Gauley Tailwaters Campground

National Park Service recreation data

Likely — The record is good enough to put a pin on, but thin in places. Treat the details as a starting point, not gospel.

Gauley Tailwaters Campground -- a FREE, first-come primitive campground run by the National Park Service. Drive-in. 18 drive-in sites for tents and RVs, immediately below Summersville Dam. NPS directions, quoted: "From Route 19 at Mt. Nebo, take Route 129 west across the dam, then turn left at the river access sign. Bear right through the parking lot to the campsites." This is the put-in end of the Gauley -- expect it to be full during autumn dam releases. COORDINATE: the NPS's own digitized campground point (https://mapservices.nps.gov/arcgis/rest/services/NationalDatasets/NPS_Public_POIs/MapServer/0, read 2026-08-17), MAPMETHOD='Digitized', XYACCURACY='>=1m and <5m', digitized from WV GIS Technical Center leaf-off imagery. Not a geocode, not OpenStreetMap, not field-checked by us. NEAREST TOWN: Summersville, about 5.4 mi away in a straight line. Nearest incorporated place and distance are straight-line, computed against the WV GIS Technical Center municipal point layer (https://services.wvgis.wvu.edu/arcgis/rest/services/Location/wv_cities/MapServer/6, read 2026-08-17). Straight-line, NOT road miles -- the road distance is longer, sometimes much longer, in this terrain. GAULEY RIVER NRA CAMPING -- from the park's own camping page (https://www.nps.gov/gari/planyourvisit/camping.htm, read 2026-08-17). "The National Park Service offers primitive camping at Gauley Tailwaters, located just below Summersville Dam... There are 18 drive-in sites for tents and RVs." FREE: "There is no camping fee." STAY LIMIT: "The maximum stay is 14 days at the same camping area." FIRE: "Open fires are allowed where campfire receptacles are provided and must be contained in these designated containers... Use only dead and down wood." Campfires are prohibited within 100 feet of any river access area, developed trailhead, cliff edge, park structure or historic ruin. Chain saws are prohibited. WATER: the page does not state whether drinking water is provided. Assume none and carry your own; do not treat the Gauley as potable. PRIVATE LAND WARNING, quoted: "The National Park Service does not own most of the land within the boundaries of the Gauley River National Recreation Area. Be aware of private property and respect the rights of land owners." That applies to the backcountry, not to this designated campground, but it is worth knowing before you wander. | auto:agency-trust 2026-08-18: state agency GIS record with a source URL and coordinates, confidence not low. Fee value is the agency's own, not field-checked. Not field-verified -- confirm access, road conditions and fire rules before you go.

US DOE Alternative Fuels Data Center station locator, snapshot 2026-09-16. Straight-line miles to the nearest public, open, unrestricted station; restricted and planned units are shown but never counted.

On the agency's books. The land manager inventoried this site, so its existence is not in question — current conditions are. Nobody from here has camped it recently.