Feature article
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Grindstone offers best of everything
By Carmen Musick
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Editor’s Note: As part of our Hidden Treasures series, which runs each Thursday during the summer months, GoTriCities staff writers highlight places and events right here in our own back yard that many folks don’t know even exist. Got an idea or suggestion? We’d love to hear it. Write to the Kingsport Times-News, c/o Jessica Fischer, at 701 Lynn Garden Drive, Kingsport, Tenn. 37662 or e-mail jfischer@timesnews.net.
When the heat and humidity soar like they have in recent weeks, my mind drifts north.
Not very far north, mind you, just up the road a piece to a cool, quiet place called Grindstone Campground, where Mother Nature provides a respite from the summer swelter and serves as the perfect jumping off spot for exploring the beautiful Mount Rogers National Recreation Area.
Grindstone, part of the Mount Rogers NRA, is nestled in Smyth County’s Fairwood Valley in the shadows of Virginia’s highest peak — the towering Mount Rogers. The valley is allegedly well known for outstanding trout fishing in Fox Creek.
I wouldn’t know that because I’m not big on fishing (no offense to all you anglers out there) and because, in my many trips to this hidden treasure, the campground and nearby trails have offered everything I enjoy about the outdoors: peace and quiet, beautiful scenery, good hiking trails, wildlife and big, comfortable campsites.
The fact that it’s situated at an elevation of approximately 3,600 feet and offers cool summer camping — even in the hottest of summers — with water and electricity at most of its campsites is just icing on the cake.
Don’t get me wrong. This campground isn’t fancy. It doesn’t have paved spurs or sewer hookups. There’s no mini-golf course, no game room and no luxurious Olympic-sized pool. So if it’s those types of luxuries you’re looking for, look elsewhere.
Grindstone is part of a federal recreation area, so it’s not the Ritz Carlton. What it is, instead, is a clean, rustic campground with nice, spacious gravel sites and tent pads situated on three paved loops nestled under a canopy of tall hardwoods and hemlocks.
Combined, the high elevation and shade provide near perfect summer camping, with temperatures in the 70s and 80s most days, falling into the 50s and 60s most evenings.
For those who like really cool weather camping, Grindstone in the fall will definitely deliver. On our last trip there, we met a family from Georgia who visits the campground every year. They said one of their children’s favorite pastimes, en route, as they draw closer to the park is watching the temperature gauge in the vehicle fall by double digits as they climb to their destination.
Officially, Grindstone provides 90 single and seven double sites, each with a picnic table, fire ring and lantern stand. Around half of the sites offer electric hookups and water, and RVs up to 32 feet can be accommodated at most sites. A few sites can accommodate RVs up to 50 feet in length, and the smoothly paved loops make it possible to navigate pretty easily throughout the campground.
There are no sewer hookups, but there is a waste disposal station onsite and even the non-equipped sites have spigots with potable water just a few feet away.
Clean bathhouses with flush toilets and hot showers are located on every loop.
Campers and day users can also take advantage of a small playground, sand volleyball, a tetherball court, basketball goal and Grindstone’s famed water play area.
A paved pool, where a river rock wall can be dammed up to capture water from a creek flowing nearby, provides a great cooling off spot for the kids and serves as the backdrop of one of our favorite Grindstone traditions. Each Fourth of July holiday, the campground hosts float watermelons in the water and beckons campers to join them for a delicious and ice cold afternoon snack — better than any cooler could provide.
A half-mile nature trail meanders by the creek side underneath the tall canopies, and weekend interpretive programs are often provided at the park’s amphitheater or in the grassy area situated between the playground and water play area. Nearby Grindstone Branch and Big Laurel Creek offer trout fishing opportunities.
Earlier, I pointed out that Grindstone was one of our favorite jumping off spots, and one of the best launch pads in the campground is trail head, where hikers can jump on the Mount Rogers National Recreation Trail. The well-beaten path goes through Lewis Fork Wilderness to the summit of Mount Rogers.
Rumor has it the path makes a great night hike as well, but we’ve never been adventurous enough to tackle it after dark. During the day, though, the trail offers something for everyone. You can enjoy the path as a short up and back walk — with plenty of plant and animal life to enjoy along the way — or make the more adventurous seven-mile trek to Mount Rogers.
The campground, located near Troutdale, is also fairly centrally located between several other trail heads and scenic spots, including White Top, Grayson Highlands and its wild ponies, Damascus and the Virginia Creeper Trail.
While all that makes Grindstone a family favorite, there’s one more thing that makes it the near perfect getaway when I really want to get away. And that’s this: When you go to Grindstone, prepare to go unplugged. While it’s true you’ll have electricity to run your radio or television in the RV, what you won’t have is cell phone service. A pay phone at the entrance station and campground hosts with access to a phone and two-way radio service are the only lines in and out.
So the next time you want to disappear and enjoy all nature has to offer, head north and check into Grindstone. You can even make a reservation so that you’re assured a site when you get there.
Getting There: Take Exit 45 on I-81, then south on Virginia 16 to Troutdale 20 miles. Go right on Virginia 603. Travel six miles to Grindstone Campground on the left.
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