Holliday Lake State Park — Hotel in Appomattox

I went to the park on August 28th 2024 for my first time a Wednesday. The park was almost empty a good day to come to avoid crowds... But yet the snack bar & boat rental place where shut down. When they are supposed to be open on a Wednesday. That's why I'm giving it 4 stars. They should have broadcasted on the website that the snack bar & boat rental where closed. If it had been opened the snack bar had some good items listed on the menu & the prices where fair. The waters temperature was great. Very beautiful park. When swimming it's more or less walking it's not very deep, at the very edge of the rope cutting off the swim area is the only deepish bit you can have a real swim in. I'm 5'2 in height. In the water they had some water toys some lilypads that could be climbed onto, a giant frog, and a giant snake. And a Log. They all could be climbed onto. Very hot tho splash water onto them before touching. The water toys look like they could use replacing/repairing. On the beach the sand is very nice. There is a giant frog slide on the beach, also hot to the touch use caution if you have a kid. The frog slide also looked like it could use some repairing. At the playgrounds same warning hot to the touch. They had some foam type animals at the playground that could use replacing/repairing. The bathroom by the lake that is attached to the snack bar was nice, well except for some bathroom stalls not having a lock and or the stall that has a lock nearly traps you inside. They have plenty of space in a separate area to change into new clothes after swimming. By one of the playgrounds the tiny playground is a small cemetery. If you have sensitive/unruly kids you've been warned. Tons of picnic tables everywhere in great shaded spots. There is also a shower where you can rinse sand off of your body. At the office/gift shop, they have a decent selection of merch. Also in the office they have two cute rangers a snake & a turtle. I would have taken a picture of them but I didn't know if that would mess with them some how. The human ranger working inside...

This is a complex three star review. First let me say that this is a beautiful park and the rangers were kind and helpful. The lake is a beautiful space for all kinds of recreation and there were hiking trails for all levels of hikers. We will definitely be back. All of that being said, I am hoping my experience will help someone not make the same mistake that we did.

Here is my short and sweet tip: If you have have a camper that's longer than 20 feet, do not stay in the redbud loop (even if the site description says it can accomodate something larger). Get yourself a spot in Laurel Ridge and you will be much happier.

Now for the details: These sites are extremely narrow and rather unlevel. I would rate my trailer-backing skills as above average, and getting into our site (Redbud 6) was a challenge for me. Not only was the space narrow, but so is the road that makes up the campground loop. To add to that, the road drops off down into a ditch which only complicates things. If you struggle backing up your camper, be prepared. I finally got our rig parked, and was disappointed to find that we had about 1.5 feet of pad space outside of our camper door and then the site dropped off. Basically, there was ZERO living space under our awning. It was all located behind the camper. I don't know about you, but I didn't pay thousands of dollars on a camper to not being able to use my awning space and outdoor kitchen area.

The entire site was unlevel. We used our anderson leveling blocks at their highest level, but they still weren't able to make things completely even. Our living space behind the camper was also sloped. Nothing about this space was ideal.

We are avid Virginia State Park visitors. Holliday Lake fit the bill in SO many ways, but for those of you out there with larger rigs do yourself a favor and steer clear of the redbud loop. I promise you will save...

I don't as a rule give bad recommendations preferring to just not post a review. But having scraped my tow vehicle on a site number post while trying to back into a narrow site (#3), I am giving a negative review to warn other travel trailer folks.||The camp road in the Red Bud loop is narrow (and hilly) requiring you use the entire width of the one lane road to back into your site. The site I tried first (#3) was at a right angle to the road but since it was somewhat level, I gave it a try. As I was backing in our small 17' trailer, the front passenger door slid against a site number post for the site across the road. Luckily I heard the wooden post as it began to slide against the door and stopped. No real damage done, but park officials need to shortened the sign posts so as not to be high enough to scrape car doors. If not cut down, they need to be moved several feet back from the road or positioned so as to not interfere with trailers backing in off the narrow road onto narrow lots.||With few exceptions the lots not just slope but also tilt. I used five 2X6s under a tire and ended up with with a stabilizer hanging in the air necessitating scrounging a couple of pieces of firewood to support that corner. This left our two stair steps into our trailer high in the air. Poor campground layout.||There were guns being fired all afternoon from the 4H camp located beyond the lake and out of sight, but not out of hearing.||The lake is pretty and has a sandy beach. The campground was quiet. The camp host was cordial. The one bath house was clean but located at the far end of the campground rather than centrally located. We had reservations and almost all campsites were taken. ||We won't be back and if you have a travel trailer or RV, I advise you to reserve at the Laurel Ridge loop or avoid this campground...