$10 - $20 / night

Camper submitted image from Elizabeth Furnace Campground - 1

Camper submitted image from Elizabeth Furnace Campground - 2

Nature

Camper submitted image from Elizabeth Furnace Campground - 3

Roads

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Activities

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Water

Established Camping

Elizabeth Furnace Campground

7 Reviews

About

USDA Forest Service

George Washington & Jefferson National Forest

Overview

Vault Toilets are located throughout the family campground and are available year-round.__ No Firewood available.__ Hand pump available year-round near entrance of family campground. Showers and Flush Toilets available from May-October. Please visit our website for exact dates.__

Recreation

Enjoy hiking the Pig Iron and Charcoal Trail to learn how iron was made in the area. Another great hike heads up to Buzzard Rock. Passage Creek is seasonally stocked with trout to keep anglers entertained.

Facilities

Natural Features

The charming family campground sits in the Shenandoah Valley along Passage Creek, a tributary of the North Fork Shenandoah River. The area is part of the George Washington and Jefferson National Forests which spans across Virginia and parts of West Virginia and Kentucky. These forests protect 40 species of trees that are mostly Appalachian hardwood and mixed pine-hardwood forests, 60 species of mammals and 200 species of birds.

contact_info

This location is unstaffed. To speak with our main office for general information, please call: (540) 984-4101.

Fee Info

The campground has a self-service pay station at the entrance.____ Sites are currently $10/night with limited services and $20/night when water systems are running (May-October).

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Location

Elizabeth Furnace Campground is located in Virginia

Directions

From I-81: Take exit 296 and turn east, on VA 55 for 1.4 miles. In center of Strasburg (traffic light), turn left to remain on VA 55. After 5.0 miles, turn right onto SR 678 in small community of Waterlick. The recreation area will be on your left in about 3.5 miles. There are three entrances, about a half mile apart: Entrance to the group campground appears first, followed by the entrance to the day use area, and finally the entrance to the campground. From I-66: Take Exit 6 (Front Royal) and proceed south on SR 340/522 for 1.3 miles until you come to a stoplight. Turn right onto VA 55 West for 5 miles to the small community of Waterlick. Turn left onto SR 678 and go approximately 6 miles. Elizabeth Furnace Family Campground will be on your left.

Address

15618 Fort Valley Road
Fort valley, VA 22652

Coordinates

38.924722 N
78.331111 W

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Access

Drive-In
Park next to your site
Walk-In
Park in a lot, walk to your site.

Stay Connected

WiFi
Unknown
Verizon
Unknown
AT&T
Unknown
T-Mobile
Unknown

Site Types

Tent Sites
RV Sites
Standard (Tent/RV)
Group

Features

For Campers

Trash
Drinking Water
Toilets
Pets
Fires

For Vehicles

Sanitary Dump
Water Hookups
Big Rig Friendly

SEE WHAT'S AVAILABLE

$10 - $20

/ night

First Come - First Served

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Contact

General Info

Hope H.

Scout

Reviewed Jan. 6, 2024

Close to I-81, Perfect Overnight CG

First come first served. $14, but they had a sign up that said it might be raised to $20 in 2024. Only 2 America the Beautiful passes include discounts to this campground: Access (handicapped) and Senior. And I must say, after going all the way up to Wolf Gap (on the other side of I-81) to check out the free USFS campground up there and finding a bunch of unstable homeless people, I was glad to pay to have upkeep and hosts.

In October (2023) I arrived to EF at 3:30pm and about half of the spots were taken by a mix of tenters and RVs. The campground is well-cared for, and there were hosts present.

Please do enjoy the drive to the CG, as it is quite beautiful. And although the winding road attracts some car & driver types, by nightfall, it was completely quiet. I slept in my jeep condo and put up a privacy tent because I am tired of campground bathrooms. I am not sure the hosts really understood the concept. But they didn't say anything other than to inquire about my strange lodgings (they thought I was sleeping in the privacy tent!)

Month of VisitNovember

Taylor

Guide

Reviewed Nov. 8, 2022

Cheap price for a nice stay

Ended up at Elizabeth Furnace after a friend recommended it. For the price ($10/night and 50% off if you have a National Park Pass), it was pretty good. In the valley outside of Shenandoah, it was a nice spot to return to at night. There are also some hiking trails across the street. Would recommend if you are okay with the camp sites being pretty close together. Also, the road is right next to the sites.

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Month of VisitDecember

Mark N.

Traveler

Reviewed Aug. 25, 2021

Easy Access

Had a blast with friends. Renting group site B was the perfect size for the 10 of us. It was only a short walk from the parking lot on a gravel path which made carrying our gear a breeze!

SiteGroup site B

Month of VisitSeptember

Chris C.

Traveler

Reviewed Jun. 17, 2019

Outstanding tent and dry camp area

This is a very nice little campground offering several types of non-hook up sites. We stayed in site 18 which was large and had a nice long flat space for us to park our class B camper on and dry camp. The sites are quite private and are mostly flat. Some of the sites are best for tent camping as the parking pad is either very short or is blocked off from the rest of the camp site. The showers (4) were clean and nice and the grounds were very well kept.

(8) View All

Matt P.

Traveler

Reviewed May. 17, 2018

Family friendly

My kids and I had a terrific time in this campground. We camped with a tent. Facilities were clean and well cared for. There was a black bear hanging around the campground the weekend we camped. There is a pretty creek running through the campground. Would recommend this to anyone with aspirations to hike in the area.

Month of VisitAugust

Shari G.

Legend

Reviewed May. 2, 2018

Ranger Review: Primus Easy Light Lantern at Elizabeth Furnace Recreation Area

Campground Review:

What a great find, so close to a town….though feels like you are deep in the forest! We stayed 2 nights at this campground and it was the perfect place to prepare for a week-long backpacking trip in Shenandoah National Park. Each site has a picnic table, firepit, and lantern stand. The creek running through the campground drowns out most noise from the road or other campers. Sites are private and well-shaded, but with plenty of sun for our solar panel too.

Showers and running water are available during the main season, but arriving in April meant pulling out the pocket shower and using water from the handpump. Pit toilets were immaculately clean and available during the off-season though. There is a group camping area just down the road, too.

This campground is situated just 15 minutes from Strasburg (adorable town) and is about equal distance to Front Royal, which sits at the northern end of Shenandoah National Park. Both towns have everything you need from grocery stores to gas stations to restaurants. Cycling, hiking, fishing, and boating are all things you can get up to in this lovely recreation area.

Great price of just $10 per night during the off-season, normally $20 during the main season.

Product Review:

As Rangers for The Dyrt, we’ve been testing out this product for the past couple of weeks. While preparing for a week-long backcountry adventure in the Shenandoah’s last week, we were running behind with our packing and used this lantern to light up our campsite as we stuffed the last few bags of food and gear.

What we like about this product:

Lightweight and compact.
Gives off a great amount of light for its small size.
Adjustable light control, from very bright to romantic candle light.
Ignition switch seems to fire up the lantern every time.
Built-in hanging wire is handy to have when you want to hang it from a tree or lantern stand.
Gas powered, so no batteries to recharge or replace.
Storage case is robust and keeps the glass lantern from breaking.

What could be improved:

It only comes with one mantle. Two would be great because they aren’t easy to find in stores.
The instructions are overwhelming for such a simple piece of gear. They could be trimmed down quite a bit.

Product Link: https://primus.us/products/easy-light-4?variant=17262695685

Product Video: https://youtu.be/uJeL9-wkFgk

Site10

Month of VisitMay