Looking for somewhere to camp near Charleston, West Virginia? Check out the campsites and amenities at the Kanawha State Forest Campground!
By Elizabeth + Garret Johnson
The year 2020 has brought so many changes in life. Some good; some not so good.
We found a good change recently.
We have been doing things much closer to home this year and trying to see those we love while staying safe outside.
Our friends suggested we camp at Kanawha State Forest. Our usual preference is federal or state park campgrounds.
This one was close to home for us all, so we agreed to give it a try. We were pleasantly surprised.
Looking for more parks and hiking trails in West Virginia? Check out Pinnacle Rock State Park, Gray Flats South Trail, the Long Point and Endless Wall trails at New River Gorge, or Summit Lake.
Kanawha State Forest Campground Information
The campground is only seven miles from Charleston, West Virginia.
The Kanawha State Forest area includes 25 miles of hiking and biking trails.
Unfortunately, we didn’t do much hiking because of the weather. Instead, we just enjoyed being outside during the last bit of fall.
The campground is open April to December. You can make reservations online or call 304-558-3500 to reserve a spot.
Disclaimer: We camped during what’s considered off-season, so it was not crowded. I do not know what it’s like other times of the year.
The Camp Sites
We loved this campground.
There are 44 sites; 25 have electricity and water. There is a fire pit and table at each site.
We got a great site at the end with plenty of space for our small camper, our friends’ tent, and room for the dogs to run around.
It was very cold and drizzling when we arrived, so we set up two extra canopies which were super helpful.
There are a few sites that could accommodate a camper slightly larger than ours (18-foot). We did see a few big ones!
RVs or travel trailers longer than 26 feet are not recommended.
Kanawha State Forest Campground Amenities
Amenities include picnic areas, playgrounds, and of course, the campground.
There are two bath-houses with a coin-operated laundry. They appear a little on the “rustic” side; however, they were clean.
The campground host was very helpful; he rounded every hour. The campground in general is maintained very well.
A huge bonus of camping here is you feel like you are in the heart of West Virginia while still being close to anything you may need.
There is campfire wood available for sale, but we found a guy down the road, a bit out of the park, who sold it for 25 cents per piece!
We went through a lot to keep warm!
All in all we were very happy with our new experience for 2020, staying in a state campground.
We were able to enjoy the outdoors safely with some of our favorite people!
About Elizabeth + Garrett Johnson
Hi! We are Garrett & Elizabeth from Beckley, WV. To pay the bills we are a firefighter and a nurse. We are also full-time volunteers. We also love backpacking, trail running, camping and hiking. We have 2 dogs who almost always drag us along on the trails. Follow Elizabeth at @smutko.girl.
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