LONGWOOD PARK, Clarksville, Virginia
Okay, so I know it's been a while since our last post...
This post is about our trip from Columbia, South Carolina to Longwood Park on John H. Kerr Reservoir (also known as Buggs Island Lake) in southern Virginia during the weekend of April 16-18, 2021. Longwood Park is an Army Corps of Engineers park and this was our first visit to a Corps of Engineers facility.
The Drive:
It took us roughly 5 1/2 hours to make the drive from just outside of Blythewood, SC to Longwood Park just outside of Clarksville, Virginia. We departed around 11a.m. on Friday and drove north on I-77 through Charlotte, NC around 1p.m. The traffic wasn't bad by Charlotte standards and we made it onto I-85 without a problem. If you have to get through Charlotte, NC hauling a travel trailer, just take your time and pay attention to the exits and "exit only" lanes and you'll be fine. Once on I-85 it was an easy drive up to Durham and then Oxford, NC. We left the interstate and got onto US Hwy 15 headed to Clarksville. All in all a pleasant and easy drive.
The Park:
The first thing we noticed about the park was that there was a line of campers waiting to enter. Their check in time is 4p.m. and I don't think (although admittedly I didn't ask) they allow early arrivals as their check OUT time is 3p.m. We were forced to sit on the highway and wait our turn getting in. I have to admit, I wasn't really comfortable sitting there waiting for someone not paying attention to rear end me but the entrance is on a fairly straight section of the highway with good visibility so there were no problems.
Our campsite was campsite 56 on a small loop at the far end of the campground. Backing the trailer in was easy as the site has a large drive and PLENTY of room to position the trailer (as do all the sites that I saw). The only thing was that we had to back slightly up hill from the campground road to enter the site. The site itself was gravel, flat and large. It had both 50 amp & 30 amp hookups, a picnic table, a table for placing your camp stove or griddle, a lantern hook and a fire ring and overlooked a cove on the lake. I would say the site was perfect except for two things. One, whoever placed the fire rings in the sites set them 180° opposite of how I would have placed them. The fire rings are the large steel ones with the heavy, adjustable cooking grate. They were all (at least all the ones we saw) placed with the grate on the camper side of the fire ring so that you had to look through the grate to see your campfire. Two, the recration.gov page for Longwood Park states "accessible flush toilets". While technically correct, the flush toilets are not convenient to the campsites. The restrooms with the flush toilets were very clean as were the showers, the problem was that the two buildings that house the flush toilets and showers are not in the loops of the campground. One is along a stretch of campground road that runs between loops and is several hundred feet from the nearest campsite, the other is located at the dump station near the entrance/exit to the campground. The loops themselves have pit style outhouses. The loop where our site was had a single pit toilet to serve about a dozen campsites. So, if you don't like to use your black tank, you may want to be aware of this. Apart from those two minor issues, it was a beautiful park that was very well maintained with large sites. Robin and I have already said that it is a park we will visit again.
Area:
The area surrounding Longwood Park is what you would expect from rural eastern Virginia, dotted with small towns and communities nestled in gently rolling low hills.
The only town we spent any time in was Clarksville. Clarksville used to be centered around tobacco but when the Roanoke River was damned in the 1950's Clarksville turned into a fishing town. These days Clarksville hosts several fishing tournaments each year. There are multiple boat ramps around and the local hotel that overlooks the river seemed to be doing a booming business with many boat trailers in the parking lot. The town itself was very quiet but not in a bad, depressed economy way. It was just a NICE rural town. The main artery running through town is called Virginia Avenue and, unlike so many small town main streets, seemed busy and thriving. Robin and I found a nice little spot to grab an ice cream (we try to find a local ice cream shop on every trip!). In Clarksville it was The Cottage Barn. The Cottage barn is a rather unique little shop. Part antique shop, part furniture refinishing shop, part ice cream parlor. I recommend stopping in if you're in Clarksville and find yourself in need of an ice cream cone!
There is a Virginia State Park across the bridge called Oconeechee State Park. Robin and I took a short hike through and around the terraced garden in the park (all of the flower pictures are from this hike). We then checked out the campground and other facilities there. We really liked the park but noticed that none of the sites would accommodate our trailer (34 feet with opposing slide outs). Plenty of hiking trails and other things to do so if you have a smaller trailer or tent, check it out as a place to stay. If you have a larger trailer, do what we did, stay at Longwood Park and stop by for a visit.
Now for what was the highlight of our trip... Robin and I try to find a local place to grab a meal when we're on our trips. On this trip it was Michelle's Home Cooking Cafe. What a wonderful little place. Admittedly it doesn't look like much when you pass by on the highway but it is awesome! We stopped by for lunch and both ordered cheeseburgers. While talking with one of the staff he asked how long we'd been married and I told him it was 28 years that day. He wished us a happy anniversary. After finishing out burgers and fries (which were EXCELLENT!) we each ordered a slice of pie. When they brought out our pie each slice had a lit candle in it and the entire staff sang Happy Anniversary (to the tune of Happy Birthday). It was a really nice gesture and something Robin and I will remember forever. HIGHLY recommend stopping by Michelle's Home Coooking Cafe if you're in the area.
Summary:
Highly recommend a visit to Longwood Park and Clarksville, Virginia! Great place to relax and enjoy some time camping!
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