{"id":8114,"date":"2024-08-23T21:56:25","date_gmt":"2024-08-24T01:56:25","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/art-rageous.net\/artrageousblog\/?p=8114"},"modified":"2024-09-06T11:44:17","modified_gmt":"2024-09-06T15:44:17","slug":"camping-at-westmoreland-state-park-august-2024","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/art-rageous.net\/artrageousblog\/?p=8114","title":{"rendered":"Camping at Westmoreland State Park – August 2024"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

After doing a multi-state road trip by myself in July, I planned my second solo camping trip of the summer for August. While there are many beautiful campgrounds in Virginia, I opted for Westmoreland State Park because I also wanted to do some genealogy research.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Somewhere over the years I’d heard that a 5th-great grandfather on my mother’s side was born in Westmoreland County in the mid-1700s. When I learned that the county courthouse in Montross had records dating back to the mid 1600s (which is very unusual!) I hoped I would find documents to confirm this.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The weather was delightfully pleasant on the morning of August 20th, and it took me just under 3 hours to get to the campground. Wayne and I did several day trips to Westmoreland State Park, but we never had the opportunity to camp there.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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I’d reserved a pull-though site in campground A near the camp host’s site. Since so much of what I do now is still way, way out of my comfort zone, I liked the idea of being close to a campground volunteer who would likely be a good resource if I had any problems. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

There are 3 different campgrounds at Westmoreland: Campground “A” offers a lot of shade, but sites are fairly close together; “B” is recently renovated, with less shade but better able to accommodate large RVs; and “C” is for tent camping only.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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As I was getting everything set up, the hosts from A and<\/em> B stopped by to welcome me. By camping midweek–especially after many schools were back in session–there were very, very few campers and lots of empty sites. (Weekends are a different story!)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Much of the appeal of this particular state park is its location on the Potomac River. The river isn’t visible from any of the campgrounds, but it’s a short drive–or long-ish walk–to some amazing views.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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On previous day trips, Wayne and I made the half-mile trek down to “Fossil Beach.” Aptly named, as many shark teeth and other fossils get washed up by the Potomac, the trail starts near the visitor’s center and winds down to the river. Once there, the scenery is just stunning; these pictures are from our day trip in 2017:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Looking west (upstream) from Fossil Beach at Westmoreland State Park<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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Looking east (downstream) from Fossil Beach at Westmoreland State Park<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

While I didn’t plan to go to Fossil Beach this time, there was also beauty at another beach and picnic area in the park:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Sometimes it’s hard to believe–with the waves and the width–that this is “just” a river! These pictures and video were taken at the main beach and picnic area.<\/p>\n\n\n\n