Park Stats
Location: Appomattox, Virginia
Park established: 1972
Park size: 560 acres
Best time to visit: Holliday Lake is genuinely enjoyable in every season — I’ve been in several — but late spring (May through early June) is the sweet spot before summer crowds arrive at the beach. Fall is underrated here; the foliage around the lake is quietly beautiful and the trails feel like yours alone. If you’re coming in summer, aim for a weekday morning to beat the families that descend on weekends.
How long to plan for: Plan for at least a half-day. With the beach, a trail or two, and a wander through the campgrounds, it’s an easy full day if you bring lunch and let yourself slow down. The park is small enough to feel like you’ve actually seen it — which is rarer than you’d think.
Fun facts:
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6 hiking trails
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6.7 mile loop around the lake
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1 aquatic trail
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150-acre lake
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Home to activities like swimming, hiking, boating, fishing,
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Near Appomattox Courthhouse National Historical Park – General Robert E. Lee’s surrender to General Ulysses S. Grant in 1865.
Holliday Lake State Park is located in central Virginia. A quick trick from Richmond and a quick trip from Charlottesville.
I’ve been to Holliday Lake at different times of the year. You can find something enjoyable no matter the season.
The Beach
If you drive to the back of the park you are greeted with a lovely beach. It is an inviting place to relax and play. Pull out a towel and rest on the beach with a good book. Take a refreshing plunge in the water. Or rent a kayak, paddleboard, canoe or more to take your adventure game to a new level.
The beach area also has a concession stand to get snacks and drinks.
Shelters
Holliday Lake has several shelters that you can rent for entertaining. Both shelters are close to the beach so you can still take advantage of all of the water activities. They are also located by a main hiking trail.
Trails
You can choose from hiking, aquatic, bike, or equestrian trails. Check out the trail section of the website to learn how to find the trails for your specific interest.
I spent time on the hiking trails (trail map). They are fairly simple trails for all levels. My parents, their puppy, and my 4-year-old dog all had a great time exploring. A lot of the trails are interconnected so it’s easy to customize your experience based on distance and what you are looking to see. I mixed them up because I wanted to spend time near the water, check out a ranger program that was happening in another area, and walk through the campgrounds. The park is an incredibly manageable size to spend a few hours or the entire day.
Campgrounds
You will find 2 campgrounds at Holliday Lake. They are intimate and welcoming, both with shower facilities. You may need to carry your trash to a dumpster located near the exit, but that’s fairly close by. When I was there it was really quiet for a Sunday morning.
While You’re Here – Worth Combining
Holliday Lake sits just minutes from Appomattox Court House National Historical Park — the site where General Robert E. Lee surrendered to Ulysses S. Grant on April 9, 1865, effectively ending the Civil War. If you’re making the drive to central Virginia, doing one without the other means leaving half the trip on the table.
The combination works beautifully as a full day: spend the morning at Appomattox walking the grounds and stepping into the McLean House where the surrender happened, then drive the few minutes to Holliday Lake for the afternoon — trails, the beach, and a moment to let history settle. It’s a rare day where you get both depth and decompression.
If you’re making it an overnight, the campgrounds at Holliday Lake are quiet and manageable — a natural base camp for exploring this corner of Virginia.
Missy’s Honest Take
This park is made for: Families with young kids, people bringing older parents, anyone who wants a genuinely outdoor day without a strenuous hike or a navigation challenge. The park is small enough to feel manageable, accessible enough that nobody gets left behind, and pretty enough that it doesn’t feel like a consolation prize. It’s also one of the better first-camping experiences I can think of — the campgrounds are intimate and the park isn’t so remote that it feels daunting.
If you want something different: Serious hikers looking for distance or elevation won’t find it here — the trails are gentle and short by design. If you’re after backcountry solitude or serious mileage, this isn’t your park. Head to Shenandoah or check out some of Virginia’s longer trail systems.
The thing nobody tells you: The interconnected trail system means you can customize your route on the fly. Don’t plan too rigidly. The park rewards the detour.
Basics
Entry fee: Virginia State Parks charge a parking fee — rates vary by season and day of week. Beach access and shelter rentals require separate reservations, especially on summer weekends. Book ahead at dcr.virginia.gov — the beach fills up faster than you’d expect. Also consider a Virginia State Park Pass to get entry into all Virginia parks.
Location: Appomattox, Virginia
Parking: Available at all of the key areas of the park – beach & shelters and campgrounds
Bathrooms: Available in the campgrounds and at the beach.
What to wear: If you are hitting the beach, make sure to have shoes as you are walking in the parking lot, but beach clothes is otherwise great. If you are walking the trails, wear supportive shoes as you may come across muddy spots or tree roots.
What to pack: Make sure you have your water bottle. If you are going for a hike, I’d also put on some bug spray before hitting the trails. Sunscreen is also a good job in this park.
Pet regulations: Pets are allowed, and Tootsie loved the hiking trail. Check the website for any updates on where pets are permitted throughout the park.
Cell service: Limited throughout the park — don’t count on reliable service once you’re on the trails or at the campgrounds. Download your trail map before you arrive or pick up a paper one at the information centers.
The Joy Moment
I’ve been to Holliday Lake in different seasons, and there’s something that keeps happening there that I’ve started to notice. I’ll be on a trail — not really thinking about anything in particular — and I’ll realize my cheeks hurt. I’ve been smiling without meaning to. Not at anything dramatic. Just at a dog ahead of me on the path, or the way the light was coming off the lake, or the fact that I stumbled into a ranger program I wasn’t expecting.
That’s what I mean when I talk about catching yourself smiling. It’s not the grand moments. It’s a Tuesday morning at a 560-acre state park in central Virginia that most people drive past on the way somewhere else.
What park does that for you? I’d genuinely love to know. Tag me or drop it in the comments — I’m collecting these.
This is the whole idea behind Catch Yourself Smiling — joy isn’t waiting at the end of the to-do list. Sometimes it’s just a Tuesday and a trail and a dog.