Cabins Around DC and Smith Mountain Lake State Park

Last week I set out at trying to reserve a cabin in the woods.  There were three criterion:  first, it had to be in a state park.  State park cabins are usually cheaper and easier to find.  Second, they had to allow dogs (we have two dogs).  Third, they had to be within a five hour driving range.

We ended up at a beautiful, clean and peaceful cabin about 4 hours outside of DC at Smith Mountain Lake State Park.  We rented the eight person cabin, since it was the only one left.


First, let me give you some hints on finding the perfect cabin.

This site is a great resource for narrowing down your search and reserving a cabin.

http://www.reserveamerica.com/

Choose "Cabins or lodging", tell it your dates and click away. If you want it to only list the state parks (which I suggest) click "State" at the top.

If you're looking for something along the water.  Check out SML.  It's a stunning park on a clear lake.  The cabins are close to each other, but during the off season, you may find that you're the only people in the park. We stayed in Cabin #7, but if you're looking for a smaller cabin on the water, definitely check out cabin #9, 10, 16 and 17 all have dock access and were my favs.

SML Cabin #7.

The dock next to cabin 16 and 17.

Looking outside cabin #7.

Sitting on the dock during the sunset.  We packed a picnic w/ wine (shh...technically you're not supposed to have alcohol.)