Tent Camping Heaven

Pocahontas Campground is set in a wooded flat along Cochran Creek. Leave WV 92 and pass the Two Lick Run trailhead and come to the pump well. Some pump wells have funny-tasting water, especially right after it first comes out, but this pump puts out nothing but pure sweet water. And I've drunk a lot of pump-well water in my camping days. This is some of the finest water I've ever drunk.

The first campsite is across from the sweetwater pump well. You'll notice the forest overhead: there are huge white pines above an understory of maple, musclewood, hemlock, and a few oaks. Smaller trees thicken the understory. Then come to two more large campsites with a lot of privacy. Unfortunately, these are the closest to the road.

Swing around and more towering pines rise overhead. Large, isolated campsites are on the outside of the loop. Pass a small rill that meanders through the center of the loop. Now the oval parallels Cochran Creek. The forest is thicker, with more hemlock trees and some rhododendron. The last few sites either border Cochran Creek or the small campground rill. Two vault toilets, one for each gender, complete the campground.

I believe you can get a campsite here just about any day it is open. I am all for leaving the sounds of civilization behind, but the advantages of Pocahontas simply outweigh the disadvantages. It seemed I had my own private recreation area. No one was on the trails, hiking or biking. And this was in mid-May.