3. Hungry Mother Lake
At 108 acres, Hungry Mother Lake isn’t a huge body of water, but it’s one of the state’s popular fishing lakes for its plentiful largemouth, smallmouth and spotted bass, as well as crappie, carp and sunfish. Channel catfish, walleyes and musky are stocked annually. The lake is located within Hungry Mother State Park in Smyth County, in the western part of the state. Outdoor enthusiasts can enjoy picnicking, fishing, boating, hiking and swimming at the state park. Cabins, lodges, yurts and campgrounds are available for overnight lodging in the warm-weather months.
4. Lake Drummond
Lake Drummond is one of only two natural lakes in Virginia (the other is Mountain Lake near Newport, which has dried up and refilled in recent years). The rest of Virginia’s lakes were created by damming rivers. What’s nifty about Lake Drummond is that it’s wholly contained within the Great Dismal Swamp National Wildlife Refuge, an important 113,000-acre habitat and diverse ecosystem for flora and fauna that straddles the Virginia-North Carolina border. This makes Lake Drummond a particularly great place for bird-watching. The lake itself is only 6 feet deep, but it allows for peaceful kayaking and canoeing. Lake Drummond is about 30 miles south of Chesapeake and 15 miles south of Suffolk, where moderately priced hotels include the Hilton Garden Inn Suffolk Riverfront.