Cave Mountain Lake Recreation Area Camping
Glenwood & Pedlar Ranger District
811 Cave Mountain Lake Rd.
Natural Bridge Station, VA 24579
(540) 291-2188
Cave Mountain Lake, nestled in the Blue Ridge Mountains of Virginia, welcomes generations of families who enjoy the rustic beauty and peacefulness of the area. Daytime visitors and campers can enjoy swimming, picnic, hiking, and fishing at Cave Mountain Lake. The Civilian Conservation Corps built the 7-acre lake in the 1930s using existing buttresses of natural rock to form a 35-foot-high dam. The CCC also built the log picnic shelter using trees and rocks from the area. Its massive stone fireplace and rough-hewn beams evoke an atmosphere of days long past. Just a short drive from Cave Mountain Lake is the James River Face Wilderness with many hiking trails and a segment of the Appalachian Trail, the Blue Ridge Parkway, and other historical and scenic places to visit.
Visitors can swim in Cave Mountain Lake and enjoy a sandy beach, a wading area for children, shaded play areas, and a bathhouse with warm showers. Fishing for warm-water fish, such as bass and bluegill, is available. Between the lake and the camping area is the log picnic shelter, providing group picnickers with protection from the elements. Additional information and reservations for the shelter may be obtained by calling the Glenwood & Pedlar office at (540) 291-2188. Also available are 41 individual picnic sites that offer picnic tables, grills, and drinking water, with no reservations necessary Overnight visitors can camp in the 42-unit campground. Each unit has a parking spur, picnic table, tent pad, and lantern post and offers wooded privacy. Recreational vehicles as long as 30 feet can be accommodated at some sites. The campground has flush toilets and central water hydrants. Warm-water showers are available in the bathhouse near the lake. The group campground accommodates a maximum of 30 people, and reservations may be made by calling (540) 291-2188. Flush toilets and central water hydrants are located nearby. Warm-water showers are available in the bathhouse near the lake. A trailer dumping station is located near the entrance station. Two hiking trails, Panther Knob Nature Trail (one-half mile) and Wildcat Mountain Trail (4-mile loop), round out the many opportunities for outdoor activities at Cave Mountain Lake Recreation Area.
From I-81 take exit 175 or 180A to Natural Bridge. Once at Natural Bridge, turn onto State Route 130 East approximately 3.2 miles then turn right on SR 759 for 3.2 miles. Turn right on SR 781, Cave Mountain Lake is 1.6 miles on the left.
