State Parks to Check Out
March 8, 2018
Written by: Danielle Ledgerwood
Virginia has a total of 37 state parks, each individual in their own way, with a diverse range of activities, habitats, and accommodations. Their website boasts that “There is something for everyone!”
If you live in Lynchburg, you’re only an hour away from two of the commonwealth’s nicest parks: Smith Mountain Lake State Park and James River State Park.
The next time you want to take your friends on a weekend getaway, consider visiting one of these great parks.
Smith Mountain Lake State Park—Huddleston, Virginia (45 minutes)
Nestled along the north end of the second largest freshwater lake in Virginia, this 1,148-acre park offers opportunities for a variety of outdoor people.
As far as camping amenities go, the park has 50 campsites that range from primitive (for tents and hammocks) to electricity and water equipped sites.
The park boasts a 500-foot beach for swimming, one of two total public beaches on Smith Mountain Lake (SML). During the summer, these beaches overflow with vacationers and families trying to escape the heat.
If you’re coming to take advantage of absolutely everything SML has to offer, there’s a boat launch in the park to accommodate any sized boat.
The park has plenty of fishing opportunities: there are several docks and a pier to cast a line from. Fish in SML range from small sunfish, varying types of catfish, muskies, perch, to small and largemouth bass.
For families with children visiting the park, there are several quiet picnic areas, a small playground, an amphitheater, and depending on the time of year, different Junior Ranger events and other families activities.
Starting in 2018, the park will introduce a series of geocaching events, a type of scavenger hunt that involves finding hidden items and logging your discovery.
James River State Park—Gladstone, Virginia (1 hour)
Tucked away under the Blue Ridge Mountains, this 1,561-acre park boasts 15 miles of trails and 3 miles of coveted shoreline along the James River.
In the late spring to early autumn season, there are canoeing, kayaking, and tubing trips available on the James.
For primitive campers, there are 30 sites, equipped with tent platforms, water and electricity hookups, plus a bathhouse and laundry facilities.
For those campers who are less comfortable sleeping in a tent, they can enjoy one of the park’s 16 cabins.
One of the park employees, Joyce Bailey, who has been working there since 2005, says that the cabins stay popular all year. She claimed that in the winter months, people like to come to stay in the cabins on site to get away, relax, curl up with a book, and expectantly wait for it to snow.
For bigger groups that need a lot of space, but would rather not camp, there are two lodges available.
Guests who also wish to bring their horses along can utilize the facilities available to house them, then they can ride on the trails winding throughout the park.
These two parks provide plenty of opportunities to get outside and immerse yourself in nature for a weekend. They both take about an hour drive to get to from Lynchburg: the same amount of time people are willing to drive to Krispy Kreme in Roanoke.
The state park system has been slowly dwindling in popularity the past few years, and it’s up to the upcoming generation to rekindle the interest and preserve these parks for future generations to enjoy.