2025 Road Trip - Fort Chiswell RV Park, Max Meadows, VA

Randi Jones
Jun 2, 2025
2 min read

We’ve hit the road on our first big adventure with Coddiwomple (our trusty pickup), Cat (our cozy RV), and Rita, our ever-faithful travel companion. We rolled out of Belton on May 15, and we’re excited to share the journey—one stop at a time.

This blog will mostly fall into the Mile Marks – Feeding Our Wanderlust category, as entries will be organized by the places we stay in our home on wheels. However, I’ll also be sharing stories about the amazing people we meet, the beautiful places we explore, and, of course, the delicious food we find, cook, and enjoy. I hope you come along for the ride.

After days of navigating the constant motion of Washington, D.C., we crossed into Virginia, and the landscape began to open up. The road curved through rolling hills, and city skylines disappeared. Green forests and wide open skies replaced them and the air felt light. The road was definitely less busy.

The landscape on this stretch of the trip was full of layers: closest to us, hills were a crisp green color and were dotted with grazing cattle like we see in magazines or on postcards. Just beyond the hills was a mountain range with its slopes covered in patchwork green colors of every shade. Beyond that was a soft mist that created a blur between the treetops and the sky, where the last layer of blue stretched into white, and clouds that looked like cotton floated.

Virginia's rest areas were a surprising find on this leg of the trip. These weren’t the typical quick-stop roadside pull-offs. They felt like intentional parks designed for long picnics. They were spacious, super clean and landscaped. After a typical stretching of our legs, we were hesitant to get back in the truck. They reminded us to take time on our journey to enjoy the unexpected hidden gems.

As we got into the Blue Ridge Mountains, we could truly feel nature calling to us.

Fort Chiswell RV Park is right off Interstate 81 in Max Meadows, VA.

Knowing we needed a break between DC and Pigeon Forge, we chose this site, right off our route, hoping for a quiet spot with full hookups, clean laundry and bath house facilities, and we were not disappointed. Booking and checking in was a breeze.

The park is nestled between two Virginia hillsides and many of the spots offer cool shade.

We made a quick dinner from our camper freezer - fish, air-fried okra and baked potato, wishing we had time to explore. Virginia Tech is right down the road, as is West Wind Farm Vineyard and Winery and New River Trail, a 57-mile trail that parallels the New River and an abandoned railroad right-of-way that we really wanted to hike along.

The name Fort Chiswell comes from a frontier fort built in 1758 as an oupost during the French and Indian War.

Even though we made a quick stop here, if we are in the area, we will definitely be back for a longer stay.