Hungry Mother State Park in southwest Virginia's Blue Ridge Highlands has an attention-grabbing moniker, attributed to a mother who died tragically after a Native American raid on local pioneer settlements. According to legend, the mother, Molly Marley, and her daughter escaped the attack, but the small child later was found wandering alone, murmuring only the words, "hungry mother." Tragically, Marley was discovered dead at the foot of a mountain, later memorialized as Molly's Knob, near a stream now called Hungry Mother Creek. Home to a 108-acre lake that provides swimming, boating and fishing, the state park also includes 83 seasonal campsites that accommodate RVs.
RV Campsites
- RV campers who visit Hungry Mother State Park (dcr.virginia.gov) can choose from two campgrounds inside the park's gates and nearby Camp Burson. Campground A, near the park's Discovery Center, has 11 sites with 20- and 30-amp electric and water hookups. Campground B, on the park's eastern side, has 20 sites with electric and water hookups. Camp Burson, which lies on Park Boulevard just before the park's main entrance, has 52 sites, including 30 with electric, water and sewer hookups and 22 with electric and water only. Camp Burson is the only campground with 50-amp electric hookups in addition to 20- and 30-amp outlets. Each of the three campgrounds has back-in sites, accommodates RVs up to 35 feet and includes a community bathhouse. RV sites also can be reserved by campers with tents or trailers.
Planning Your Trip
- RV camping reservations for Hungry Mother State Park can be made online through Reserve America (reserveamerica.com). Reservations must be made at least one day before arrival and can be made up to 11 months in advance. Developed campsites in Virginia state parks typically are open from March 1 to early December. If you reserve a site at Camp Burson, register there upon arrival. If you reserve a site at campgrounds A or B, register at the park's Discovery Center. Camp Burson guests have access to all Hungry Mother amenities by driving through the park's main gate. No swimming or boat-launch fees are charged to overnight guests, including those at Camp Burson. Leashed pets are allowed in the campgrounds but require a nominal extra fee per night.
Other Overnight Options
- Hungry Mother State Park has other accommodation options in addition to RV campsites. For tent campers, the park's Campground C lies within walking distance of Campground B and has 11 tent-only sites with no hookups. If you'd prefer to stay indoors, the park has more than two dozen vacation cabins that have one or two bedrooms and sleep from two to eight. Each cabin has a living area, full kitchen with cookware, bed and bath linens, fireplace and picnic table. Some cabins have decks or porches with water views. Other choices include a one-room log cabin that sleeps two, a four-bedroom cabin that sleeps eight and the Hungry Mother Lodge, a six-bedroom log structure built in the 1930s that has Wi-Fi, a full kitchen, porch, large deck and its own picnic shelter.
Park Amenities and Activities
- Hungry Mother State Park's prime recreational amenity is its peaceful mountain lake, which has a sandy swimming beach that is open from Memorial Day weekend to Labor Day and includes a bathhouse and snack bar. Also along the lake are a boat launch and seasonal rental boats, including small fishing vessels, canoes, kayaks and paddleboats. Anglers can drop their lines from a boat or the park's fishing pier for largemouth and smallmouth bass, carp, channel catfish, crappie, sunfish and other species. Other amenities include more than 12 miles of hiking and biking trails, picnic areas and a visitor center. The park's Hemlock Haven Conference Center is available for meetings, retreats and other private events for groups of 10 to 1,000. Hemlock Haven includes tennis, basketball and volleyball courts, a softball field and horseshoe pits.
