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Bolar Mountain Recreation Area is a great destination for visitors looking for a fun getaway on Lake Moomaw. The area provides plenty of activities, including boating, fishing and hiking, as well as volleyball and a playground. Recreation Boating, canoeing, water skiing and relaxing on the beach are popular activities at the lake. Anglers fish for brown and rainbow trout, bass and crappie. A boat ramp is located at the Bolar Flat Marina, which has a modern dock with boat slips. Bolar Mountain boasts 11 miles of hiking trails that lead to two impressive scenic overlooks: Islands Overlook Spur and Grouse Point Overlook. Facilities Campsites are divided into three loops, the first of which has many sites with electric hookups. Picnic tables, lantern posts and campfire rings with grills are provided. Drinking water, flush toilets and showers are among the amenities at the campground. Natural Features The campground sits on the northern end of Lake Moomaw, a manmade lake covering 2,530 acres along the Jackson River. The lake's average depth is 80 feet and it has 43 miles of wooded shoreline. Bolar Mountain is part of the George Washington and Jefferson National Forests which span across Virginia and parts of West Virginia and Kentucky. These forests protect 40 tree species within mostly Appalachian hardwood and mixed pine-hardwood forests, 60 species of mammals and 200 species of birds. Nearby Attractions Head to Warm Springs for restaurants, shopping and a visit to the Bath County Historical Society. ADA Access: N
From Covington, take 220 North to Hwy 39 and turn left on Hwy 39. Take Hwy 39 to Hwy 600 (Bolars Draft Road) and turn left on Hwy 600 to the campground. Turn right on Twin Ridge Drive. To store & marina, stay on Hwy 600 for 1 mile. Store and marina are on the right.
One of the best campgrounds I have stayed at!!! Absolutely beautiful.. Everyone one was nice and friendly
This is my new favorite camp site. I cant say enough about the place. The sites are well maintained and spacious. The camp hosts are very friendly and helpful. The scenery looks like heaven. The lake is a great place to hike and swim right from your site(if it's a site on the water). I cant wait to go back.
This place is kind of ragged out. The weeds are high. The roads are washed out. There's no potable water and no showers as is listed on the reservation site. They all have Vdh stickers on them that says you'll get diarrhea forever if you use them.
If you have 35 Virginia Tech noisy neighbors that cramp into one site and camp in the woods up to your camping pad, partying and eating acid until 4:00 a.m. there's no one there to deal with it. These guys were parading around the campsite and cutting through people's campsites at early hours to go swimming or just have conversations.
They'll offer beer, weed, and LSD though when you go to them and complain, which is probably exciting for a younger crowd.
The lake is beautiful. We paddled out to an island and made a beach day because the Virginia Tech students kind of took over everything and made it unbearably rowdy and not kid friendly.
We ultimately left a day early because we wanted sleep and my 5 year old started to pick up on the fact that the neighbors weren't behaving normally.
Be aware that there is nowhere to buy anything within an hour of the lake.
You can bring your dog literally anywhere without a leash and no one will do anything. Apparently they were very strict about it many years ago. We had dogs of unknown origin in our campsite at all times.
We went in early May and it was chilly and cloudy so it wasn't busy. They were just starting to get the campsites ready for Memorial weekend.
What was most upsetting is that the store is closed down. The dock was also broken so they had it roped off. I wish they would revive this place back to its former glory.
This was a wonderful spot for an early August getaway.
Weather was perfect, much cooler I the mountains but not chilly. Water and scenery was beautiful. Park facilities are well cared for. We hit up the beach which was amazing, plus there is access outside the public area if you want to avoid other people completely.
Lake itself not that crowded with boats etc. We will definitly visit again.
