Trout Pond Recreation Area
We don’t think it should be. Every campground should hold some sites for whoever drives up.Tell your representative →
- Right now
- OpenInside the published season, our reading
- A night
- $25–$47Across the site types the agency prices
- Sites
- 5047 on recreation.gov
- Season
- – October 31Closes October 31. No opening date published.
The place
the agency’s own description · what’s there · 10 notices
In the agency’s own words
Trout Pond Recreation Area boasts two bodies of water, Rock Cliff Lake and Trout Pond. Relax on a sandy mountain beach or fish for stocked trout while relaxing along the cool waters of Rock Cliff Lake. Trout Pond, home to native Brook trout, is the only natural lake in West Virginia. A designated swimming area, easy lakeside trails, and a children's playground make this a perfect family destination. Keep reading
Recreation
A trail surrounding the entire lake provides bank fishing access at Rock Cliff Lake. All types of boating from motor to sailboats are welcome. Hike the Trout Pond Loop trail, an easy 4-mile excursion, with an optional 2-mile side route, to an overlook of Rockcliff Lake. For a more challenging hike, a connecting trail provides a steep climb up Long and Devil's Hole Mountains.
Facilities
Campsites come with a campfire ring and picnic table, and some of have electric hookups. Hot showers and flush toilets are an easy walk away from each site. The day-use area includes a white-sand swim beach, boat ramp, showers, playground and 30 picnic sites.
Natural Features
Rock Cliff Lake is a 17-acre man-made lake with a maximum depth of 36 feet and an average depth of 12 feet. Trout Pond, the naturally formed lake, was created by a sinkhole that filled with mountain stream water and run-off from Long Mountain. Trout Pond can vary in waterflow. Please visit the Forest Service website for our most up to date conditions. Contact Info This location has limited staffing. Please call (540) 984-4101 for general information. Charges & Cancellations group shelter nonelectric 1-50 people $65, 51-100 people $100, standard non electric is $19.00 per night
What the agency tells you
No gasoline-powered boats allowed on lake
This facility has first-come, first-serve single sites
A life jacket is required for all boaters
Everything else this campground posts · 7
Please check-in with campground host upon arrival
No off-road vehicles allowed
No dogs allowed on beach
No alcoholic beverages
Entrance gates locked from 10 p.m. to 8 a.m.
For more information on George Washington and Jefferson National Forests, click here
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
- 50
- Hookups
- 11 electric
- Longest rig
- 99 ft
- Accessible sites
- 50
- Pets
- Allowed
- Campfires
- Allowed, barring fire bans
- Shade
- Every site
Facilities
- Toilets
- Flush Toilets
- “…have electric hookups. Hot showers and flush toilets are an easy walk away from each site. The day-use…”
- Showers
- Yes, the record doesn’t say what kind
- “Hot showers and flush toilets are an easy walk away from each site.”
- Boat ramp
- Yes
- Playground
- Yes
- Stay limit
- 14 nights
- recreation.gov facility rule maxStay
Around the campground
- On the water
- Lake, Creek, Beach
- Fishing
- Hiking
- Swimming
- Night sky · 49th darkest of 69 in WV
- Bortle 4
Full this Saturdayread 15:55 UTC
How full the weekend is nationally.
OpenBooked
Every one of the 31 sites on offer is taken this Saturday. 29 are free on Wed, Oct 21. read 15:55 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 · 16
What you actually pay
Derived by CAMPANAC: the agency’s published rates for this season, $25–$47 a night, plus one $8 recreation.gov reservation fee for the booking. A weekend here means Friday and Saturday night, booked once. Optional charges (an extra vehicle, a second tent, a dump-station fee) are listed separately and aren’t in this total.
“group shelter nonelectric 1-50 people $65, 51-100 people $100, standard non electric is $19.00 per night” · this campground’s own terms
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 · 6
recreation.gov availability, read 15:55 UTC · rules read Sep 9, 2026 · rates Oct 1, 2026 · How we know all this
The sites
52 records · which ones have room · the site map
The sites, ranked
from 35 mapped sitesAll 52 records
Toilet distances are OpenStreetMap’s, measured for 35 of the 52 sites listed. A site with no reading is unknown, never far.
The price is derived by CAMPANAC, not published per site: the per-night rate this campground publishes for each site’s own site type. 50 of the 52 sites listed carry one, and a site whose type has no published rate sits out of the price rather than being called free.
Measured shade is NLCD Tree Canopy Cover 2024 (USDA Forest Service / MRLC) read at the site’s own coordinate, 27% canopy or more, and only for the sites the agency gave no Shade value. It never changes the agency’s own shaded count beside it.
| DOUB | 014 | standard electric | 99 ft | 20/30 amp | yes | 71 ft | 746 ft | 336 ft | $32–$47 |
| DOUB | 033 | standard nonelectric | 99 ft | yes | 122 ft | 119 ft | 78 ft | $25–$40 | |
| DOUB | 034 | standard nonelectric | 99 ft | yes | $25–$40 | ||||
| PICA | 00A | day use | 20 amp | yes | |||||
| PICB | 00B | day use | yes | $25–$47 | |||||
| S&P | Double Electric S&P | type not stated | 45 ft | 15 amp | yes | $25–$47 | |||
| S&P | Double S&P | type not stated | 45 ft | yes | $25–$47 | ||||
| S&P | Electric S&P | type not stated | 30 ft | 15 amp | yes | $25–$47 | |||
| S&P | Standard S&P | type not stated | 45 ft | yes | $25–$47 | ||||
| Sing | 016 | standard nonelectric | 45 ft | yes | $25–$40 | ||||
| Sing | 018 | standard nonelectric | 45 ft | yes | $25–$40 | ||||
| Sing | 023 | standard nonelectric | 45 ft | yes | $25–$40 | ||||
| Sing | 024 | standard nonelectric | 45 ft | yes | $25–$40 | ||||
| Sing | 025 | standard nonelectric | 45 ft | yes | $25–$40 | ||||
| Sing | 027 | standard nonelectric | 45 ft | yes | $25–$40 | ||||
| Sing | 029 | standard nonelectric | 45 ft | yes | $25–$40 | ||||
| Sing | 030 | standard nonelectric | 45 ft | yes | $25–$40 | ||||
| Sing | 031 | standard nonelectric | 45 ft | yes | $25–$40 | ||||
| Sing | 043 | standard nonelectric | 45 ft | yes | $25–$40 | ||||
| SING | 001 | standard electric | 45 ft | 20/30 amp | yes | 73 ft | 246 ft | 400 ft | $32–$47 |
| SING | 002 | standard electric | 30 ft | 20/30 amp | yes | 73 ft | 216 ft | 362 ft | $32–$47 |
| SING | 004 | standard electric | 45 ft | 20/30 amp | yes | 50 ft | 381 ft | 272 ft | $32–$47 |
| SING | 006 | standard electric | 45 ft | 20/30 amp | yes | 50 ft | 388 ft | 255 ft | $32–$47 |
| SING | 008 | standard electric | 45 ft | 20/30 amp | yes | 57 ft | 482 ft | 163 ft | $32–$47 |
| SING | 010 | standard electric | 45 ft | 20/30 amp | yes | 57 ft | 519 ft | 146 ft | $32–$47 |
| SING | 011 | standard electric | 45 ft | 20/30 amp | yes | 90 ft | 756 ft | 236 ft | $32–$47 |
| SING | 012 | standard electric | 30 ft | 20/30 amp | yes | 90 ft | 812 ft | 326 ft | $32–$47 |
| SING | 013 | standard electric | 45 ft | 20/30 amp | yes | 99 ft | 826 ft | 426 ft | $32–$47 |
| SING | 015 | standard nonelectric | 45 ft | yes | 71 ft | 702 ft | 266 ft | $25–$40 | |
| SING | 017 | standard nonelectric | 45 ft | yes | 69 ft | 641 ft | 167 ft | $25–$40 | |
| SING | 019 | standard nonelectric | 35 ft | yes | 69 ft | 603 ft | 102 ft | $25–$40 | |
| SING | 020 | standard nonelectric | 35 ft | yes | 110 ft | 487 ft | 72 ft | $25–$40 | |
| SING | 021 | standard nonelectric | 35 ft | yes | 95 ft | 443 ft | 86 ft | $25–$40 | |
| SING | 022 | standard nonelectric | 45 ft | yes | 95 ft | 493 ft | 121 ft | $25–$40 | |
| SING | 026 | standard nonelectric | 40 ft | yes | 115 ft | 463 ft | 235 ft | $25–$40 | |
| SING | 028 | standard nonelectric | 45 ft | yes | 118 ft | 357 ft | 349 ft | $25–$40 | |
| SING | 032 | standard nonelectric | 99 ft | yes | 118 ft | 256 ft | 278 ft | $25–$40 | |
| SING | 035 | standard nonelectric | 99 ft | yes | 86 ft | 100 ft | 100 ft | $25–$40 | |
| SING | 036 | standard nonelectric | 45 ft | yes | 34 ft | 167 ft | 78 ft | $25–$40 | |
| SING | 037 | standard nonelectric | 45 ft | yes | 86 ft | 179 ft | 174 ft | $25–$40 | |
| SING | 038 | standard nonelectric | 40 ft | yes | 63 ft | 70 ft | 271 ft | $25–$40 | |
| SING | 039 | standard nonelectric | 99 ft | yes | 136 ft | 115 ft | 406 ft | $25–$40 | |
| SING | 040 | standard nonelectric | 35 ft | yes | 63 ft | 132 ft | 257 ft | $25–$40 | |
| SING | 041 | standard electric | 99 ft | 20/30 amp | yes | 98 ft | 544 ft | 209 ft | $32–$47 |
| SING | 042 | standard nonelectric | 30 ft | yes | 124 ft | 545 ft | 320 ft | $25–$40 | |
| SING | 044 | standard nonelectric | 40 ft | yes | 74 ft | 397 ft | 264 ft | $25–$40 | |
| SING | 045 | standard nonelectric | 35 ft | yes | 83 ft | 334 ft | 280 ft | $25–$40 | |
| SING | 046 | standard nonelectric | 40 ft | yes | 68 ft | 242 ft | 168 ft | $25–$40 | |
| SING | 047 | standard nonelectric | 40 ft | yes | 74 ft | 329 ft | 252 ft | $25–$40 | |
| SING | 048 | standard nonelectric | 30 ft | yes | 34 ft | 201 ft | 109 ft | $25–$40 | |
| SING | 049 | standard nonelectric | 40 ft | yes | 80 ft | 290 ft | 194 ft | $25–$40 | |
| SING | 050 | standard nonelectric | 99 ft | yes | 82 ft | 232 ft | 135 ft | $25–$40 |
The agency files 2 more records here that aren’t sites for the night. It files them as day use. They’re in the table above, marked for what they are, and none of them is counted as a site.
25 of 52 listed
Getting there
the map and the coordinate · the agency’s directions · the phone number
Where it is
Little FortGeorge Washington National Forest · 17 mi
Hawk Recreation AreaGeorge Washington National Forest · 17 mi
Camp RooseveltGeorge Washington National Forest · 19 miElizabeth FurnaceGeorge Washington National Forest · 22 mi
Elizabeth Furnace Group CampGeorge Washington National Forest · 22 miFrom Strasburg, VA, follow State Route 55 west for 18 miles to Wardensville, WV. Turn left on SR 23/10, and travel for about 6 miles. Turn right on CR 16, and travel for 6 miles. Turn left onto Forest Service Road 500, and drive about 1 mile to the Trout Pond Recreation Area entrance.
The weather
the next four days · the thirty-year normal
Next four days, and the thirty-year normal
Forecast
NWS forecast for Basye, VA
Typical weather
Typical October night 43°F, day 67°F.
Coldest night of the open season: typical October night 43°F. Bring the bag rated for it.
Daily high and lowDays with 0.10 in or moreOutside the published season
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
Trout Pond Recreation Area is in West Virginia’s 2nd congressional district. Its representative, Riley Moore (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 moneyRiley M. MooreU.S. Representative · West Virginia’s 2nd district
- Your senator, on the same appropriationJames C. JusticeU.S. Senator · West Virginia
- Your senator, on the same appropriationShelley Moore CapitoU.S. Senator · West 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 Trout Pond Recreation Area, George Washington National Forest, West Virginia
Dear Riley M. Moore, I’m a constituent in West Virginia’s 2nd district. I tried to camp at Trout Pond Recreation Area, George Washington National Forest, West Virginia, and couldn’t. recreation.gov lists 47 of the 50 campsites the agency files at Trout Pond Recreation Area, and every one of them is booked ahead, and the agency's own record lists none held back for somebody who drives up. On Saturday, October 17, all 31 sites recreation.gov was offering there were already booked. 1,623 of the 7,647 federal campgrounds in this country still keep at least some sites for whoever arrives first. Trout Pond Recreation Area keeps none, and that’s a choice somebody made rather than a rule. I’m not asking you to run Trout Pond Recreation Area. 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 Trout Pond Recreation Area (George Washington National Forest, West 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 Trout Pond Recreation Area, George Washington National Forest, West Virginia
Dear James C. Justice, I’m a constituent in West Virginia. I tried to camp at Trout Pond Recreation Area, George Washington National Forest, West Virginia, and couldn’t. recreation.gov lists 47 of the 50 campsites the agency files at Trout Pond Recreation Area, and every one of them is booked ahead, and the agency's own record lists none held back for somebody who drives up. On Saturday, October 17, all 31 sites recreation.gov was offering there were already booked. 1,623 of the 7,647 federal campgrounds in this country still keep at least some sites for whoever arrives first. Trout Pond Recreation Area keeps none, and that’s a choice somebody made rather than a rule. I’m not asking you to run Trout Pond Recreation Area. 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 Trout Pond Recreation Area (George Washington National Forest, West 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 Trout Pond Recreation Area, George Washington National Forest, West Virginia
Dear Shelley Moore Capito, I’m a constituent in West Virginia. I tried to camp at Trout Pond Recreation Area, George Washington National Forest, West Virginia, and couldn’t. recreation.gov lists 47 of the 50 campsites the agency files at Trout Pond Recreation Area, and every one of them is booked ahead, and the agency's own record lists none held back for somebody who drives up. On Saturday, October 17, all 31 sites recreation.gov was offering there were already booked. 1,623 of the 7,647 federal campgrounds in this country still keep at least some sites for whoever arrives first. Trout Pond Recreation Area keeps none, and that’s a choice somebody made rather than a rule. I’m not asking you to run Trout Pond Recreation Area. 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 Trout Pond Recreation Area (George Washington National Forest, West Virginia) via campanac.com