[ad_1]
Just some miles from I-81 and the bustling city of Marion, boxed in by rugged mountain ridges, sits one of many Outdated Dominion’s oldest and favourite state parks–Hungry Mom State Park. The Park’s glimmering coronary heart is Hungry Mom Lake, certainly one of Virginia’s most lovely and various stillwater fisheries.
In accordance with legend, earlier than America gained its independence from Britain, Native People raided a number of settlements alongside the higher New River in southwest Virginia. Many died, however some survivors, together with a mom, Molly Marley, and her small baby, have been captured and transported to a Native camp. Sooner or later, the 2 escaped captivity and fled into the encompassing mountains unequipped for survival, foraging for sustenance and in search of assist and security. After a number of days within the bush, Molly succumbed to hunger. Her baby continued alongside, stumbling alongside a creek backside till assist was discovered, exhausted, and with solely the power to utter the phrases “hungry mom.”
Of their honor, the mountain was named Molly’s Knob; and the creek, Hungry Mom Creek. In 1933, the Civilian Conservation Corps dammed the creek to type 108-acre Hungry Mom Lake, and the encompassing land was designated as Hungry Mom State Park.
In the present day, the state park is a wealthy and peaceable vacation spot for anglers and out of doors fanatics, alike.
Anglers will discover a gorgeous mountain reservoir filled with a big selection of sport fish to focus on. Wholesome populations of all three species of black bass–smallmouth, largemouth, and noticed–await the angler, although largemouth bass are the dominant species. Nice numbers of bluegill and black crappie will maintain panfish anglers busy, and channel catfish are recurrently stocked to take care of a fishable inhabitants. The lake additionally affords anglers the chance to catch walleye, hybrid striped bass, and musky in a small lake setting.
Latest surveys by VDWR biologists point out that all the sport fish populations are robust and present a fantastic measurement construction, thanks largely to a forage base of alewives.
Hungry Mom Lake is without doubt one of the largest impoundments positioned fully inside a Virginia State Park, and it has that truth to thank for the quite a few facilities it options.
For shore-bound anglers, the park maintains a handicap-accessible fishing pier, and extra financial institution entry comes within the type of a climbing/mountain biking path that traces the six miles of shoreline, and a number of other pull-offs alongside Route 16 because it enters the park. The park rents canoes, kayaks, paddleboards, paddleboats, and Jon boats from Memorial Day by Labor Day, and a concrete boat ramp on the southeastern arm of the lake grants non-public boaters entry for a $7 park entry payment.
The two,180-acre state park affords a number of campgrounds, rental cabins, picnic areas, a seaside, a playground, and meals concessions to guests, and the customer heart supplies interpretive shows and serves as a base for interactive applications which can be held all through the summer season months, making the lake a fantastic household vacation spot.
After spending a day within the park, the brief drive again into the city of Marion might come as a shock. Take pleasure in dinner at one of many many native eating places downtown, after which catch a present on the Lincoln Theatre–inbuilt 1929, and one of many final remaining Mayan Revival fashion theaters on the planet. Hungry Mom Lake is a gem hidden within the mountains of Smyth County. Its spectacular range of sport fish and total well being make it a must-visit fishery for anglers visiting the southwestern nook of the state, and the facilities of Hungry Mom State Park and close by Marion enrich the expertise.
[ad_2]
