What a great destination, and so close! The Elizabeth Furnace Family Campground is a mere 1.5 hours from DC, and features great swim holes and good hiking, trout-fishing and rock-climbing. The campground sits along Passage Creek, which drains a valley formed by the two major ridges of Massanuten Mountain, which runs south from the far western end of I-66 through the George Washington National Forest.
Swimming
Passage Creek features clear, clean water, relatively unfertilized by agricultural run-off. The swim hole at the campground was excellent, with a great jumping log as pictured below. There were a few other families there, but it was not overly crowded. I don't know if the 50% chance of T-storms was lowering turnout, but the camp host said the place was pretty full by his standards. There was still a bunch of sites available when we got there on Saturday evening.
Fishing
We did see some medium-smallish trout and sunnies swimming around - the creek is stocked - and will probably get a fishing license next time we go. For a VA resident over, its $23/year for a fishing license, plus $4/year for a National Forest Stamp. The VA license is $47 for nonresidents.
Rock-climbing
Just after entering the National Forest, lookout for some cliffs on the right, and then park on the right at the large lot in 200 yards. There is also a small pull-off area opposite the cliffs that I used to drop off the people and gear. May Joy and the kids played in the water while I hung a top-rope on I Love Big Jugs, a 60' climb that starts off as 5.5, and ends with a steep, pumpy 5.8 section. This area is known as the Roadside Crag/Talking Headwall, and is a very family friendly place to climb. There is another climbing area about an hour up the hill called Buzzard Rocks, which I did not check out yet.
Campground
I liked the campground. We took site #2, next to the host's RV and the bathroom, which includes 4 showers with private, lockable entrances. There are 30+ sites, and they have good privacy, thanks to the dense vegetation, which included lots of black haw viburnums that were loaded with yet-green berries. Poison ivy is lush though, so you need to be wary, especially at night and with kids.
Bugs
We did not find any ticks throughout our trip; however, we did not do much bush-wacking either. No mosquitoes. There were some tiny biting gnats that were a minor nuisance on legs and arms, although the kids never complained.
Swimming
Passage Creek features clear, clean water, relatively unfertilized by agricultural run-off. The swim hole at the campground was excellent, with a great jumping log as pictured below. There were a few other families there, but it was not overly crowded. I don't know if the 50% chance of T-storms was lowering turnout, but the camp host said the place was pretty full by his standards. There was still a bunch of sites available when we got there on Saturday evening.
Fishing
We did see some medium-smallish trout and sunnies swimming around - the creek is stocked - and will probably get a fishing license next time we go. For a VA resident over, its $23/year for a fishing license, plus $4/year for a National Forest Stamp. The VA license is $47 for nonresidents.
Rock-climbing
Just after entering the National Forest, lookout for some cliffs on the right, and then park on the right at the large lot in 200 yards. There is also a small pull-off area opposite the cliffs that I used to drop off the people and gear. May Joy and the kids played in the water while I hung a top-rope on I Love Big Jugs, a 60' climb that starts off as 5.5, and ends with a steep, pumpy 5.8 section. This area is known as the Roadside Crag/Talking Headwall, and is a very family friendly place to climb. There is another climbing area about an hour up the hill called Buzzard Rocks, which I did not check out yet.
Campground
I liked the campground. We took site #2, next to the host's RV and the bathroom, which includes 4 showers with private, lockable entrances. There are 30+ sites, and they have good privacy, thanks to the dense vegetation, which included lots of black haw viburnums that were loaded with yet-green berries. Poison ivy is lush though, so you need to be wary, especially at night and with kids.
Bugs
We did not find any ticks throughout our trip; however, we did not do much bush-wacking either. No mosquitoes. There were some tiny biting gnats that were a minor nuisance on legs and arms, although the kids never complained.
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