fairy stone state park

We visited Fairy Stone SP in Late October and camped in their campground for 4 nights. Park - Park is Big, well maintained and has great trails for hiking, biking and horses. The waterfall was underwhelming, but has been dry and was a great hike regardless. Trails very well marked. As others have mentioned, the Fairy Stone hunt site is about 10 min away from the main entrance in a corner of the park. You park at an overflow area next to a gas station and then walk into the woods. In about 45 min of searching we (3 of us, adult 7YO and 11YO) all found some stones and we ended up with about 20-30 "Singles" and 5 of the more wanted crosses. See Pic. was disappointed the visitor center was never open (off season) but the office was staffed and the rangers were helpfull. In the summer there is swimming and boating in the lake. We couldnt due to too late in the season. Campground: As State Parks go, this is a small campground (45 sites)While they are close together, the relatively small size keeps it less crazy than some other parks weve been too. The Camp hosts were very friendly. Bathrooms were function and clean. One nice feature was a dishwashing station. Told they are renovating the Bathrooms in winter 2014 to have shower "rooms" that open directly outside vs traditional "Mens" and "Womens" bathrooms. This will be better for families.

My first trip to Fairy Stone State park and it definitely met my expectations. The park is large and well maintained...lots of hiking trails, cute beach area and quaint cabins. The cabin we stayed in was board and batten outside and cinder block (painted) inside. Two bedrooms, nice living room area and adequate kitchen. The fire place was perfect for chilly nights and early morning and the screened porch overlooking the lake.....perfect! The bathroom was large and adequate....the shower...well not so much. The shower floor was old and did not look terribly clean...bring some flip flops or other foot covering should you venture into the shower. The kitchen, although small was pretty well equipped including an oven which I did not expect, nice pots and pans, basic utensils and dishes. I always bring a few sharp knives, spices, cooking items I know I will want/need to prepare meals. Having a microwave was another plus for quick heating up of leftovers. The plugs/outlets were few but you can manage. Note: the waterfalls trail head near the ranger / maintenance building and parking lot indicates a quarter mile to the falls...it is actually a quarter mile to the actual trail head then another 2 or so miles to the falls. Nice trail, you just need to be aware of distance if you have any time constraints as we did.Fun places to visit nearby....Floyd VA...a fun town with lots of restaurants and shops and Stuart VA another quaint town. The annual Apple Dumpling Festival was going on and it was a fun event. Local music at the Star Theater and street musicians as well. The apple dumplings served with homemade ice cream...over the top good! Made by local women, each dumpling offering a little different in size and shape and all were tasty I'm sure.Another fun hike close by is the Stuart Knob trail...at the top you can view Fairy Stone Lake and beach area.

We did the tent-camping bit here with my son's Cub Scout troop; I think we stayed in one of the group sites that share a common bathhouse over an arc of about 10 sites. The park was a good size, clean, and the boys really enjoyed their time there. I believe some fairy stones were found, as well. If you visited in the summer, I'd wager the lake would be mighty inviting, too.

We drove through the park today to see what it had to offer. It's a very nice park. It is surprisingly big and we very nearly got lost just driving around. The cabins are really cute and set off from the road so that traffic doesn't go right by them. There are tons of trails and the shelters all seem to be big pavilions. We stopped at the beach and it is very pretty. There was a sign up that there was no swimming or wading because all of their lifeguards had returned to school but it would be far too cold to swim or wade this time of year anyway. There is a large concession building at the beach for when the beach is open and there are paddleboats and canoes tied up along the shoreline at the beach.

My husband and I brought my parents here for 2 nights. We LOVED it! It was so nice to not have phones, televisions, and other distractions! We lit a fire in the hearth both nights, even though it wasn't cold, and had a cook out on our second night there. We stayed at cabin 3 and couldn't have been happier! We had enough towels and toiletries supplied to us and the bundle of firewood lasted the 2 nights. We drove down the road to where the fairy stones are (just a couple of miles), and within seconds were finding the small cross-like stones! There was a small group of women searching when we arrived and complaining that they couldn't find any, realistically, I think they were more concerned with gossip than looking for stones! We spent a little time at the lake shore beach, which we had to ourselves (unless you count the cats, deer, and birds that were all around us), which has free wi-fi so I was able to upload a few pictures for family back home. I can only imagine how exciting this trip would have been for children, because it was certainly a treat for 2 people in their 30's and 2 more in their 60's! We will definitely try to go here again! The park rangers and staff were also very helpful and nice.

There is a "beach" at this Park for swimming, and some hiking trails if you are hearty and like to hike. The Fairy Stones that the park is famous for are down the main road a bit, and very hard to find. The campground is shaded and the sites are fairly level and spaced far enough apart for some privacy. It might be worth your visit if you are in the area, but I would not make a special trip.

In 2011 and 2012 I wrote reviews for my week-long stay in Cabin #1 at Fairy Stone State Park. Each review praised the beauty, the view from the cabin deck, the charm etc. And each review was critical of the one and only bed within the cabin. In 2012 I wrote that I had purchased an inexpensive mattress topper for the bed to try and get a more comfortable night's sleep. I also rented the cabin in 2013 but did not post a review - why bother, nothing had changed. Now, once again, I return from Fairy Stone due to the annual Family Reunion within Patrick County. And once again, I found the only major drawback was the bed. It has not changed - I doubt the bed has been replaced in the last 20 years. It has a large piece of plywood between the mattress and box springs I assume to help with the sagging issue. My purchased 2012 foam mattress topper is still in use on top of the mattress. The pillows are stiff and sad also. I have learned to take my own sheets as I don't like the feel of the ones provided. This year, one of the well used bath towels provided was torn in several places. Instead of simply writing another Trip Advisor Review I complained to the management with the desire to write to the head of the VA State Parks. I was told, by Billy (the assistant director of Fairy Stone) that he was unaware of the plywood layer between the mattress and box springs and found this to be unacceptable. He promised me that next year I would find a NEW bed in Cabin #1. We shall see . . . . I have attached two photos of the sad sagging bed. Billy had a new bag of bath towels and linens quickly delivered to my cabin. I still bought one nice feeling bath towel at WalMart which was big enough to go around my body after a shower - and I am not obese. I also bought a half price plastic Adirondack chair for the porch as I just could not get comfortable in the upright old wood rocker - not for a glass of wine over an hour or more with my feet propped up on the railing of the deck. I left the chair with a cousin for my next trip to Fairy Stone. And I purchased one wine glass as none are provided in the cabin - only 16 oz. cheap blue plastic tumblers. There is a wine opener provided - so do they assume that wine is best when sipped from a large blue plastic tumbler? It is the lack of thought in the supplies provided that do not coincide with the beauty and charm, as well as the history, of the charming cabins. If one flys, you cannot be carrying all of these needed supplies with you. Invest in a new bed, new deck chairs with side tables and new linens and wine glasses and I would give it 5 stars. But the way it is now - I am giving the furnishings a 1 star. I questioned the sign at the entrance to the park, which proclaims that Virginia State Parks were voted the "Best in America."Who voted? When did they vote? I researched the issue and it was back in 2001 - http://www.dcr.virginia.gov/state-parks/state-parks-award.shtml It is time to take the sign down or upgrade the furnishings to match the claim of the 13-year old sign. I have traveled to many of our country's state parks. Massachusetts and Oregon have the best accommodations for the price in my opinion. The furnishings that are sorely in need of being updated at Fairy Stone do not represent America's Best. Far from it!Price of cabin this year $120 per night with an additional $10 fee, per night, for a 6 lb.older dog.

We had our annual 3rd weekend in August family get-together (30+ people). The Tuesday afternoon before we were to leave on Wednesday we received an email that there would be no swimming after Aug. 15 except the weekend of 8/22 due to shortage of lifeguards. They would not work w/ us on signing a "swim at your own risk" waiver or any other ideas we tried to provide. It seems they had to have known before then they would not have lifeguards but they waited till the last minute and all other local places were booked. Who doesn't allow swimming the last 4 weekends of summer? I don't want to go camping in August heat w/o the option of taking a swim.

stopped in to check this little gem out, great beach with lots of activities, cabins on the lake, canoeing & small boating. will def come back to see more

We visited the park in mid July 2014. We stayed in Cabin #16. It had 2 bedrooms, 1 bathroom, living room, fully equipped kitchen, central air. It was nice and clean. Air conditioner was very cold which I liked a lot. I liked reading through the cabin Journals/Guest books. We saw deer, squirrels and lizards right from the porch and picnic table in the back. Bring your insect repellent and citronella! The only thing I didn't like in this cabin was the shower due to low water pressure, shower head would not stay straight, kept turning and going against the wall (hard to shower when water spraying down wall) plus the shower head/hose was just a little crusty and rusty looking and my feet just did not enjoy the concave rock floor of the shower. Also the front steps were a little steep getting to the front door. Anyway, we enjoyed our time at the beach. It was clean and water was nice. It was a little crowded due to a life guard shortage, the deep end and diving area were closed. Everyone was crowded into the shallow/kiddie area. People kept floating into my little kids with their blow up floats and inner tubes. My 5 year old son enjoyed the Rock'n Rockets event at the beach. The whole Fairy Stone thing is a little over-rated. You have to go out of the park and down the road to an area behind a gas station. It was hot and humid, no breeze and plenty of hungry mosquitoes. You have to dig around a little to find ones like they have in the pictures and brochures. They mostly look like fingers-crossed or X's not crosses. Most of them are taken from the site then filed and polished to look like the ones sold in the local gift shop and stores.

Loved the cabin! Two bedrooms, a bath and a kitchen. It was so clean and well equipped. I've stayed at parks around the country, but these went beyond what are usually found at state parks! The woods and lake were beautiful and peaceful. Rangers were very polite and very friendly.

RV campsites are a little tight but very nice. Fishing is OK if your into perch. Very peaceful, and park staff seemed ready to help when asked. We didn't use the beach or swimming, but it seemed very busy. Campsites were nice, but small and everyone observed the "all quiet" hours.

Bathrooms: Fairly clean and safe Employees: When we first arrived we could not find any employees at all once we found the employees they were friendly and helpful.Setting: In the woods and quietNoise: No outside city noisesEntertainment: ?????

We stayed in a spacious two bedroom cabin right on the lake. The lake view was absolutely beautiful. We arrived late Friday night but had an early start Saturday morning with a little fishing from our cabin site before breakfast. After breakfast, we headed to the beach area for a full day of beach volleyball, swimming, paddle boating and sunbathing. We brought lunch, but ordered some yummy onion rings from the snack bar. We spent the evening grilling, eating and fishing. We brought our own DVD player and enjoyed a family movie before heading to bed for the night. The next day, we hiked the 3.3 mile trail to the waterfall. It was beautiful! That same trail offered an amazing view of the mountains at one point. After that hike, we drove to a site outside the park that was full of fairy stones. We enjoyed the hunt for that perfect cross and found several keepers! Later that afternoon, we returned to the beach to rent kayaks for a few hours. The cabin was a bit stuffy. We had to keep the windows open to keep it fresh. The cabin had two bedrooms (two single beds and one double bed), a bathroom, living room with a fireplace, full kitchen with electric stove, and a screened-in porch. There was a picnic table outside and a grill. No fire pit, which was a little disappointing. The park staff were all very friendly and helpful. The free maps and literature they provided to us were fairly accurate and helpful. We were pleasantly surprised at how wonderful our weekend turned out to be.

We camped at the group site on memorial day weekend and they wouldn't let us swim in the lake on Thursday and they closed the lake at 5 pm on Friday. We only got to swim for about an hour and were there 3 days. Also do not go by the map of the park that the office gives you. We decided to take the "half mile hike" to the waterfall and it turned out to be 2 and 1/2 miles, which was bad because we were not prepared to hike that far with such small children. Some good points: There were very tame deer everywhere which was neat to see. The bathrooms & showers were extremely good for a state park. We were basically to ourselves on the group site which made for a quiet surrounding. Bad points: The park rangers drove around the campsites early in the morning, waking everyone. Barely got to swim at all. Listed hiking trails are way longer that it says on the map.