Such a picturesque place to bring your kayak or SUP, to have a picnic with friends with incredible water views, and just to spend time in nature, decompress and recharge your inner batteries.

After we celebrated the birthday of our daughter at an area restaurant, we headed out to the cove to spend some time and get some fresh air. It was late spring with cool breeze on the lake, beautiful spot indeed. Some people were fishing. On the way out, we spotted several deers by the side of the long windy road. Coughing up $7 per car, you get to fish and boat there all day but swimming is a no no. Once we returned to the busier part of town, we wondered whether there is a senior discount. Virginia should have a statewide pass just like the national parks to make it more accessible to Virginians and visitors alike.

I called in advance to get some details regarding entrance fee and closing time and the man I spoke to on the phone was nice, helpful. When a friend and I reached the main boat ramp (there are several entrances, be sure you call ahead to ensure you're headed for the right one, depending on your activity/interests), we were aware of the 7 dollar per vehicle fee, and my friennd paid for the entrance of my vehicle and his own to the parking lot/boat ramp/fishing pier area. It was rainy and thundering but we didn't care; we were (and remain) are Virginia state licensed freshwater fishermen and we knew the park would be closing at 9:30pm, we arrived at approximately 7:00pm no big deal.But we caught flak from one of these old dudes pretty quickly. He clearly had nothing better to do than to scope our every move with binoculars and/or mounted cameras and apparently because of boredom or other dickheadedness, approached as soon as I brought out a small butane powered grille, with the admonishment no grilling except for the picnic area. He had obviously dined at more than a few grills in his lifetime but made it clear that I would have to remove the grill from the fishing area. I did so.At about 9:15pm my friend had to pee. It was pitch dark. With no immediate access to a urinal my friend relieved himself unbeknownst to me. The fattest guy appeared at the top of the fishing pier shouting that he had witnessed the crime on camera (that was obviously mounted remotely and which he had been monitoring throughout our time in the park). He told us we had to leave the park and we did, but this brand of attitude we have not experienced at any state park before. YMMV.Words to the wise then: 1) This is a pretty place to visit for the most part, although the quality of the fishing experience here is absolutely not first-rate. You can do much better elsewhere. Why this lake continues to underperform as an inland game fishery is beyond me, but don't expect to catch much when you visit and you won't be disappointed. 2) Keep in mind that you are being surveilled when you are on the fishing pier or any area remotely close to it. Our experience with the staff of two (2) suggests you might be better off if you visit during daylight hours when signs are visible and the hassle factor is not so concentrated and heavy-handed. These staff probably just wanted to go home early and were more than willing to make that happen at our expense.

Beautiful peaceful place with hiking, kayaking and picnic areas. Can't swim there but you can canoe, kayak. Biking trails as well.

Quiet area with trails around a long narrow lake. Options for easy to challenge. $7 park pass is worth it