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Smith Mountain Lake Campgrounds' Site Types:
Two-bedroom frame - Two bedrooms; wood frame; one queen bed; two singles; foldout couch; ceramic tile floors with carpeted bedrooms. Two-bedroom cabins have a bathroom with shower.
Two-bedroom frame waterview - Two bedrooms; wood frame; one queen bed; two singles; foldout couch; ceramic tile floors with carpeted bedrooms. The two-bedroom cabins have a bathroom with shower.
Three-bedroom frame - Three bedrooms; wood frame; two queen beds; two singles; foldout couch; ceramic tile floors with carpeted bedrooms. The three bedroom cabin has two bathrooms (one universally accessible shower; the other has a tub). The three-bedroom cabins are meant to sleep six. Eight are allowed, but this relies on the use of a fold-out sofa for the extra two people.
Total cabins: 20
Although the only fully universally accessible cabin in the park is cabin 7, numerous cabins, while not fully accessible, are better suited for customers having disabilities. Because of hilly terrain, all cabins other than cabin 7 have steps. Cabins 15, 17 and 19 have two steps, cabins 10, 13 and 20 have three steps, cabin 14 has four steps, and cabins 6, 12 and 18 have five steps. The remaining cabins are unsuitable for those with disabilities because of numerous steps or steep grades leading into the cabin.
Bunkhouse
Camping Lodge (bunkhouse) - no weekly requirement.
The park has a camping lodge (bunkhouse), which is not a full service lodge, for rent. It's a two-room trailer with seven bunk beds ( five in one room and two in another), a refrigerator, a microwave oven, a coffee pot and air conditioning. It has no heating. The bunkhouse has a has a porch and a large covered deck with two picnic table, two other tables and eight chairs. It also has a charcoal grill and a fire ring. Smoking, portable heaters and cooking, except with the microwave oven, are not permitted in the lodge. There's a fire hydrant next to the lodge in the parking lot. Four vehicles are permitted with rental of the lodge; the daily parking fee must be paid for additional vehicles. RVs and trailers may not be parked in the bunk house parking lot; there's an overflow parking lot about 100 yards away.
Smith Mt. Lake State Park is a decent place to stay if you want to go camping by the lake. Campground is well maintained. Trails along the lake are a good place to get out and see some nature.
We tent camped at Smith Mountain Lake State Park July 17-19.
The temperatures were high 80's with the high feel like temperatures in the 90's.
The lake water temperature was perfect. The water was so refreshing and a great escape from the July heat. Once out of the water and in the shade of our beach umbrella, the sun temps felt good while drying off.
The beach was clean and enjoyable, but, beware there may be a bee or two aggressively buzzing about you at times.
The concession area was a nice area with options of sun and shade for sitting.
I was pleased with the concession prices. I thought they were reasonable for a lake concession and our hamburgers were very tasty. The burgers had a good grilled flavor. The ice cream, slushies, and pretzels were all very good as well.
We took the free pontoon boat tour and it was informative and enjoyable.
We hiked the Turtle Island trail and it was nice to be on a trail in the woods, but, also nice that it was a short (1.4?) but scenic trail since the temps were still quite warm. It was an enjoyable trail.
The tent site we stayed at had electric and water and was just perfect.
The camping area was clean and quiet; the showers were really nice, and the bathrooms were clean.
I did hike the .5 trail from the trash dumpsters to the camping area twice when taking our trash out. It was a very lovely short trail that in places skirted the water with views.
We enjoyed our trip to Smith Mountain Lake State Park and look forward to returning again.
Love this state park! First time bringing my family here and they loved it. We camped for a week. Campground is nicely kept and bathrooms were keep clean. The swimming area has a big beach. We spent multiple afternoons just hanging out on the beach. One thing to look out for in the summer is yellow jackets on the beach. Be careful bringing sugary drinks with you. Also, took my kids to 2 of the nature activities and they were fun and not crowded at all.
Smith Mountain Lake (SML) is one of the best Virginia lakes you can visit. The park here is large with multiple trails, a beach and many quiet areas to sit in a boat and fish.
Couple things to note:
1. Weekends during the summer can be chaos on the lake. Read up on boating safety and boat responsibly if you are new to it. Please give a little curtesy to dock owners by not creating massive wakes near their docks.
2. Food options are limited and OK. Bringing things to eat, grill etc on your trip will help.
3. Fishing here is great but high pressure. Lots of opportunities and I’ve never been yelled at by someone while fishing their dock.
Beautiful park with a lot of trails and designated parking places with trail maps for hiking. There's access to the lake at multiple places. Beautiful scenery. Camping is available. There's also a discovery center with a big play area that is close to a few trails. I went hiking/walking down the turtle island trail (1.2 mile loop) which anybody could enjoy, young or old. Great place to hang out and enjoy the outdoors.
