The Shadow
Douthat Road, Route 629, off Exit 27 of I-64, winds north past two privately owned campgrounds in Alleghany County to Douthat State Park’s camping areas located in both Alleghany County and Bath County.
With several camping areas situated alongside Wilson Creek, the mountain stream that flows out of Northern Bath County to form Douthat Lake, more than 100 campsites are available at the three camping facilities combined.
Additionally, there are dozens of cabins, three lodges, and other indoor rentals available at the camping facilities on Douthat Road. All were filled on Sat., Sept. 3.
Douthat State Park opened on June 15, 1936, during the throes of The Great Depression after the Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) built the dam that formed the 50-acre lake. The CCC also constructed roads that curve around the lake’s eastside where reflections of inverted hills stretch westward on the lake’s surface on sunny mornings. There and farther south, campgrounds and picnic areas have been constructed within the 1,920-plus acre area.
On Sat., Sept. 3, all of Douthat State Park’s log cabins were occupied along with the three lodges, and the park’s four campgrounds were filled to capacity with RVers and tent campers.
Just 600’ before entering Douthat State Park from the south, Route 629 runs through the property of the Buckhorne Country Store and Campground, Inc. which is situated on 8.5 acres on the banks of Wilson Creek. The privately owned campground was opened in 1990, and the full-service hookups of 50 amps and 30 amps line Dry Creek that empties into Wilson Creek.
The Buckhorne rents three cabins, a tiny home, and an RV, and all of their indoor rentals plus all but three of their 23 RV sites were occupied on Sat., Sept. 3.
Closer to I-64 on the banks of Wilson Creek, the Alleghany Campground and Mobile Home Park on Walton Lane was nearly booked out on Sat., Sept 3, with only a few RV sites open.
While the nationally recognized official camping season runs from Memorial Day weekend through Labor Day, the actual camping season in the U.S. begins as early as March and runs through Oct., the reason being that warmer weather in the U.S. occurs during those months.
Some seasonal campgrounds close from Nov. through Feb. or March while others remain open throughout the year. All three campgrounds on Douthat Road offer camping accommodations to the public without closing during the year, but Douthat State Park closes some of its rentals during the winter season to operate at less than full capacity.
Despite the doubling of the price for a gallon of regular gasoline since 2021, the robust response of visitors to Douthat Road was evident on Sat., Sept. 3.
Three groups of motorcyclists camped in tents at the Buckhorne on Sat., Sept. 3, and after a motorcyclist from Hickory, N.C. signed his camping registration form, he parked his motorcycle on campsite A, the last tent camping spot available beside the park’s grassy oval.
According to the camping industry’s statistics, more than 41 million Americans were campers in 2017. By 2021, more than 56 million households in the U.S. reported going camping. The 56 million was a nine million increase from 2020, during the coronavirus pandemic.
