Great place to camp!! The river and mountain views are incredible with so much to do in the area from canoeing, kayaking, fishing, tubing, visiting breweries and wineries and lots of restaurants close. The park's staff is so friendly and accommodating. The park is very dog friendly with lots of room to play with your dogs. We absolutely love it here!! read more

Watermelon Park Campground - Campgrounds Near Me - Berryville, Virginia

Review for float only - Nice people at check-in, they give all the important details. Small store with thoughtful items you may have forgotten (but no food food, just some snacks). Some of the cleanest porta-johns I've ever seen. Bus drivers are hit or miss, some having more helpful info than others, but all safe and efficient. The float itself is lazy and fun. You just need to be at the pick up spot for 4pm, other than that you can take as long as you want, stopping to chill in the river if you want (it's never really deeper than 4.5' 95% of the way). Bring a cooler with your fav beverages (no glass), and just enjoy a day of relaxation. Oh yeah, bring a rope to hitch your group together for stress-free floating! read more

Watermelon Park Campground - Get the cooler float for all your stuff (phones, cover ups, etc) - Campgrounds Near Me - Berryville, Virginia

I used to like it more, but perhaps age has changed some things. Is it still good? Absolutely. Yet I do wish that the tent sites had a little more room. This open field brings the sun out onto you, and it's a preference for a more forestry like site. It works for get togethers with friends. Good fishing area too. The floating is decent. They will get you where you need to be, for a quite reasonable cost. The Shenandoah River is beautiful, and you might see the bald eagles. There aren't any really crazy rapids, but that might be more desirable to the masses. I like the camp staff here, as they are polite and friendly. read more

The way they treat visitors is not the best and the addresses are not specific, if you are not a local I do not recommend it.

This is a great casual place to camp, tune, or listen to live music. The owners are laid back and keep everyone safe while letting you have your space. read more

Watermelon Park was able to get us in for a last minute, one month reservation about a month ago. We stayed here in Jan 2024. Overall, this is a cute little park with relaxed patrons and staff. The neighbors never bother you, though you may get the pleasure of seeing someone walking their dog in their boxer shorts They are pet friendly and didn't give us any guff about having a bully breed dog traveling with us. The sites are generously sized. We stayed at K1 near the back of the park. We would have easily had space for our 34' rv, our towing vehicle, our scout vehicle along with the picnic table, 1-2 other cars, the fire pit and still have some green grass and part of a field to enjoy. Prolly one of the better appointed sites we've stayed in given the size of the plot. During the winter, they ask that you unhook your hose and rather than dumping your tank yourself they have an on-site pump service that comes 3x weekly or so. They bring their truck right to your rig and do the tank dumping for you! Super convenient. My only real complaint are the restrooms and showers. And I really wish I didn't even have to bring this up because we absolutely adored this park. However, the bathroom situations need some REAL HELP. Firstly, the toilets are run down and unclean. The bathrooms have stalls but the "door" is an extremely thin white shower curtain that doesn't go all the way to the ceiling or the floor. So, you might get a looky-loo neighbor wishing you well as you're trying to do your business. Next, the showers. These are extremely dated, tiled, FILTHY and have a metal French drain-style trench that runs down the center. There are years and years of hair built up under these trenches and they really need to be removed and fully cleaned. Past customers have started wiping hair on the walls and such which only makes the bathroom situation worse. We tried 2x to shower with shoes on to avoid contact, and I finally decided there was no way I could shower there without basically bringing bleach, a scrub brush and spending a few hours cleaning a shower myself before I got in. So, we opted to drive to Winchester and shower at the Flying J every few days. Not convenient. Not cheap. But having access to a real bathroom and clean showers are a luxury I won't give up while traveling. I had planned to take pix of the shower situation but I'd be embarrassed to load them. So, just trust me. Winchester is 30 mins away and showers are $17/each. read more

We had a large party and although our organizer called several times she was not given thorough details about check-in. Important details like in order to get the discount you have to provide one credit card. Who, in a party of 26 friends is going to give their credit card? Check-in was slow and antiquated. Young employee attitude was poor. Bathrooms were nasty. No changing rooms. I gave them a star because the bus driver was ok. River was low and slow (not their fault). I'd recommend going someplace else on the river. I won't go back read more

It is only a campground now but a mile down the road is free parking and you can either float down the river or just hang out on the riverbed! It's very relaxing read more

See all

The tubing was nice, but the staff gave us zero information about what to do. They have no one checking anything and even let a 5 year old, 7 year old, and 10 year old get on the bus without a life jacket, not one person mentioning that you have to get jackets before you get on the bus. And then there was no staff helping to get people into the water, and no one on the other end to get you out. But worse, there's no sign to tell you where to get out. The only information we were given about where to go was incorrect and it was only given because we asked. But the bus was my biggest complaint. They had so many people that they had to put tubes in the aisle, blocking the exit. Then they put tubes on top of our heads (not exaggerating) and I had a panic attack because of the claustrophobia. It was terrifying and I almost got off the bus and cancelled the trip entirely, but instead made them take the tubes off of our heads. They left them in the aisle though. The bus also drives incredibly fast and was very unsafe. I wouldn't bring kids here. This place needs a serious lesson in safety and customer service. read more

This place has come a long way! The park is clean and well organized, the staff is very friendly. Bathrooms are clean and pets are kept under control. If you haven't been here recently, you should go! read more

Best place to camp within 200 miles of me ..Very clean and beautiful views and my kids loved it

We had a great time with our party of 16. The reservation was easy to make, clear instructions, friendly staff and drivers. The float itself is very calm for all ages. read more

Watermelon Park Campground is clean and professionally maintained. The people are friendly and very helpful. It was quiet and we had an extremely relaxing time there. For the more adventurous types, we saw activities to interest them too. read more

UPDATE!!! I called and spoke to one of the campground owners myself. Short story, he didn't like tent campers because Hispanics (his exact word) were trashing the place and not making him money. Now that it's rv's only, he can't ask them to leave, for a week, for the festival, because they are making him more money than WPF does. After a couple minutes of my questions, he told me I was pissing him off for not understanding him, said, "Go to hell," and hung up. I suggest not supporting that campground for anything. Here's a great way to contact Watermelon Park Campground directly at 540-955-4803, or private message. read more

This is an ok campground that was made special by the Festivals held there, which recalled the place's roots. When Covid hit, they decided they didn't need the festivals any longer, and a great festival place has turned into a less than mediocre camping experience. Go tubing in Harper's Ferry. You'll like it better. There are also significantly better camping experiences to be found. read more

It was my first float trip experience!!! I had a very good time here. Tips to make your trip excellent: + Arrive early as the tubes get used up very fast and you do not want to wait in the very long lines. + You are allowed to bring your own connectors, just not ones with hooks. The ones they use at like backpack straps in a way. I highly recommend bringing your own straps if you have a large group because they will prioritize kids and families with the straps and they have a very small number!! + Bring coolers and food/drinks and get a cooler float. It will make your trip a lot more enjoyable! + Wear water shoes or plan on not getting out of the tube because you will definitely lose your flip flops or other shoes that are not tied onto your feet. + wear sun glasses, a hat and use sunscreen. Remember, you are on a lazy river for up to 2 hours so be careful of your skin! I had a really great time here. I thought the prices were very reasonable and affordable. They will say a typical float trip is around 2 hours and that is definitely not the case when the water goes fast. We had to anchor ourselves on a rock to get the most out of our paid time. The bus drivers will pull over and tell big groups to move along because they are waiting for the tubes. But honestly, I don't think it's worth it if the water is so fast and you only get 30 mins out of the trip. We stayed within the 2 hours so I don't see any reason we were being yelled at. Overall though, it was great! Have fun! read more

This was our first time here. Got here about 10:30am on a Saturday . They just opened yesterday for the year. We ordered our tubes on- line and it was pretty easy getting on the shuttle and off. No waiting at all. Shuttles run every 5-10 minutes. Everyone was super helpful and friendly. The whole thing took around 2 1/2-3 hours. I wish it a longer, but still the 3 hours was great! We were heading back to our car around 1 and it was starting to get busy. Come earlier if you have little ones with you! My daughter is 4 and there's no way she would wait . Loved watermelon park! Fantastic mini get away! read more

Watermelon Park Campground - Gorgeous view - Campgrounds Near Me - Berryville, Virginia

Tubing for 2 hours is only $10 plus tip I believe they also have kayaking. Really relaxing river. Campground itself looks kind of small and old school. The staff is really nice welcoming and southern. You can't lay out on the water here maybe if you stay at the campground you can but we just kayaked. It is also close to lots of cool vineyards. We went to one after tubing. Bring a water with you and they have waterproof bags for your phone read more

Watermelon Park Campground - Campgrounds Near Me - Berryville, Virginia

Went on the 1-hour tubing option. They give you a donut tube and you float down the river for approximately an hour. I'm not sure if I could have brought my own tube but that's really all you pay for (and the bus ride upstream). Parking isn't bad as they have a grass lot next to the river. Wasn't crowded when I went and the folks working were nice. It's a bit of a drive but worth and nice relaxing day trip. read more

Watermelon Park Campground - Campgrounds Near Me - Berryville, Virginia

I am so happy that we found this place to go tubing! The price is way cheaper than other tubing places I have been and it was very scenic and the river is calm and relaxing. When you rent a tube it comes with the bus ride to the top of the river. However, you need to take cash because they recommend two dollars per person to tip the bus drivers. We rented a cooler float and they provided us with one string to wrap the floats together, so if you want to keep your group together, I suggest you take your own rope or string to connect everyone together. You are allowed to bring your own food and drinks on the river, but they check to make sure you do not have any glass, so make sure you put everything in a plastic bottle or get cans. I can't wait to come back! read more

This place is great! Have been tubing here several times but campground always looked a little wild and also heard stories it was. Owners have totally turned Watermelon Park around in 2020 and this is a great family place now. All the former tent camping areas are now RV only. Days on the river were great and nights were plenty peaceful and quiet. Have to also give big props to the couple who are camp hosts. They are super friendly and go out of their way to make you feel welcome! Very much encourage people to stay here... we will be back for sure. read more

We experienced racist customer service from the camp staff. The campsite was lovely and right on the water it had all of the amenities listed on the website. However the people next to us were playing loud music at 5:45 in the morning. After speaking with them several times without them turning down their music for more than a few minutes our group asked the camp staff to intervene. The staff did speak with the other campers but before hand made certain to apologize to us about " all the Mexicans". We will not be returning. read more

My friends and I camped here over the weekend. They are regulars for the Watermelon Park Fest, love the layout of this campground, and have lots of great memories tied to the space. They were psyched for our group of 10 friends to have a socially distant hang in their beloved space. We had one RV and the rest of us had tents. We learned when we got there that they are phasing tents out so that it will be strictly RVs, but said we would be fine for the weekend. Halfway through the day on Saturday, the owner rolls up on a golf cart and asks, "are the people in these tents white?" I was sure I didn't hear him properly, and walked over to speak with him, he repeated his question, and asked "are the people in these tents Hispanic or are they white?" I said these tents are with us, and we do have white people. We were ten people, and six out of ten are white. Our friend who reserved the spot has a Spanish last name. The owner said to me, "we are not supposed to be allowing tents anymore." I told him the people okayed it a number of times - when we called and reserved and again at the gate. Luckily, my conversation satisfied him enough to drive away. There was a lot of outrage under the easy-up sunshades and some breaking hearts - three of the four non-white people are the biggest advocates and lovers of Watermelon Park Fest. I wish I could say that was my only experience with racism with this park. Last summer, one of my best friends (who is a Black woman) and I decided to go tubing at Watermelon Park. It wasn't crowded that day, and she and I floated and chatted in peace until some dudes in a truck with a confederate flag in the bank spotted us, honked their horns and and yelled things we couldn't understand. My friend turned to me and told me to get my cousins in line, so here I am. My friends and I have some work to do in finding an outdoor space that is safe and welcoming of all. I am a big outdoors person - I hike, kayak, camp as often as possible. This means I am in these spaces a lot, knowing my whiteness allows me to pass through without incident (even though I am an obvious outsider). Maybe my retirement project will be a safe, inclusive camping/outdoors environment. In the meantime, anyone who cares about making the country safe so everyone can be themselves, consider finding an alternative space, or help us put the pressure on these businesses so everyone is free to enjoy and love the outdoors and their lives. Black lives matter. Brown lives matter. Treat others as you want to be treated. Again, this was a group of people who really loved Watermelon Park. Lots of money has been spent there, and we are bummed to need to find a place with easy river access so close to DC. My one friend was absolutely crushed that a place she loves so much and where she has such amazing memories made her feel unwelcome because she is brown. Not ok. UPDATE: we are happy to learn the Watermelon Park Festival will no longer happen at Watermelon Park. read more

Twas a beautiful day, and tubing down the Shenandoah in Watermelon Park was the perfect way to spend it. Compared to most tubing vendors, WP is a good bang for your buck. For $10 you get a tube rental, shuttle and four hours of tubing. Supposedly they could charge you if you go over four hours, but they didn't charge us. They do rent cooler tubes for $10, and there's a country store that stocks snacks, sunblock, water shoes, ice, etc. but NO BEER or CIGS. The staff was super friendly, and the driver was awesome. We had a group of about 10 and he was very patient with us and took our pic in front of the river before we took the plunge. I had a wonderful time and will definitely be back. The park also offers camping for $10, and they have events like music festivals. I think I might check out the bluegrass fest at the end of September. Highly recommended. read more

Watermelon Park Campground - Campgrounds Near Me - Berryville, Virginia

This place is a hidden gem for sure and had I known they had camp sites right on the water with river access I would have made this a weekend event instead of just a day event. They provide you with everything you need from tubes to life jackets to a tub for your cooler all for the low price of $10 - and you are able to float down the river at your leisure (well, as long as it takes 2-3 hours since that is all you pay for) but they drive you to a drop of point so you can make the best of your time there. They also have great spots for picnics which is what we brought with us so we could sit along the river and relax after our tubing experience. I am most likely going to go back as this is a fun trip for the entire family - we even had a 2 and 4 year old with us and they LOVED it... read more

We went on Thursday July 4th and was going to use 3 Certifikids for this park. The coupons stated for use Monday-Friday with times and did not say anything about not for use on holidays. Their website also did not say anything about not using them on holidays. When we arrived there was a sign at the check in booth "No Certifikids" and when I asked them to proceed with using them due to no notation about holidays on them, the girl pushed back. I asked for a Manager and explained to her the situation and she said that they just updated the Facebook page this morning stating Certifikids could not be used. After we discussed this a bit more, she was kind enough to let us proceed with using them. The lazy river took 1 1/2 hrs to go down and it was nice. The bus has 2 notations to tip the driver along with it being stated in bold on the Certifikid that a $2 tip per rider is appreciated. We thought that was pushy but did tip to be kind. Other lazy rivers do not push you to tip, so almost being forced to do so was a turn off. read more

Went tubing. They had minimal COVID precautions in place. None of the staff wore masks. The line for the bus was jam packed with no spacing. The bus was filled with people with no spacing. One of the staff implied COVID is a conspiracy. read more

Great park, especially for tubing! It's a short distance of river that you tube (when I went) but they don't limit your time on the water which is super nice!! Employees were very friendly, however, they weren't wearing masks & in the midst of a pandemic it just seemed irresponsible (which is why they are only receiving 3 stars). It also makes me wonder if they are properly disinfecting equipment. But other than those two things it's a good covid outdoor activity. read more

I went tubing 3 years ago and didn't even get half way through before it rained. We had to evacuate and were given a rain check with no expiration date on such rain check. They wrote on my waiver for a rain check. Pretty legit huh. Nothing was said about a expiration date or time frame. As I would have asked for a refund instead. I spoke to a Darren whom I asked how to spell his name and he replied with "however you'd like" I asked him 3 times how to spell his name and he wouldn't answer me. He said he's the manager and he's a high up as you can go and he cannot help me. He called me a liar as he asked if the waiver was dated at the bottom and I said no it's dated at the top. As you can see in the picture my waiver is date at the top. I've left the bottom out as it has personal information on it. Darren called me a liar and hung up on me. I asked for a email or a way to get in touch with the owners due to the way Darren has carried himself as a manager of the establishment as well as show them how they do rain checks which has no expiration date on it. And Darren told me, "oh well there's nobody above me" how great it must feel to be able to treat good paying citizens however you want with no reprimand. I would like to say if this is how Watermelon park runs a business I wouldn't recommend doing business with them. I bought 10 tubes and a cooler that's over $100 and money I never used nor refunded. I've brought them a lot of business over the years and now we won't be coming back. Sad way to lose a good paying customer, due to bad attitude and disgusting customer service. Darren should not be a manager of Watermelon park nor any establishment where customer service is a priority. read more

Watermelon Park Campground - No expiration date on paper, yet they won't take their own rain checks. $100+ wasted. We won't be back. - Campgrounds Near Me - Berryville, Virginia

Since eliminating tent camping, the park is nice and quiet. They could probably do to reinvest some money into building out more power and water infrastructure, especially on the distant end though. read more

Upon coming off the Appalachian Trail we decided to stay at this campground and celebrate our buddies birthday. We were a bit loud after hours and had no problem with keeping noise down after we were impolitely asked. The owner tells us to "shut the f*** up!" During the night the owner URINATED in my tent and woke us up with a bulldozer and foul language. Also called the police whom did nothing about it but laugh. Don't stay here. Over priced and really trashy. If you aggravate the owner he URINATES on your items. Overpriced and not worth it!!! read more

Watermelon park is a hidden treasure .. very family friendly and also full of fun activities Tubing being one of them ... I will say they are also taking measures to make everything safe during this Pandemic read more

Watermelon Park Campground - Tubing - Campgrounds Near Me - Berryville, Virginia

Absurd "policy" of not allowing tent camping "due to COVID restrictions," per the response to my inquiry. Absolutely ridiculous (and, as another reviewer indicated earlier, likely an excuse for some equally dim reason involving selective admission). When a camping site won't allow people to social distance--camping, about as much as it's possible to do so--"because of COVID," you'll know that some people have truly given in. Glad I checked prior to driving out to see the place--who'd give money to such a dull operation. If you only want to cater to RVs because that's where your income is, at least be honest about it. Sheesh. read more

Prepare for a fun day, but then prepare to have your credit card billed twice and to be talked to rudely by the "manager" when their billing is questioned. The "manager" told me he would refund my $, and then told me I had better never "F'ing" show my face there again. Wow. This place is a scam. If you go, whatever you do, pay with cash or be prepared for a hassle and then to be insulted. My friends and I used to go here a lot, no more. We will find somewhere else to take our money. Good riddance. read more

Used to be the best place around fort river fun. Now that Diane is gone the place has gone way downhill. Higher prices, long waits, only a few staff members left and they are clueless. Really disappointing to see as this place used to run so smoothly. read more

We were not even able to stay, pricing is very odd! So to bring my RV it is 16 a night, 20 a night to have electric and water, then another 18 a night for a holiday but here is the kicker.... They want me to pay another 18 a person for my husband to camp with me, how many people camp alone? It would be more honest to just say, 72 a night, not to advertise as 16 for my RV and 20 for electric. If you have kids at 18 a person, you are better off going to Jellystone. read more

I went with my mother and her small group of friends on a Sunday. We have gone many times growing up and it hasn't been my favorite place, however, on this day, my mom and I were sitting between several groups and all of a sudden a golf cart with the park owner and security came flying over to reprimand the group next to us. Claiming that they threw a bottle into the river and littered. The group tried their best to explain that they had no idea what they were talking about and that they were minding their own business. The owner was furious and threatened to call the police if they didn't leave the property in 20 minutes. Since the group did not do anything to violate the rules of the park, they stayed and held their ground since they paid to be there. Police came and everything and created a scene. Then my mom and I hear a drunk guy near the water shout something rude to the crazed owner and he associated him with the group that we were with. We have no idea who this person was and was definitely not part of our group. The one thing I can ASSUME is that since he was Latino the owner grouped him with us nearby since we are also Latino. My mother calmly expressed to the owner that we had no association with this rude guy and that we did not violate any rules. And unlike the other reviews mentioning loud Tejano music and drunk Latinos and other stereotypical things, our group was not participating in any such thing. We were just sitting and enjoying the weather. But the owner who was obviously under some kind of influence (bloodshot eyes and fumbling over his words) told us to leave the park, threatening the police on us as well. It was a very disappointing event and one that I will not forget as I believe I was discriminated for being part of the Latino culture. I completely understand why other park goers get frustrated with Latino park goers of this park who violate the rules...but it is so hard to read reviews about people calling the INS as a joke "to see them run would have been funny." However, my group, who happens to be Latino, was enjoying the park, not violating any rules, and minding our own business, but still had to be thrown out for no reason at all. Disappointing. I will no longer support this place at all due to the discriminating and unprofessional owner. read more

I give this place one star due to the availability of tubing. That's it. Let's break it down, shall we? First, the tubing was available and if ou get there early enough, rather quick to get on the river. For $10, you'll get to rent a tube and float down the river which takes about two hours. If you want a "cooler tube" to put your cooler in, then it'll run you another $10. But that's about as good as it gets and why I gave it more than one star. However, If you go in the afternoon, the line stacks up and they're not very well prepared to handle this. We were a bit pushy with the lady and got in line for a second run - but we were told that it was going to take an hour or more. Then told by the kid outside that we were next up on the bus - right as we were breaking out our food. No bueno. The camping? Bullshit. I didn't stay the night but most sites will charge you to stay and if you're not, then you visit and leave by a certain time. These guys? They wanted to charge you. Every last person. And if you went in to get your stuff and try to regroup your forces to another spot outside of that, they chased you down on a golf cart and became total assholes about it. Yeah you, grumpy old man. You suck. Come here for tubing and get here early. Each run is about 2-2.5 hours depending on how fast the current is. Oh, and bring plenty of beer. It's a long 2.5 hours on the water and you can always bail from your tube to go waist deep and contribute to the water cycle. Just remember that your friends will likely be floating down river along with your pee. I'm just saying. read more

Hahaha, I read the reviews but I didn't believe it and I still went. The camping is a nightmare, just don't go, trust me. The tubing went only 1 mile up the river too. If just want to go sit in a tube for a couple hours it's ok, but if you're planning any type of trip, don't go here. read more

I'm writing this review at 6 am on a Sunday, when I should be sleeping and instead I'm listening to blaring Tejano music from the a-holes who have been cackling like hyenas and hollering at each other all night. Seriously. The fireworks finally stopped at 11 pm, and I think I fell asleep for about two hours around 3, but these inconsiderate jerks have been at it all night. If it weren't for the fact that my kid is somehow sleeping through this, and the fact that I shouldn't have to go yell at grown-a$$ adults to get some freaking sleep, I'd be out of my tent screaming like a crazy person right now. Other than the two rent a cops with guns (really?!) at the gate when we checked in, there's zero sign of security or crowd control. There should be a regular foot patrol, enforcing their "quiet hours", which supposedly take place from 11-7. I hate reinforcing stereotypes, but unless you're here for a drunken Hispanic family reunion and have no respect for anyone around you, then you should go elsewhere. The camp store is convenient and the bathrooms are clean but the camping sucks. read more