shenandoah river state park

Wanted an alternative to Shenandoah National Park for fall weather pop-up camping. It gets cold in November. They have nice campsites with water and electric. The restrooms were clean and maintained. Includes hot showers and laundry. Lots of nice trails, nice visitor center and right on the Shenandoah River. What we really loved was a concession in the park named Virginia Canopy Tours. 8 zip lines, 2 tree bridges and lots of fun. The staff were professional, we were new to zip lines and they pride themselves on safety. We will be going there again next year. Reserve early they get busy even in November and they don't have a huge number of sites.

The cabins are very nice, no tv, beautiful covered back porch with rocking chairs. Your dog is allowed to come for an additional fee. This is a great park for pretty fall walks for younger kids. Many easy trail choices that have pretty views. Visiting Front Royal was also fun. We were there for the Leaves Festival. What a wonderful town parade for my kids to experience. Small enough to be ok for my autistic child. Most parade participants threw candy! It seemed that most kids that participated in sports or cheering or dance or music were in the parade. Everyone seemed to be having fun, even while marching, dancing, waving in the cool light rain. Every local politician was also out in their car or truck. The parade was ended with local horse riders and the wheelbarrow pooper scooper patrol cleaning up the street. We then wandered the street booths set up for the festival, received and lost 3 balloons and ended up at the visitor center, using the facilities and tasting free local cookies. Well Done festival planners! Perfect for kids (and parents, too).

This is a good size park along the Shenandoah river with some good views of the river. This is also the park where the Virginia canopy tours is located.We initially went to scope out the trip there (route, how long to get there) and to see the park. We did park near the canopy tour "office" and were told where to go a short distance down a trail to get to the final platform. On the way back we took the Allen's Mountain trail. Not having looked closely at the map (which was in the car) we did not realize how long it was. But it was a very nice hike, just not one you would probably do just prior to or after the zip line. This was a loop trail that came back to the trail that went to the parking lot a short distance from where it started but it did cover a lot of ground.You could occasionally hear the zip lines on the first part of the trail and could see some platforms in the trees.Still a lot of territory to explore on future visits.There is a scenic view of the river from one parking lot. This is also called Andy Guest State Park. To enter you must pay a parking fee of 4.00 or 5.00 (weekends).

Stayed in the campground for 2 nights in September on the way to Pennsylvania. Except for no sewer hookups, the sites are great: very large packed gravel pull-through sites with wonderful views of the valley and mountains. The bathhouse and laundry were very modern and clean. Good news is the park is very secluded and quiet. The bad news is it's a lengthy drive for groceries.

We only saw a small part of the park when we stopped to rest during a long drive. We enjoyed the view of the Shenandoah Valley from the lookout on a beautiful blue sky day. At the visitor center we paused as a family with children was listening to a talk on bats. The park ranger was very informative and entertaining. We drove to a river access and then strolled to the river where many families were enjoying picnics and a few were splashing in the river. Easy access in many places makes this park a great place for young and old alike but there are also longer well-marked trails.

Very well maintained park with great access to the Shenandoah River for swimming, canoeing, and kayaking. Walked the River Trail, really enjoyed the views of both the river amd the surrounding mountainsides.

Went camping a week ago. Beautiful trip to down 66 left DC area before traffic and ejoyed the ride. Arrived a few hours to sundown. There were alot of families which meant it was busy sounding. But I would prefer the sound of happy children discovering the great outdoors, than college fraternaties. Campsites were few, but there was plenty of privacy and space in between them all. When we first arrived and had to use the bathroom, there was a more primative outhouse- that was sparkling CLEAN, but had no light. Then as you walk the campground not even 500 feet there was a shower/ bath house that was also sparkling and heated. So it was definitly the cushiest campground bathroom that I have ever used. We went mid-week so we did not have the luxury to explore. But we did get to hammock right on the river and just enjoyed the perfect 75 degree day/ temperature. The STARS were absolutly amazing. We will definitly return. It was an incredible time with a beautiful landscape of the mountains and the windy river.

One night stay on our way from Glen Manor Vineyards to our home in Canada. Great site, beautifull state park. We will return. Love the Shenandoah Valley.

We stayed for several nights at this relatively new park with some folks at the RV park and others at the cabins. The cabin was spaceous and modern with AC, a nice kitchen (no dish washer), towels and sheets provided and much more. There is a nice balcony with half a dozen rocking chairs - we relaxed outside and watched deer wander past. Our friends at the RV park also enjoyed their stay but all the larger trees have been cut down and temps were high. I wish they would have left a few larger shade trees in that area. Some bugs so bring the bug spray and netting for your RV.Nice hikes are available. Make sure you pick a path that takes you past the visitors center which is nice - water flowing, fish ponds and more.

If you want to have a relax day with the family in a beautiful place, this is the right place for you.

This is a wonderful park. My wife and I walked over 2 miles along the river on a well made path, a delightful experience. Breathtaking views from the overlook.

Cabins were very clean and new. The kitchens were well stocked with dinner and cookware. The cabins had easy access to hiking paths. We rented 3 cabins for a family reunion. The two smaller cabins did not have laundry facilities, but the larger cabin did. We were able to cook meals for 30 people in the kitchen. One family member used a wheelchair comfortably in and around cabins. The zip line tours were lots of fun, and so was floating down the river.

I love Virginia and I love the Shenandoah. My husband's family lives in the area so we wanted to camp close to them. From pictures and other reviews I really expected more. We stayed at the RV camping area. Being July, it was hot. It was so hot in the camping area I just wanted to go home. There really isn't any shade on the camping sites since the trees there are all new growth. The blacktop and dark stone pad increased the heat as well. We did like that the sites were level for our camper, and the area was clean. We had every intention to canoe on the river, but that never happened. The campsites are too far to carry a canoe, and even if we could, there is no place to dock the canoe for access. At the main access, which is quite a drive away, there is a place to launch your canoe, again having to walk it a good distance, and again no place to dock it. The trails were nice although the days were just too hot to enjoy anything. I guess I was just dissappointed that the caming area was so bare. The bathrooms were nice and clean and the private showers were great. It was also nice to have water and electric on site. I don't think I will be going there again when it's hot and probably not for another ten years so some of the trees can grown bigger.

Loved the hiking trails, visitor center and the mountaintop overlook. Also many areas to picnic. Had a blast with Virginia Canopy Tours located inside the park.

Would like to tent camp here some day but with only 6 sites, we were only able to get an RV site which we ended up cancelling due to the torrential rains. We did zip-line with the Virginia Canopy Tours within the park - highly recommend.Tent site are reserved but your actual site is first come, first serve. Three are on the river with terrific views. All the sites were clean and spacious with small gravel to keep from flooding.The park boasts a lot of trails designed to meet everyone's abilities, shelters and open spaces for day campers. The RV park is open with few trees. A few tiny cabins are interspersed among the RVs.Beautiful state park - will make reservations for the tent sites early!