Situated just past milepost 16 on the parkway, Love Ridge offers vacation cabins and homes for rent. Initially developed as a campground in the 1950s, Love Ridge has not had publicly available camping for decades.
Between three wilderness areas and minutes from the Appalachian Trail, the micro-village with cabins, family houses, and now camping offers unequaled access to hiking, biking and swimming.
An easy cruise down the Blue Ridge Parkway leads to the area’s main attractions, including the Shenandoah National Park, Nelson’s 151, Wintergreen Resort and the City of Waynesboro.
The small-scale, forested campground is supported by a camphouse with a community kitchen, restrooms with hot showers and glamping bedrooms.
Guests will have access to onsite trails, a game shed, and both play and contemplative areas.
The campground offers nine drive-in sites, each with a fire ring and picnic table and two glamping bedrooms, one with a queen bed and one with a king bed. Overflow camping is also possible for larger events.
“Love Ridge Mountain Lodging is opening up more opportunities for a range of people to experience the Blue Ridge mountains and is a prime example of a rural tourism destination utilizing our Grants Program to drive tourism and generate jobs in Virginia,” said Staci Martin, grants director for Virginia Tourism Corporation, who has been working to support Virginia tourism businesses like Love Ridge.
“Having camping back at Love Ridge is very exciting. We’re thrilled that more people will get to experience this unique spot and that we have a chance to host events,” said owner Natasha Sienitsky.
One of the first events this spring will be a Sherando Recreation Area trail work weekend co-hosted by the Charlottesville Area Mountain Biking Association.
The campground will have a campground host available to assist guests with their stay, and campsites will start at $55 per night.
The campground will be open April-October.
More information is available online at www.loveridgeva.com.
About Love Ridge
Love was a remote outpost until the Blue Ridge Parkway was constructed in 1936. Situated on the natural route between the Tye River Valley and the Shenandoah Valley, Love had a general store, post office and blacksmith.
At the beginning of the 20th century, the area was home to more than 1,000 people who farmed the surrounding mountains and hollows.
The Blue Ridge Parkway changed mountain life, and as people moved away from homesteading and subsistence farming, tourism reigned.
Love Ridge Mountain Lodging was initially conceived of as the Meadow Mountain Campground, in the 1960s by the Alford family. The Shields family bought the campground and built nine cabins for rent and a manager’s house in the late 1990s, calling it Royal Oaks. The Smith family took over in 2004, building two more houses. In January 2022, the Smiths retired, and Royal Oaks became Love Ridge Mountain Lodging.
Love Ridge is located at 45 Royal Oaks Lane in Lyndhurst.
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Crystal Graham
