This challenge has taken a lot of pre-planning to make sure we stick to schedule and don't miss important weekends at the parks, but we have to let you in on a little secret: we rarely research the Virginia State Park in advance of our visits.

We love arriving with no expectations, unfolding a trail map on a picnic table and planning out our hiking routes once we're in the park.

Sometimes we are overwhelmed with the number of trail options and seek out a helpful ranger to ensure we get the best experience, while other times we find ourselves at a park with just enough trails to keep us excited, but not so many as to exceed our chances of getting full picture of what the park has to offer.

November 4-6, 2016 Smith Mountain Lake

Enter Smith Mountain Lake State Park, it’s perfectly sized to soak up every experience either on foot, bike, or boat on this beautiful property.

Smith Mountain Lake State Park was our 32nd park visit in 2016. We loved sharing our adventure journeying the state and can't believe it's coming to a close as we neared the end of the year. 

Our lake front cabin number 17

We arrived at Smith Mountain Lake State Park Friday evening to cabin #17. When we awoke we were welcomed to the new day by a surprising lake front view and easy access to the cabin area dock; if only we had a kayak for a morning paddle. 

The view from cabin 17 is hard to beat

Smith Mountain Lake State Park stretches along the shoreline of the lake itself, creating mini-peninsula’s that extend into the many branches of the shoreline.

Whether hiking or driving you’re sure to see awesome views of Smith Mountain Lake

We chose a hiking route that would take us along the shore of one of one of these peninsulas while allowing us to traverse a number of trails. We began our hike at the 1.7 mi Chestnut Ridge Trail which loops through a small spit of land with stunning views of the lake and forest along the way.

The land isn’t very wide, so the trail backtracks on itself for about 1/4 mile, but you hardly notice while walking the same path in the opposite direction. We connected directly to the 0.4 mi Beaver Den Trail, before turning onto the 0.5 mi.

Enjoy the lake at the edge of the forest at a stopping point on the Tobacco Run Trail

Tobacco Run trail which led us to the park’s Discovery Center and many park visitors catching fish along the shore. From here we picked up the 0.3 mi Lakeview Trail, a mostly grass path along the waters edge. We finished up our hike on the 0.4 mi Opossum Trot and 1.4 mi Turtle Island Trail which leads you over a wooden foot bridge onto a small island (Turtle Island) that was separated by the mainland when the lake was formed.

Every trail we hiked we hiked was deemed easy-moderate, took us about 2.5 hours total, with lots of stops along the way, and offered incredible views of both the lake and the changing leaves of the forest; you can’t go wrong whichever way you decide to go.

Many of the trails shine like gold due to Mica in the soil

After lunch we drove to the park’s impressive beach area, which must be among, if not the largest, of all the state park’s we’ve been to. Complete with concession stand, water slide, volleyball court, playground, and plenty of parking. We wrapped up our evening with a night-hike in the cabin area, stopping to lay in the grasses and count the shooting stars that crossed the November sky.

A portion of the impressively large swimming beach

Smith Mountain Lake State Park is a gorgeous location for a weekend or weeklong getaway, with cabins, a nice seasonal swimming beach, and plenty of trails that creep along the water it’s impossible to leave disappointed.

Guest Bloggers Peter Radlowski and Sarah Sumoski planned to tackle all 37 Virginia State Parks in 2016, as the series continues to be published into the New Year we shall see if they did? Come along for the adventure.

Editor's Note: This Park is located on the shores of the second largest freshwater lake in the state, and a mecca for water enthusiasts. There is plenty to do year-round, with seasonal water activities, including swimming, boat rentals, a boat ramp and a universally accessible fishing pier.

You can also enjoy picnicking, a visitor and discovery center with special programs, a woodsy campground, miles of trails that meander around the water’s edge and cabins with wood stoves and boat docks for guests to use. Learn more about the cabins and camping at this park here, or call 800-933-PARK.