Camping At War Ridge/Backus Mountain Campground In New River Gorge National Park

War Ridge/Backus Mountain Campground is a primitive campground located in the New River Gorge National Park and Preserve in West Virginia.

This is a free campground managed by the National Park Service with a 14 day stay limit.

 

This is dry camping so no water or hook-ups can be found here. There are also no trashcans so pack out what you pack in.

There is one porta potty that was relatively clean and only smelled a little, lol. They did clean it out a couple days before we left and it smelled a bit better.

There are about 9 campsites located here available on a first come first serve basis and please camp only in designated sites. Each site comes with a firepit, picnic table, and lantern post.

Two vehicles are permitted per site and quiet hours are from 10PM to 6AM. Pets must be kept on a leash and please pick up after them.

 

Place campfires in rings only and please don’t leave them unattended. Make sure every spark is out before leaving camp or going to bed. Collection and burning of dead wood found on the ground is permitted.

Always check fire restrictions for the area you are in when camping.

Let’s talk cell phone service.

We had pretty good service using our AT&T hot spot. It always slowed down in the evenings and on the weekends, but we were still able to get a decent amount of work done during our stay.

Our Verizon was pretty much unusable here even with our booster.

 

All the sites are back-in sites, but 90% of the people here are tent/car camping. The sites are far enough apart that you’re not right on top of each other, but there’s not a lot of space between them.

If your running on solar there is plenty of sun here so power won’t be an issue.

We took campsite #5, which is the best one I think. It was right up against the trees and our cat Everest had fun on his lead playing and hiding among the bushes and trees.

I wouldn’t recommend this spot for any camper over 25 feet.

The majority of the road to the camp is paved, but it’s uphill for half of it. Depending on which way you’re coming in on Highway 41 the turn onto the road is quite sharp.

There is a pull-off located directly across from the entrance that gives you enough room to maneuver the turn.

 

After making that turn there is another very sharp turn in the road the hubby wouldn’t recommend for larger vehicles. It’s always best to scout out a location beforehand just to make sure you won’t get stuck.

This is the only campground in the park that is not along the river, but is on a ridge surrounded by trees. It’s also one of the few campgrounds in the park that can accommodate RV’s and has cell service.

We stayed in Meadow Creek Campground before and it was nice, but I couldn’t handle the constant trains that went by just feet from the camp.

 

Babcock State Park is only 25 minutes away and has over 20 miles of hiking trails, a lake and the historic Glade Creek Grist Mill.

A Dollar General and local grocery store can be found 20 minutes away from camp.

 

If your up for an hour drive you can reach multiple hiking trails located in several areas of New River Gorge National Park and Preserve.

I found it funny that this is a New River Gorge National Park Campground, but none of their trails are really that close.

During our 11 days here we had the campground to ourselves about 75% of the time.

A couple people showed up on Fridays and more on Saturdays, but by 9 am on Sunday most everyone had cleared out and we were alone again.

This seemed to be an overnight spot for the majority of visitors too and only a couple people stayed more than a night.

 

Besides a couple of boys who showed up for the weekend and left their firepit full of trash and let their two big dogs roam freely, all other campers here were quiet and respectful.

Don’t be those boys!

We really enjoyed our stay at the War Ridge/Backus Mountain Campground.

We spent a lot of time sitting outside playing games, having campfires and taking the dog for walks down the nearby road.

 

There were a lot of butterflies floating around and multiple hummingbirds near our camper. We even heard an owl close-by multiple nights.

The stars at night here are amazing!

We would stay here again in the future no problem. It was peaceful and we felt safe the whole time. If you’re looking for a nice spot just to hunker down and relax for a bit this campground is great.

 

Oh there is one negative.

These stupid, tiny gnat-like bug things were super annoying here. They weren’t always around, but they were around enough they really started irritating me. They didn’t land on you or bite they were just constantly swarming around your head.

I hated them.