BORELLI CONSULTING: Recreational Equipment Reviews

Camping in Smoke Hole, WV
12 November 2007

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Alright, this one is new for me. A couple weekends ago I went on a camping trip to beautiful downtown Smoke Hole, West Virginia. Now, if you knew Smoke Hole, you’d know that the “beautiful downtown” part simply doesn’t apply. I had never been there before and although I enjoy camping a lot, I simply wasn’t prepared for how isolated a camp site could be that you could drive to. Of course, the sometimes one lane gravel drive that is nine miles long and often overlooks a cliff down more than 100 feet helps to add to the feel of isolation. The beauty of Smoke Hole is that, once you’ve driven in, it’s equally enjoyable by the backpacker, drive in camper, or RV equipped family.

Smoke Hole, West Virginia is a couple hours southwest (drive time) of Washington, DC. It's a federal park area and as such is subject to the Federal Park Service's burn bans, etc. When we arrived that Friday evening we spent about two hours setting up camp. It had been raining for an hour as we drove in. SO, after three hours of rain, the campground manager came around to let us know that the Federal Park Service had just issued a burn ban. Um... yeah. It's a good thing we brought our own wood so we had something TO burn... but I'm NOT saying we built a fire. We gave the Park Service's burn ban it's due respect.

The campsites are set up either for RV or for "primitive" (tent) camping. There were seven of us (three adults, four children) setting up three tents. We had two vehicles. For all that the campsite had plenty of room. Each primitive site had a gravel squar area specifically designated for setting up a tent and we improvised placement of the other two. A picnic table and fire pit / grill are also provided. I mix the fire pit and grill because the "grill" is essentially a steel grate on hinges that can fold up and over the fire or over and out of the fire ring space. However, it's a good thing we had two camp stoves since there was that burn ban in effect. Steaks, potatos, chicken... quite a bit would have tasted pretty good cooked over a fire... but not with that burn ban in effect.

Within a short walk (maybe 100-150 feet) was the river. This is the southern fork of the Potomac and it's not rushing water. Looking to be, at maximum, about five feet deep in most areas we saw, the water flows at a leisurely pace, showing some foam where it moves over and between rocks. In that water you can fish (with the appropriate license from the State of West Virginia) for trout, large mouth bass, crappie and some others.

Given the lay of the land in the mountains of West Virginia in that area, some easy rock climbing is available. When I say "easy" I mean the kids could do it without having to worry about safety lines, pitons, etc. It was more like a steep hike than rock climbing, but challenges present themselves in different ways to different people. Should you visit Smoke Hole and participate in such activities just remember the path that runs along the river's edge. If you knock a rock or boulder loose while climbing it WILL roll down hill and potentially hit someone walking the path. And yes, "someone"s were a reality.

For as remote as Smoke Hole seemed, there were plenty of other campers there and we saw several family groups hiking along the river's edge. The campground area has several "natural" toilets (structures with a toilet seat and a hole). They also now have restrooms BUILDINGS with flushable toilets and... gasp... running water to wash your hands, brush your teet, etc. There are also a couple of water fountains scattered around with signs posted letting campers know that the fountains are NOT for washing dishes.

On the way in we passed several "river side" group camp areas. Most were filled with Boy and Cup Scouts although I did see a church group and one that looked like it was just a collection of families. These sites are right down next to the river in open grassy areas. Where the campsites are designated, the grass has been cut into large open spaces. Setting up ten to fifteen tents still left plenty of room.

All in all, Smoke Hole was a pretty place. The river was nice to hike along and for the kids to fish in. A lot of the fun to be had camping revolves around food preparation and activites around the campfire, so it's really a shame that the Park Service put that burn ban into effect right after a three hour saturating rain. No one need understand I suppose, we just need to comply.

If you do an online search for "Smoke Hole West Virginia camping" you'll get plenty of info back. It IS fairly remote so I recommend making sure you have adequate fresh water supplies (just in case) and first aid supplies (fish hooks and kids combined eventually means a band-aid). During parts of the nine mile drive in, four miles of which is all gravel, there are parts that are only one lane wide. If you meet someone coming in while you're going out, or vice versa, someone is backing up a couple hundred feet to a wide spot. Most of the drop off areas along the road have guard rails... most of them. My son was quite excited when he looked out the window, down the side of the drop off and said, "Dad! Don't slip off the side!"

Check it out. It's a pretty neat place to camp.

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