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Douthat State Park in Virginia offers scenic trails, rugged terrain, rustic structures and lots of history
By Bob Downing
Beacon Journal staff writer
Published on Sunday, Sep 07, 2008
MILLBORO, VA.: Douthat State Park has rugged mountains and oodles of scenery, but it might be best known for its colorful history.
The park is also gaining new fame among mountain bikers for its sweet trails.
In fact, the 4,545-acre state park is on the prestigious National Register of Historic Places as a historic district. It won the designation for the role its design played in the development of parks across the United States.
It is also a Virginia Historic Landmark and has been honored with a centennial medallion from the American Society of Landscape Architects.
The compact park, highly popular with vacationing families in the summer, is a little off the beaten path in mountainous western Virginia.
It is west of Interstate 81 and the Shenandoah Valley and north of Interstate 64. It is almost in West Virginia.
The area is known as the Western Highlands, formerly called the Alleghany Highlands.
It straddles the Allegheny Mountains on the border of Bath and Alleghany counties and lies between Clifton Forge to the south and Millboro Springs to the north.
The oversized mountain hollow lies at an elevation of 3,000 feet between two massive mountain ridges, and most of the park facilities lie in the valley that runs along state Route 629.
In 1795, the Virginia legislature and Gov. Robert Brooke granted a land patent to Robert Douthat for 105,000 acres in western Virginia.
Douthat was one of Virginia's six original state parks planned in 1933. At that time, Virginia was one of five states with no state parks.
The initial 1,920 acres was donated by the Douthat Land Co., a consortium of Virginia business leaders. The rest of the land was purchased with a $50,000 state grant in 1933. It was the first recreational park acquired in Virginia.
Park development was made possible during the Great Depression by the creation of the federal Civilian Conservation Corps by President Franklin D. Roosevelt.
The park opened in 1936, although it was not completed until 1942.
Up to 600 men lived and worked in three camps at Douthat from 1933 to 1942, and they created the state park.
What the CCC workers built in the park includes the lake, 40 miles of trails, a dam and spillway, 25 cabins, two small lodges, an information center, a superintendent's residence, a swimming beach, picnic areas and maintenance buildings.
The rustic-styled structures were embellished by hand-carved wooden doorknobs and hinges, as well as hand-wrought iron hardware.
Two small wildlife sanctuaries were also established within the park.
The park opened on June 15, 1936, and its buildings and its natural features have changed little over the years.
40 miles of trails
Douthat also features 40 miles of trails — with trails generally open to both hikers and mountain bikers.
It offers more miles of hiking trails than any other Virginia state park.
The park offers 24 short trails that make it a great place for day hikes.
Many of the trails interconnect, and junctions are well marked by trail signs. It's almost impossible to get lost. The park also provides a handy trail map.
Some of the trails connect to trails in the surrounding George Washington and Jefferson National Forest.
The trails range from easy to strenuous. Some climb the steep slopes up the surrounding ridges.
Orange-blazed Stony Run is the longest trail at 4.5 miles and passes Stony Run Falls. Brushy Hollow Trail is 3.5 miles long, and Mountain Top is 2.3 miles with some of the best vistas in the park.
Blue Suck Falls is 3 miles long and takes you to a waterfall and beyond to Lookout Rock. Its name comes from the salty sulfur springs that attract wildlife.
For mountain bikers, Douthat State Park is known for its long, hard climbs and fast, technical drops.
The park's trails generally are narrow single-track.
It's a wild and rugged country of mountain laurel,
hemlock groves and huckleberry and blueberry bushes.
Middle Mountain Trail to the west and Mountain Top Trail to the east offer first-rate, up-high vistas, although you will pay a price to get there.
Mountain bikers might want to ascend Middle Mountain on the Tobacco Ridge and Blue Suck Falls trails. It's then a great drop along the Pine Tree, Salt Stump and Backway Hollow trails. It's a 4.5-mile loop.
Stony Run Trail with its switchback after switchback is a preferred route for mountain bikers wanting to ascend Middle Mountain. It's a tough 1,500-foot vertical climb over 4.5 miles of trail to the Tuscora Overlook with its stellar vistas across the southern Appalachians.
You can descend on Blue Suck Falls Trails. The turns are tight and steep, there are more than a few logs across the trail and it's very rocky.
Front-suspension bikes with heavy-duty brakes would be beneficial on this trail.
Brushy Hollow Trail is a great way to descend from the Mountain Top Trail.
You can also try an 11-mile loop that traverses Middle Mountain Ridge. The ascent begins north of the park. You can cruise the ridge for about six miles and then descend into Douthat via Stony Run Trail.
The trails are especially popular in the spring before the leaves come out and block the views and in the fall when the fall foliage is at its best
The park also features 50-acre Lake Douthat with a sand swimming beach.
Virginia stocks the lake and nearby Wilson Creek seasonally with trout.
There are three campgrounds — Lakeside, Beaver Dam and White Oak with 88 sites — along with 32 CCC-built cabins, including the six-bedroom lodge.
The park offers a restaurant, environmental center, 100-seat amphitheater, bathhouse, boat and bike rentals, gift shop and camp store.
Park concessions at Douthat are generally open from Memorial Day to Labor Day.
There is a trailhead parking fee of $2 on weekdays and $3 on weekends and holidays.
The park is open year-round.
For more information, contact Douthat State Park, Route 1, Box 212, Millboro, VA 24460; 540-862-8100; http://www.dcr.state.va.us.
For Virginia state park camping or lodging reservations, call 800-933-PARK.
Thirty minutes from the park, you can enjoy the hot mineralized pools at Warm Springs Pools. The fee is $12 per hour. Call 540-839-5346
A nearby outdoor spot is the U.S. Forest Service's Bolar Mountain Recreation Area at Lake Moomaw. There are three campgrounds, lake, beach, marina, convenience store and 10 miles of trails.
The lake covers about 2,530 acres and offers 43.5 miles of shoreline.
For more information, contact the Warm Springs Ranger District, George Washington and Jefferson National Forest , Highway 220, Route 1, Box 30, Hot Springs, VA 24445; 540-839-2521; http://www.fs.fed.us/r8/gwj/warmsprings.
Bath County's biggest attractions are the Homestead resort and Garth Newel Music Center, both in Warm Springs.
You can also get information from the Alleghany Highlands Chamber of Commerce, 241 W. Main St., Covington, VA 24426; 540-962-2178; http://www.alleghanyhighlands.com.
Also the Bath Chamber of Commerce & the Forest Place Visitors Center, P.O. Box 718, Hot Springs, VA 24445; 540-839-5409 or 800-628-8092; http://www.bathcountyva.org.
Bob Downing can be reached at 330-996-3745 or bdowning@thebeaconjournal.com.
MILLBORO, VA.: Douthat State Park has rugged mountains and oodles of scenery, but it might be best known for its colorful history.
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