hungry mother state park

This park is the best in the area for keeping everyone occupied with something to do. The beach area with the fort to swim out to was definitely a favorite. But also they have paddle boards, kayaks, and a Jon boat available for rental! We always go here several times each summer. Love this place and they also have lots of camping and a restaurant inside the park limits.

Hungry Mother State Park is located in the beautiful mountains of Southwest Virginia. A suitable area for all ages from Grandparents to the youngest children. The Lake is a wonderful playground for sunshine, sand and water fun...the awesome boat dock is great for touring the entire lake and the tiny islands - camping is available in several campground and the cabins are fantastic for the entire family, with all the comforts of home. For the energetic, there are numerous walking and hiking trails and the nearby town of Marion, has many opportunities for enjoying the local arts and even a renovated theater for catching the Song of the Mountains - a world renowned show, as well as many other sights. I love, love, love Hungry Mother State Park.

I visit often with my children, there is something for everyone here! Swimming, hiking, fishing, camping and even a nice playground. Lovely on a summer day!

Came to hungry mother for a camping trip. And this got off to a "wonderful" start. Made reservations weeks earlier and explained length, size of my camper. (35 foot 5th wheeler) plus a long bed 4 door f350 to boot. I arrive they give me my camping placards and directions (while standing beside my camper). First I should say they have two campgrounds. One you pass on your way in, and one on the interior of the park. Needless to say inside the park where tents and popups and small campers go I needlessly spend the next 1 1/2 hours backing out. Know which campground you can use. The rest of the weekend ended up being the best camping trip of the year. Park is awesome. Trails are great, the wally is just down the road. And we plan on coming here at least once a year. It is definitely the place to go to get outdoors and get away from it all. Minus the cussing while I back up in the road at dusk.

Beautiful park and incredible swimming area! You think you are back in the 50's :) Wish I had a chance to stay in a cabin on site and eat at their diner. Drinks and sodas available at swimming area.

We love staying in these quaint cabins. Family be warned there is no TV. They need to wake up and give this service to young family's. Director step up and bring this facility into the 20th century . Even 21st.

The cabins are well kept and very clean. Linens are provided. There are 2 cabin loops. We stayed in the loop at the end of the road above the first campground loop. Cabins are 2 bedroom with separate kitchen and living/eating area. There is a working fireplace for those chilly days. Bring extra cooking utensils. There are some but an extra knife, corkscrew and hotpads are useful. Would stay there again.

Hungry Mother State Park is a beautiful and well maintained park. The lake is surrounded by picturesque mountains with plenty of hiking and camping options.

Just spent a weekend renting cabin #9 at Hungry Mother State Park. I really can't say enough about this park. The cabins are very rustic, just the place to "get away from it all". Even though the cabins were built a long time ago, they are kept clean with all the amenities of modern life. They have central air and heat, as well as a fireplace. Your first night's firewood is free. The kitchen is well stocked with pots/pans/linens. Be sure to bring coffee supplies. There is a coffee maker, but you have to supply the coffee and filters. Fridge and stove, as well as a microwave is supplied. They even supplied shampoo and soap and hairdryer, just like a hotel. I have to give a "hats off" to the housekeeping staff. Everything was spotless. Even under the beds and other furniture. And now for the park. It's small, but large enough to provide everything you would want for a quite getaway. The lake is perfect, surrounded by mountains. You can fish, hike, our swim if you visit in the summer. The trails were well maintained, The park staff are very helpful. We had trouble with our key code and they were there within 10 minutes to help us out. Even offered to help us with our luggage. There is a restaurant on site. My only complaint would be for the restaurant to be open longer in the season, say until the leaves have gone. The park was fully booked but no place to go for food unless you brought it in, or drove into Marion. I hate to give this such a good review in fear I won't be able to get a cabin next time. :)

We went on a weekday in September and hiked one of the trails and walked around the lake. It was tranquil as there were not a lot of people around. My one complaint is that the boat house was closed, so we couldn't rent a boat.

Hungry Mother State Park might sound a little funny to you but it was named after a serious event took place here many years ago. I've been told that many years ago, a mother and her 2 1/2 yr. old toddler were lost in the mountains here and the mother succumbed to the elements. I was told that when the child was found, it was repeating "hungry, mother." Now, I was told this is a true story and that's where the Park got its name. It has a lade for boating, kayaking, fishing, and swimming. There is a beautiful large building near the entrance to the Park which has all sorts of fossils, pictures, information on the animals and plants that are found in this area, etc. Very interesting for the entire families that visit here. As you ride through the Park, you'll come across cabins that can be rented and there's even a nice restaurant and gift shop on the premises. If you plan on visiting, do some research on the events which take place here all throughout the Spring and Summer. There's also camping and RV'ing available. So, if you're planning on a visit in Southwest Virginia and looking to set your tent up or your RV, plan ahead and make it more than just a quick visit. Come and visit us for a time and enjoy some of the sites in our beautiful countryside. You won't be sorry you did!

We were staying in Marion and were just looking for a relaxing place to picnic and stroll around in the fresh air. Hungry Mother State Park was just the answer. We sat by the lake and unwound for a few hours.

My family stayed the weekend and we loved it! The check in process was a breeze and sites were average sized for a camper. The lake look is gorgeous and the bike loop was good for kids. The only negative, it seemed the septic line ran a few inches short (several campers had to buy an additional section of line). We'll definitely go again soon!!

My wife and I frequently camp with our small travel trailer. We stay exclusively at state and national parks. We recently camped at Hungry Mother State Park in Virginia and were very disappointed. There are 2 campgrounds at this park with RV hook-ups. One of these campgrounds is outside the State Park proper and may have formally been a private campground… in other words an RV parking lot. The other campground (campground B) is old, antiquated, and very small. The campsites are also very close together affording little, if any, privacy. The overall setting of this park is beautiful, but the campgrounds leaves much to be desired if you are looking for a natural camping experience.Virginia State Parks currently have a "1st come 1st served" policy regarding camp site allocations. In other words, you can make a reservation but the reservation is not site specific. You claim a site when you arrive… supposedly on a 1st come 1st served basis. When we arrived, we observed several sites which were "taken," but the sites were not occupied. Obviously the locals send someone over to claim the specific site early in the day (prior to check-in time) and the equipment arrives much later. This seems to circumvent the intent.We stayed only one night at this campground and left sooner than planned vowing never to return.

Betty & I had to visit this place for the 1st time. She never knew about it. I have passed the entrance. We had a fun day here, just walking around and taking pics. and having lunch on the deck. Plenty of fun activities in the water we seen, boating, swimming, fishing and camping nearby. The restaurant overlooked the water on a peaceful setting in the trees and flowers. We would go back for the activities and more food. Great park Virginia.