Holliday Lake State Park: Lakeshore Trail (Blog Hike #136)

Trail: Lakeshore Trail

Hike Location: Holliday Lake State Park

Geographic Location: northeast of Appomattox, VA (37.39503, -78.63906)

Length: 5 miles (but see my update comment at the end of this hike)

Difficulty: 5/10 (Moderate)

Dates Hiked: April 2003, May 2014

Overview: A loop hike that circumnavigates Holliday Lake and yields good wildlife viewing opportunities.

Park Information: http://www.dcr.virginia.gov/state-parks/holliday-lake.shtml#general_information
Hike Route Map: http://www.mappedometer.com/?maproute=122690
Photo Highlight:

Directions to the trailhead: From Appomattox, take SR 24 east 7 miles to CR 626.  Turn right on CR 626.  Take CR 626, a narrow paved road, 3 miles to CR 614.  Turn left on CR 614, another narrow paved road.  Take CR 614 1.5 miles to CR 692 and turn right on CR 692.  CR 692 ends at the park entrance.   Stay left at the entrance station.  The park road curves downhill to a small circle containing some picnic areas beside the lake.  Park in a small grass lot on the inside of this circle, three-fourths of the way around.

The hike: The first question many ask about this park has to do with the spelling of the name.  Does the second “l” in Holliday come from a family that lived in the area, or does the state of Virginia not know how to spell?  The name can be traced back to this park’s founding days, when a 1937 local newspaper reported of a depression-era federal project to dam Holliday Creek.  That dam created Holliday Lake, and management of the land was later turned over to the state of Virginia.  In 1972, the land was reorganized into 250-acre Holliday Lake State Park and the surrounding Appomattox-Buckingham State Forest.

Of course, the town of Appomattox is not most famous for Holliday Lake State Park.  Rather, SR 24 passes through Appomattox Courthouse National Historic Site, site of General Lee’s 1865 surrender to General Grant to end the Civil War.  It will take several hours to see all of the points of interest in the park, but for anyone at all interested in history, this makes a great side trip to compliment this hike.  There are also plenty of souvenir stores in Appomattox selling trinkets to commemorate the Civil War.

Of interest to horse riders and mountain bikers will be the 12-mile Carter-Taylor Trail that forms a loop through the state forest.  There is a trailhead inside the state park along the park road just before you descend to the lake.  This is one of the few long-distance loops in the Piedmont section of Virginia.  The trail is not too difficult for hikers, but the scenery will be a bit dull compared to some of the other trails in the area.

The state park itself contains 4 trails open exclusively to hikers.  The Dogwood Ridge Trail provides a 1-mile loop north of the picnic area.  Two other short trails also depart the picnic area, but by far the best hiking option at Holliday Lake is the 5-mile Lakeshore Trail.  The trail is well-marked and well-maintained, and due to the light traffic this park receives, wildlife viewing opportunities are excellent, especially near the lake.

Trailhead: Lakeshore Trail

            The trail’s beginning is not obvious from the parking lot.  If you cross the road and go left of a small picnic shelter beside the lake, you will find, about 50 feet from the road, a blue sign that says “Lakeshore Trail.”  The dirt trail begins heading north from this sign with the lake close by on the right.  The bustle of the beach and picnic area is soon left behind, and a remarkable amount of solitude is quickly obtained.

Hiking the Lakeshore Trail

            In 0.5 miles, the trail curves left around a peninsula of land and intersects a green-blazed trail that goes left.  The green trail will take you back to the picnic area in 0.4 miles and could be used to create a short nature trail loop.  Our hike continues straight, descends slightly, and at 0.7 miles intersects another trail that exits uphill to the left.  This trail connects to the Carter-Taylor trailhead and should be ignored.

The Lakeshore Trail bends right and begins a long, level stretch along the lake.  There are a number of logs that stick out above the water in this stretch, and turtles love to sun themselves on these logs on spring afternoons.  If you hear plopping in the water, that was probably a turtle that got scared by your approach.  Sights and sounds like these are advantages to hiking this less-used trail.

Turtles on a log

            At 1 mile, come to the first of two wildlife observation piers that allow you to get in the middle of the lake and view things from a different angle.  This is an excellent location for these piers, as one can look north into the marshy backwaters of Holliday Lake.  Birds such as the great blue heron love the bushes and trees in this marshy area, and if you are as lucky as I was, you might see such a bird here.

Moving past the pier, the trail embarks on the steepest climb of the hike, which takes it uphill around an erosion-problem area.  At the top of this hill, the blue-blazed Lakeshore Trail joins the red-blazed Carter-Taylor trail for a very short distance before the Lakeshore Trail exits to the right to return to the lake.  The two trails follow a power-line clearing for this stretch, so watch the blazes for the turn back toward the lake.

Now along the creek that sources Holliday Lake, you can see some interesting clay banks on the far side of the creek.  At 1.3 miles, the trail crosses the creek on a small wooden bridge, then turns right to head south along the far side of Holliday Lake.  The trail climbs moderately to cross a bluff overlooking the headwaters of Holliday Lake, then descends to the other wildlife observation pier, which offers much the same view as the first.

Wildlife observation pier

            Past the pier, there is a section of trail with many windfalls, signs of some recent storm damage.  Fortunately, the trail is wide and easy to follow in this section.  At 2 miles, the trail curves around a small inlet to Holliday Lake and crosses another feeder stream on a long wooden bridge.  There is a large log sitting in the shallow waters of this inlet, and 9 turtles were taking advantage of it as I walked along.  My presence scared all but three of them off into the water.

On the far side of the inlet, the trail narrows and follows atop a precarious ledge just above the waters.  If you have kids on this hike, make sure to keep them close so they don’t fall in, as it would be hard to pull them out.  3.4 miles into the hike, come to a rocky area and descend some steps to arrive at the dam that creates Holliday Lake.  Cross the outlet on this dam, and begin paralleling another feeder stream to the lake with a 4-H camp visible across the lake to the right.

With the lake now out of sight, the trail crosses the feeder stream on a small footbridge and begins a long but gradual climb through a nice pine forest.  At the top of this hill, the trail crosses a paved road that accesses the 4-H camp, and at 4.3 miles it reaches an intersection.  The Laurel Creek Trail, an alternative to the Lakeshore Trail, leads left and returns you to the trailhead in 1.3 miles, while the Lakeshore Trail goes right and provides a shorter return route.  Unless the Lakeshore Trail is closed due to hunting, turn right and stick with the blue blazes.

Hiking along the lake

            The trail now descends rather steeply, losing all of the elevation you just gained, and in 0.5 miles reaches the other end of the Laurel Creek Trail.  Cross a marshy area on a final wooden bridge to reach an intersection with the Saunder Creek Trail, which leads left.  Stay right here, and in 0.2 miles return to the picnic area and complete the hike.