westmoreland state park

We loved our stay at Westmoreland State Park and have already booked a cabin to go again!We went in the off season, so did not swim in the large pool or the beach along the Potomac, but we did have a blast on the trails, at fossil beach and birdwatching.The cabins are cinderblock design and not modern. They met our needs and we enjoyed the fireplace each evening. The off season price was a real boon for us, as the park was sparsely populated and it was a great getaway. We spent the evening playing cards and board games. We look forward to our next visit! Look at the map on the parks website to get the cabins with the best views.

The guest admits they did not contact us about the smell problem in either cabin nor do they provide a time frame so it is difficult to respond. We can assure you that staff were not responsible for causing the problem and in a cabin that allows pets it is strange that would be their conclusion. Our staff have since checked all the cabins and can find no evidence of this issue.

Westmoreland State Park is located in the Northern Neck of Virginia. During our visit, we walked the Fossil Beach trail (about .45 miles one way) to pan for fossils. We did not find any but the ice covered sticks in the Potomac River gave the illusion of water fowl. It was high tide so not much beach walking could be done. The turkey neck trail takes one up to the top of one of the steep cliffs. This would be a good challenge in the spring or summer! A number of trees were uprooted because of various hurricanes or tornadoes that came through the area and toppled them. There are many log cabins for rent, especially in the summer time. A sandy beach, boat launch, Olympic-sized pool and fitness trail are some of the amenities offered.

Our official web page emphasizes that reservations are required for cabins. On extremely rare occasions someone may come to a park and we will have a cabin clean and ready to go but it is unusual and we would never encourage a customer to drive to the park and take that chance. In fact, prospective customers can call our Customer Service Center 800-933-7275 and we will work with the park to see if we can do a same day reservation. The reference to sites possibly being available at the park applies to camping and during many times of the year I would not recommend someone showing up without a reservation for a campsite either.We do not just leave cabins dirty until we need them. However, we do have a cleaning schedule that is based on incoming reservations. The crew makes sure all the cabins are clean and inspected to meet reservations and cleans as many of the other cabins as possible.

It is a state park so I expected to find things dated and kind of run down. I was pleasantly surprised!I am not a camper so I didnt sleep in the cabins. But I browsed. They are better than summer camp in the Pocono Mountains. That is all I know about camping.But...the trails are wonderful. The riverfront is very interesting and enjoyable. (I didnt find any fossils.) But it was beautiful getting there and fun looking and beautiful walking back. The forest is so gorgeous and colorful in the fall and to walk/hike/bike in it is just plain enjoyment.Fall is the best time for color, but fall is also the best time to feel like you are out in the wilderness, not on a commercial campsite with a zillion other folks. There are tent pads, and camper pads and trailer pads if that is what you call camping. There are small cabins and not so small cabins with some amenities. There are a few modern "cabins" or brick homes located down near the water.It was too late in the season to swim or play on the playground. But catch and frisbee and football were still an option when we weren't walking the trails. And because the park was only lightly populated you could hear the sounds of the leaves and the wind and the birds, and nothing else. It was blissful.Down at the river bank you could gaze across the Potomac and see Colonial Beach. Boats running up and down the river. The water fowl coming and going. The walk was more vigorous and too much for some people but if that is the case you can sit up top and look out over the river, up and down the shoreline and enjoy the scenery. Westmoreland works as a camping trip or a quick day trip to be out in the woods.

Westmoreland State Park is Virginia's gem! It is the very best, and their staff are among the most attentive and helpful I have seen in the Commonwealth's state park system.

My family and I went for a day trip to hike a few trails and see what we could find at fossil beach. Unbeknownst to me the park was absoutly breathtaking. It had all the amenities to accommodate any group or family, was well kept and very clean. I cant wait to plan a weekend trip camping at ither one of their cabins or "gucci" tent sites. Highly recommended for outdoor lovers!

After Labor Day, not crowded. Site are very nice and clean. Bath house is not clean and very small for the camp ground size.

My wife and I took the half mile hike to Fossil Beach. The trail is well maintained. The beach was not crowed for a Sunday. We spent about an hour and left with several good pictures of the Potomac River and three shark teeth.The park is clean and the staff was very helpful.

We ordered on line and renewed our fishing licence online too( for fishers). We arrived and stopped at the office, we were told to choose any site(we camp) it was a thursday, so plenty or spaces. It is FANTASTIC... We put our stuff and went for a walk, (kids, 19-14-13-10 and 8) the view on the potomac is unique. Is a paradise for birds watcher, and nature lovers. We went to the free pool. (for camper and cabins renters) the pool has a slide and a big facility to change your cloths, with showers and WC.. But if you use the pool on Sat and Sun there are different people coming drom the otherside ot the potomac, which change the stuff like fill up the parking and nowhere to walk accross the pic nic area. ( great picnic area where all kind of birdsare to be seen)... Then things change again in the showers, WC and changing rooms... People swimm with street cloths and a sign says in 2 languages street cloths not permitted IN the pool, but who cares, you see some swimming with basketball outfit, or tank top and capri pant.. Tee-shirt... The cloths they arrived with to picnic...then a big crowd in the water which made me uncomfortable to watch my little one...beside that, we loved that camp, they have a camping store in case you have forgotten your stuff. They have a tourist center with great infos and activities offered for free or minimals fees like 1 to 15 bucks depend what you do or kids do.. Hubby and teen sons loved the walk in the dark trough the wood with the park ranger in a group. The place has a nice and clean shower and a place to wash the dishes. Plugs for those charger too.. 5 miles away from the park there is a Dollar General which carry all kinds of stuff for camp too and food, hygiene stuff, stuffWe did not need to go anywhere outside of the park bc it offers a lot.

My family and I visited Westmoreland State Park where we camped for a week. The experience was wonderful for all of us: mom, dad, our 10 year old son and 6 year old daughter. Located on the Potomac River and surrounded by lush green trees we set up our tent on a site we choose upon arrival. The sites were very clean and well maintained. There are three different sections A, B, and C and I recommend driving around when you get there to look at the different sections and sites to choose the right one for you. We were told that the B section had the biggest sites and so we set up camp there. In the future I might choose A or C as they too were beautiful. Section A is where the Laundry Room is located, it has one washer and one dryer that were always free when I went to use them. The park has a discovery center and offers plenty of activities that are appropriate for both children and adults. One morning we went on a kayaking trip on the Potomac where the pleasant and friendly guides lead us up the river to a beach to look for fossils and sharks teeth. We all enjoyed the experience and the two hour trip was very reasonably priced. We did several other activities offered by the park such as orienteering, seining, and we even made ice cream. During our time at Westmoreland we swam in the pool and the river, we fished, kayaked, went on hikes, rode our bikes, had a campfire and roasted smores. The park staff were always polite, accommodating and helpful. We will definitely return one day. One area for improvement would be the maintenance of the bathrooms by the beach, particularly on the weekend when there were considerably more people on the premises than during the week. I brought this up to the staff and was informed that they were a bit understaffed in that area at present but were working hard to maintain them.

This very affordable campground has a lot to offer...hiking, birding, swimming, but best of all is the fossil hunting on Fossil Beach. Other reviewers found this park 'old' and complained about the lack of wi-fi. I don't know about you, but getting my kids off the grid for a few days is a positive experience, not one I'd complain about. Cell service worked fine and there are outlets in the bathrooms where we left ours to charge w/out incident. The only thing I wasn't too crazy about were the areas where you have to set up your tent. For some reason, it's filled with gravel, so make sure you have a good tarp. The fire pits are the kind where you pull down a heavy grate so you can cook right on top. Best of all, because if you've camped before and you know just how annoying it is, the bathroom screen doors have those pneumatic closers so you don't have to hear the door banging all night. (Sometimes, it's the small things that count.) Potable water is readily available from spigots placed throughout the campgrounds. IMHO site C18 was one of the best sites. The A & B campgrounds allow RV's and I grow weary of listening to those generators...I prefer being lulled to sleep by crickets. I would love to go back and do some more fossil hunting. Safe, affordable family fun!!!!

We loved our week here. The cabin was rustic, but very clean, no bugs inside, and had everything we needed, AC, bathroom and kitchen. There was a grill and a fire pit for cooking that we used every night. And an indoor fireplace that would be lovely in the winter months! We stayed in cabin 12, which I highly recommend. It has a deck with a picnic table and adirondack love seat, and a screened in porch with rocking chairs. At cabins 11-14 you'd have a river view if there were no leaves on the trees. We hiked on several of the trails, hung out at Fossil Beach (didn't find any shark's teeth though) and used the pool. You can rent kayaks, paddle boards and paddle boats to use on the river, but we didn't get to use them this time. The Welcome Center, Discovery Center and Camp Store are very nice. All the staff were friendly and knowledgeable. From here we visited Stratford Hall, Westmoreland Berry Farm, Fredericksburg, La Plata, Maryland, several wineries and antique malls, the towns of Montross and Kinsale. There is so much to do and the scenery is beautiful! Oh, and we brought our dog. He loved the cabin and nature watching too.My only complaints would be the beds, they are the plastic covered mattress from your church camp days, but I understand why they have to be that way. I don't know what you could bring to make them better, maybe your own egg crate mattress topper? And the Camp Store was supposed to have WiFi, but it wasn't working (although I did not investigate this, just took my son's word for it), for my internet starved teen that was a bummer, but I was kind of glad!This is a great place to stay! I can highly recommend the cabins. We only walked through one of the campgrounds, but they looked nice too.

After reading the positive reviews, I added this to our family vacation itinerary and am so glad I did! We wanted to include some beach access into our Virginia vacation, but being that we were staying centered in Fredericksburg and Luray, we didn't want to add the additional driving required to oceanside, so we elected for a Potomac-river-side daytrip that included Westmoreland State Park, specifically Fossil Beach. We didn't end up finding any fossils, but we weren't as prepared as the others on the beach that day (I forgot to get sifters, though I understand the park office has some available). My husband and I along with our two older teenage daughters thoroughly enjoyed the visit though - it's a beautiful little beach area, the water was warm for wading, and the cliffs make an impressive backdrop. The incline on the climb back up the trail is a bit rough for out-of-shape hikers, but if you take your time, it's fine. There's a bench strategically placed at the top of the hill for that return trip to the car. ;) There was a very nominal state park entrance fee for our vehicle. I'd return here happily again.

When experiencing your life-long desire to go camping, you not only hope you don't experience equipment failure, that you have the right stuff to take out into the forrest, take enough supplies and eats, not to mention somewhat know what you're doing - but also choosing the right location. You hope to have beautiful landscape, incredible geography, great fauna and foliage, trails that are both intriguing and interesting, beautiful wildlife, park staff that are helpful, knowledgeable and courteous, and that those amenities you would like such as a 'real' visitor center, ample parking, pool, sandy beaches, fire pits, grills, etc., etc., I could go on... Westmoreland State Park has all this, and more. Highly recommended for both seclusion and crowds, couples and families. This fantastic park made our first camping excursion into the beginning of many more. Go for it, you don't have to camp only, they have space for trailers, campers, RVs or you can rent fancy fully urbanized cabins or rustic basic 'real' log cabins. We're going back for sure!