Originally Posted by
thumpism
I live in Richmond and do not think you will find anything cheaper than the $25 you mentioned for a state park. The nearest to town is Pocahontas SP and it is about 30 minutes from downtown so it depends on what you want to do in town as to how helpful this is.
As for Charlottesville, there is cheap/free dispersed (primitive) camping in the national forests west of there but, once again, it depends on how accessible you want your lodging to be.
Expect Williamsburg to be the same as the other two areas. Cheap lodging is no longer cheap.
State park camping can sometimes be more convenient than a motel; no need to lug bikes/gear up steps etc. I suppose one can sometimes bargain a bit on prices w/independent-owned motels though in summer I'd assume less latitude for bargaining.