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Reviews for Iron Mountain Horse Camp
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Cripple Creek , Va

Overall TRAIL RATING with 41 votes:
Overall CAMP RATING with 41 votes:

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We chose Iron Mountain for our maiden voyage with a horse trailer/camper, and it was a great choice, with many friendly campers to help us settle in, a lovely, well kept campground, comfortable stalls, and gorgeous trails. But be aware - turn RIGHT on highway 94, not LEFT as the directions say!
Reviewed by: Libby Edwards on 6/11/2017 9:59:18 AM
Experience: Intermediate Ride Date: 6/3/2017 Hometown: Waxhaw, NC

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This was our 4th time at Iron Mountain Horse Camp since last summer, camping 7 to 8 days each time we come. We really like this campground! Everyone here, from the owners, (Sheila and Danny), to those helping run the horse camp (Susan and Davey) to the permanent campers who lease by the year, right on down to the majority of horse campers like us who do not have "a permanent campsite", are really friendly, helpful and go out of their way to make your stay a great one. There is a relaxed and welcoming feeling in this horse camp and the people there that we like and have felt every time we have camped there. It is in stark contrast to some horse camps in which the camper is given a long list of rules the minute he/she drives in and must obey or the "strong arm of management will hit them like a brick"! However, don't be mislead into thinking the camp is not well cared for and run------it is. It is very pretty with lovely landscaping and lots of grassy areas cut frequently. There is an area down by the creek for the campers pulling their rigs in who are not permanent campers which is pretty and shady and convenient to the barn designated for the non-yearly lease people. Those people with the yearly leases are in designated places and are very attractive with the same kind of shelter with porches over their campers. The whole campground is very attractive and well cared for. As far as the trails, they are really wonderful, leave right from camp and a person could ride for days and still not take the same trail loop. It is hard to imagine serious trail riders not liking Iron Mountain Horse Camp!
Reviewed by: C. Ann on 8/17/2014 11:16:44 AM
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Experience: Intermediate Ride Date: 7/4/2014 Hometown: Shenandoah, Va

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Returning to Iron Mountain Campground year after year for personal riding and to put on an NATRC competitive trail ride - that's the best kind of experience EVER! Danny and Sheila will do whatever it takes to makes riders and horses comfortable - I've even see Sheila take a man's trailer's tire to get it repaired so he didn't have to do it and he could ride on his last day of his trip. Newly refurbished bathhouse; hot and cold water for you and your horse; BIG 10 x 10 stalls, lots of air and light; lots of room to move around; shady campsites along creek; permanent residents are always willing to help park rigs or show you around. Tack shop on premises. Some trails are easy but most are moderate to difficult - been riding and camping here since 1989 - still haven't seen them all!
Reviewed by: JudithS on 8/7/2014 6:12:29 PM
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Experience: Intermediate Ride Date: 6/22/2014 Hometown: Pilot, VA

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When we arrived at Iron Mountain horse camp, there was no one there to greet us or check for coggins. We were told we had site 18, but the ONLY way I knew which site 18 was supposed to be was that it was next to the bath house. None of the sites have numbers on them, so you have NO idea which one is which. The stalls were large and airy in a really nice barn that included a wash rack. However, many of the permanent residents have permanent stalls, so you had to go through the barns looking for stalls without names on them. The owners might have thought of having a barn for permanent shelter residents and one for campers. They have a nice tack store on-site, but since no one was around, we couldn't look through it that day. Even though the rules say dogs on leash, there were several running loose (including some of the owner's dogs). Not only dogs loose, but there were permanent shelter owners who just let their horses graze loose through the camp! They have quite a few permanent shelters, but there is no order to them. They're just stuck here and there, then campsites are kind of placed higgelty-piggelty all over the place in-between the permanent shelters. This could be a first-rate campground if there were order to how the permanent shelters were placed and a totally separate area for the campground. The trails were great and you could ride for weeks and still not cover all of them. We spoke with some of the people that had permanent shelters, and they were all very nice and helpful. I had really mixed feelings about this campground. There were some outstanding features, then there were some really dismal features. I think it really bothered me that when we arrived in the middle of a Monday morning, there was NO ONE around to direct us or check us in.
Reviewed by: esdiaguila on 7/6/2014 12:47:55 PM
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Experience: Intermediate Ride Date: 6/16/2014 Hometown: Havana, FL

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I was rally looking forward to my fist trip to Iron Horse as it had really good reviews. Boy was I dissapointed. We arrived early Saturday afternoon to find no one in charge. Finally a lady came to help us, but all she had to say was bad things about the owner and other residents. The nice creek campsite we reserved in July wound up being a site next to the driveway. The treasure hunt that was supposed to take place, no one new of even though it was listed on their web page and in a trail magazine. I have to say that Peggy and Richard, residents, went above and beyond to help us and make our stay enjoyable. Richard took us out on a great trail ride and Peggy would check in on us to see if we wanted to go riding with her. I really don't think I will ever go back because they don't have anyone to manage it. Nice place, no management. Such a shame.
Reviewed by: Dawn Fusco Pratt on 9/16/2013 6:09:24 PM
Experience: Expert Ride Date: 9/14/2013 Hometown: Broadway, VA

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We just returned from Iron Mountain on June 30 after a weeks stay. This was our first time at Iron Mountain and we loved it. Sheila and her son in-law Dwayne and daughter Candy were wonderful. Sheila picked out an awsome campsite for us and our two yellow labbies. A creek ran behind our site and our dogs loved to play in it all week. Dwayne and Candy took us on a AWSOME trail ride the Sunday after we arrived to Ravens Cliff. We also rode Iron Mountain Trails and Devils Den and many others. There are so many trails that we were unable to ride them all in a week. Your horses need to be in shape to do these trails. There are alot of steep climbs and long downhills. I would not adivse people to come here if they only ride on flat ground or if they do then they need to get some hill work in before visiting Iron Mountain. The horse stalls were huge and they were very generouly bedded with shavings. All 3 stalls had enough bedding in them to last my horses all week. The barn was nice with a tack room and wash rack in it. One of the local residents that have a permanent site at Iron Mountain by the name of Ron sang Friday and Saturday night and he did a great job and has an awsome voice. All the people we met were super super friendly. John and Dell were the BEST and helped us out by finding trails. The trails are not marked but if you get out there and explore and spend time getting some bearings of where you are at then you will be able to find your way around. John and Dell were a godsend to us and helped us find the trails we were looking for. We cannot wait to go back and explore some more and are hoping that it will be this fall. The mountains are beautiful and we fell in love with Virginia and Iron Mountain and all the wonderful people that we met that made our experience there good.
Reviewed by: Carolyn on 7/1/2013 6:52:57 PM
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Experience: Intermediate Ride Date: 6/29/2013 Hometown: New Franklin, OH

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We love our time at Iron Mt Horse Camp ,The owners Danny & Sheila make sure everyonr is taken care of. Stalls big and clean, Trails unlimited,Plenty of water for showers and horses. Tack Shop on the grounds , Ice , propane, fire wood, all right their. If you get a chance to be their for the Spring flowers o my its just so pretty. Lots of wild life to .
Reviewed by: Dell & John Fisher on 11/20/2012 4:53:28 PM
Experience: Intermediate Ride Date: 6/12/2012 Hometown: Baltimore, MD

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We arrived at Iron Mt camp on the 12th of Oct and stayed through the 21st and we had a Grand time, A great campground, Stalls were clean with fresh bedding and they were good size, A special thanks to the owners Danny and Shelia, Did there best to keep things up and going, Also to Brenda who was always checking on us to make sure we had every thing we needed, ,Bob And Ginny,(fun meeting some one with the same names) Peggy, And Shelia took us on some Beautiful rides and then there is Ken who took us under his wing and showed us some great riding,Spice his horse and Java the dog will also were also fun to watch,The color was out standing, Im for sure going back next year, GOOD TIMES AT IRON MT
Reviewed by: Bob And Ginny Brittain on 10/27/2012 4:31:07 AM
Experience: Not Specified Ride Date: 10/12/2012 Hometown: Trafalgar, IN

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Nice place to camp,great trails.We will be back soon!People we met there are really nice.
Reviewed by: Amy on 4/9/2012 6:42:34 PM
Experience: Intermediate Ride Date: 4/8/2012 Hometown: St.Pauls, NC

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First rate campground, great trails, great camp sites, great stalls, 50 ft. from your LQ parking area. Upon arrival stalls clean and extra shavings throughout our stay. You could ride at IMHC for a month and still not ride all the trails. Trails vary from easy to hard, mountain views are amazing. Owners on site to meet every need. Ice delivered every night to your campsite by Brenda. Be sure to ask for Tom Collins when you go and your stay will be even better. IMHC should definitely be added to everyone's to do list. I'll be back !!!
Reviewed by: Paris & Maureen Nicholson on 9/5/2011 4:56:34 PM
Experience: Intermediate Ride Date: 9/2/2011 Hometown: SORRENTO, FL

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OK gang .. Danny and Shelia Odom have replaced the pressure tank on the water and the pressure was great during the July 4th holiday all over the campgrond .. did some work in the bathhouse .. all in all IMHC is up to snuff and just waiting for you to come and enjoy the great trails. Ice is readily available .. trail maps .. all you gotta do is ask and somebody will take care of you .. I've been riding here for almost 10 years and like it so much Ms Donna and I have had a permanant shelter built .. come see us up on the hill.
Reviewed by: Tom Collins on 7/12/2011 3:26:23 PM
Experience: Intermediate Ride Date: 7/11/2011 Hometown: Galax, VA

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I have a permenent site at Iron Mountain Horse Camp, as do about eight other campers. The trails here are fantastic! I have been to many different campgrounds throughout the United States horse camping and Iron Mountain is bar-none the BEST for camping, best stalls, everything is always clean and neat. Best of all Danny and Sheila Odom (owners) are wonderful people. On holiday weekends Danny and Sheila are very busy and Leonard is out showing new campers the wonderful trails. But never too busy to accomodate our visitors. Iron Mountain Horse Camp values weekend, weekly as well as permenent campers.
Reviewed by: Tom C. on 6/13/2011 6:13:57 AM
Experience: Intermediate Ride Date: 5/30/2011 Hometown: , NC

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This is Leonard Barnett Camp Host at Iron Mountain Horse Camp, we did have a water/hot water/well pump problem. it was fixed Tuesday morning, we regret any inconvienience. We appricate any input on improvements to the bathhouse and changes will be made. We did have a full weekend and value all our longtime campers and hope to see many more new ones.
Reviewed by: Leonard Barnett on 6/12/2011 5:03:45 AM
Experience: Intermediate Ride Date: 5/30/2011 Hometown: Cripple Creek, VA

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Had a nice time on the trails and liked our campsites but the hot water in the shower houses ran out Saturday and out the rest of the weekend. Therefore had a cold shower both nights. The changing areas connected to the showers alway had water in them so made it really hard to change into your clothes without getting wet. This was the same as last year-same time-Memorial Weekend- so it is something that needs to be corrected. They were very busy and everything else camping wise was nice. It's hard to catch the owners in the store so you can pay your bill or buy ice but we managed.
Reviewed by: Robert H. on 5/31/2011 4:43:03 PM
Experience: Intermediate Ride Date: 5/30/2011 Hometown: Princeton, WV

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nice camp. nice store. mgr was very accomodating,found us 2 spots on short notice.
Reviewed by: walkers on 3/25/2011 8:42:43 AM
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Experience: Expert Ride Date: 7/7/2010 Hometown: sunbury, OH

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Love the place & people. Met up NATRC friends, rode 32 miles on Friday, 30 miles on Sat. and 9 Sun. am before heading back to NW PA. Temps hovered in the high 90s and we still had a grand time. Facilities are excellent. Our site was great, stall spacious, clean wash rack, clean showers and restrooms, even a fun
Reviewed by: Anonymous on 11/19/2010 4:32:51 PM
Experience: Expert Ride Date: 7/10/2010 Hometown: , Select State

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First time staying at a holiday, camp was full, met alot of nice people, had a wonderful time, was very happy about the photographer on the trail, also had some singing in the evening and banjo picking that we really enjoyed.
Reviewed by: lit up sabino on 11/12/2010 11:46:32 AM
Experience: Intermediate Ride Date: 9/4/2010 Hometown: rockwell , NC

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Great trails, but maps are not so good. Dog friendly camp but that means lots of dogs running loose, getting into your campsite and marking everything. Very crowded and make sure you get what you reserved! Stalls good sized and safe, bathhouse was not that clean and drains were backing up. Would not go back, been to much nicer places in the same area.
Reviewed by: Cindi on 9/9/2010 9:22:06 AM
Experience: Expert Ride Date: 9/2/2010 Hometown: Winchester, VA

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Went to Iron mountain for the first time and it was great. The campground was very clean, the stalls were great 12x12 with plenty of shavings and all the stalls were very well kept. Trails were great and there was plenty of miles of trails. We ride about 15 miles a day and stayed 9 days and there were still trails we did not get to ride. Shelia is a wonderful person and camp host and everyone was very nice. The highlight of our stay was meeting Tom Collins who has posted here several times about IM. What a great individual this man is. Tom and all his "gated" friends were so welcoming to us with our nongated horses and were so nice stopping many times on the trail for us to catch up. I can count on less than 2 hands people I have met in my life that are truly such unique caring individuals and Tom is one of them. We will try to ride with Tom and Ms Donna again for sure because their positive energy is so true. Saw several deer each day and the horses did great. There are very few places I would go back to because there are so many I have not been to and IM is one I would go back to. What a great horse camp.
Reviewed by: Michael Bradley on 9/23/2009 8:04:31 AM
Experience: Expert Ride Date: 9/5/2009 Hometown: Brooksville, FL

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This was my first experience horsecamping. I met up with an old friend and met lots of new ones. This facility is so well run and Sheila and Danny go out of their way to ensure the satisfaction of everyone. It was like one big happy family, literally and the place seemed pretty full to me. The trails were really challenging, but the beauty was unsurpassed and my horse and I did just fine. I was lucky to have a great group of people to ride with that knew the trails. I just can't wait to go back. What a blast!! The whole place was really clean: barn, bathhouse, campsites, and they have an awesome tack store! Just pack up and go!
Reviewed by: April Mink on 7/22/2009 6:32:36 AM
Experience: Not Specified Ride Date: 7/17/2009 Hometown: Mill Spring, NC

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NO,TOM COLLINS DOES NOT WORK THERE! HE DOES KNOW WHAT HE IS TALKING ABOUT. I WAS INVITED BY TOM&DONNA TO JOIN THEM FOR A WEEKEND RIDE. HE IS RIGHT. THE CAMPBROUND IS AWESOME AND I HAVE GONE BACK OVER AND OVER AGAIN. IT BECOMES A SECOND HOME, EVERYONE IS SO WILLING TO HELP ONE ANOTHER AND IT BECOMES LIKE A REUNION OF FRIENDS. SHEILA AND DAN ARE GREAT AND SO HELPFUL. THEY DO RUN A TOP NOTCH RESORT, EVERYTHING IS CLEAN, FIRST CLASS AND YOU CAN'T HELP WANTING TO COME BACK OVER AND OVER AGAIN. PLAN ON RIDING FOR HOURS ON A VARIETY OF TRAILS. THE MAPS ARE GREAT AND THE EVERYONE IS WILLING TO ACCOMPANY YOU TO HELP YOU LEARN THE TRAILS. I HOPE SHELIA AND DAN CONSIDER ME AS MUCH AS THEIR FRIENDS AS I FEEL ABOUT THEM. THEIR HOSPITALITY IS OUTSTANDING AND I AM ALWAYS GLAD TO BE INVITED TO THEIR "HOME", MY HOME AWAY FROM HOME. I ALWAYS HATE LEAVING!
Reviewed by: PATTI MAECHLER on 7/17/2009 9:06:23 PM
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Experience: Expert Ride Date: 7/4/2009 Hometown: WAXHAW, NC

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I have not written about Iron Mountain Horse Camp in some time .. read all my reviews below and you'll know what I will say .. ditto! Same great trails .. same great people .. same great facility .. always a pleasure to see old friends and meet new ones each year .. something has to be said about a facility where you see lots of the same people from year to year .. if it weren't such a great place I'm sure we'd all find new places to go .. my friend Leonard Barnett tells me he has found a new trail so we'll "experiment" asnd ride it this year .. there are trails for everybody at IM .. flat and level for the inexperienced riders .. trails for the more experienced .. and then there are the "Danny" trails .. if you ride IM once .. you'll be back! I get emails from time to time from people wanting to know about the trails .. the follow up emails from them are always positive.
Reviewed by: Tom Collins on 7/1/2009 2:57:00 AM
Experience: Expert Ride Date: 7/4/2009 Hometown: Winston-Salem, NC

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Reviewed by: Anonymous on 9/9/2008 9:42:39 AM
Experience: Not Specified Ride Date: 1/1/2004 Hometown: , VA

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Love it, this place is the best! We have been going for years and will continue to. Thanks Sheila and Danny you have a great place!
Reviewed by: arabrider on 7/18/2008 7:35:03 AM
Experience: Not Specified Ride Date: 1/1/2004 Hometown: gold hill, NC

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I have been going to Iron Mountain for 8 years and it keeps getting better. The owners are great the riding is wonderful. Everything is clean and neat. I enjoy my rides everytime I go!
Reviewed by: Michele Pacillas on 7/10/2008 4:26:31 PM
Experience: Not Specified Ride Date: 1/1/2004 Hometown: Mount Ulla, NC

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