Since my stepson began his new job at the University of Virginia in Charlottesville, we have wanted to visit him. Our trip to Nappanee, then Washington, DC and on to North Carolina provided a great opportunity to stop by.
Although there's a KOA close to Charlottesville, reviews we read weren't good. The nearest place with the best reviews was 13 miles away in a small place named Crozet, VA.
Misty Mountain Camp Resort is just a couple of miles south of Interstate 64 and about a 20 minutes away (in various directions) from the Blue Ridge Parkway, the Skyline, Waynesboro, Charlottesville and Monticello, the well-known home of Thomas Jefferson.
When we first pulled into Misty Mountain, it looked like a small campground with not much going on. But looks are deceiving. It may have a small store and no fancy restaurant or tour busses, but it has a lot of things that make it a nice place to visit - although you may have a hard time doing so on the weekends.
Campground Layout
When you first pull in, you should pull up directly in front of the office/store to unhitch. There are a few rows of pull-through sites to your left. Our 43' rig fit would fit comfortably in almost all of them, but we had to park our toad sideways in front of the coach. A 40'-er might be able to do it without disconnecting. All of these sites have FHU, 50 amp service.
The road in front of the office continues past an open field on your left and a large recreation area on your right - with more sites on the other side of the rec area. The road continues up into the woods, where there are quite a few other sites. In my opinion, large rigs should stick to the sites nearest the office and forget climbing the somewhat steep hills to the sites "at the top". The higher sites are definitely quieter, but space is tight maneuvering might be tricky.
Amenities
There's a game room that has quite a few arcade-style games. It's in a separate building directly across from the office (on the left as you enter).
Next to the office/store is a large community room, with two TV's on the wall, two pay-to-play pool tables, a stage, DJ booth, bar, and sizeable kitchen. I was told that they often have live music and karoke on the weekends. Groups are encouraged to use (and reserve) the room.
Just past the community room is a large field. It has a very large bounce pad for the kids, a place to play corn hole, a fire pit area with benches, and a whole lotta' room. There's also an elevated, covered stage area. When I asked about the stage, I was told that they occasionally host music events and festivals, and most recently had on in September 2016.
During October, they have quite a few Halloween events for the whole family, including trick or treating and hay rides up the hill to a pumpkin patch.
From the people we spoke with, staff and campers alike, Misty Mountain is packed on the weekends. Between its own events and tourists (many come for weekend fall football games), weekend reservations can be difficult to make.
Sites
The sites were generally close together. It was about 12 feet from our door to the coach next to us. Some sites had larger areas. All of the ones we saw had a fire ring and an improved surface (like concrete) for the picnic table. The roads are about as narrow as you can get and still get a larger rig parked.
Nearby Conveniences
Turning right out of the campground, there's a "gourmet" grocery store that also serves sandwiches and some desserts. It was a bit pricey; a serving of their very good macaroni and cheese was $5. The food choices were a bit odd for me. For example, the drinks were all bottled (or canned) and there wasn't much that I recognized. There was canned diet and regular coke, water, and a large selection of other organic everything. I wanted regular tea, but they only had various fruit flavors of green tea.
Further down the road after you go back under Interstate 64 is a large grocery store. I'd guess it's about 4 miles or so from the campground. They have everything you would ever need and are similar to a large Ingles or Publix. There were other stores nearby, but not many. There's also a post office.
Summary
If and when we return to the area, we'll likely stay at Misty Mountain again. But we know that we'll take the time to ensure two things: 1) we get a site on the lower level and 2) we make reservations well in advance - especially if we plan to stay over a weekend.
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