Camping

  • All campsites have in-ground grills for cooking and campfires.
  • Firewood is available for a small fee (sorry - no complimentary wood for campers). Do not bring firewood.
  • One vehicle permitted in parking lot per tent site (Tent Std). Extra vehicles must park in overflow parking.
  • Boat trailer and additional parking is 50 yards from the campground entrance.
  • Visitors to overnight guests must pay to park vehicle in parking lot, pay for any day use services and leave the park by 10 p.m..
  • Fifty sites; all in the woods; no waterfront. Various equipment. Up to 50 feet (not all sites).
  • Full-service bathhouse with hot showers and wash sink for dishes.
  • All sites have a picnic table, fire ring grill and a post for a lantern.
  • Swimming and boat launch free with camping.
  • Sites EW 30ft BackIn and EW 50ftPulThru have water and electric hookups.
  • A dump station is available free of charge for campers who stay in the park; non-overnight guests must pay a small fee to use the dump station.

Total sites of each type: TENT, 25

Site type: Tent Std - Tent only. No water and electric. No hookups; no vans. No materials used for surface. Eight sites are minimum impact sites with wood chipped tent pads. The area has only a general parking lot, so only one vehicle is allowed per site. No boats or trailers allowed in tent site parking area. Tent campers with boats must park their boats in the overflow parking area at the entrance to the campground. Bathhouse available.

Total sites of each type: EW 30ft BackIn, 19; EW 50ftPulThru, 5; Tent Std, 26

Site type:

EW 30ft BackIn - Tent/van/pop-up/camper/RV up to 30 feet. Gravel sites. Five are minimum impact sites. Sites located in the woods. This site is well-suited for campers towing a boat. Water and electric sites.

EW 50ftPulThru, 5 - Tent/van/pop-up/camper/RV up to 50'. Gravel, pull-through sites. Campers with a boat should request site type R301 or this type of site; water and electricity available.

RV sites (EW 30ft BackIn and EW 50ftPulThru, 5accept outlets for 20 and 30 amp current. There are no waterfront sites at this park. These sites have electric and water, and a bathhouse is available.

General campground information:

  • A trail not advertised for day use leads to the water for fishing at anytime, however neither swimming nor the mooring of boats is permitted.
  • Campers pulling a boat trailer will have to bring the boat back to the site or overflow park each night as there are no mooring facilities at the park. Reminder: There is no charge to launch for overnight campers.
  • There is one site that may be used as a handicapped accessible site. The park is unable to hold it. This site has a handicapped accessible picnic table and pedestal grill.
  • The campground remains open from March 1 through the first Monday of December.

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 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.

It's available only during camping season, March 1 to the first Monday in December. The facility becomes available in January each year; unlike most overnight facilities, it is not sold 11 months in advance. Check-in is 3 p.m., and check-out is 10 a.m.

The transfer deadline and cancellation and pet fees are the same as those for cabins.

  • No linens are provided. Guests must bring their own linens and pillows.
  • Maximum occupancy is 14. Guests may be billed for any damage or excessive uncleanliness.
  • The minimum stay is two nights.
  • It has no bathroom, kitchen or fireplace.
  • Dishes and silverware are not provided.
  • The pet fee charged for the bunkhouse is the same as that charged for cabins.
  • Cooking and smoking are not permitted in the camping lodge.
  • Swimming is free to overnight guests from Memorial Day through Labor Day when the pool is open.
  • There’s no cable hookup.
  • Electrical outlets are available but limited to 20-amps.
  • No extra bed rentals are available.
  • The camping lodge is next to the park's campground.
  • From Memorial Day through Labor Day, camping lodge guests use the campground's bathhouse, which is about 100 yards away.

SWIMMING: The park’s 500-foot beach opened in the summer of 1989 and is Smith Mountain Lake’s only public swimming beach. The beach can accommodate 1,000 people and is guarded during operating hours. In the summer, swimming is free for overnight guests, however it cannot be guaranteed should circumstances beyond the park's control require that swimming be stopped. We do not give refunds for swimming to overnight guests under any circumstances.

Swimming fees: Click here for park fees.

TRAILS: There are 13 hiking trails ranging from half a mile to three miles long. Trails meander through the park’s various features, including hardwood forests, pine forests, secluded coves and picturesque vistas. They are open year-round during daylight hours.

WILDLIFE: Virginia State Parks are great places to discover and reconnect with the wild world. Bring a camera and share your captures with the world. But please don't disturb or get too close to the animals. The park is, after all, their home. Here are a few recent natural encounters others have had at Smith Mountain Lake.