We had a hankering for kayaking for quite some time, so my buddy Pasi, his tall little birdie and I all went out for a day at Beech Fork State Park to do just that. The park, massive in size at over 3,100 acres in size, overwhelmed my pupils as I've never seen anything quite so large -- except my buddy's orange cat. The young lad at the marina was friendly and chill, so he got us suited up and we spent our one-hour slot on the muddy waters. The Oldtown kayaks worked nicely, although the Pelican that I never bought when I worked retail had a much nicer Finnish to it. Let's go Lahti Pelicans! After chasing down ducks and swatting cicadas, we reached dry land and surrendered what was left of our cleanliness in the process. I had to get some of that Beech Fork brown off of my Vogue-tier short king legs. "Did you have fun?" asked the marina worker. "Yes we did," we replied. The trails weren't well maintained. read more

Beech Fork State Park - I curse the pebble I stepped on while taking this photo. - Parks Near Me - Barboursville, West Virginia

I haven't been there in awhile; but, the last few times that my dog and I took our RV there, we thought it was outstanding! It's one of the few places that we found where you could camp right near the water! If you're looking for a great campground near the Tri-State area, we don't think you can beat it! read more

Reserved a site at this state park for tent camping for a Saturday night in late April, 2023. This would be our first camping experience in this area of West Virginia. The reservation was easy to make, but expensive because only sites with electric are available. As we were in a tent, we didn't need electric. We paid $47.69, with a 10% senior discount. (Compare this to $17.12 fir a non-electric site in an Indiana state park a few days later). We received a confirmation, and a reminder for our reservation - but, unfortunately, no information was included about how best to reach the campground. Many roads down from I-64 are narrow and curvy -- and not suitable for some RVs. We didn't experience that problem BUT our GPS put us on a windy road (Camp Branch Road) that led to a dead end (closed entrance) in the middle of nowhere a few miles from where we needed to be. Luckily, we encountered a teenager who was able to point us in the right direction. When we finally found the right entrance, we found that it was unstaffed but there were signs that you face eviction if you don't register ... We called the number provided, which connected us with state-level staff who was surprised that the entrance was unmanned but told us to go directly to our camp site. The campground had many RVs with most of the lake-side sites taken. The lake wasn't that picturesque as it was muddy. We found our reserved site, sandwiched between two RVs. The sites are close together. People in the site behind us stayed up well past quiet hours, and ran a noisy generator all night (which wasn't supposed to have been allowed). Finally, we experienced heavy rains overnight. Somehow, we stayed dry but our site was water-logged when we awoke, as was the area around the water faucet. We can't speak to the quality of the trails in the park. We had intended to hike one or two of them, but decided not to as they were likely to be muddy. The bathroom was clean, and had hot water. read more

See all

With Covid 19 on the rise, I was looking for something fun to do with my sister that would include social distancing from others. A friend of mine posted pictures recently from the trails and I thought it looked beautiful. The park is about an hour away so we left early to beat the heat. We arrived at the park at 10 AM. The park attendant at the gate gave us a map of the park, which included all the trails, as well a few suggestions. We chose the Overlook Trail as it was one of the shortest and included a view. We did not see anyone else during our hike which was lovely. It was beautiful and peaceful. And the view at the overlook was spectacular. There was even a bench at the spot so we could rest and take in the scenery from high on the ridge. My only complaint about this trail was there were several locations that needed to be trimmed as the brush was so close it left dew on my legs. If you're looking for some exercise and to get a little closer to nature I would suggest hiking at Beech Fork State Park. There's also a campground, playground, cabins, swimming pool and lake. read more

See all

Several things. Bathroom/houses are disgusting and broken. Trash all over the ground and animal feces all over campsites. Advertised prices are not accurate. The whole site has a smell every 30 minutes that takes over to the point it makes you gag. Staff was extremely rude - we came with a group of over 200 seasoned campers/outdoors people and most had the same experience. We didn't even put our kayaks in the water for fear of a flesh eating bacteria. read more

Wonderful simple family place. Shower, toilet, perfect beach Perfect water for small kids read more

Lovely location with many waterfront RV sites. Very peaceful; beautiful views. This park is meticulously maintained, with many water activities to enjoy in season. It's a little tricky to get to-- winding 2-lane country roads that make you wonder if you're going the right way! But it's definitely worth the (relatively small) effort. I hope to visit again! read more

My family love camping at Beech Fork State Park. The park is as clean as can be, and the staff are friendly. I only wish they would make all or most campgrounds full hook-up. read more

I've been coming to this camp ground since I was a little girl and just recently visited this past week for the first time in years and I have to say in the 20+ years I've been coming here nothing has changed for the amount of money they charge. Same disgusting showers/restrooms that were there 15-20 years ago. $40 a night to stay in a tent is a little much in my opinion and then have to bathe in mildew covered/broken showers. I brought my own disinfecting wipes the second night to wipe down the bench in the shower and the sinks and the wipe was filthy when I was done. One of the restrooms I visited during my stay didn't even have soap, it was out. I'm giving this review a 3 star because aside from the dilapidated bathrooms everything else is fairly well kept and there are a lot of playgrounds for kids. I do miss the arcade in the office building which they have completely took out. Visited the basketball/tennis courts and they are in bad shape, grass growing through the court and no basketball nets. The camp store has improved but I wish they had more food options. read more

Beech Fork State Park - Parks Near Me - Barboursville, West Virginia

We love going here for hiking! There's not a ton of trails, but the trails that are there are well-maintained and beautiful! The campground usually gets filled up pretty quickly and seems busy most of the time, but it doesn't seem to be missing anything. The picnic shelters are really nice, as is the pool. read more

Not impressed. Grounds were tidy. Showers/restroom acceptable. Website is very deceptive. Pool is extra and no food, drink, floats or coolers allowed. Nothing really to do! Staff not very helpful. And security is very inconsistent. Not a great road to haul a camper down. 30ft travel trailer with crew cab long bed truck was maxed out on switchbacks and thankful to forgiving on coming traffic. read more