Down by the River | Wild Camping

March 30th, 2024 by RAV4Girl

stayed here on a saturday night easter long weekend, no one around at night until 2am for a half hour and then some hikers mid morning. parked at the round about and enjoyed a fire. beautiful spot on the river. didn’t feel quite alone as alot of campers across the river at Johnnys.

May 3rd, 2023 by toriahateley23

GPS took us to the other side of the river to a official camp site (seemed unfriendly) , no cellphone signal so download offline map before arriving. Cross river by Luray. Beautiful free spot , made it easily down the bumpy road with our Toyota Sienna

August 16th, 2022 by juliagriffin0920

No service Verizon even with a booster, it’s about 10min down a gravel road with lots of potholes so be sure to take it slow and avoid them because they’re deeper than they look. There’s plenty of tent camping on the sides but if you’re staying in your van (like me) I suggest driving down to the turnaround and there’s about 1-2 spots to park along the water.
DO NOT ATTEMPT COMING ON A NICE WEEKEND there are 100s of people on either side of the river. I came on a gloomy Sunday afternoon and it was packed

February 19th, 2022 by ashleymramos18

Was worried we were going down the wrong path so if you feel that way, you might be going down the right one lol. It was peaceful with a nice view. Super bumpy road so just be mindful of that.

December 18th, 2021 by Frijolito

Great spot close to the river. Follow the gravel road until the very end and you’ll find a few spots. There are several fire rings close to the river. Noticing lots of trash as we set up camp. There was one other person here camping in a trailer when we arrived and there are several flattish areas to set up your tent.

November 11th, 2021 by 235711clizrogers

4x2 drive vehicle is okay and good weather to get here. the road ends and you see a very tiny boat ramp marked with the #13. several campsites around. October and November most of the people that parked there will be hunters. it was quiet and for one day and night I had about 10 people drove down the road and parked for a little while but there was only one person that spent the night. beautiful spot if you're looking for a place right next to the water. I had a van but the other guy was tent camping.

June 29th, 2021 by opentoabundance.com

This is the best iOverlander spot we have stayed in to date. If the weather had not been so hot and humid, we would have stayed for 2 weeks!

Make sure when you put the coordinates into your GPS that you are directly across the river from Johnny's campgrounds. The gravel road is quite long but if you follow it all the way to the end, there is a very easy turnaround. Several spots to stop along the road but, the best ones are down at the very end

May 15th, 2021 by Escape Mog

There are four tent spots right alongside the river, but a guardrail means your vehicle will be about 25 feet away.
There is a turn around area just down the road that would be OK for small RVs.
A few locals drove through doing their hoot'n and hollering, but quickly got bored and left.
Overall this is a nice spot on the West side of the Shenandoah river.

March 28th, 2021 by kitfield.vernon

Stayed 3 nights, such a pleasant riverside spot near Shenandoah NP! It does take 45 min or so to get into the park, but all the great overlander spots are a pain to get to...that’s the price you pay for free and secluded camping.

Cross the river on Mechanic St between 211 and downtown Luray, veer right on 675, and after the road is gravelly for a while, go right on Riverwater rd. We parked our van at the far side of the turnaround/lot and it was very level and close to the woods and riverbank. There were lots of other fire rings on the way in, definitely conducive to tent camping because of the flat grass and guardrail separating spots from the road. We could hear some noise from the highway and train tracks across the river, and a few far-off gun shots in the evenings, but otherwise we weren’t bothered at night. Some folks came to walk/boat/swim during the day, and everyone was friendly and respectful of space. We’re guessing the boat launch gets busier on weekends, so keep that in mind. Great sunsets, stars, hammock spots, wading water, birdsong, etc.

March 28th, 2021 by kitfield.vernon

BE WARNED! We, perhaps ignorantly, clicked the Google Maps option in iOverlander to get to this location and didn’t double check the directions. It took us to the wrong side of the river and down a road called Johnny’s Road. We passed one house with unwelcoming signs and then saw a huge sign stating we needed to pay $30 to camp at this location (photo attached). It appears on Google Maps as Johnny’s Camp and JR Campground but looked more like a private run thing. We didn’t feel comfortable checking in at a personal residence and didn’t feel as though $30 was worth it given the free spots near by.

March 27th, 2021 by instagram.com/gooftrooperz

Love this super secluded spot. Quiet, calm, and beautiful. Right by the river.

March 24th, 2021 by Val.lo2011

The rest of the road doesn’t show up on the map so Google will redirect you to go to the other side of the river. Instead, follow 684 on riverwater rd until you deadend. Some people fishing along the barricade but I stayed at the turnaround point just a few feet ahead. Great place to post up at for a few nights !

August 24th, 2020 by cgburch410

No complaints for a free spot! It was a bit muddy, but we had a tarp to lay out. and the people who were there before us trashed the place, but we always leave a site better than we found it so it’s clean now! Plenty of parking and spots along the road, all river front! Pretty area, quiet and respectful neighbors, put toilets, and fire rings

November 11th, 2019 by Brennan

Pretty out of the way spot down a bumpy dirt road, and if you’re willing to take the detour it’s great. Right next to the river, fire pits already in use. Stayed on a Sunday night, not bothered at all. Quiet at night and beautiful stars. Appeared that there were pit toilets, though we didn’t use them. Are some pull offs prior to reaching the river.