Camping at Creekside Campground VA

Going camping near a national park tends to be pretty expensive.  And with such close proximity to Shenandoah National Park, you might think this would be the case for Creekside Campground VA.  But we were in for a great surprise!

The affordable camping at Creekside Campground VA had us camping there 2 separate times, once in a tent in 2021 and then again in our camper in 2024.  With just an hour drive from Shenandoah National Park, we hit the jackpot for affordable camping.

No, it’s not a state park, but we still enjoyed our time camping here.  Let’s get into why!

Important Links

Creekside Campground – Book Camping Here

Hiking in George Washington National Forest – Hiking Nearby

MUST FOLLOW RV Directions – Don’t follow Google Maps Directions

Shenandoah National Park website

Location

Creekside Campground VA is right off of I-81 in Edinburg, VA and less than an hour from the Luray entrance and Front Royal entrance to Shenandoah National Park.   

Shenandoah National Park is a very long and skinny national park.  The park has 4 separate entrances so you will want to make sure you know which entrance you’ll want to use.  We found that we enjoyed the trails towards the middle of the park the best, but I digress.

In addition to being near the national park, Creekside Campground is 2 hours west of Washington DC and 2.5 hours northwest from Richmond, Virginia.  And those seeking adventure, the campground is just 1 hour west of Shenandoah National Park entrances, and 20 minutes from popular trails in George Washington National Forest.  

RV DRIVING DIRECTIONS – Don’t Follow Google Maps!

Creekside Campground VA is a small private campground with a great price.  But there are very specific directions if you are towing a camper or driving an RV.  And below is the reason why.

This tiny bridge is not only a single lane, it is down an extremely windy road that will be sure to do some damage to your camper.  This is the reason you must follow the directions on their website if you plan to bring any sort of RV to this campground.  You can find them here, or I took the liberty of screenshotting them so you can read them here as well.  

Time to Spend Here

My husband and I camped at Creekside Campground VA in our tent in 2021 and then again in our camper in 2024.  The first time we stayed in the dry camping section for 5 days.  We drove into Shenandoah National Park everyday and returned in the evenings after a full day of hiking.  

However, in 2024, we stayed for 12 days and explored the area more this time.  Yes, we still visited the national park and the national forest nearby, but we spent a lot more time in Edinburg.  

While we were here we tried several of the local eats as well as walked around the peaceful back roads.  We saw people staying here for as little as 12 hours and others who appeared to be there on a monthly basis.  

Essentially, you can stay here for as long or as little as fits your schedule, and there always seemed to be openings.   But let’s really look at the campground now! 

Details

• 12 Off-Creek Campsites (Full Hook-up)
• 1 Super Site (Full Hook-up)
• 1 Prime Site (Full Hook-up)
• 12 Creekside Campsites (Full Hook-up)
• 7 Water and Electric Tent Sites
• 2 Primitive Tent Sites
• Free Wifi
• Clean Bathrooms

Camping at Creekside Campground VA

Creekside Campground is rather small, but you can reference the campground map below as we discuss the campsites.  We’re gonna start with the roughest level of camping, which is no hook-ups, or primitive camping.  

Primitive Camping (Sites 34 & 35)

There are only 2 primitive campsites and they are at the far end of the campground, closest to the road.  And despite what the website says, there is no shade here.  

This is where we camped in 2021 and with such close proximity to the road and the small bridge, it was a little loud at night.  But with its close proximity to Shenandoah for $31.59 per night, we didn’t mind it too much.  

Water and Electric Tent Sites (Sites 27 – 33)

At Creekside Campground VA, there are 7 sites that have water and electric hook-ups.  We saw many tents and over-lander tents set up here during the weekends.  The electric hook-up was perfect for a fan on a hot day.  

These sites are slightly more expensive at $38.86 per night, but they are in a much better location and have water/electric for all those chargers.  

Full Hook-Up Sites

And then they have the best option, which is full hook-up.  Full hook-up campsites have electricity, a water hook-up, and then a sewer hook-up so people don’t have to worry about a dump station. 

The remaining 26 campsites have plenty of shade and have full hook-up.  But there are different prices for each site, depending on their location and the provided space.  Here are the price differences and a few basic differences that I could see.  

• Off-Creek Sites (1 – 12): Full Hook-up / Away from the creek and smaller / $42.12 per night
• Creekside Sites (15 – 26): Full Hook-up / Right on the creek / $47.39 per night
• Prime Site (14): Full Hook-up / On the Creek with a large side yard / $52.65 per night
• Super Site (13): Full Hook-up / On Creek, Isolated, includes wooden deck / $57.92 per night

There is a price for just about everyone here and you can’t really beat the amenities.  We chose to stay in an Off-Creek Site for our second stay and were very glad that we chose site 10 since we had a little bit of space. 

Our Camping Experience

Alright, we have discussed the details and the price, but how was our stay?  

First off, Creekside Campground VA is very small and a little bit of a hidden gem.  However, we were very glad to be on site 10 since some of the other sites were very, very close together!  People came in and out of this place very frequently.  So the campground was nearly empty during the day and then usually close to full by the evening time.    

The bathrooms were extremely clean and as close to feeling like a home bathroom as we have seen.  The shower (1 per gender) was very nice and usually not too busy.  

We also liked that we could easily walk into the historic area of Edinburg!  We walked past houses that were built in 1825 and were able to walk to multiple restaurants or even to the Dollar General so we could pick up a few quick things.  But I can’t write about Edinburg without writing about the BEST BBQ I have ever eaten!

Places to Eat

Edinburg, VA has some great food spots in the area.  A great Italian restaurant, a very fancy restaurant called The Edinburg Mill, and then they have some of the best BBQ that we have ever eaten!  

They are a cash only establishment, but Bean’s Barbeque has some amazing food!  We ate here twice during our 12 day stay and one time we got the Pulled Pork sandwich and the other time we got the Brisket sandwich.  

Bean’s is open from Wednesday to Sunday and they are the type of BBQ place where they serve it until they run out.  In other words, go for lunch, not dinner!  They sell out each day and they only serve Brisket on Thursdays, so I recommend calling the day before or you probably will never get to taste it.  

But after you have such a decadent lunch, let’s talk about how you can burn off some of those calories.  

Hiking Options

Creekside Campground VA is in a prime location for hiking in both Shenandoah National Park as well as George Washington National Forest.  We were able to hike in both and quite enjoyed the time in the Blue Ridge Mountains.  

The campground is about 20 minutes from several trails in the northeast section of George Washington National Forest and about 45 minutes from the entrance of Shenandoah.  We spent 2 days in the national forest and 2 days in the national park.  

For more details about our hiking adventures, you can read about the trails we hiked in George Washington National Forest here.  And you can read about our favorite trails in Shenandoah here.  

Conclusion

After a 12 day camping trip in Creekside Campground VA, we were glad that we stayed so close to great Virginia hiking at an affordable rate!  And with the walkability from the campground to Historic Edinburg, we knew we made the right choice of camping in this private campground.

If you are looking for a great little campground in northwest Virginia, you should definitely consider Creekside Campground VA!

As always, feel free to reach out to me via email ( averagewildexperience@gmail.com ) if you have any questions or need some help planning a camping trip.

Happy Camping!