Glen Maury Park (municipal campground) is easy to get to. It’s about ten minutes from I-81, just north of Natural Bridge. (never stayed at the KOA there, but have stayed at the JellyStone/Yogi bear place a few times and loved the riverfront sites and the incredible hiking/running with the two dogs in the adjacent state lands… stunningly beautiful!)
We decided to try Buena Vista, a predominantly LDS town, with an almost unknown Latter-Day Saints University right on the hill in the middle of the old mill town. Man, the guy running the campground office is friendly! The prices are great… $18 a night. I don’t know if I would venture uphill (where we always stay) in anything longer than 30 feet. There are pull-throughs up there, but the angles of incline and decline in the campground on the hilltop past the pool (extra if you want to use it, we believe) are a little steep and you might touch a back bumper somewhere. In our 22 foot van, though, we have no problem. And there are some beautiful sites up there. For big class A’s stay down by the office on the river there, it’s a little sunny in the hot summer, but a nice waterfront location.
There’s a municipal golf course (which nobody really uses in the early morning, even in the middle of the summer!) up there on the hill… and lots of character from all those hills! Plus, there’s a walking/jogging path one mile downhill from the upper campground that is really nice and safe. There are a few permanent residents up there. Last time, one staggered around the camground talking to someone (maybe an old flame or an ex-GF or wife) obviously inebriated, but he and everyone else never gave us any thoughts that it was a seedy place. Just working-class Virginians set-up there for a couple of months. They’ll wave and sit there like it’s their porch and have a few drinks or talk into the evening, but they’re not a problem and they keep the riff-raff out. The Buena Vista town police drive through once in awhile. The price, the friendliness of the guy in his 60s at the main office, the natural beauty, and the amenities (with the exception of the hot bathroom), all make this a great place to overnight or to stay for a couple of days. Good restarants nearby if you like BBQ.
