Monongahela National Forest · West Virginia
Overview Fourteen primitive and separately numbered campsites dispersed along a 5-mile section of the lower Cranberry River. Toilets closed as of November 30. Campsites are number 6-19 along the Cranberry River between Big Rock Campground and Cranberry Campground on Forest Road 76.
Sites at Cranberry River Campsites are reserved through Recreation.gov. Sites here can be reserved in advance through the official system, and they are claimed fast — cancellations then trickle back all season, unannounced, at any hour of the day or night.
| Total sites | 14 |
|---|---|
| Site types | Standard |
| Location | Marlinton, WV |
| Book through | Recreation.gov |
| Official listing | Recreation.gov |
Because sites are booked months ahead, a steady share of reservations get cancelled as trips fall through. Each cancellation instantly returns that site and those nights to the official calendar — first-come, first-served, no waitlist, no announcement. Refreshing the booking page yourself, every few minutes for weeks, works in theory. In practice, the people who get these sites are the ones who hear about the opening first.
ItOpened scans the Recreation.gov calendar for Cranberry River Campsites around the clock. When a site matching your dates and your vehicle opens, you get a text with a direct link to it. You book it yourself, in your own account, at the normal price. We never book, hold, or resell — your fee pays for monitoring, and openings are first-come, so speed is the whole game.
| Lake Sherwood | Cancellation alerts available |
|---|---|
| Seneca Shadows | Cancellation alerts available |
| Bishop Knob | Cancellation alerts available |
| Stuart Recreation Area | Cancellation alerts available |
| Big Bend (Wv) | Cancellation alerts available |
| Spruce Knob Lake | Cancellation alerts available |
| Blue Meadow | Cancellation alerts available |
| Summit Lake Campground | Cancellation alerts available |
| Williams River Campsites | Cancellation alerts available |
| Cranberry Campground | Cancellation alerts available |
| Tea Creek Campground | Cancellation alerts available |
| Blue Bend Rec Area | Cancellation alerts available |
| Horseshoe Recreation Area | Cancellation alerts available |
| Day Run Campground | Cancellation alerts available |
| Pocahontas Campground | Cancellation alerts available |
| Big Rock | Cancellation alerts available |
| Jess Judy | Cancellation alerts available |
| Cranberry Mountain Nature Center Group Picnic Shelter | Cancellation alerts available |
| Gatewood Group | Cancellation alerts available |
| Hopkins Mountain Fireman's Cabin | Cancellation alerts available |
| Middle Mountain Cabins | Cancellation alerts available |
| Red Oak Fire Lookout | Cancellation alerts available |
Page data refreshed 2026-10-29. Site facts come from the official directory listing for Cranberry River Campsites; cancellation statistics come from our own scanning logs.