Free camping near Damascus, VA
Yes. 22 of the 31 camps within 25 straight-line miles of Damascus, VA are listed as free; 9 charge a fee. The closest free one is Saunders A.T. Shelter, 4.3 miles east, on U.S. Forest Service land. The closest camp of any kind is Backbone Rock Campground, 3.0 miles southwest, a fee campground.
Dave has slept at one of these camps. The circle crosses a state line: NC and TN and VA.
All 31 camps near Damascus, VA
| Camp | Miles | Cost | Water | Nearest town | Season today |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Backbone Rock Campground | 3.0 | Fee | — | 3.0 mi to Damascus | — |
| Saunders A.T. Shelter | 4.3 | Free | Whitetop Laurel Creek (river) | 0.9 mi to Taylors Valley | — |
| Sandy Flats Iron Mountain Camping Area | 5.1 | Free | Straight Branch (stream) | 2.0 mi to Masada | — |
| Beartree Campground | 6.4 | Fee | — | 6.4 mi to Damascus | — |
| A.T. Abington Gap Shelter | 7.2 | Free | Helicopter Waterhole (water) | 2.0 mi to Offset | — |
| Lost Mountain A.T. Shelter | 7.3 | Free | — | 7.3 mi to Damascus | — |
| Pond Mountain Game Land camping area #2 | 7.5 | Free | — | 7.5 mi to Damascus | Open |
| Pond Mountain Game Land camping area #3 | 7.8 | Free | — | 7.8 mi to Damascus | Open |
| Pond Mountain Game Land camping area #5 | 8.3 | Free | — | — | Open |
| Pond Mountain Game Land camping area #1 | 8.7 | Free | — | 8.7 mi to Damascus | Open |
| Pond Mountain Game Land camping area #4 | 9.9 | Free | — | 8.2 mi to Lansing | Open |
| Jacobs Creek Campground | 13 | Fee | — | 8.8 mi to Bristol | — |
| A.T. Double Springs Shelter | 14 | Free | North Fork Stony Creek (stream) | 2.1 mi to Camp Tom Howard | — |
| Thomas Knob A.T. Shelter | 14 | Free | Middle Fork Helton Creek (stream) | 4.9 mi to Mill Creek | — |
| Cherry Tree Iron Mountain Shelter | 14 | Free | Big Laurel Creek (stream) | 3.2 mi to Stony Battery | — |
| Grindstone Family Campground | 14 | Fee | — | 5.8 mi to Troutdale | — |
| Old Orchard A.T. Shelter | 16 | Free | Lewis Fork (stream) | 4.2 mi to Troutdale | — |
| Fox Creek Horse Camp | 16 | Fee | — | 3.7 mi to Troutdale | — |
| Hurricane A.T. Shelter | 17 | Free | Hurricane Creek (stream) | 3.1 mi to Quebec | — |
| Grayson CountyDave slept here | 17 | Free | — | 3.3 mi to Troutdale | — |
| Little Oak Campground | 17 | Fee | — | 8.4 mi to Bristol | — |
| Old Virginia Group Horse Camp | 17 | Fee | — | 2.9 mi to Troutdale | — |
| A.T. Iron Mountain Shelter | 18 | Free | Ike Branch (stream) | 2.3 mi to Buladeen | — |
| Hurricane Campground | 18 | Fee | — | 3.5 mi to Troutdale | — |
| Trimpi A.T. Shelter | 19 | Free | — | 4.4 mi to Troutdale | — |
| Hidden Valley WMA | 20 | Free | — | — | — |
| Raccoon Branch | 22 | Fee | — | 1.7 mi to Sugar Grove | — |
| Clinch Mountain WMA | 22 | Free | — | — | — |
| Low Gap Camp | 23 | Free | Hinkle Branch (stream) | 3.2 mi to Winner | — |
| A.T. Vandeventer Shelter | 24 | Free | — | 1.5 mi to Butler | — |
| Partnership A.T. Shelter | 24 | Free | — | 2.3 mi to Shady Grove | — |
Who manages the camps near Damascus, VA
Who manages them: 23 on the Forest Service; 5 on NCWRC; 2 on Virginia DWR; 1 spread across 1 other manager.
- George Washington and Jefferson National Forest — 18 camps: 12 free, 6 fee
- Cherokee National Forest — 9 camps: 6 free, 3 fee
- NCWRC — 4 camps: 4 free
Season read for these camps, today
Today's season read covers 5 of the 31: 5 open, 0 closed, 0 worth a call. It comes from each camp's own record, so a camp with no season word is not counted either way.
Forecast near Damascus, VA
This is the Weather Service forecast for the town, fetched when the page opens. It is not a forecast for any camp in the table; ground higher up or in a canyon can run colder or windier. It needs JavaScript; without it, see weather.gov.
Camping near other towns close by
The nearest towns that have their own page, with the straight-line miles between the towns.
Every distance on this page is a straight line from Damascus, VA, not a driving distance — a camp four miles out across a canyon can be an hour of road. Cost is the audited three-state verdict on each camp's own record: free, fee, or unpriced where we could not confirm a price. A blank column is a gap in the record, not a statement that the thing is absent. Camps come from state and federal agency records, not from a visit, except the ones marked. Seasons, permits and fire rules change: confirm with the managing office before you go. Found a fee where we show free? Tell us on the contact page.