Big Stone Gap, Virginia

VA is for Motorcycle-lovers and Car-lovers

A few years ago, while on one of my solo motorcycle sojourns, was the first time I visited the town of Big Stone Gap in far southwestern Virginia. My reason for going there was to see their LOVEwork (part of the venerable Virginia tourism marketing campaign,”Virginia is for Lovers“). Sadly, it was damaged in a storm and is no longer on display. I really liked the area, and the town seemed nice, so I knew I’d like to return one day. Back then, I had no idea I’d be returning in a big-ass motor home.

Big Stone Gap LOVEwork circa 2018
The LOVEwork as seen in 2018.

I did not remember having seen a campground in the town, but campgrounds were not on my radar back then. Heck, I think that was even before we started seriously talking about RVing when Mike retired at the end of 2021. At that time, I had just been laid off, so my future-focus was more near-term. I had to think about finding my next job.

Fast-forward to 2021. We are all living in a much different world. It’s crazy how things can change so dramatically in just three years, isn’t it?

Part of Downtown Big Stone Gap

Near the end of May/early June, as I was trying desperately to find a campground that could accommodate us over the Fourth of July holiday weekend, I learned that Big Stone Gap has a campground in town AND they had an opening for us. Win-win!

I was a bit leery of staying in-town, thinking it might be too loud for us, but was intrigued by the idea of being adjacent to the town’s greenway trail and close enough to walk to restaurants if we chose. Not to mention that the campground — Jessie Lea RV — was the first one of about a hundred I’d looked into that had an opening for us over the holiday, and then some. They had a full hook-up (water, electric, and sewer) spot for us for 11 nights straight!

The campground office, store, laundry, and bathhouse are all housed in this one building.

As it turned out, I needn’t have worried. It was relatively quiet, considering the location. And the campground, although small, was neat and tidy. It was also located in a very pretty spot along one small branch of the Powell River.

Afternoon thunderstorm north of town.

There were several pull-through sites in the middle of the campground that didn’t offer much shade, but were very long and level. The Wifi was fast enough for streaming at times, but struggled during times of peak usage.

Below are some more pics captured in and around the campground.

Mike doing retirement things.

 

View on the passenger side of our coach.

 

View in front of the coach.

 

View looking to about 1-2 o’clock from the front of our coach.

 

Field adjacent to campground, which could be the tent area.

 

Looking from campground toward town. The Shawnee Avenue West bridge is in the background.

 

Image captured under the Shawnee Avenue West bridge.

 

One owner of the campground is a woodcarver.

 

Looking back at campground from near the Shawnee Avenue West bridge.

 

Another view of campground from near the Shawnee Avenue West bridge.

 

Pedestrian bridge from campground to the Big Stone Gap Greenbelt.

 

View from under the Shawnee Avenue West bridge, looking toward town.

 

Big Stone Gap Greenbelt across river from campground.

 

Closer look at one of the campground’s tree carvings.

Mike and I both enjoyed the campground’s proximity to the Big Stone Gap Greenbelt. It was a great place to ride our bicycles. One complete loop around the greenbelt was about three miles (4.8 km). All in all, it was a great location.

Following are pictures I captured along the greenbelt.

Walking from area near campground toward the main branch of the Powell River.

 

View from greenbelt on side of river opposite the campground.

 

View of campground from greenbelt.

 

Carving along greenbelt near campground.

 

Mural bridge.

 

Big Stone Gap Trout Mural

 

Another capture of the Big Stone Gap Trout Mural.

 

Big Stone Gap Trout Mural

 

Union is the name of the high school in town. Apparently the art department was responsible for the murals.

 

Spawning trout?

 

View of mural from other side of Main Street.

 

View of mountains from greenbelt looking across the main branch of the Powell River.

 

Another view of mountains from greenbelt looking across the main branch of the Powell River.

Finally, here’s a shot of Belle imploring us not to leave her home alone.

Belle says, “Don’t leave me!”

We were actually going to return to Jessie Lea RV in Big Stone Gap for a few weeks in August and September, but plans have changed. Again. This time, it is thanks to the blow-out. In about three weeks, we need to be in Lawrenceville, Georgia, just outside of Atlanta, to have the necessary repairs made. So, next week we will be leaving Blue Ridge, Georgia (our current, stunningly beautiful location) and heading south and east to Statesboro, Georgia for a month. I have yet to make reservations for September 10-30, but we are otherwise fully booked through the end of January. In February, we head west.

I have quite a few other photos and recaps of other locations to share. Catching up for an entire month is hard to do.

4 Replies to “Big Stone Gap, Virginia”

  1. Nice to find such a beautiful spot especially during a holiday weekend. Those are the ones we really try to book in advance so we aren’t traveling searching…

    I was wondering if you had repairs done from the blowout.

    1. Yep, advance booking is key. There will be no last-minute booking next year if I can help it. 😊 The various re-arranging of reservations I’ve had to do this year have definitely presented challenges.

  2. Oh shit, that’s the first time I read about the blow-out. That sounds absolutely terrifying! So glad it all ended well. The murals in Big Stone are very cool. This amazing spot you were in now will still be there in the future. I can’t wait to read about all the other gorgeous places you’ll land in.

    1. Yes, the blow-out was scary. I’m glad it ended well, too. All part of the adventure! We have been enjoying some lovely locations, I’m just way behind in writing about them.

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