Our visit to Douthat State Park was a particularly special one. We arrived late Friday night to cabin number 2, a fantastic 1 bedroom original Civilian Conservations Corps built cabin overlooking the lake.

September 16-18 Douthat State Park

We loved the characteristics of cabin 2 with its easy access to the YCC Trail head

NO LESS THAN AN HOUR AFTER OUR ARRIVAL

WE GOT ENGAGED ON THE PORCH OF OUR CABIN!

A perfect start to a weekend in the woods and a fantastic park to have a special place in our hearts (and a good reason to come back). Cell service was limited, but we got our necessary phone calls in and were excited to begin our first weekend as fiancés enjoying the peaceful trails of a Virginia State Park.

Douthat State Park was the first recreational park in Virginia and is located in the Shenandoah Valley along the Allegheny Mountain Range. With a 50 acre lake and over 43 miles of trails radiating off the lake and up the mountain there are far more adventure possibilities than one could hope to experience in a weekend.

Blue Sucks Falls Trail has some rock scrambles

that keep the hike interesting, fun, and beautiful 

Since we both work full time and only have one day off a week together, most of our state park visits have happened during a day trip or single night visit, with only half a day to explore. This weekend, we had all day Saturday to enjoy the park without having to worry about packing our bags, so we chose to put in a good hike first thing in the morning and hit the trails at 9 am.

The Hike 

The Beard's Gap Hollow trail cuts through forested slopes with

a gradual incline up the mountainside

We wanted to make sure we incorporated some Points of Interest on our hike, so we opted for route that would take us up the mountain to a couple overlooks and give us a solid 5+ miles on the trails. We started near the park office and picked up the Beard’s Gap Hollow Trail (0.96 mi) this trail carried us through the bottom of a ravine, with two steep hills on either side. We followed a stream and gradually made our way up the hillside before picking up the Locust Gap Trail, 1.45 mi in entirety. We were only on this for a short ways, and diverted off onto the Blue Sucks Falls Trail, a 3.01 mile difficult trail that brings you past waterfalls and a few overlooks, including the expansive Tuscarora Overlook.

There are so many places to sit and enjoy the stunning views from this park

This was an incredible trail, and we were giddy over the grandeur feeling of this park. Much of the lower portion of this trail led us through rocky foot paths, giving it that river bed feeling as we hiked along the mountain stream. We took a seat at the base of Blue Suck Falls and continued up the hillside checking out various overlooks along the way and enjoying the changes in leaf color as we hiked higher and higher.

The mid-point over look is Big Rock Overlook; and you really do have to climb on top to see the view. We obliged and had a snack on the rock while checking out the mountains in the distance. Another couple of miles up the mountain and we would have reached Tuscarora Overlook.

Unfortunately, we were both suffering from head colds and didn’t want to push our bodies any further so we're sorry to not have photos to share — just another reason to come back.

We had to backtrack down the mountain, but if you continue on there are plenty of options to loop through on a much longer hike. We diverted back onto the Locust Gap Trail on our way down, picked it up in the opposite direction, past a group of resting horses and their riders and onto the Tobacco House Ridge Trail (0.79 mi). This trail took us back up a hillside, and surprised us with a stunning view of the Douthat Lake Dam. In total, the hike took us about 4-hours to complete; we stopped a lot for photos and scenic views, so it could be done faster. Definitely a worthy trek.

We’d booked our visit to Douthat State Park in the spring, and were surprised to discover that the same weekend of our stay was also the Inaugural Campsite Cook Off. A weekend of BBQ with live music, beer, and a 22 competing teams stationed in the Whispering Pines Campground. We only paid $5 to get in for unlimited tastings of the competitors BBQ entries. What a great idea and an easy lunch.

 

So much BBQ to enjoy at the First Annual Campsite Cook Off, what a great idea! 

Following that experience, we walked a portion of the 0.73 mile YCC trail along the lake and past the beach, Lakeview Restaurant, picnic areas and Douthat Lake Dam. An easy stroll along the water and perfect way to end the day.

The Lake is almost entirely surrounded by trails

with plenty of places to stop and enjoy the setting sun

Douthat State Park has a lot to offer visitors and we were barely able to skim the surface in a weekend. It’s absolutely worth a visit, or 2, or 3. We hope you check it out and enjoy it as much as we did.

View of Douthat Lake from the spillway

If you would like to go on your own adventure to Douthat State Park and would like more information about this park, click here.

Guest Bloggers Peter Radlowski and Sarah Sumoski plan to tackle all 37 Virginia State Parks in 2016 and they invite you to come along on the adventure with them.

Editor's Note: Congratulations to Peter and Sarah, we are thrilled that we played a part in bringing them together on the rails at Virginia State Parks and we wish them much happiness.