Bear Creek Lake State Park — Attraction in Farmville

First, I must say that this state park is a hidden gem and more folks should check it out. The park has many lake activities, beach, dog swim area, kids water play area, kids playgrounds, snack bar, canoe rentals, kayak rentals, paddle board rentals, ranger lead programs, campground, many trails, cabins, and other features. I believe the location is one reason that it is lesser known as it is near Cumberland, Virginia which is a very small town 20 minutes from Farmville, VA.

We just finished a 4 night camping stay at Bear Creak Lake State Park and enjoy ever minute. We stayed Sunday through Thursday so there were only a few other campers in the whole campground. We stayed in site 16 in Acorn and our camper is 23 feet tip to tip.

The campground has three main sections that were added over the years.

The Acorn section where we stayed is more wooded, has views of the lake (through the trees), and mix of tent sites and small camper sites. The camper sites are more for single axle type campers with 30 amp and water. Most all sites in this section are level by being built up with wood timbers and filled, then gravel to make it very nice for small campers. Tent sites have rubber filled areas for the tents which is nice for keeping dry and softer.

The Black Oak section is more suitable for small to medium RVs with a few suitable for tents. Most are back in but there are a handful of pull thru sites. A couple on the side towards the wood are sloped downward which can be difficult for some drivable RVs. Most of these sites are side by side with other sites and not spaced out like the older Acorn section.

The Chestnut section is the newest and they have one of the nicest and cleanest bathhouses that I have ever seen at any state park. I would go over to this bathhouse to shower and it was amazing. They have three sites large enough for a 5th wheel RV. One of those sites is dedicated to handicapped. They have also started to rework some of the older sites in this section and are planning to continue work. There are two nice sites that go towards the woods and are large but also slightly slope downward.

I learned that all of the electric boxes will be upgraded to the new 20/30 and 20/30/50 boxes for the 2024 season. The campground is planned to be closed for an extended period in 2024 to upgrade the electrics and rework sites with blocks and new level graveled sites.

This campground had WI-FI that was pretty good. State parks usually don’t have free Wi-Fi. A nice plus.

I’m adding pictures that I took of the campground with more perspective than the single site pictures that you get on the state parks...

We visited in the afternoon late May 2023 (Memorial Day weekend). We were hoping to get some paddling done but the weather was not cooperating. It had been raining last day and half and was random showers throughout the day. We did try to do some hiking.

We did visit the Park Office/Store. Just outside there are tons of maps and information on the park and what there is to do. There is also a little library for people to borrow books from which was super cute. Also looks like they have late checking documents sitting right outside the door as well.

This park store by far had the most unique merch of all the VA state parks we have visited. They had so many different hiking medallions, pins, patches, stickers and apparel. We told the ranger they needed to help some of the other parks out with their merch selection. We wanted to buy so many things. There were also a ton of snacks and sweet treats for sale.

We were told this park also had a number of really great cabins or lodges to rent as well. The lake front beach looked very nice and we wanted to spend more time here but the weather just wasn't having it. We will have to book a cabin and stay on site at a future date to do all the hiking and paddling we want. The store down by the water front was not open the day we visited but looked like they had a assortment of stuff for purchasing as well.

The park also offers a junior ranger program but after reading the requirements it looks like it would be almost impossible to do in a couple hours at the park. It requirements multiple visits or a longer stay to complete.

We did take a drive around the cabin loops which are not in the main part of the public part but on a separate road. The lodging did look very nice. This park is also central to a number of other VA State Parks in the area so one tip we were given was to rent a cabin here and then you can explore 4 or 5 other State Parks which should not be more than a 45 min drive away.

Can't wait to come back here and stay in one...

I have been camping my entire life and have been to countless campgrounds. We usually stay at Lake Anna State Park but waited too long to make reservations this year and had to try another place. We saw good reviews for this park and decided to try it. First let me say that all the good reviews are either from people who stayed in private cabins across the lake or came just for the day without pets. Anyone who camps here or comes here with pets will never come here again. I was really excited to come here. The pictures looked nice. First let me tell you that the pictures of campsites and the map are very misleading. The pictures are taken very strategically with a wide angle lenses. This is the smallest tightest “campground” I have ever seen. It would be better to call it a numbered parking lot. It’s like camping at a Walmart parking lot where you get two spaces. One for your tent/camper and one for your picnic table with no spaces in between sites. There is no privacy or space whatsoever! We also brought our service dog with us and we were very excited about how pet friendly they claimed to be. Though it is nice that they have a very small “pet swimming area” their policies make it unusable. The pet swimming area is the only place that they allow pets to swim in the entire lake but they require them to remained leashed even when they swim. I saw many dogs like ours today panic when their wet leash was getting wound up in their legs, choking and drowning them. Forcing dogs to swim leashed is animal cruelty. I’ve never been to another state park that had this policy. Out of the water sure, but swimming leashed is inhumane. It’s like forcing people to swim in a straight jacket. The moral of the story is to ignore the other reviews and camp elsewhere, preferably one that values the...