Friday, June 20, 2014

Hurricane Campground, Virginia.

Hurricane Campground is a National Forest Service site located in southwest Virginia near the Mount Rogers National Recreation Area.We didn't really know what to expect before we got there, but that general area has proven to be one of our favorite places in the South. There is so much to see and do in the Mount Rogers vicinity that you can spend years there and never run out of news things to experience in outdoor activities.

The campground is nice and secluded. You have to leave the highway and take a long Forest Service road to get to it, which is the way I like my campgrounds to be. Down there, deep in the forest, you won't hear any heavy traffic from paved surfaces--because there aren't any paved roads! What you do get at Hurricane is a wonderful campground situated down in a deep cove. There are actually two streams in the campground so that on one loop it is actually impossible to have a campsite that is not on the water!

When we were there in the autumn the place was not at all crowded. There was one Scout troop that was in the group camping section and who were gone the day after we arrived. After that there were only two other families at Hurricane, which made for some wonderful peace and quiet.

The campsites have no hookups for water or electricity. Of course if you have a self-contained system as we do on our Casita travel trailer, this is of no concern. There are centrally located water sources for potable water. And there is a great bath house with flush toilets and hot showers. This bath house is not, however, heated. So you do have to deal with chilly temperatures in the bath house itself if you go in Fall or Winter weather (as we did).

For some reason I didn't take any photos of the bath house. The next time Carole and I go back to Hurricane I will take care of that. Because we very definitely will be returning.


Sign at the Hurricane Campground.
This is a stitched panorama I made of our campsite. The creek was directly behind our Casita. That's our old Nissan Frontier, the only motor vehicle for which I ever developed any emotional attachment.
Carole and I at the picnic table. Carole goes all out--she even had flowers to decorate the table. We carry that small propane tank for our propane stove. We prefer to cook outside rather than in the trailer.
Enjoying the fire.

At a sign for the Mount Rogers National Recreation Area. There is SO much to do in this part of Virginia if you enjoy camping, hiking, backpacking, kayaking, fishing, horseback riding, etc.
I've forgotten the name of this lake, but it wasn't far from Hurricane.
This waterfall is near Hurricane. Right by the road, but hard to access because there's no parking.

This is another nearby waterfall. I hiked to see it from the campground. It's called Comer's Creek Falls. Not very big and actually just a cascade. You can also drive Forest Service roads to get to it.
This was the nicest waterfall that I found in the area. Rowland Creek Falls. You have to hike quite a way to find it, and it's all downhill, which means that the climb back to your vehicle will be a tough pull if you're not accustomed to such.

4 comments:

Vicki said...

Love these photos. Your picnic table setup looks very similar to ours... except we don't have the flowers.

James Robert Smith said...

We like to cook outside. Our travel trailer is very small and by cooking outside we keep the trailer less cluttered (plus no cooking smells get imbedded in there). If the weather is very bad we will cook and eat inside.

Unknown said...

I grew up 20 miles from this. I still do primitive camping in the area 2 times per year.

James Robert Smith said...

It has ended up being one of our all-time favorite campgrounds for our Casita travel trailer.