Beartree

Only the Chipmunk Loop was open but we had a nice stay there. The campground hosts at the front gate and at the campground were very friendly and helpful. The bathrooms were kept clean and had plenty of toilet paper. Unfortunately one of the bath houses was closed due to plumbing issues, and the other one was closed for half of the week with septic issues. We had to walk to the farthest bathroom while waiting for repairs. This is a nice campground and I wish the Forest Service had the staff to fully open the entire place.

My family and I have camped at Beartree for 34 years. We started there when Beartree was a beautiful place, especially for children. To see the condition of this place is sad. The lake is full of leaves and you can't swim anymore. The whole place is run down. There is rumor of Beartree being closed down. Please don't close it. Spend some money to do the repairs that needs to be done. Save this place for the next generation. Where there is no phone service and all electronics are laid aside. Our children played in the creek, swam in the lake and enjoyed nature. Memories are made there!! Keep Beartree alive!!!!!

Nice campground with large sites. Very popular with scouts and other large groups riding the Virginia Creeper. Unfortunately, this made the campground extremely noisy. We all had problems sleeping until the crowds grew quite around 1:00am. We'll look elsewhere next time.

I have been coming to Beartree for more than 20 years. I love this campground but last weekend was an utterly disappointment.
Because the group camping area closed, a Boy Scout group from NC decided to reserve multiple sites. They arrived after dark for their set up which included leaving multiple vehicles idling on the road while yelling instructions at each other for about 20mins. Our campsite was fuming with diesel fumes. Then the building of their metal pole mess hall began. Their build went well after quiet time with clanging metal and shouting throughout. And then the yelling (to be expected from of group of that many young boys) began at 5:45 AM the next morning.
After speaking to both a scout leader and the camp host, the next evening we were met with more disrespect- adults followed by children wolf howling. It began at dark, growing in frequency until precisely 10pm. Operating just inside the rules while being as inconsiderate of others as possible seems to be a specialty of this group of scout leaders.

At the end of the day it wasn’t a peaceful, relaxing trip to the forest that I had hoped for. It was a disappointing, frustrating experience. Beartree should do a better job of addressing groups like these until group camping is reopened. It is trying to put a square peg in a round hole. There is a reason a separate space was created for them to begin with.

Beautiful campground, loved it.

The campground facilities were very clean and well maintained. The hosts were friendly. We really enjoyed fishing at Beartree lake and some other local streams. The hiking in the area is amazing. We highly recommend this campground!

The facilities and campsites were clean. The host family was great. Campground is very convenient to Damascus and the Creeper Trail.

Perfect location for our fly fishing base. The hosts at Beartree were most helpful!

Big private sites.
Hike and bike without getting in your car.
Friendly helpful hosts!!

Love this campground for the privacy created by the rhododendron forest. Relatively clean facilities, great mountain roads for drivers and excellent forest sauntering for hikers.