably the most we can expect. I think anyone who visits a National Park should do so with the utmost respect and leave everything as clean or cleaner then they found it. What you encountered is simply awful! I sure wish people like that would stay away from the National Parks.

[bigred1cav]

Field stripping good ole Army way.

garmp1 wrote:
My DW goes into a frenzy when ever she sees cigarette butts on the ground. I smoked for years and always knocked off the ember and ground it out and put the butt in my pocket. (This didn't make her real happy either, but at least it wasn't littering.)
On a recent trip to Niagara Falls we stopped over in Willow Bay Campground, PA. At their bulletin board near the shower house was this sign. I want to pass it on to our Missouri State Park Department in hopes that they'll enact such a policy.

[garmp]

My DW goes into a frenzy when ever she sees cigarette butts on the ground. I smoked for years and always knocked off the ember and ground it out and put the butt in my pocket. (This didn't make her real happy either, but at least it wasn't littering.)
On a recent trip to Niagara Falls we stopped over in Willow Bay Campground, PA. At their bulletin board near the shower house was this sign. I want to pass it on to our Missouri State Park Department in hopes that they'll enact such a policy.