Recently, I went on a long weekend trip with my spouse of now 10 years. We traveled to a beautiful place in the mountains of West Virginia called Seneca Rocks. If you’ve heard of it before, or have even had the opportunity to visit there in the past, you’ll understand that it has some seriously awesome hikes and scenery. Let’s talk about those.
The Beginning of the Journey
So often we would plan these big trips for our anniversary. Other times, we would just let it roll on by if it was in the middle of the week or say “it wasn’t a big deal” to celebrate. But this year, we finally threw in the towel of “not caring,” and decided that since we were lucky enough to have it fall on a Saturday, we’d do our best to spend the weekend by ourselves even though we just went somewhere shortly beforehand.
It was one of the best experiences of my relationship thus far.
I had high expectations that I tried to squash, (which typically happens if I start getting in my head too much). Seriously, this can be detrimental so I highly recommend going with the flow instead! “A campground” was something I wasn’t too sure of, since we’d been backpacking more recently and got to experience the feeling of being totally alone. I liked that.
I also was not super keen about being a hundred yards next to a pack of yelling coyotes 4 times in one dark and quiet night. (We’ll keep that for another post!)
*PS! If you’re getting into camping more remote, or just don’t want as many peeps around you, I highly recommend checking out the app, Hipcamp! It’s been super helpful in finding us some next level spots (even for same day booking!) Sign up to get $10 off your first night under the stars!
And if you’ve ever thought about hosting on your own property, check it! You can start listing your land on Hipcamp as soon as today. Very cool.
Get to the Seneca Rocks Campground Early…Real Early
So anyway, I was cool with a campground and let the hubs do the choosing.
Seneca Rocks was something he’d brought up in the past. Something I recalled him talking about but alas, a place we never really decided on. When he found the campground, we knew that it would work and planned that we would just get there early to choose a spot.
…Don’t do that.
For reals, if you’re thinking about going to a campground around this beautiful place, consider Seneca Rocks Shadows. It’s epic. BUT, DO book a site ahead of time!! Or make sure you arrive super early to choose your perfect spot. I have no complaints about ours, but we arrived (for what we thought was early) around 2/3pm, and were lucky enough to snag THE LAST SPOT. Phew!
Please note that if you do decide to choose this awesome campground (which you totally should), that you’ll need a 2 night minimum weekend booking if you decide to book online ahead of time (which you also totally should). You can even stay up to 14 nights if you choose to!! Which is really great to have as a backup option if you would decide to do some nearby backpacking and want to use this as a base camp.
We definitely plan to do this in the future, since Dolly Sods Wilderness is known for great backpacking trails!
So, let’s talk car camping.
What is it? And how is it different than backpacking? (Which we did for our Grand Canyon trip that you can read more about here)! ((((JOSH PLEASE ADD THIS LINK))))
Car camping is much different than backpacking.
1. It’s so nice because you have so much more stuff to use when you need it!
2. It’s so annoying because you have so much more stuff when you don’t need it!
Yes, each statement is true! If you’ve done either of these kinds of camping, you may understand what I mean. I think if I had to choose one or the other, it would be backpacking all the way. Sure, you have to carry things on your back for miles on end and hope to the heavens that there’s some kind of water source along the way (or just research where your water sources are), but over car camping? Sign me up.
Why? Because I’m a minimalist in a hoarders body.
Because I loathe the idea of possibly forgetting something and I swear that the more space and time I have to fill with extra stuff, the more stuff that makes its way along with us. (Which is why I ALWAYS procrastinate on packing for anything). And guess what? Even with a rented Bronco full of groceries and items we thought we’d need for the weekend long trip, we STILL had to stop at the little store to grab some last minute forgotten items.
With backpacking, I KNOW for a fact that I will have everything I need. For several days in the Grand Canyon, I survived on water sources and dehydrated meals. No bars, no extra fluff, just chilling with my weightless packable gear and a tiny packet of hot chocolate. (Because why not).
BONUS – Path To Productivity: My Struggle With Planning And The Perfect Hot Cocoa Recipe
But I did not have the chance to overthink my items to pack, I did not need to look at my piles and wonder if I had remembered everything, because with backpacking, everything I need for days or weeks even is packed nicely into one solid pack I can carry anywhere. (There’s even a system to packing it correctly, so I literally cannot mess it up.)
No boxes of food, no bags for a ton of garbage, no pots and pans and extra camping gear or firewood. Just us, the packs, and the trail. It’s awesome.
5 Must Have Items for Trips to Seneca Rocks for Camping
I’m not saying my car camping experience at Seneca Rocks was anything less than extraordinary, though. It was beautiful. I’ll talk more about the hikes in the next section, but before that let’s go over some great car camping goodies I recommend to bring along!
- Pots and pans! Make sure whatever you choose is easy to clean, whether it be nonstick or stainless, (although stainless can get a little heavy to carry back and forth to your vehicle depending on how far away your site is).
- Toilet paper and paper towels! Guys, there is a decent bathroom there, but they did run out of TP once or twice. Luckily the stall next to that one had some, but I would suggest bringing your own just in case! Paper towels helped in providing easy clean up and also for starting fires!
- A portable grill. I love our little Coleman Triton 2-Burner, but I’d have preferred one with both a burner and a flat top! Maybe next time! This runs on propane, which is easy to take with you when you’re car camping! (We still bring the JetBoil though for quick coffee or hot cocoa!)
- FOIL. This has always been a huge saver for me in camping. Anytime I need to keep things from splattering, or keep things warm, or wrap back up for the cooler, it’s worked perfectly. If you want to go the extra mile, bring some gallon ziploc bags to store your liquid sauces and leftovers in so they don’t get wet from your cooler ice!
- Bigger chairs and a bigger tent. We did this trip before realizing that we only had a backpacking tent. When we looked around the campground to see how much bigger everyones tents were, we realized that it would make much more sense to have a “car camping” tent and a “backpacking” tent. (We did this for our next camping trip after Seneca Rocks and had ample space for Monopoly!) Same goes for chairs. Upgrade to some larger ones and treat yourself if you don’t have to haul them miles into the wilderness like you would with backpacking!
Hey you, yeah you! If you’re checking out this beautiful blurry picture and wondering what awesomeness was cooked up on that tiny grill outdoors, drop a comment to let me know you’re interested in some tasty, tried and true camping recipes! I got you boo.
The Seneca Rocks Hiking Trail
So, Seneca Rocks hikes. We got to experience a few of these during our short trip, but plan to most definitely go back and enjoy some others. There is a short one nearby that only took about an hour or two, depending on your speed, that is uphill but moderate. It also offers a nice view point on a deck at the top, unless you want to embrace your dangerous side and scramble up to the rocks on the top! (You can see the campground from here! So I highly recommend it if you’re okay with heights and feel secure enough with yourself to do so).
*Here’s what usda.gov has to say about this hike*
The Seneca Rocks Hiking Trail begins at the Seneca Rocks Discovery Center, crosses Seneca Creek to the picnic area, and climbs to an observation platform near the top of Seneca Rocks. This 1.3 mile (2.6 miles round-trip) trail uses steps and switchbacks to gain over 700 feet in elevation. Although steep, the trail can be enjoyed by visitors of all ages.
*Disclaimer! Please know that these hikes and all hikes mentioned on this blog are to be done at your own risk. Although they are wonderful and recommended, please don’t forget to put your safety first and ensure you know yours and your party’s physical and mental limits.
The second hike I would recommend is a little more of a drive from the campground. It’s called
North Fork Mountain Trail to Chimney Top.
(It’s also pretty popular so I recommend getting started as soon as you have your breakfast and make your way out of your campsite). I would estimate this drive to be around 15-30 minutes give or take.
This was a much longer hike with a lot more elevation gain, but it was just as awesome. At the very top, you can see that you’re on one of the ridgelines of the Appalachian Mountains. Very cool.
It has some beautiful rock formations that you can scale (at your own risk of course), leaving amazing backgrounds for photo ops and vegetation all around. My favorite was this really different pine cone and viewing the trees from above!
*Here’s what AllTrails has to say about this hike* (Click on the link to view the hike on the app!)
Difficult hike but well worth the effort, the views are spectacular from Chimney Top. The hike begins from Smoke Hole Road and the trailhead is small, only accommodating about six cars, so an early start is recommended. Good shoes are also necessary since the trail is very rocky most of the way to the top. There is no water along the trail, so bring plenty along.
Parking is limited (unlike the first mentioned hike where there is a large parking lot), so make sure to secure a spot early and get started before the day gets too hott. (Although going in the fall is perfect with the foliage!) Just remember to wear layers that you can put back on and remove as needed.
Related: How Traveling and Adventure Changed My Attitude Toward Life
Seneca Rocks is a gem I never knew existed before this trip, but one that I know I’ll go back to many more times throughout my lifetime. Between the wilderness and the wildlife and the beautiful views, it beats a lot of other nearby places in my opinion. (Not to mention the main rockface is freaking epic to ooo and ahh at!)
You Will Encounter Other Campers
We even got to see rock climbers in the evening scaling the rockface. From the campground, we could see their headlamps going up and down throughout the night. We even got to have our firewood delivered since the camp managers come around to make sure all is safe and everyone has what they need.
(If you want to purchase firewood ahead of time, you can drop the cash with your campsite deposit at the tube by the manager station when you’re making the reservation in person).
Just please be sure to always respect other campers nearby when you are in a public campground! Do your best to remain at a level of noise that is tolerable for those around you and keep your headlamps at the red light setting when evening comes around. This helps to keep the calm atmosphere of camping and allows you to view the stars and moon at their best!
And PLEASE, please my friends, wake up with the sunshine and the birds, NOT an alarm clock. (Or use your watch!)
Let’s keep the wilderness wild and the camping scene chill, thanks for reading today! I hope you get to enjoy this spot soon! <3
