Fairy Stone State Park — Attraction in Martinsville

We recently returned from our visit to Fairy Stone State Park where we stayed in one of the newly renovated cabins; cabin 12. We arrived very late, or, very early: around midnight. It was cold and very windy upon arriving. The cabin porch light was on and our reservation packet/park information was inside the mailbox inside the doorway. I was having difficulty getting the door to unlock. Upon reading the directions about turning the dead bolt away in the direction away from the door jamb after entering code for entry; I still could not get the door to unlock. I was not in panic mode, but with the wind blowing, and, the cold, and, it being late in the night, I could only see inside the cabin and desperately want in! I stood as close to the inside door with the storm door as close to me as possible to shield the wind. After a few attempts, my son was able to unlock the door!!! Inside the cabin was warm. The temp was set to 65°f. The cabin temperature was very much welcomed from the cold and wind outside. The cabin has recently been remodeled and it was very nice and clean. We brought our belongings in from the car and the steps to the car and back to the cabin were no problem for me. It being cold and windy, I ran back and forth up and down the steps to keep warm and hurry the task to be done! The day temps during our stay were wonderful. The sun was out the whole stay. It was cool enough to wear a jacket, but, it could warm up enough to remove it. It was just perfect weather to enjoy a fire in the cabin at night, and to enjoy walking about the park in the sun during the day. A bundle of fire wood was on the screened porch for us. A firestarter and matches were on the fire place mantel. The wind on the dam/Spillway was stout; but, walking along the Lake Shore Trail I had to remove my fleece jacket. It was handy to have my jacket while out during the day; at times I was too warm with it on and I would take it off, then later find myself chilly and need to put it back on. I enjoyed walking on the Lake Shore Trail and the Turkey Ridge Trail; good views of the lake. I especially liked viewing the lake from higher up on the trail. Overall, just lovely walking the trails. We went to the Fairy Stone Hunt Site. I felt a little like gold miners must have felt. I was trying to find my treasure somewhere out there. I felt like Harry, Ron, and Hermione looking for the Horcruxes! They did not know what they were searching for looked like, nor, did they know where to look to find them. I knew from info what the fairy stones should look like, but, where exactly to find one, that I did not know. I looked. I used a fork looking branch to rake away leaves to uncover where the "precious" may be. I looked high and low; around tree trunks and roots. After a while, I felt like a fisher with no bites. I began to think I would enjoy walking trails instead; I feel enjoyment and accomplishment when walking/hiking; here, looking for fairy stones, and not finding my "prized" stone made me feel the "bird in the bush" may not be worth losing the "bird in my hand". We decided to walk the trails in the area. I say trails, but, I think we walked a wash gully to a road and then back down to the parking lot. Along the way, my son found a fairy door on a tree! That was our biggest find at the Fairy Stone Hunt site; along with being out in the sunshine, looking for fairy stones, relaxing, and just out and about together. (I did find some stones that I think are fairy stones...just not the desired "prized" stone.) We walked the Beach Trail to the beach area. The lake was picturesque and the sandy beach was white and clean. I could imagine the area lively in the summer with swimmers, and sunbathers, and, children playing in the sand; for us it was peaceful, tranquil, and serene. We visited the Visitor Center. It has informational displays of fairy stones, moonshining, and animals, etc. The animal displays have skulls and furs of various animals. We had an enjoyable stay at Fairy Stone State Park and I look forward...

We had a great time staying in the campground, hunting fairy stones, and taking a quick dip at the lake beach. We came for the fairy stones, and were not disappointed. Our kids of all ages loved the hunting. I also loved the campground. There are lots of bad reviews online, but here was our experience.

We went for 2 nights midweek during our spring break. The campground was almost empty.

I woke up the first morning to the sound of a woodpecker and then some kids playing. The dogwoods and redbuds were in bloom. The bathrooms were clean and everyone had hot water when they showered.

The outer sites are not site specific reservations, generally the inner ring are. Some of the outer ring sites have gorgeous views out into the valley, but have steep drop offs. All sites had water and electric at the sites. We were in site 19, an inner ring reservable site with a long pull through driveway. It was fairly level with asphalt driveway, but I didn't attempt the lower exit end as I was worried our car, or any vehicle except a high clearance truck, would hit bottom.

This trip we took our medium/large 10x10 foot tent. It fit snuggly on the tent pad. Our giant three room tent would probably not have fit. Our two small backpaxking tents would have also been a tight squeeze. I saw a few small rvs and camper trailers. There was a dump station at the exit of the campgrpund loop. Our 30 ft rv would have fit in most of the sites, but not all.

This was a clean, beautiful campground. I've seen complaints online that the sites are too close together. Perhaps because the campground was almost empty, or perhaps because my campground references include RV sites in Yellowstone where you can almost reach out and touch your neighbor's RV, the sites were well spaced, yet encouraged meeting your neighbors. Fairly standard spacing in my Virginia and Maryland State...

First off this is one of the most awesome state parks in VA. For those who don't know the lake was made by filling in an entire mining ghost town, Fayerdale, which is still underneath the lake to this day. There is so much rich and spooky history in this area of VA. Secondly, I keep seeing people commenting about not being able to hunt fairystones in the park and that's simply not true, I have found stones in all kinds of areas in and around the park including right in my cabin yard. The stones look like everyday rocks and really take some hunting, rarely have i just had one smack me in the face lol. Although ONE of the areas where the crystals are most prevalently is easiest to reach by car, beside the 58 Fairystone garage, it is also accessible from inside the park by a hike through the woods. I seen someone comment that the stones arent just crosses lying around on the ground..LOL...im sorry to break it to you but most, if not all, of the crystals on this earth are hidden inside of seemingly plain ol ugly rocks by God. Fairystone crystals are NO different and the park has no control over nature😂. If your not a geologist I highly suggest joining the free fairystone hunting talks where an expert explains all about the stones, the myth and the legends. Lastly, I also seen someone complaining about how forested the park is and that camping is in the trees....um....last i checked you can park your camper for free in Walmart parking lots, I think they frown on tent camping so you may just want to stay in your own backyard. If your looking for a well maintained, beautiful, camping, swimming, hiking and equistrian area (never been to any park not A LA CARTE smh) not located in the city with street lights, steeped in splendid history and lore, then...