Blue Springs Gap Cabin
We don’t think it should be. Every campground should hold some sites for whoever drives up.Tell your representative →
- Right now
- Taking bookingsSites offered on 27 of the next 30 nights read 16:34 UTC
- Sites
- 1All of them booked ahead
The place
the agency’s own description · what’s there · 15 notices
In the agency’s own words
Blue Springs Gap Cabin is located high on a mountaintop near Camp, Virginia, giving visitors the feeling of being on top of the world. The space has three comfortable bedrooms, a kitchen and a living room. Electricity and flush toilet add modern comfort to this rustic mountain setting. Accessible hiking and biking trails pass near the cabin and Hale Lake is just 2 miles away, providing combined opportunities for bird watching, hiking, biking, fishing and picnicking. Keep reading
Recreation
The Mount Rogers National Recreation Area features four Congressionally designated wilderness areas; the Virginia Creeper Trail; the Mount Rogers Scenic Byway; the 5,000 acre Crest Zone, featuring elevations over 4,000 feet, large rock formations and a herd of wild, free-ranging ponies; and last but not least, the highest elevated road in the state of Virginia leading to the summit of Whitetop Mountain. A trout stream is located nearby and Hale Lake is about 2 miles away. Hale Lake is popular among anglers who come to these quiet mountainside waters in search of a good day of fishing. State hunting and fishing regulations and licensing requirements apply. The Hale Lake Trail, 0.58-mile loop trail is an easy hike around that lake, occasionally veering away from the shoreline and into the surrounding hardwood forests. Birders will probably find this site most productive during migration. In spring, it should be easy to spot several species of warblers and flycatchers. In fall, the lake is likely to invite migrating waterfowl and shorebirds. Wood duck breed in the area and can occasionally be seen on the lake. White-tailed deer and wild turkey roam through the surrounding woodlands, and might be found approaching the lake to quench a thirst.
Facilities
The cabin and grounds can accomadate a maximum of eight people. The single-story cabin comes with three bedrooms, a kitchen, bathroom and living room. One bedroom has a queen bed, the other has a full sized bunk bed, and the third has a twin bunk bed. The large stone fireplace is inoperable and there is no other heat source, and no air conditioning either. Electricity is available during the season. Flush toilet is available until October 31. A portable toilet is used from November 1 until the cabin is closed. Outside there is a porch with a porch swing, a grill and picnic table. No linens, blankets or pillows are provided, so campers are recommended to bring their own to ensure a comfortable stay. There is a kitchen with a refrigerator stove, and microwave available for your use. There are limited pots, pans, dishes, glassware, and silverware available for your use. There is no water available at the cabin. Visitors must bring plenty of water for drinking, washing and cooking. Garbage bags, a flashlight and a first aid kit are also recommended. Firewood or charcoal is recommended for the outdoor firepit and grill. This cabin is not professionally cleaned between each renter. Renters are asked to bring basic cleaning and paper products (broom, mop, dustpan provided) and leave the cabin in good order for the next renter.
Natural Features
Blue Springs Gap is situated in a grassy clearing atop a mountain peak in southwest Virginia. From the cabin's front porch campers have views of the impressive Appalachian peaks and valleys. Beyond the clearing is a dense stand of mixed hardwoods and pines. The cabin is located in the Mount Rogers National Recreation Area, a 200,000-acre stretch of land that includes two lakes, 50 miles of streams and multiple historic sites. During the fall months, visitors are treated to an incredible showing of autumn colors, as the foliage display in the area is known as some of the best in the region.
Nearby Attractions
The nearest access to drinking water is 4 miles east at Comers Rock Campground. The nearest phone is 12 miles in Speedwell, Virginia.
What the agency tells you
No potable water available; campers must bring their own
Check-in is at 4pm and check-out is at 11am. Limit 8 people and 8 vehicles.
Entry is by combination lock; confirm combination on your confirmation letter prior to arrival
Everything else this campground posts · 12
No pets or horses allowed
Bring a flashlight, food, bedding, and water
Cell phone service is unreliable
The fireplace is inoperable. Do not build a fire in the fireplace.
No smoking allowed
Facility does not meet accessibility standards
Be prepared for emergencies. Note where the closest hospital is located and bring basic first aid supplies
Click here for more information on the George Washington and Jefferson National Forests
Access to Blue Springs Gap Cabin along VA 798 is not suitable for low clearance vehicles
Reservations are no longer accepted locally; use Recreation.gov or call 877-444-6777 for reservations.
Snow and ice are possible on the access road in the spring and fall. Please check the forecast prior to your arrival or call the headquarters office for a weather update at (800) 628-7202.
Don't Move Firewood: Help protect our forests! Prevent the spread of tree-killing pests by obtaining firewood at or near your destination and burning it on-site. Moving firewood is illegal in some states. Visit dontmovefirewood.org to learn more.
Tents and rigs
- Sites
- 1 · 1 cabin
- Hookups
- 1 electric
- Accessible sites
- None listed
- Pets
- Not allowed
- Shade
- Every site
Facilities
- Toilets
- Flush Toilets · Portable Toilets
- “…and a living room. Electricity and flush toilet add modern comfort to this rustic mountain setting.… / …toilet is available until October 31. A portable toilet is used from November 1 until the cabin is closed.…”
- Drinking water
- None, bring your own
- “…and silverware available for your use. There is no water available at the cabin. Visitors must bring plenty…”
- Firewood
- Mentioned
Around the campground
- On the water
- Lake, Creek, Beach
- Biking
- Fishing
- Hiking
- Hunting
- Wildlife viewing
Full this Saturdayread 16:34 UTC
How full the weekend is nationally.
OpenBookedClosedNot reservable
The one site on offer is taken this Saturday. 1 is free on Wed, Oct 21. read 16:34 UTC Why the weekend fills and the week doesn’t
Watch for a cancellation
Watch this campground
One email when a night opens, plus More Than Just Parks dispatches. Unsubscribe any time.
We read recreation.gov once an hour, at 40 minutes past, and write the first time a site in your window is free for the nights you asked for.
Scanners that check every few minutes exist, and most of them charge. This one is free, it reads the same calendar, and it won’t always be first.
Tell me when the season opens
Watch for the season to open
One email when the season goes on sale, plus More Than Just Parks dispatches. Unsubscribe any time.
We check once an hour, at 40 minutes past, and write the first time the agency has that season on sale.
Scanners that check every few minutes exist, and most of them charge. This one is free, it reads the same calendar, and it won’t always be first.
We make nothing when you book. The link goes straight to the government.
Every line of the receipt · 13
What you actually pay
Who keeps the booking fee
The agency’s own policy text says the reservation fee and the cancellation processing fee are “retained by the reservation service contractor”, and that a campground concessionaire will decline to refund them because “they did not receive these fees”. Recreation.gov is run under contract by Booz Allen Hamilton. What share of your booking fee the contractor keeps isn’t published in any federal dataset we can read, so we print no number for it. Our reporting on the contract →
How we know this receipt · 5
recreation.gov availability, read 16:34 UTC · rules read Sep 9, 2026 · rates Sep 10, 2026 · How we know all this
The sites
1 sites · the site map
All 1 sites
The price is derived by CAMPANAC, not published per site: the per-night rate this campground publishes for each site’s own site type. 1 of the 1 sites listed carry one, and a site whose type has no published rate sits out of the price rather than being called free.
| BLUE SPRINGS CABIN | 1 | cabin electric | 30 amp | 899 ft | $45 |
OpenStreetMap has no toilet mapped within 1 km of this campground, so no site here carries a toilet distance. That’s a gap in the map, not a finding about the campground.
Getting there
the map and the coordinate · the agency’s directions · the phone number
Where it is
Comer's Rock Recreation AreaMount Rogers National Recreation Area · 2.6 miHussy Mountain Horse CampMount Rogers National Recreation Area · 7.1 mi
Raccoon Branch CampgroundMount Rogers National Recreation Area · 8.6 mi
Hurricane CampgroundMount Rogers National Recreation Area · 12 mi
Raven Cliff Recreation AreaJefferson National Forest · 13 mi
Old Virginia Group Horse CampMount Rogers National Recreation Area · 13 miFrom Marion, VA: Take I-81 to exit 45 and proceed south on VA Route 16 for about 10 miles to VA 695 (Slemp Creek Road) at Sugar Grove, VA. Turn left onto VA 695 (Slemp Creek Road) and go 1 mile before turning left onto VA 614 (Cedar Springs Road) towards Cedar Springs. Drive 4 miles and turn right onto VA 612 (Camp Road) before Cedar Springs, VA. Continue for 5 miles and turn right onto VA 798 (a gravel road - Hale Lake Road). Continue about 3 miles to the top of the mountain and a "T" intersection. Turn right onto VA 672 (Blue Springs Road). After about 0.3 miles, take the first gravel road on the right. This road leads to the cabin gate. Access to Blue Springs Gap Cabin along VA 798 is not suitable for low clearance vehicles
The weather
the next four days · the thirty-year normal
Next four days, and the thirty-year normal
Forecast
NWS forecast for Sugar Grove, VA
Typical weather
Typical October night 38°F, day 63°F.
Coldest month of the year: typical January night 21°F, below freezing. Bring a bag rated colder than that, and expect ice in the water bottle.
Daily high and lowDays with 0.10 in or more
A normal is the 1991-2020 average for the month, not a forecast: about half of all Julys are colder than the July line. The seven-day forecast above answers the other question.
The land, and who answers for it
what threatens it · who answers for it · a letter you can send
Roadless country, and what’s coming for it
You’re camping on ground somebody wants. We track the threats and the comment deadlines.
Who answers for this land
Blue Springs Gap Cabin is in Virginia’s 9th congressional district. Its representative, H. Morgan Griffith (R), votes on the laws that decide what happens to this land. Public-lands grade so far: F. See every public-lands vote →
Who can change it · 3
Two offices, two different asks. The draft to the agency asks it to set aside a published share of the sites here for whoever drives up. The draft to Congress asks why that share is zero and presses for a published minimum at the campgrounds it funds.
- The member who votes the moneyH. Morgan GriffithU.S. Representative · Virginia’s 9th district
- Your senator, on the same appropriationMark R. WarnerU.S. Senator · Virginia
- Your senator, on the same appropriationTim KaineU.S. Senator · Virginia
Read the draft, or change the wording
For the camper who turned up, or tried to book, and couldn’t get in. Every draft is written from this campground’s own record (its agency, its unit, its site count and its own weekend) and the buttons above copy whichever wording is selected here.
Asks them to put the question to the agency in writing, and to press for a published minimum share of walk-up sites across the campgrounds they fund.
Subject Walk-up camping at Blue Springs Gap Cabin, Jefferson National Forest, Virginia
Dear H. Morgan Griffith, I’m a constituent in Virginia’s 9th district. I tried to camp at Blue Springs Gap Cabin, Jefferson National Forest, Virginia, and couldn’t. All 1 sites at Blue Springs Gap Cabin are reservable, and the agency's own record lists none held back for somebody who drives up. On Saturday, October 17, the one site recreation.gov was offering there was already booked. 1,623 of the 7,647 federal campgrounds in this country still keep at least some sites for whoever arrives first. Blue Springs Gap Cabin keeps none, and that’s a choice somebody made rather than a rule. I’m not asking you to run Blue Springs Gap Cabin. I’m asking you to put it to the U.S. Forest Service in writing: why is the share of first-come sites there zero, and what would a published minimum share cost? Please press for that minimum at the federal campgrounds you fund. The people who open these campgrounds, collect the fees and keep the water running are seasonal positions. At GS-5, base pay plus the government's own 36.25% benefit factor, one costs about $47,414 a year. One percent of the $13.3 billion the USS Gerald R. Ford cost to procure would pay for about 2,800 of them for a year. Both figures are the government's own (a Congressional Research Service report and an OPM pay table), and I’m glad to send them. Sent about Blue Springs Gap Cabin (Jefferson National Forest, Virginia) via campanac.com
Asks them to put the question to the agency in writing, and to press for a published minimum share of walk-up sites across the campgrounds they fund.
Subject Walk-up camping at Blue Springs Gap Cabin, Jefferson National Forest, Virginia
Dear Mark R. Warner, I’m a constituent in Virginia. I tried to camp at Blue Springs Gap Cabin, Jefferson National Forest, Virginia, and couldn’t. All 1 sites at Blue Springs Gap Cabin are reservable, and the agency's own record lists none held back for somebody who drives up. On Saturday, October 17, the one site recreation.gov was offering there was already booked. 1,623 of the 7,647 federal campgrounds in this country still keep at least some sites for whoever arrives first. Blue Springs Gap Cabin keeps none, and that’s a choice somebody made rather than a rule. I’m not asking you to run Blue Springs Gap Cabin. I’m asking you to put it to the U.S. Forest Service in writing: why is the share of first-come sites there zero, and what would a published minimum share cost? Please press for that minimum at the federal campgrounds you fund. The people who open these campgrounds, collect the fees and keep the water running are seasonal positions. At GS-5, base pay plus the government's own 36.25% benefit factor, one costs about $47,414 a year. One percent of the $13.3 billion the USS Gerald R. Ford cost to procure would pay for about 2,800 of them for a year. Both figures are the government's own (a Congressional Research Service report and an OPM pay table), and I’m glad to send them. Sent about Blue Springs Gap Cabin (Jefferson National Forest, Virginia) via campanac.com
Asks them to put the question to the agency in writing, and to press for a published minimum share of walk-up sites across the campgrounds they fund.
Subject Walk-up camping at Blue Springs Gap Cabin, Jefferson National Forest, Virginia
Dear Tim Kaine, I’m a constituent in Virginia. I tried to camp at Blue Springs Gap Cabin, Jefferson National Forest, Virginia, and couldn’t. All 1 sites at Blue Springs Gap Cabin are reservable, and the agency's own record lists none held back for somebody who drives up. On Saturday, October 17, the one site recreation.gov was offering there was already booked. 1,623 of the 7,647 federal campgrounds in this country still keep at least some sites for whoever arrives first. Blue Springs Gap Cabin keeps none, and that’s a choice somebody made rather than a rule. I’m not asking you to run Blue Springs Gap Cabin. I’m asking you to put it to the U.S. Forest Service in writing: why is the share of first-come sites there zero, and what would a published minimum share cost? Please press for that minimum at the federal campgrounds you fund. The people who open these campgrounds, collect the fees and keep the water running are seasonal positions. At GS-5, base pay plus the government's own 36.25% benefit factor, one costs about $47,414 a year. One percent of the $13.3 billion the USS Gerald R. Ford cost to procure would pay for about 2,800 of them for a year. Both figures are the government's own (a Congressional Research Service report and an OPM pay table), and I’m glad to send them. Sent about Blue Springs Gap Cabin (Jefferson National Forest, Virginia) via campanac.com