Babcock State Park Campground

Babcock State Park Campground

Are you looking for a full service, full hookup, big rig friendly pull through site while visiting New River Gorge National Park? Maybe something with paved concrete pads, Wi-Fi, cable, and a heated swimming pool? Well if you answered yes to any of these questions, good luck! I looked all over the place for something that would fit some of our comfort needs while visiting the nation’s newest National Park. While I could not find even a campground that had full hookups with 50 amp service. I was able to come across this small peaceful state park that had room for our 40’ pusher and did at least offer 30 amp service. Babcock State Park Campground is just 20 miles from New River Gorge National Park making it the perfect location for basecamp while visiting the park.

I must admit that Babcock State Park Campground did end up being one of my favorite campgrounds we have ever stayed at. Surprisingly, it was also one of the cheapest places we have ever stayed at. Being outside, it was so silent that I felt I needed to whisper. My kids playing almost seemed like noise pollution. With only a handful of RV sites available. They are spread out giving you your own yard for stretching your legs. When I think about Babcock State Park Campground a memory of me making breakfast and a deer walked right on the tree line to our site. That deer had no care about us, she was not scared, she was at peace. That brought my soul so much peace to just sit and watch her go about her day, eating the fresh vegetation while I was preparing to feed my family. I urge you to go and experience this yourself.

Know before you go

One of the biggest pieces of advice I can give anybody that is planning on hitting the road to an area you have never been before whether driving a motorhome or pulling an RV. You must plan your route ahead of time. I have started looking up the route on google maps, going to street view and following the entire route. It may take me a few hours to go through everything and tweak where needed. That is time that is well spent. This will allow you to look for low bridges, narrow roads, lack of fuel stations, switch backs, etc. If you come across anything you do not like, you can simply alter the route to avoid it. That is a whole lot easier than trying to make a change while you are in your rig and get that horrible feeling of being stuck.

I did not do this on our trip to West Virginia. That led us down a paved logging road to get to the campground. While this road was beautiful and it was wide enough for our rig. It was JUST wide enough for our rig. The road gradually narrowed and once we realized that the road was disappearing it was way to late for us to turn around or back up. So forward we marched, slowly hoping that this road ended up taking us somewhere safe. That’s when we came across another vehicle, forcing us to move to the “shoulder” of the road and forcing the side of our motorhome into some low hanging trees running large scratches down the entire side of our unit. It killed me, I felt sick. I wanted to go home. I could not stop apologizing to my wife. It was horrible. Don’t make my mistake!