Douthat State Park

Prettiest part of Virginia. From I-81 take I-64 West for 35 minutes and exit towards Douthat State Park. There are several campground loops. Our favorite is Whispering Pines and site 10 is our favorite; it's at the bottom of the loop closest to the stream and path to the large playground area (kids will love this playground). The stream has trout in it. You can take your web chair across the road and sit along the stream with your morning coffee or fishing pole. The campground is surrounded by mountain hills and pine trees. Campsites are clean and level. Bath house is average for public campground facilities. You can kayak/boat in the lake and fish.

There's a wonderful restaurant in the park with a deck that overlooks the lake; the deck is a great place to have appetizers, wine and enjoy the view. There's a visitor center with a gift shop. There's several trails and the park has access to a trail that enters the George Washington National Forest. There's a part of the campground designated for horse campers. There's a lakeside campground that is primitive. There are numerous cabins available. The boat launch is by the primitive lakefront campground.

The park has a sandy beach with a playground. If you book during Easter, the park has an easter egg hunt on the beach for children. It gets very crowded, but they have kids decorate a milk jug for the egg hunt and there's farm animals to pet...Easter is fun at the park.

Fishing: The lake is stocked annually (usually in April) with Trout. There is no fishing during the trout stocking. There is a smaller pond where they put trout in and have kids fishing day (only kids can fish for trout). Many fish make their way into the stream that runs along the Whispering Pines campground and you are allowed to fish there. Normal Virginia Trout fishing license is required by adults 16+.

Sites are deep and the scenery is beautiful. We've been twice and already booked our 3rd visit; can't wait. This park has an 11-month booking window and most of the Virginia State Park Campgrounds fill up fast. AT&T cell coverage was minimal (1-2 bars). Bring a cell booster.

As usual, Virginia State Parks are the best! So many things to do here - swim at the lake, hike the trails, Geocache, picnic, Ranger programs or just relax.
We did not have a site-specific reservation, so we had to pick one of the few remaining spots on a Saturday afternoon. Fortunately, we had a fair amount of privacy. We did not get one of the sweet spots on the river though. We were able to hear the calming river noise from our site.
Didn't get a chance to swim, but we were impressed with the beach with its concession stands, picnic tables and lifeguards.

Douthat has been one of our favorite Virginia State Parks, and after purchasing our first camper, we knew that there was no better place to break 'er in than this scenic setting.

We stayed at the Beaver Dam campsite - which is horse-friendly, although we were not traveling with any furry critters. The setting is beautiful and well laid-out. Check-in was easy, and the staff was friendly. The site was easy to get to, with excellent facilities nearby. Water and electric all easily accessible... and the dump station was clean and easy to use. (And that's coming from someone who'd never dumped a camper before this stay.)

We even grabbed a bite to eat at the park's restaurant overlooking the lake. Gorgeous views, and good food.

We'd definitely stay here again, and it's the perfect location for those weekend Virginia Tech football games, less than an hour away. Also, there's a huge Camping World about half an hour down the interstate.

I have both Verizon and AT&T cell phones, and neither had a lick of service, but that was to be expected in this location.
Also, our camper antenna couldn't pick up any stations - so be prepared for a relaxing tech-free stay! :)