Owners and renters at this Type A resort revel in the many delights of the Blue Ridge Mountains.
By Rod Challenger, F412856
October 2019
The Blue Ridge Parkway is a popular road for RVers. Near its halfway point, some of them have discovered what they believe is the scenic drive’s best-kept secret: Deer Creek Motorcoach Resort HOA.
Many Deer Creek lot owners personalize their RV sites with colorful vegetation, which flourishes in the mountain air.
Located about 10 minutes south of Galax, Virginia, and just two miles from where the Blue Ridge Parkway crosses the North Carolina-Virginia line, the FMCA commercial member resort has 70 individually owned lots, but visitors are welcome. Owners often lease their lots, so guests get to share what some say is the most welcoming RV park in the country. “Without a doubt, the most friendly park we’ve ever been in,” said Donovan Dunlap, who’s been RVing since 2005. The friendliness is one of the reasons he bought a lot at Deer Creek in 2017, he added.
At Deer Creek, the social committee hosts activities and frequent potluck dinners. Every evening, spontaneous cocktail parties spring up around the park. And if you need information about area sights or activities, usually someone can help. Also, as a lot owner myself, I can vouch that there’s always someone with the skills and tools needed to help their neighbor with many of the small projects that come with owning an RV.
Most Deer Creek Motorcoach Resort lots come with a small casita, or cabin
In addition to the park’s hospitality, there are many other reasons to rent out a site or even buy one of the available resales. Deer Creek has paved roads and large, paved lots. Most sites include small casitas (cabins), outdoor kitchens, and gas fire pits, which become the focal point of nightly gatherings. Each lot is individually landscaped, with shrubs and flowers reflecting the owner’s personal tastes. The resort has a clubhouse with a laundry room, exercise room, library, and TV, along with a large, covered deck. An on-site par-3, 9-hole golf course; a picnic area; and other amenities make it feel like home.
Deer Creek is a Type A motorhome-only resort. But if you own a different style of RV, or prefer a nonowner campground, you still can enjoy everything the area has to offer by staying next door at Cool Breeze Campground, also an FMCA commercial member. Cool Breeze has 52 full-hookup sites and many amenities, and it is a popular rally location for RV groups.
At 2,900 feet above sea level, this area is cooler than the valley towns below. The days are comfortable and the nights are pleasant, so Deer Creek residents and visitors can cook and sit outside in the evening. The resort’s location near the Blue Ridge Parkway makes it an ideal base camp from which to explore the area.
Not too far away is Mt. Airy, North Carolina, the hometown of actor Andy Griffith and inspiration for the fictional town of Mayberry in “The Andy Griffith Show” television series.
The 469-mile Blue Ridge Parkway follows the Blue Ridge Mountains. Along the way, or nearby, are scenic vistas, historic buildings, and hundreds of miles of hiking trails that meander through the mountain forests and meadows.
The winding parkway is a motorcyclist’s delight. Riders don’t have to stop with the parkway, though. Hundreds of twisting roads accessible from the parkway loop down into the valleys below. The scenic mountain backroads throughout the region are home of the “best motorcycling in the United States” said Bob Wiseman, an avid rider and a lot owner at Deer Creek.
The area is filled with things to do, such as attending the annual Old Fiddler’s Convention in Galax, Virginia.
Another big attraction is the area’s music, which is pure Americana. Galax bills itself as the mountain music capital of the country. The Rex Theater in Galax hosts mountain and bluegrass music concerts every Friday night (admission is $5). Thousands of visitors come to Galax during the second week of August each year to attend the Old Fiddler’s Convention, an annual competition that started in 1935 (www.oldfiddlersconvention.com).
Just a few miles from Deer Creek is the Blue Ridge Music Center, a museum operated by the National Park Service and created to “preserve and showcase the history of Appalachian music,” according to Janet Bachmann, the center’s director. Local musicians play every day for visitors. On Saturday nights during the summer, the center’s outdoor amphitheater hosts concerts that feature mountain music by both local and national artists. Every town in the area has its own festivals and music programs throughout the year. “Culturally there is always something to go hear and see,” said Donovan Dunlap.
The area is well known for its luthiers, people who make stringed instruments such as violins and guitars using skills handed down through the generations. In Galax, it’s Tom Barr of Barr’s Fiddle Shop and Jimmy Edmonds of Edmonds Guitars. In Rugby, Virginia, it’s renowned guitar maker Wayne Henderson, who has a long waiting list of buyers for his coveted instruments.
RV owners who bring along bicycles may enjoy an outing along the Creeper Trail.
RVers with bicycles in tow may want to try the Creeper Trail, a 34-mile path (in total), though most people take the downhill half only. You can always pedal up the mountain if you’d like! The trail follows an old railroad bed where the steam engine had to “creep” up the mountain because of the steep grade. The downhill section crosses more than 30 trestles, following a winding stream through woods and meadows. For those without a bicycle, shops at the bottom of the mountain in Damascus, Virginia, have rentals and provide shuttles to take riders and their bikes to the top of the mountain. See www.vacreepertrail.org for details.
Another great bicycle ride is the 57-mile New River Trail, which follows the scenic New River (www.virginia.org/bikenewrivertrail). This is also an ideal place to canoe, kayak, and fish. So is the Dan River, known for its trout.
Tobacco is still grown in the area, but many fields once used for the crop now are vineyards. Tours and tastings are offered, and some wineries have first-class restaurants.
Descendants of pioneer families have kept alive the arts and crafts handed down by their ancestors. Their works are on display and available for sale in shops and at festivals in the many small towns in the area. The Chestnut Creek School of the Arts in Galax offers classes in pottery, woodworking, stained-glass making, painting, and more.
Deer Creek Motorcoach Resort is about an hour from Old Salem Museum & Gardens, a Historic Landmark district in Winston-Salem. Another popular historical site in Winston-Salem is the Reynolda House Museum of American Art, once the home of tobacco magnate R.J. Reynolds. And about two hours away in the town of Hardy, the Booker T. Washington National Monument commemorates the life of this famous educator, writer, orator, and presidential adviser.
RV lot owner and motorcycle enthusiast Bob Wiseman, who loves to explore, summed up the area’s attractions, saying there are “a lot of different things here for everybody.”
Further Info
Deer Creek Motorcoach Resort, C13642 *
2524 Edmonds Road
Galax, VA 24333
(828) 371-4848
www.dcmrblueridge.com
Be sure to call for directions, because your GPS may route you on roads your RV cannot take if you arrive via the Blue Ridge Parkway (see Blue Ridge Parkway sites below for details).
Cool Breeze Campground, C9494 *
2330 Edmonds Road
Galax, VA 24333
(276) 236-0300
www.coolbreezecampground.com
* FMCA Commercial Member
Blue Ridge Parkway tourism
www.nps.gov/blri/index.htm
Blue Ridge Parkway tunnel heights
www.nps.gov/blri/planyourvisit/tunnel-heights.htm
Galax, Virginia, tourism
www.visitgalax.com
Mt. Airy, North Carolina, tourism
www.visitmayberry.com