We had visited the Charlottesville area the past two years as part of Road Trip 2017 and Road Trip 2018, but had only stayed a few days each year by moochdocking in a friend’s driveway. For Road Trip 2019, we decided to stay for an extended period of time (from July 13 to August 4) and that longer stay required a full-hookup in a campground. And that’s what led us to Misty Mountain Camp Resort.
In 2018, we had been able to take a drive through the campground to get a feel for what it was like and to see which sites we might prefer. As it turns out, Misty Mountain has online booking where you can pick a specific site.
We had enough flexibility in our schedule and planned nearly a year in advance, so we were able to get the best spot in the park, Site 4. It likes parallel to a creek, and you almost can’t see anyone else when you sit outside your rig enjoying the view of the creek and the woods on the other side. Technically, there is a fishing pond behind the trees in your immediate view beyond the creek, but it’s hard to see through the brush.
This park consists of two sections. The lower section has many creekside sites, most of which are electric and water only. The exception is our site, Site #4, which is a full hookup site. The lower section is popular with families and was filled up each weekend we were there, thanks to the many kid-friendly amenities. Then the place nearly empties out during the week (as shown below), so there’s a reprieve from all that activity.
The upper section of the park is quite a hike up the hill. We walked up exactly once, and I thought it was going to kill me, in spite of the regular exercise that I’ve been getting this year. The upper section is heavily wooded and includes some cabins as well as seasonal sites. There are short-stay sites there as well if you prefer a quieter environment away from the activities down below.
We had daily visitors that I usually saw when I took the dogs out for the first walk of the day. I’m not sure why a mallard is hanging out with two white ducks, but they were always together and claimed a wide swath of the campground as their territory.
One morning, I walked the dogs past our truck and a white duck popped out at us from underneath the truck. I was a little baffled because I thought I had seen all the ducks down in the creek and was confused as to how it had so quickly come up to our site. And it was dirty, too. Presumably from waddling under the truck. I watched as it meandered along the creek towards the bridge, and then looked back into the creek where I then saw the three ducks. Hmm…
Next thing I know, the original three were chasing the newcomer across the bridge which led me to dub him (her?) Outcast Duck. I later encountered Outcast Duck in the afternoon as I walked the dogs alongside the fishing pond. It jumped out at us from a bush as we were walking by. What is this with lurking in the shadows and then coming out to greet me? That was the last I saw of it, though. The others managed to successfully make it feel unwelcome, I guess.
Lots of Wine Tasting!
We explore wine country wherever we go. It’s fascinating to see the differences in the types of grapes grown across the USA and even the differences in a single varietal that is grown in separate places. Outside of the West Coast wine regions, our favorite is Virginia (although North Carolina is a strong contender as we learned when we stayed near Pilot Mountain). In 2019, we revisited some wineries introduced to us by our friends and discovered some new ones on our own.
King Family Vineyards. This place is pretty close to Misty Mountains (although not the closest vineyard…) There is plenty of seating outside to enjoy a bottle of wine (or a glass if you prefer), plus a cheese, meat, and crackers tray that you can build from the selection they sell inside. On Sundays in the summer, you can watch a polo game on the property. People set up big tents to provide their own shade during the game, and might even get dressed up all fancy. Here we met up with our friend and spent the afternoon catching up on life since we last saw each other a year ago.
Pollak Vineyards. This winery is also fairly close to the campground although in the opposite direction. We had visited in 2018 with friends, and returned in 2019 on our own. It’s a lovely place to spend an afternoon. Here they sell baguettes and cheese to enjoy with your wine by the glass or bottle. We chose to enjoy our snack on the covered patio, but there are picnic tables closer to the water and also another open patio overlooking the vineyards.
Valley Road Vineyards. This wine-tasting room didn’t have as relaxing a vibe as the others we visited in the area. Not sure if it was just an off day here, but we would probably not be inclined to return when there are so many other lovely choices.
Veritas Vineyards and Winery. This winery was another repeat visit for us, and a place we would be happy to revisit each time we’re in the area. The wines are nice, and you can buy light bites for lunch. We had gazpacho and sandwiches. There’s a huge outside patio, but we had to move inside after eating due to a rainstorm that come on suddenly with a hard rain that came in sideways.
We decided to cancel the rest of our wine tour for the day after that rainstorm and headed back to our rig. As it turns out, the storm knocked down a tree near our site. Fortunately, there was no damage to anyone’s rig, but it highlights the fact that trees, storms, and RVs do not play well together. The more that we travel, the less thrilled we are with lots of trees surrounding our site.
Pippin Hill Farm and Vineyards. This winery is such a lovely venue and quite popular on the weekends, so plan accordingly if you want to go there. The restaurant here uses produce and eggs raised at their farm for a farm-to-table experience, at least for veggies. We treated ourselves to lunch before the wine tasting and were quite satisfied with our selections, which included some tasty deviled eggs. One of the things I loved about this place was the proliferation of butterflies. There were literally fields full of them!
Septenary Winery. This is the winery that is absolutely the closest one to the campground. We could walk there if the road were more amenable for pedestrians (which it is not). In 2018, we stopped by with a friend and were able to spend some time getting to know the owners, Todd and Sarah. When we returned in 2019, Sarah remembered us!
We totally love the wines here and came back more than once to sit and enjoy the gorgeous view from the patio while snacking on a charcuterie plate and sipping wine.
Moss Vineyards. This winery is the farthest afield from our campground, but the views along the drive out here, as well as the view on arrival, is totally worth it. You can see Shenandoah National Park from here. The driveway is long and winding. Thankfully, no one was coming down as we were driving up because our beast of an F350 dally totally dominated the road. Oh, the wines are interesting, too. Bordeaux-style, just like we like it. We were able to see the veraison starting on the grapes, too!
White Hall Vineyards. We stopped here as we worked our way back towards the campground from Moss Vineyards. Although we met some great people here, both the person working here as well as other visitors, we found that we preferred wines from other vineyards in the area. This one just didn’t push our buttons. It didn’t look like food was available for purchase here, either.
Stinson Vineyards. This winery was not as picturesque as many of the others we have visited in the area, but you do still get a nice view of the Blue Ridge Mountains. Regardless, the wines are interesting and they also make a nice port-style wine. A unique feature is the availability of barbecue grills – you just bring the meat (but you can call ahead to purchase meat to pick up onsite, too). Like many local wineries, they have live music each week during the summer.
Grace Estate Winery. This winery was the last one we visited on our way back from Moss Vineyards, and it definitely ranks as one of our favorites. There are a couple of cute patios out back for enjoying a view of the property and the interior of the wine-tasting room is spacious yet cozy. The wines were delightful. We would definitely make a point to come back here in the future.
Dining
During our stay here, we often cooked at the campground, experimenting with our new smoker. However, we did get out to a few places that are worthy of mention.
Smoked Kitchen and Tap. Crozet is not far from the campground. We remembered that we had been to a BBQ place there in 2018 with our friends, so we stopped by again to see if we still liked it. And we did, along with the very nicely low-priced wines during happy hour!
I had the Signature Fried Chicken (which was fine, but nothing amazing) and pulled pork (I think), roasted cauliflower, and baked beans. Dean had the sausage and ribs, and added the fries and creamed corn with smoked jalapeño as his sides.
Blue Mountain Brewery. We came here in 2018 with friends, and were delighted to discover it was one of the closest restaurants to our campground. We wound up coming here on two different occasions because we enjoyed the pizzas here so much. They offer a pizza of the day which is different from the options on the menu, and we were always intrigued enough to go for the special. We’d be happy with the menu pizza, too. The crust is fantastic and sized to easily feed two people and still have leftovers.
Everything we’ve had here each time was great. The first time we visited it was too hot outside, so we ate indoors. The second time we were able to enjoy the outdoors where you can see the hops growing for their brew.
Fardowners. This place doesn’t look like much from the outside, or even from the inside for that matter. It’s on the divey-side if you look at appearances alone, but the food was (mostly) fantastic!
We both started with the red bell pepper and Gouda soup. Yumm! I had the Pub mac n’ cheese, which I htoughton the dry side. But the wings oh my! These are quite possibly the best wings I’ve ever eaten. They fall off the bone, they are so tender! Brunch menu looks great but we never made it there.
Michie Tavern. This place started serving guests in 1784 and still serves food in a similar style. It’s a buffet, which is not my preferred form of dining, but the experience here is unique and worth a visit. The buffet contains items that would have been available back in Thomas Jefferson’s time: fried chicken, marinated baked chicken, hickory-smoked pork barbecue, stewed tomatoes, black-eyed peas, buttermilk biscuits, green beans, beets, and a soup of the day. It’s really just a lunch place, so plan to eat between 11:15 and 3:30. There is newly opened 1784 Pub there, too, which stays open a bit longer and offers light snack options.
On site are also places you can shop: the Tavern Shop, The Metal Smith Shop, The Artisan Shop and The General Store. Only the Tavern Shop and General Store were open during our visit. Now that we live full-time in our RV, there’s no temptation to buy anything that we can’t eat or drink!
Sightseeing
We did most of our historical sightseeing during visits of prior years. In 2019, we decided to drive out to the Appomattox Court House National Historical Park, the site where General Lee surrendered marking the end of the Civil War.
The court house is now a visitor center where you can see exhibits and a short video that provides context in case you’re a little rusty on Civil War history. In addition, there are ranger-led tours of the park.
The actual surrender occurred at McLean House which you can walk through. The house was taken apart with intentions of rebuilding it in Washington, D.C., as a tourist attraction, but funds ran dry. However, thanks to meticulous note-taking, the house was rebuilt in its original location although many items had to be reproduced due to deterioration.
Onward!
We really enjoyed hanging out in Virginia for three weeks this year. In prior years, we crammed a lot of wine-tasting and sightseeing into a a few days at a time. In 2019, we could be more leisurely. We love the variety of experiences that we can have here. The scenery is so beautiful, and we love the winding roads through the small towns around Charlottesville.
The downside of our stay in Charlottesville was the heat in July 2019. The heat index was over 100 one weekend. Extreme heat and extreme humidity do not mix well, especially for us desert rats from Las Vegas! We didn’t do some of the outdoor activities that we would have liked, such as hiking and horseback-riding, but we did get out for a few drives to enjoy the local scenery.
Now it’s time to continue our trek northward to Pennsylvania!
1 thought on “Misty Mountain Camp Resort”