Came back again and stayed in a waterfront cabin this time, and it's well worth the upgrade! The view was great and the bedroom faced the water with a picturesque double window complete with blinds to limit or highlight the scene! Osprey were nesting, which was amazing!! Trails were beautiful, and since we were just weeks from peak season, it was still quiet and peaceful, but with gorgeous spring weather! read more

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Smith Mountain Lake is my 33rd VA State Park. Its not one of my Favorites because, after my children are grown, I really dont play in the water. I may swim in a pool but I dont jet ski, or boat, or fish. I dont like to buy food from the food shacks and it seemed to me, the space allotted for swimming was small anyway. They did have hiking trails. I took a two mile trail hike, took pictures and started on my way to James River SP. read more

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Explored without a boat, this park offers several trails of modest difficulty with views of the water and the mountains. Most of the actual facilities weren't open during the winter, but on a day when it finally warmed up enough to explore, the sights were pleasant. The other side of the lake is residential. It's not a place I'd want to pay for every time I visited, but I find a state parks pass offers some value. read more

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Although I grew up here it was nice returning as an adult (with a boat ). My family and I enjoyed the park and all of the amenities. We will definitely be back! read more

Smith Mountain Lake State Park - Parks Near Me - Huddleston, Virginia

We love SML State park. Lots of things to do. However, as a handicapped person I try not to use parking spaces for the handicapped. so I'm taken aback that State Park employees use them for taking breaks, lunch, etc. i have seen that more than once. I would hope they would enforce the law. read more

Awesome park with amazing views and fishing spots. This reminds me of the time I was viewing the lake and fishing. read more

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It was wonderful The beach is very clean and there are lifeguards on duty You can rent paddle boards and really explore the lake There is also a small concession stand serving burgers, and hotdogs The trails are well maintained and clearly marked It was a great trip and I can wait to go back read more

Always love getting to stay at the state parks in Virginia. We stayed in one of the cabins on the water. Really great place to stay. The cabins here are awesome. There were 2 bedrooms. 1 queen size bed, 2 single beds, and a pull out couch in living room area. They have a bathroom full kitchen with fridge stove sink and microwave. There is a wood stove in the center for the winters and air conditioning for the summer. There is a beach area at the park. There is a great sandy beach. Lifeguards are here until about 2 weeks before the end of summer. When kids go back to school lifeguards are only here during the weekend. A snack bar is at the beach with a good variety of food at decent prices. There is so much more available that I didn't get to do. Looked like lots of hiking trails. Boat rentals available on the lake. Bike rentals at the park. read more

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This is a huge lake with lots to do: boat, fish, swim, water ski, and hike. The lake has many coves, perfect to spend the weekend or the entire week. The state park has lots of amenities (beach, interpretive center, cabins, campground, marina, etc.) and the staff is very friendly. There is a cost to launch a boat ($10) and go to the beach ($3-4), unless you're lodging on park grounds. read more

Smith Mountain Lake State Park - Parks Near Me - Huddleston, Virginia

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I was sad to see cut trees while driving through the park, I really was confused. As someone who admires trees, I immediately felt disconnected with the park. To my surprise, I found information explaining what I had saw while exploring the park. In strategic efforts to restore the park's truest habitat, trees had been removed in order to restore the natural habitat. The next day, while walking through some cleared sections, I saw positive effects. I will be excited to see new trees, shrubs and life take over in the future. I managed to spot evidence of mushrooms from the earlier season, I didn't find anything special during this trip (hot and dry weather). White tail deer and turkey were out and about as well as boaters on the lake. Not too many people were at the park to hike, everyone was participating in water related recreational activities. read more

Smith Mountain Lake State Park - You can have scenic views of Smith Mountain Lake from the convince of your car - Parks Near Me - Huddleston, Virginia

I have been skiing on the lake since I was a kid. The parks are beautiful. The beaches are "man made" but nice. The water is the perfect setting to recharge and relax. There are so many activities. If you have energy and want to hike or go boating, you won't lack for things to do. If you are lethargic and just want to stare at the water, you can accomplish that too. I would suggest visiting the park web site http://www.dcr.virginia.gov/state-parks/index.shtml. We have had picnics, watched the fireworks, earned frostbite while waiting for Santa to wave from a boat, made arts and crafts in the park buildings, enjoyed hot coco on activities night and relaxed on the beaches. If you are going to fish on the lake, make sure you have a license. The license fee varies from $16-$23. The fine for not having one is $65. Virginia is for Lovers or Lakers. Ya'll stop by! read more

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This is my second year staying at Smith Mountain Lake, and using the Smith Mountain Lake rentals to find a home. This year it is my entire family. It is absolutely a magical place, serene and beautiful, but with lots of recreation activities as well. Renting a house here has allowed our entire family to be together in one place and share the experience. Proximity to Smith Mountain Lake State Park provides access to a sandy beach, as well as boat rentals, bike trails, hiking, and other outdoor activities. The water quality of the lake is exceptional and the clarity took us all by surprise. Add to that the wildlife that you see first thing in the morning and it truly is a wonderful place to relax and recreation. read more

Smith Mountain Lake State Park - Parks Near Me - Huddleston, Virginia

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Smith Mountain Lake was amazing and absolutely gorgeous. We had such a fabulous time here! The lake is very homey and seems to have that campy feel too it. Not a lot of tourists and mostly locals or people that have houses on the lake. Definitely invest in boating the lake, as it's huge and there are a lot of areas to explore. Also there's plenty of room for water sports so bring your tubes and skis! There are several restaurants and pit stops across the lake if you need a break from the sun. There also seemed to be several camp grounds if you're feeling adventurous. All in all, perfect place for a weekend getaway in the summer! read more

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I have not camped or rented cabins at the SML State Park, but I have enjoyed visiting to run the trails, picnic by the water at sunset, and sunbathe at the beach. Stop by the visitor center if you aren't sure where to start. They have flyers for all sorts of outside, self-guided, activities that are sure to keep the kiddos entertained! read more

Nice hiking area. Private beach are for the kids to play in sand and swim. Loved bringing the pup on a hike, however, beware of the foxes hanging around! read more

I LOVED IT HERE! Be certain i will be returning. It was a short trip, but very enjoyable to say the least. The drive down here was awesome and the scenery was just spectacular. I enjoyed every moment. We stayed in a condo in Mariners Landing called LaPoitne, and it was a perfect one bedroom for us. We were located on the first floor looking over the Lake, it was breathtaking. We did have a balcony that we could sit on and enjoy the view. We were able to hike through the state park which was very nicely maintained but not too overdone where you didn't feel like you were hiking. There are several trails you can walk, not super long, but enough where you can feel like you are in the wilderness. (if that's what you are going for). I'd recommend this place to anyone looking for a quiet time to enjoy with family or a significant other. It truly does relax you to be away from the buzzing Northern Virginia Area. read more

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We camped here for 4 days. The campground was nicely run and campsites were clean. The bath houses while spacious. Did not seem as clean as they could be. A small amount of change was on the floor for 3 night. So not sure they were cleaned during our stay The beach was covered in duck poop. Did Not appear to be sanitary in the area to swim or for kids to play in the sand We rented a deck boat for a full day. On first inspection the boat seemed ok. But while running it. There were occasions that it would act like it was going to cut off. So when we talked to the dock master. It was like nothing new to him. read more

The worst camping trip ever and Easter. Can't have a fire until after 4; pm. Why go camping.Small pad with rocks. Try putting a tent up and sleeping on it. No water sports until memorial day which they didn't tell me until after I got up here. Four to five hour trip. No privacy and people watching you for no reason. If the see smoke they think you staring a fire. Even when your cooking breakfast using charcoal. Only thing is the view is nice. The trip down there. Nothing for teenagers really to do is hiking. Didn't want to do that since this guys is all way riding around in a gulf cart watching everyone. To make sure your not staring a fire . Small fire it can't put much in it. With the grill on top that sucks. read more

Smith Mountain Lake State Park - Parks Near Me - Huddleston, Virginia

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There is potential here...the lake is beautiful. BUT they surely don't care that much about tourists or consumers experience. A) pay to get in, which is not necessarily typical for a state park (especially if you already paid to park) but I'm ok with paying for a nice experience. HOWEVER, there was a nice sign essentially stating that they are understaffed so the cool looking platform in the middle of the lake with the slide. Yea it's closed and you could only wade waste deep with any child. B) Went to rent and umbrella, they were out . Went to the concession stand during lunch time "our kitchen is closed until further notice we only have drinks and chips" C) public bathrooms were horrendous, like my 9 year old refused to use them bad Again, the area is beautiful and it's a shame they don't put alittle more effort into making the experience equally good! read more

We loved the Smith Mountain Lake State Park and facility and people is helpful. The only problem is boat rental place in beach. We pick this place vs. other boat renting place because I thought they used newer and better boat than other places. So we rent the boat in this place to do water ski. Unfortunately, the boat has throttle problem and difficult to maneuver. Even the dock master agree the boat is difficult to dock on docking when you return. The water ski is too big for all of us and they only have 1 size of water ski. So we cannot do the water ski after paying expense to rent the boat. And we got the boat difficult to get to direction of steering wheel we point to. Don' recommend to rent the boat from this place. You paid the most expensive price for the boat rental but only get non-functional boat. Also watch for hidden fuel cost that cost $143 for a few hours rental. read more

Beautiful area on the lake with cabins, tent sites and camper sites. Come relax in nature! read more

This little sandwich shop located on the beach portion of the state park is by far the best we've ever had at a state park facility. The new manager (Katherine) has been there about a year and has turned the place around. The Chicken wraps and Turkey BLT are OUTSTANDING and only four or five bucks. We couldn't even eat the whole thing. We chatted with the manager after our meal, and she has received many compliments. We actually went back another day in our vacation just to eat, nothing else. Best lunch on the water. Try it out. read more

I haven't been everywhere in the park, but I've seen most of the trails. Fishing around the park is pretty good. They release all of the fish from tournaments here so you can pick up some decent bass around the park. The bike trails are in decent shape. I wouldn't venture out on them if i didn't have a decent bike and obviously a helmet. Some trails are a little more rough than others. I think there are some camp sites here as well. I've heard they're nice, but if I have a house, i'm not sleeping on the ground. This is a great place for kids to run around. It's a great place for adults to run around too. There are some great scenic spots around the park. I'm not going to tell you where, because you should go out on your own adventure to find them ;) have fun! read more

Because $5-7 for parking isn't enough, they charge you $4 per person to just sit on the beach. And when they say "dog-friendly," they don't really mean it. Thank the website for misleading you. Surprisingly enough, they don't charge you to have your pet there, but they aren't allowed on the beach, only on the grassy area and they can't go in the water WITH you, however they do have "their own beach," which in reality is this tiny ass section at the very end, where the grass meets the water, and where people aren't even allowed to swim. It's completely covered in garbage and debris. After miscommunication from the girl behind the booth and from the lifeguard, we finally learned that they can swim only as far as your thighs can be submerged, in the garbage filled part of the water but they can't be on the beach and of course have to be on a leash. Absolutely despicable. My boyfriend had our pup in the water where he was allowed to be and noticed a park ranger watching him. He started walking back to our picnic area which was on the grass like the rules say, which does however require you to walk on the beach to get to it, since the pathetic dog beach is on the other side. The second he stepped onto the beach, the park ranger yelled at him saying he couldn't be on the beach. My boyfriend replied saying "I'm only walking back to my picnic area to my friends." The park ranger circled around the trees to approach him again, harassing him about being on the beach. I'd hate to think race had anything to do with this park ranger's power trip, but it certainly seemed a likely possibility. It's pretty awful how much they say it's super pet-friendly, when in actuality, it's NOT. If you're going to have a dog beach, simply have one. And keep it clean!! It's not that difficult. I also asked the girl at the concession stand for an empty chili bowl to give my dog water (I accidentally left our bowl at the cabin). She said she couldn't give it to me but instead gave me a paper fry basket, which basically absorbed the water after a few moments. They DO NOT cater to our furry family members and it's quite insulting. And for saying this beach is one of the largest on the lake (500 feet of beach), you can only swim in a small portion of it since there was only 1 lifeguard in the middle of summer...I mean, really. Not very crowd-friendly either. I don't think I'll be back here again. Awful beach. The volleyball court and the free ball rental was about the best thing here, and that's it. read more

Very nice lake. We paid the $7 for parking and the 4 per person for swimming, the water was very nice and the lake is a very attractive one. Lots of folks enjoying the lake. read more

A great place to visit or Live! Wonderful Lake. Summers are great and winters are quiet.., very quiet . So please please visit so no one else goes out of business! read more

On my road trip back home from Nashville, my partner in crime wanted to have a beach day. After some careful research, and reeling in our dreams of the ocean, I realized Smith Mountain Lake would be a perfect place. The lake is relatively easy to find, but I found that it did take longer than expected to find it because of all the windy roads. Once I got to the park, I had to pay $3 to get on the property. You can ask for a packet which will include hiking trail maps, amenity/parking/driving maps, and some information about the area. Near the designated swimming area, there are bathrooms, changing rooms, picnic tables and a snack bar. They serve basic things like ice cream, hotdogs, grilled cheese and fries for very little money. It does cost another $3 to get your swim band which seems reasonable considering they had several life guards on duty. While we were there slowly easing into the water (I'm a huge wimp), everyone was called out because the life guards had a Water Moccasin citing. They "chased" it away, inspected the swimming area and after about 10 minutes people were allowed in the water again. Being from the northeast, I had no idea what a Water Moccasin was and proceeded to ask the lifeguards about 25 questions about them. They were pretty patient and were able to answer my questions. I waited until parents let their little ones get back in the water, you can't be too safe when there are poisonous snakes around. I hiked one of the smaller trails (the lake loop) near the Visitor Center which included beautiful views of the lake. There were benches periodically for people to sit and relax. Before I left, I also checked out the amphitheater and one of the boat dock areas. Overall, Smith Mountain Lake had tons of activities that for only $6 was a perfect break from driving. read more

Beautiful state park. Has boat launch, fishing docks, picnic tables, 2 play parks for kids, swimming beach in the summer.

The facilities are very nice, but the park is very small and geared toward the leisurely stroll folks rather than the hiking set. The park seems to be a mere crumb toward responsible land management. I think to adequately preserve and sustain at-risk species the state of Virginia should have expanded the protected area around the park. Over development seems to be thriving along most of the shoreline outside the park. The park feels small in comparison to the lake. read more

Loved spending the day here! Super family friendly environment. Anyone who is looking for a short getaway will love this place. We are huge fans of the picnic area. Only negative comment is on the cleanliness. read more

Update on Review. I hiked Turtle Island Trail and it was nice and fairly easy. It is a leisurely walk, basically. There is a charge for parking in the park, $5 in state. $7 out of state and even more to swim. You can get a yearly pass for around $60. read more

Went there on a Monday afternoon during the summer. Lake is beautiful and beach is nice. The restrooms were terrible. They were dirty and there was no toilet in most of the stalls. When the people were informed about it they did nothing. They said it wasn't their responsibility. Even two hours later it still wasn't taken care off. There were a lot of lifeguards on duty but they never opened the slide in the lake until late in the afternoon. Then of course all the young kids went out to use it. Can't blame them! But resulted in a long wait to be able to use the slide. The lifeguards just didn't seem to care. read more

Without staying at the campground we rated it a 4, clean, nice, friendly park rangers, a place where you would be comfortable staying in.

The park has great accommodations but book early! The lake and park combined together make this a fantastic place to stay. Even if you don't stay there during Fourth of July you can hang out and watch the fireworks from the parks shores. The only thing that didn't give this park a 5 star was the boat rental place on the beach. Make sure you take a picture of the propeller before you go out or they will will charge you $75 for a new plastic one claiming that you damaged it. read more

Awesome spot on a great lake! SML is a family favorite for boating, fishing and hanging when we are down this way

If you want to experience the great outdoors in a well maintained state campground the SML is the place to go. Unlike other state parks (you know who you are) SML is very well maintained and well staffed. The beach is clean and well staffed with lifeguards. My family and I have been to several state parks and one thing that they all have in common is their over priced retail items. You already pay $25 a night for the spot and then you have to spend an additional "arm and a leg" for wood and ice. Additionally their park themed merchandise is fairly priced as well. When it comes to the park staff, you can't find a friendlier bunch. They have all sorts of free activities throughout the week for the kids. The beach passes are included with site rental. They also offer a junior ranger program at their discovery center. I cannot say enough about the great time we had at SML this past week. But don't take my word for it go try it yourself. read more

Staying in the campground for a long weekend. Clean facilities. Friendly camp host. Visitor's center is very nice. Sites are level and big enogh for a long travel trailer. Ours is 34'. read more

Decent state park, tent camping areas were a bit rocky. Bathrooms were pretty stinky, but that's what you often get when camping. The area if very picturesque and the beach was very nice. Good trails, too. read more

We didn't stay at the State Park, but visited for a day. The park is very clean and has beautiful views. We liked that end of the lake because it was a little less developed, little quieter. We rented a house on the lake for our family through VRBO and had a very good time! The house overlooked the lake, had a good size dock for swimming and suntanning, and had plenty of room for our family (6 people). We took a free boat ride through the state park (early morning), which was perfect weather. The tour guides were very nice, and the tour was calming. During our stay, we spent a lot of time at Bridgewater Marina, feeding the HUGE bass, eating pizza, painting pottery, eating ice cream, playing mini-golf. We also rented jet skis from there, and paddle boards. We hit up Benny's pizza a couple times, and grilled out quite a bit. We spent one day at Virginia Tech. We spent another day at Goode View Alpaca Farm (best day ever!). Highly recommended...they are so cute. Having vacationed on several lakes in the past, the big things I noticed about SML were (1) it takes a long time to get places because the roads are very windy and very narrow, so plan accordingly and be prepared to drive slow, and (2) it would really help to have a boat all week if you are staying on the lake...everything is centered on water activities and it's easier to get around (than driving), so if you can, reserve a boat early, and (3) it's not a walking environment...like, there is no 'walking to town' like a Lake Placid or Lake George in NY...you are either driving (a good distance) or boating to your location. But we got used to it, and planned a morning outing, afternoon swim, and later outing. We would definitely go back...it's a beautiful lake!! read more