Park of the month: Holliday Lake State Park

Explore Its Historic Treasures

During the fall park visitors enjoy the many colors of the season

Within 100 days of taking the oath of office, the 32^nd President of the United States, Franklin D. Roosevelt fought the Great Depression that was raging across America. He developed a series of economic programs known as the New Deal that created jobs for millions of Americans. Two of these public work relief programs, Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) and Works Progress Administration (WPA) began the development of many national and state parks.

During 1930’s the federal government began purchasing farm land, through the Resettlement Administration, for reforestation and recreational use. The WPA built the recreational park named Holliday Lake Recreational Area. In 1972 the park's name was changed to Holliday Lake State Park. Located in Appomattox County, the park is a sample of Virginia’s charming and quaint countryside.

Works Progress Administration workers built Holliday Lake by constructing
a dam on Holliday Creek.

Said to be one of Virginia’s cleanest lakes, the 150-acre Holliday Lake was formed by a dam constructed by the WPA on Holliday Creek.

Park visitors can enjoy the beauty and unusual clarity of the lake by renting canoes, kayaks and Jon boats. The park offers a one-of-a-kind self-guided aquatic trail called the Sunfish Aquatic Trail. 

Traces of a family cemetery adorn the banks of Holliday Lake

In the 1800’s gold was found in Central Virginia. According to David Spears from the Virginia Department of Mines, Minerals and Energy:

“Virginia was the leading gold-producing state before the big California gold rush and there’s a gold belt that runs up the middle of the Piedmont, from roughly Appomattox to western Stafford County.”

One of the families who called Appomattox County home in the 1800’s was the family of William and Caroline Jones. Mr. Jones owned two working gold mines in areas surrounding what is now Holliday Lake.  In census records dated 1850 and 1860 the family was prosperous and lived along the banks of Holliday Creek. Today park visitors can experience what is was like to pan for gold by attending one of the park’s educational programs focused on the historical process of panning for gold.

Holliday Lake is a sample of Virginia’s charming and quaint countryside

Considered among one of Virginia’s most pristine state park, Holliday Lake is home to two campgrounds and beautiful trails just waiting for exploration.

Holliday Lake State Park is located off Route 24 between Appomattox and U.S. 60 and from Routes 626, 640 and 692. For more information click here, or call the park office at 434-248-6308 or by email.

Drive Time: Northern Virginia, three and a half hours; Richmond, two hours; Tidewater/Norfolk/Virginia Beach, four hours; Roanoke, two hours.