“natural, wooded campground surrounded by history”
Thomas Jefferson's magnificent Monticello is a big draw here, and so is the woodsy Charlottesville KOA in the Blue Ridge Mountain foothills, where dogwoods bloom in spring and hardwoods blaze with brilliant fall colors. It's just a half hour to Skyline Drive and the Blue Ridge Parkway for stunning vistas, hiking trails, cave tours and waterfalls. Visit a trio of historic sites: Monticello, Highland (home of James Monroe) and Michie Tavern, where a costumed staff serves an 18th-century lunch. Also, take a tour of Jefferson's lovely University of Virginia campus and Walton's Mountain Museum, which recreates some of the real John Boy's life. Try tubing and rafting on the nearby James River, enjoy a wine tasting at a local vineyard or dine in downtown Charlottesville. Back at KOA, enjoy the pool, sports field, game room, pond or relax and listen to nature at your site. Pool: Memorial Weekend - Labor Day Weekend. Max pull thru: 65 feet.
Reviews of Charlottesville KOA
14 people have reviewed this location
Ratings Summary
Cell Coverage
Verizon 4G
Confirmed by 4 users | Last reported on September 07, 2021AT&T 4G/5G
Confirmed by 4 users | Last reported on May 23, 2023T-Mobile 4G
Confirmed by 3 users | Last reported on May 23, 2023As far as the Charlottesville KOA, I wanted to like it but just can't. It is in an awkward, out-of-the way location and both of my GPS led me on a very narrow, absolutely no shoulder, over-hanging trees, one-lane bridge, winding, curvy road to get here. There were no KOA signs and once close, on GPS said turn left in 500 feet while my RV specific GPS said turn right in one mile. Coming the way I did, you see the KOA sign at almost the last minute and there is an oncoming blind curve - I had a school bus zip around that curve as I was turning - could have been disastrous (I "yea, everyone zips around that curve.) Regardless of your approach and what your GPS's may tell you, stay on I-64, take the Hwy 20 (south) to Red Hill Road - still a little curvy and narrow but at least a little bit of a shoulder.
The check-in host was really nice but considering the overall condition of the park and my impression, it doesn't warrant a $48 (weekday) $51 (weekend) price.
On entering, there is no clear signage so where to go to register is confusing and I apparently did it wrong - taking the loop to the left in front of the office. I mentioned that they should put a sign "STOP / PARK HERE FOR REGISTRATION," "yea, everyone says that," so I'm not sure why they don't. I had to unhook my toad on an angle since I didn't turn sharp enough to make the loop and there was a large tree in my way.
The interior roads are gravel and are good enough but, very confusing! I did not get an escort and the roads are not laid out as well as what their camp map shows. I had to stop twice to study the map; back up twice to get back on track; site signs are over-grown and not clear; the way the road and some sites are, you don't know if you are still on the road or driving through someones site!
Sites are fairly close. Mine was gravel, grass, weeds, and mud.
50-amp, water, sewer and 17-channel cable available and are convenient. I doubt you would get satellite at any but maybe a couple sites.
Despite some reviews, I could not get a Verizon signal. Free wifi which was adequate.
Standard KOA stuff - playground (currently a little muddy with all the rain), fenced dog area, pool - although, the pool is a little strange being somewhat isolated through the woods in the back - and it looked a little murky. Game room, camp store, laundry, etc. There is a Pet Walk/Nature Trail - muddy and overgrown. A "Beaver Pond" with fishing - not really - too overgrown and muddy.
I like the over-all "woodsy" nature but getting to the park, the price, over-all condition and the really bad check in parking, road navigation to your site (at least my site) warrants more of a $25-30 rate than a $48-51 rate and I probably would not stay here again nor make a strong recommendation.
On to Cherry Hill tomorrow!
We've only stayed in a handful of KOAs, but we feel we lucked out with our spot in this one. Half the park is very shaded in the RV section, half is not at all and very tightly packed. I would definitely try and request a spot in the first row (mostly back in spots, but a few pullthrough). Our site was large, very shaded and had a great view. We were also far away from the playground and the pool so the noise was low. The campground itself is in a beautiful area too, about 9 miles from downtown. There aren't a lot of campgrounds close by, so if you need to visit Cville, definitely try for spots 8-11 (all accommodate very different size RVs). If you're with a group, 12 and 13 are in the same corner with no separation (they're crammed in for sure). This was also one of the nicest staffs we've come across!
Nightly Rate: $40.00
Days Stayed: 2
Site Number: 11
Cell Coverage Rating
Verizon 4G
We came here because it's the only campground in town and we wanted to visit friends. When I looked online, the only site that would accommodate us was the largest, pull through. The sites are large but not level, but we had so much room it didn't matter and left the 5th wheel at one end. Wifi is excellent, probably because we are not far from the office. Lots of trees, the layout looks like a rabbit warren. Sites are gravel with soggy grass in between because it rains a lot here. It is 10 miles out of town. Cell phone coverage with verizon was sketchy and we had to go outside our trailer.
Nightly Rate: $53.00
Days Stayed: 2
Site Number: 8
We'd heard mixed things about this place online, but it's one of the few convenient choices is you want to visit Monticello (which we did), and we ended up being pleasantly surprised. Make sure you follow the directions on the site to avoid some scary mountain roads and be careful not to miss the turn into the campground; if you do that the drive is no problem. We were given our choice of several empty sites and ended up in a very easy to get into pull-through on the end of the center row, with lots of privacy and a huge side yard. Some of the other sites we passed up looked like they might have been tricky to get into. Tiny campground by KOA standards, so not a lot of amenities, but there's a small playground, overgrown nature trail, and a pool. Wifi and cell reception pretty much unusable--to be expected given the remote location. About 20 minutes to Monticello and Charlottesville. We wouldn't hesitate to stay here again if our main goal was visiting Monticello.
Nightly Rate: $50.00
Days Stayed: 2
Site Number: -
We stayed during spring break 2017 and came down from Michigan. The big trick was that the GPS kept taking us on Plank Road which has a low bridge for a train crossing. It's 11' 11". This means we had to turn around and find another path through.
We had a site back in the corner, which was nice. And it's quiet and peaceful out as long as you've got good neighbors. We had some folks with a bunch of small dogs that were annoying for the first day or two and when they left it was really nice and peaceful.
As for cell service, I use Google Fi which can use both the Sprint and T-mobile network. I had 3 good bars and it was usuable, but my wife's phone on Verizon was not usable from the campground.
The camp store looked pretty good but closed early at 6pm most days. We went into town and so we were just getting back afterwards. I'm sure it'll be good for most folks though.
We fished the pond and caught a couple of small bass.
The biggest issue is the location. It's a bit outside Charlottesville and honestly we needed to spend a lot of time getting to places. I'd rather stay more on the west side of things.
Nightly Rate: $41.00
Days Stayed: 4
Site Number: 13
Cell Coverage Rating
Verizon 4G
T-Mobile 4G
Clean park with level sites. Lots of trees but managed satellite reception. Nice dog park and dog path. Also nearby is Shenandoah National Park. WiFi good but cell phone terrible.
Nightly Rate: $45.00
Days Stayed: 4
Site Number: 24
We made our reservations in March, along with my brother asking for sites in proximity. That may have been a mistake. We were assigned two small sites at the end of the row. They were pull-through and had all the hook-ups, but gravel with a picnic table and a tire hub for a fire ring, while beautiful sites, much larger, with terra cotta fire rings and patios, remained empty all week. Perhpas we shoul have asked to be moved, but my brother was already set up and he is new to the RV world, so we set up where we were assigned. There is a great bath house and lovely pool. The staff was very responsive, but stay away from sites 17 and 19 at the very least if you choose to stay there. As a note, proximity to Monticello, Montpieler, and Highland is great.
Nightly Rate: $55.00
Days Stayed: 4
Site Number: 199
Cell Coverage Rating
AT&T 4G
Big pool, not very busy. Hiking trail, site was level, good hookups. Best showers I’ve ever seen at a campground. They look new. Playground, volleyball, basketball, horseshoe. Camp store and laundry. 15 minutes from Monticello. Only slight complaint is there are a lot of flies. WiFi
Nightly Rate: $69.00
Days Stayed: 4
Site Number: 32
Cell Coverage Rating
Verizon 4G
We stayed here a few nights July 2020, the campground is quite small. The pool was tucked away and wasn't used due to COVID-19. While the drive up to our pad was hilly, the pad itself was surprisingly level. Overall, the campground was clean. The road to the campground was a bit curvy, but nothing out of the ordinary for Blue Ridge Mountains. It was a bit difficult to navigate our rig around the campground, but the staff was helpful.
Nightly Rate: $60.00
Days Stayed: 2
Site Number: -
Stayed here in late August for 9 nights while we moved our son into UVA. Overall a nice campground, clean restrooms and laundry facilities.
I work remotely and the WiFi worked well without any issues.
There’s a nice trail through the woods to walk the dogs and it’s in a good location to Charlottesville.
Nightly Rate: $58.00
Days Stayed: 9
Site Number: 9
Cell Coverage Rating
Verizon 4G
AT&T 4G
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Charlottesville KOA
Hours
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Parking
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Pets Allowed
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Restrooms
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Wifi
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Wheelchair Accessible
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Credit Cards Accepted
- Affiliation
- Kampgrounds of America (KOA)
- Back In RV Sites Count
- 25
- Last Nightly Rate
- 85.0
- Longest Vehicle Length Reported
- 46.0
- Lowest Nightly Rate
- 40.0
- Max Length
- 65 ft
- Pull Through RV Sites Count
- 34
- Season End
- November 11
- Season Start
- March 28
- Sites Count
- 64
- Standard Tent Sites Count
- 12
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Swimming Pool
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Paved Sites
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Fifty Amp
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Full Hookup
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Rec Facilities
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Pull Through
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Tent Sites
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Dump Station
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Big Rigs
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Open Seasonally
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Age Restricted
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Back In RV Sites
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Boondock
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Cabin Sites
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Dispersed Sites
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Firewood
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Fulltime Residents
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Group Tent Sites
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Laundry
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Mobile Homes
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Permit Required
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Propane
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Public Water
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Pull Through RV Sites
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Reservations
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RV Sites
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Sewer Hookup
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Showers
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Sites
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Standard Tent Sites
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Vehicle Wash Permitted
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Water Hookup
Campground, Restrooms
Nearby Hotels
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