Date: 10/24/25-10/26/2025, Temperature: Highs of approx 60F Lows approx 33F, mostly sunny.

“Virginia State Parks are a tonic for the mind, body and spirit”. This creedo is printed on Virginia State Park trail guides, and I couldn’t agree more. I’ve heard so many great things about the Virginia State Park cabins but I have never actually stayed in one. They are also known to book up very quickly so I reserved a cabin at Douthat State Park about a year in advance. Situated near the Virginia and West Virginia border, Douthat, is one of Virginia’s oldest state parks, featuring miles of fishing streams, a 50 acre lake and loads of trails.

The jewel of Douthat State Park is a clear, 50 acre mountain lake. The lake is fed by a Wilson Creek, a park of the mighty Jackson River watershed. We brought along our Nova Craft Prospector canoe to paddle the glassy waters. It’s remarkable how noisy day to day life can be. You don’t really notice such a thing, until you sit on an empty lake, hearing a woodpecker rap on a tree, miles away. I do think such experiences are important to our soul and nervous system, to help reset and get away from the bustle of day to day life. As someone who sees dozens of patients per day, it is such a welcoming feeling.

The kids particularly loved the trout fishing streams at Douthat State Park. They are stocked with rainbow trout, and the kids spent hours just casting and reeling. The leaves were at peak color change, the wind was sharp and crisp and the falling leaves around us made for such a mesmerizing backdrop. It hadn’t rained in several days so the water was particularly clear. The slim outline of the trout were visible underneath the shadows cast but moving leaves. This perpetuated the excitement of the children.

We spent time exploring the trails, bike trails, cabins, and the well stocked camp stores. The kids also loved the cabin as well. Douthat State park was thoughtful enough to provide a bundle of firewood waiting for us at the cabin. I suspect that most visitors don’t use all of their wood, because there was an accumulation of it at our cabin. We put it to good use, especially when it dipped near freezing at night. I brought my old Wetterlings axe to split it into kindling. I can’t believe I’ve had that axe now for over 15 years. Still working just as good.

The cabins do not have wireless internet or cellular service, and this is a great thing. We filled our time, reading, painting, photographing the landscapes, enjoying the wood burning fireplace and playing board games.

Exploring small towns in the Virginia mountains, is always time worth well spent. Douthat State Park is only 15 minutes away from Clifton Forge where we had lunch at Jack Mason’s tavern and picked up some local provisions. Their warm food and dark ales were especially welcoming on a chilly fall day. On the way home, we stopped in Lexington, Virginia for coffee and picked up some books at the “The Bookers”. THis quaint book store is like a scene out of Harry Potter, the books were stacked up to the ceiling and in every which direction. Very cool book store.

Douthat State Park is simply beautiful. The park is well laid out, the facilities are accessible and clean and the cabin was stellar. There are plethora of activities to partake, trails to hike, streams to fish, paths to bike, a lake to paddle, not to mention the excellent visitor center and camp stores and structured activities – an outdoor enthusiast could easily spend a week here. Thank you to the Virginia Department of Conservation and Recreation and to all the staff at Douthat State Park.

Wishing everyone a safe and happy holiday season ahead!

Photos taken with Sony a6700 (tamron 17-28mm lens)

Visit the Douthat State Park Website here: https://www.dcr.virginia.gov/state-parks/douthat