North Rivers Edge in Hampshire County combines the fun of camping with the luxury of hotel-worthy amenities.
When Billy Rothwell purchased a small two-acre parcel along a river near Capon Bridge, he intended it to be a woodsy getaway for his friends and family. But there was a problem—nobody wanted to camp with him.
“I kept getting shut down,” Rothwell recalls. His friends told him their spouses hated camping. Their kids had never been camping and weren’t interested in trying. Others recalled unpleasant past experiences with dirty bathhouses, noisy campgrounds, bugs, snakes, and sweaty nights in stifling tents. Even Rothwell admits his back wasn’t as fit for sleeping on the ground as it once was, so he started taking notes.
“I thought, ‘What could I build that would accommodate some of those requests while still feeling like camping?’” He began researching luxury camping, or “glamping”—a $7 billion industry—and realized there was a gap in the market. Traditional campgrounds weren’t appealing to many travelers, while some glamping options still left guests exposed to the elements.
The answer to his question was North Rivers Edge, a luxury camping destination that offers guests the beauty of the outdoors without a sacrifice in comfort. The site is located along a scenic river corridor just off U.S. Route 50, and the property has quickly become one of the region’s most unique lodging experiences.
“Sure, you can stay in a beautiful Airbnb, but that’s not really camping,” Rothwell says. “Then there are yurts and tents that call themselves glamping, but you’re still dealing with things like bugs and heat. We wanted something in between.”
Working with a business partner who shares his passion for the outdoors, Rothwell designed the property around the amenities people most wanted. Clean bathrooms topped the list. In fact, one of the site’s most impressive features is its resort-style bathhouse complete with spacious changing areas, glass showers, backlit mirrors, climate control, and thoughtfully curated finishes. “I wanted people to have the comfort of a resort bathroom and then walk right back out into nature,” Rothwell says.
Rather than tents, solid, air-conditioned A-frame structures house cushy memory foam mattresses. And to naturally combat unwanted pests, Rothwell planted rosemary, basil, citronella grasses, and other natural bug-repelling plants around the grounds.
As for activities, guests will find plenty to do—if they want to. “I tell guests about the beauty of West Virginia,” he says. “There’s the Potomac Eagle Scenic Railroad. I give them hiking options, tell them about Blackwater Falls and all of the historical sites nearby. They don’t have to just sit at the property all day long and play cornhole. They can go see everything. To really be able to use it as a catalyst to help drive revenue to the county and to the state is a huge bonus for me.”
Visitors who do prefer to stay put with friends and family can relax around a fire pit or enjoy a variety of outdoor games, including cornhole, axe throwing, and darts. An amenity barn offers air conditioning, heat, wi-fi, a television, coffee and whiskey bars, and comfortable space when guests want a break from the weather.
Travelers have been excited. North Rivers Edge opened to the public in May of last year, and the property has been booked nearly every weekend from opening day through December. “The biggest challenge is finding time when I can sneak out there and use the property,” Rothwell says.
It’s a great problem to have, and if it means more visitors get a chance to spend the night beside a quiet West Virginia mountain stream, it may not be a problem at all.
633 Hanging Rock Road, Augusta, nreluxurycamping.com, “North Rivers Edge Luxury Camping” on FB
READ MORE STORIES FROM OUR FALL 2026 ISSUE
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