Come with us on a weekend trip in the mountains!
Every once in awhile, we get the itch for a little break from our daily routine. It’s been a bit since our last road trip, so in September we booked a camping trip for October. A few weekends ago, we headed up to River’s Edge Campground in Bergton, Virginia. Excited to spend some time outdoors, this campground was just under two hours away from Locust Grove, so it made the perfect weekend road trip.
River’s Edge Campground is tucked in the Blue Ridge and Allegheny Mountains next to the Shenandoah River and the George Washington National Forest. It has spots for RV and tent camping, glamping tents, and primitive cabins. There is a camp store, playground, dog run, disc golf, and walking trail.
Since camping in a tent in the middle of October felt a little questionable, we opted for a primitive cabin at the property. River’s Edge Campground has three cabins; we stayed in the Lookout. The cabins are right along the North Fork of the Shenandoah River, which thanks to a lot of recent rain was flowing, so we enjoyed listening to the river flow throughout the day and evening. Our cabin had a bed, a table, mini refrigerator, and a small heater which we were grateful for when the temperature dropped into the forties at night. We brought a cot for the littlest Jones and there was still space to comfortably move through the cabin. There is a single bathroom for the cabins nearby (great for when your child needs to go in the middle of the night after drinking a weeks worth of juice boxes after dinner) and a bathhouse with private shower rooms that is just a short walk down the path. All of the bathroom facilities were clean; in fact they were the cleanest we have ever been in at a campground.
When we arrived on Friday, the littlest Jones enjoyed painting pictures of the river with watercolors, exploring our camp site, and helping to build our nightly fire for smores. We played some board games, tossed a ball around, and spent a lot of time at the jump pillow at the playground. The cabins are set down a small path from the RV camping area so you really feel as if you are set apart from the rest of the camp.
Saturday morning we took a walk along their trail that led to a swimming hole with crystal clear water. While it was much too cold to swim, we enjoyed looking at the fish and learning to skip rocks. We are not into fishing, but there is a stocked pond at River’s Edge that you can use without a license. People also fish in the river, however, this does require a license. The littlest Jones was on the hunt for one of the painted rocks that are hidden throughout the campground. She was so excited to find one and to turn it in at the camp store for a prize.
Since fall involves everything pumpkin, we took a short scenic drive through rural Virginia to North Mountain Homestead. This family run farm had a huge playground and plenty of pumpkins. There were unique varieties and fun squash offerings that we hadn’t seen at other farms. You can go out to the field to pick your own pumpkin or select one of the pre-picked ones. We really enjoyed our time here and would highly recommend a visit if you are in the area.
After our visit to the farm, we headed back to River’s Edge Campground to enjoy our final evening around the campfire. Looking at the painted rock garden inspired the littlest Jones to search for the perfect heart shaped rock to paint herself. We enjoyed the usually easy campfire dinner of hotdogs and baked beans with smores and mountain pies for dessert. On Sunday morning, it was time to pack up and head back home. We really enjoyed this campground and are looking forward to returning some time next year. It was a simple, device free, and fun family weekend that made us feel refreshed and relaxed.
