Camping the New River

Over the last couple of years, our family has really taken a likin’ to camping, especially at the New River. After selling our lake house this year, the river became our new go-to spot for the summer. Knowing I’m leaving for Italy in the fall, I treasured every minute camping at the New River together. We would load up our fifth wheel with food, firewood, fishin’ rods, kayaks, and bicycles. There’s not much cell service up there so we brought lots to do, especially if it rained — a good book (or 4), card games, or DVDs to watch.

Where To Stay

Our favorite campground site is located at Twin Rivers Campground in Crumpler, North Carolina. For only $30 a night, it’s not a bad deal with water and electricity. Or, you can rough it at the primitive sites for $25/night. The bathhouse isn’t like one out of a horror movie — it actually gets used a lot. They have 2 showers with hot water and 2 bathrooms. There’s plenty of room to roam, go for a walk or ride your bike, and the best part is being right on the river.

What To Do

Kayaking became my favorite part of the weekend. We fixed sandwiches, Ziploc bagged some snacks and packed plenty of drinks for the long haul. Then we either got in right at our campsite and paddled up to Virginia or got dropped off further down the river to paddle back to our campsite. We usually stopped along the way on either a small beach or a rock and ate lunch or caught up with the rest of the group. We’ve gone on trips that have taken anywhere from 30 minutes to 4.5 hours. My niece kayaked for the first time down the river the last time we went and she loved it (especially the small rapids), so anyone from beginners to experts can kayak these waters. (This doesn’t mean that none of us have ever flipped….hint hint watch the video below ;D )

Check out this video from one of our trips back in July: