Explore Park used to have a beautiful gift shop with a wide variety of gifts for purchase made by local artisans. No more! They have renovated and eliminated all of the handmade items. Now it is just a big, empty room with a few mass produced items for souvenirs. It’s very disappointing to see it now.

We wi definitely return if we are on the area. The bathrooms and showers are the best I’ve ever seen. The folks at the tavern were very nice and accommodating despite our late arrival. Would like to spend more time exploring the trails.

We traveled here based on the website description of fun things to do with kids, plus historical building with reenactment, etc. Arrived on a weekday at the end of June around lunch time, and besides the visitor center with a gift shop, nothing else was available. Old buildings that we walked to were all falling apart and locked for quite a while, with just small info notes on them. All other activities closed for the day. We just ended up walking some trails and enjoying the scenery, but definitely wasn’t worth a drive. Probably best if you are just there to camp.

Trex trail awesome. I took 4 grandkids ages 2 to 13 and they all enjoyed. The dinasaurs sounds and movements are great. The park is also informative with signs by each dinasaur and videos. It is well worth the visit. We also went on the trail that circles the frontier village. It was nice but I remember years ago they had people demonstrating activities there and that would be great to see teturn.

Strangely, there aren’t many options for camping near Roanoke, VA. Don’s Cab-inns at Explore Park is a great option for smaller rigs. We’ve camped there in an 18’ travel trailer and most recently in a 24’ class B van. There are several small cabins, a few yurts, and just six sites for rvs, each with a fire pit and picnic table. The bath house is probably the best I’ve ever experienced; facilities are private and very clean. Everything is well-run and maintained. There are some quirks campers should be aware of: You check in at the Visitors’ center, which is only open until 5 pm. If you arrive after that your paperwork is in a holder near the entry door. Don’t skip this important step, because Don’s Cab-inns is only staffed between 10 am and 6 pm, and you need a code to use the bathrooms. WiFi password is in check-in packet but also posted at the office. Finally, one “con.” The dump station is ridiculous. Although it looks modern and clean, you have to put your sewer hose into a standpipe that’s six inches or more above ground, so it was higher than the drain for our waste tanks. But the job got done with only a little swearing and all in all it’s a great landing spot for touring the area.