Camping at Shenandoah River State Park-A Peaceful Retreat

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The 3-pack at Shenandoah River State Park

Shenandoah River State Park

6/7 Stars for Shenandoah River State Park

Shenandoah River State Park has a special place in our heart because it was the first place we took the Aliner after we bought it. The park is only 90 minutes from Northern Virginia so we figured it wouldn't be too hard for one of our friends to come get us if we exploded the camper at any point. (We didn't explode it but we didn't have the brake control set properly and the bed cracked in half the first time my husband sat on it. This trip is also the first time we saw Starlink in action and had no idea what it was....and we had no cell service to Google it. Using our deductive reasoning, we settled on the very logical conclusion that we were being invaded by aliens and were grateful that we were all out west together. Except for the cats- WHAT WERE WE GOING TO DO ABOUT THE CATS?! Other than the broken bed and the too-tight brakes and the Starlink scare, we actually survived our maiden voyage.)

This campground is really popular because it's beautiful and close to NOVA. Because of this, the next reservation I could get after our May trip was a weekend in early November. If you are planning on visiting this park, BOOK EARLY.

The drive out to the park is kind of ugly and trafficky for the first half, but once you finally get past Gainesville, things loosen up and the view turns from cement to trees. I like when the camping trip involves a pretty drive, because it makes me feel it is part of the trip as opposed to a necessary evil. More importantly, this drive is a straight shot from NOVA, making it easy for those of us who are newbie RVers.

The park itself is easily navigable and we are usually able to make it to our site AND set up the camper with only one small squabble. (Chris missed the turn for the campground-which I was supposed to be looking for but was busy counting squirrels-so, his fault, and we had to pull a U-turn in the camper. This was a high level maneuver we were not yet ready for.) Once we found the site, it was a level pull through site thank god, because not having to back the camper in or level is saves about 15 squabbles.

Besides the private and spacious RV campsites at the top of the hill, we like taking the dogs here because there are wide and empty trails next to the river. This allow us to give the dogs space if we see another dog, thus avoiding they Tony & Ezekial-like conversations that we are pretty sure Porter and Cheeze engage in every time they see another dog.

There are traditional hiking trails if you go into the mountains surrounding the park, but these trails are thinner and more crowded than the ones near the river. Because we are trying to have a good time AND we are trying not to both too many other people in the process, we stick to valley and the river paths.

The bathrooms are clean and not to far away, so the person who has to watch all the dogs during the bathroom break does not have to go into full defensive babysitting mode. ("I promise mommy [or daddy] will be back in 5 minutes! Stop crying!")

We took one star off for the unleashed dogs running around. Both times a little dog has bolted off of his campsite to try and fight with Porter, which really stresses Porter out and makes him hate camping. Over time, we have learned that walking around the campground loop with the dogs increases our chances of an off-leash dog coming at us. We are a big target and any unleashed dog on their site will take their chances coming after us. STILL-we like walking around the campground loop and checking out everyone's setups, but it is a risk.

Shenandoah River State Park: 6/7

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Car camping accessible Decent space at site 6-8 ft. wide walking trails accessible from campground Site cleaned prior to arrival Quiet Fire pit on campsite (for dad)	Rangers enforcing leash requirements

In conclusion, we give camping at Shenandoah River State Park with our reactive dogs a 6/7 and recommend that you visit. Avoid taking laps around the campground and you should hopefully be good to go! Enjoy!