Campground · New River Gorge National Park
Free riverside tent camping comes with train horns and little shade.
Overview
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Plan your stop
The highest, rockiest slopes around here are a summer buffet for grizzly bears.
New River Gorge Tour Guide
Parkwolf is a GPS audio tour guide for New River Gorge National Park. As you drive, it chimes in with what’s ahead: hidden gems, upcoming stops, history, geology, and wildlife, right through your car’s speakers.
See the New River Gorge audio tourRecorded for this place
Meadow Creek Tent Camping“You're approaching Meadow Creek Campground, with seventeen walk-in tent sites in an open field beside the New River. It's free and first come, first served.”
Plays as you drive up to Meadow Creek Campground in the Parkwolf New River Gorge Tour Guide.
More stories near here in the app
“Fantastic app with many points of information… It’s great to just turn on while you’re driving and it gives you an audio tour of the national Park. We love it!!!!”
Guide
Meadow Creek is a free, primitive campground with 17 walk-in sites in an open field beside the New River, about a mile from Sandstone Visitor Center. It works as a no-frills base near the river, but it isn't a quiet, shaded hideaway: the field offers little privacy, and nearby trains send horns across camp.
Sites are first-come, first-served, with no reservations; the National Park Service says campgrounds can fill quickly in busy months. There’s no drinking water, electricity, hookups, shower, or store, so bring water and food. RV, camper, and car camping are prohibited.
From I-64 Exit 139, head north past Sandstone Visitor Center toward Meadow Creek. After about 1.5 miles, turn left across the railroad tracks, then bear right onto the campground road. The compacted dirt can turn muddy in wet weather. Sites are walk-in and aren’t wheelchair-accessible, though the year-round composting toilets are. Picnic tables are available. The National Park Service strongly discourages swimming in the New River because of powerful currents, rocky banks, and sudden drop-offs.
Wildlife
18 sightingsBlack BearMost seen around 7 PMSighting map
126 sightingsWhite-tailed DeerMost seen around 6 AMSighting map
25 sightingsPileated WoodpeckerMost seen around 8 AMSighting map
15 sightingsBarred OwlMost seen around 7 PMSighting map
14 sightingsWild TurkeyMost seen around 6 AMSighting map
58 sightingsCopperheadMost seen around 7 PMSighting mapSighting maps show where each species has been reported across New River Gorge. Wildlife moves, so no sighting is guaranteed.
Keep exploring
EasySandstone Falls Boardwalk0.5 mi · 30 min · 2.8 mi awayA wide, low waterfall reached by bridges and an accessible boardwalk.
EasyIsland Loop Trail0.7 mi · 30 min · 2.9 mi awayA short island loop from river views into returning forest.
ModerateSandstone Falls Overlook0.2 mi · 15 min · 3.3 mi awayA quick gravel walk to a high view of Sandstone Falls.
ModerateGwinn Ridge Trail3 mi · 1.8 hr · 3.8 mi awayA wooded 3-mile ridge loop with occasional winter views.
ChallengingKates Plateau Trail8.9 mi · 5.5 hr · 4.4 mi awayOld logging roads, fields and a steep creek crossing.
ModeratePolls Plateau Trail3.7 mi · 2.5 hr · 4.4 mi awayCreek crossings and an old farmstead on a quiet forest loop.
Visitor center · 1.6 mi awaySandstone Visitor CenterStart here for southern park advice, exhibits and a floor map.
Sight · 2.9 mi awaySandstone FallsA short boardwalk reaches islands framed by 1,500 feet of low falls.Sight · 3.3 mi awaySandstone Falls OverlookA short gravel walk, then 1,500 feet of falls from above.
Sight · 4.2 mi awayBrooks Island OverlookA five-minute stop for the wooded island and river below.
Campground · 4.8 mi awayWar Ridge CampgroundEight drive-in sites at the park’s only off-river campground.
Sight · 4.9 mi awayGlade Creek FallsA creekside hike leads to tiered falls across a sandstone ledge.Parkwolf’s New River Gorge ranking
The audio tour guide for the drive, plus offline maps, trails, and wildlife heatmaps for when the signal drops.
