Lake Country (Virginia) Voyage Tips and guide

Contents

The Lake Country of southern Central Virginia surrounds the John H. Kerr Reservoir, colloquially known as "Buggs Island Lake" in Virginia and "Kerr Lake" in North Carolina. It is a large reservoir on the Roanoke River with swimming, fishing, boating, camping, and vacation rentals.

Buggs Island Lake was created by the construction of the John H. Kerr Dam between 1947 and 1952. Numerous parks can be found on the lake, administered by the U.S. Corps of Engineers, the Virginia State Park system, and the North Carolina State Park System.

The town of Clarksville, at the western end of the lake, has the area's most shops and services.

• 36.622222-78.5622221 Clarksville — a small town on Buggs Island Lake. Virginia's only lakeside town. The town has shopping, dining, and lodging opportunities and two grocery stores
• 36.667997-78.3890012 Boydton Boydton is a very small town between Clarksville and South Hill. Has a Dollar General and two restaurants. Nearby gas station Triangle Grocery sells tackle
• 36.726759-78.1305973 South Hill a neighboring town about a half hour from the dam. Has a Food Lion, Walmart Supercenter, and numerous shopping and dining opportunities

US-58 runs north of the eastern portion of the lake, crossing it at Clarksville, allowing access from the east and west. US-15 and VA-49 also cross the lake at Clarksville, offering access from Durham and points west in central North Carolina. I-85 and US-1 run southeast of the lake for travelers headed in from the Raleigh-Durham and Richmond metro areas. US-158 runs to south of the lake and its easterly neighbor Lake Gaston, providing an alternate route to points east and west through North Carolina.

Buggs Island Lake is not easily accessible by bus, though Greyhound offers service to nearby South Hill, Virginia and Henderson, North Carolina.

• 36.6225-78.55811 The downtown area of Clarksville. designated a Historic District on the National Register of Historic Places because of its numerous buildings of the 18th-, 19th-, and early 20th-century architecture. (updated Feb 2025)
• 36.6664-78.38942 The Boydton Historic District. A national historic district with more than 200 buildings and sites. (updated Feb 2025)
• 36.7247-78.13083 Colonial Theatre, South Hill. A historic movie theater built in 1925. (updated Feb 2025)

• 36.6186-78.50691 Occoneechee State Park, Near the town of Clarksville. It has cabins, yurts, equestrian and primitive campsites, hiking trails, a splash park, and a marina with fueling facility. (updated Feb 2025)
• The Virginia Lake Festival (Lakefest), Clarksville. third weekend of July. The town often attracts approximately 80,000 visitors during this three-day event that offers hot air balloons, arts and crafts, live entertainment including music and dancing, local and ethnic food, the traditional ‘Gathering Of The Boats’, and a fireworks show. (updated Feb 2025)
• Fishing, especially for catfish and many varieties of freshwater bass including largemouth bass, striped bass and crappie.

• Henderson (North Carolina) is a small city 15 minutes south of the Kerr Lake State Recreation Area.