View Full Version : Mountain Lake
bessiebreeze
05-23-2011, 16:39
Has anyone here (a hiker), ever stopped at the Mountain Lake Resort, which is in Southwestern Virginia near Newport or Blacksburg? Its only a short distance from the AT, and I thought it might be a nice place to end up a section hike. I know it is somewhat pricey, but I would like to have an opinion about the place from someone who has stayed there a night or two. Was it worth the extra money? Was it an OK place? THanks for your input.
Rain Man
05-23-2011, 22:01
Hey Bessie from Nashville. Me too. :)
I contacted Mountain Lake Resort last year about accommodating our group on a section hike. I am sorry to say, but I found them totally unhelpful and unable to think outside their box. I think they could be a fantastic place for AT hikers to spend some time, but they seem to only want standard issue big budget vacationers.
I hope you have better luck and can give a good report! Wouldn't take much but a small change of attitude for them to become a "must do" stop along the AT. IMHO.
Rain:sunMan
P.S. As a fellow Nashvillian, may I recommend Nashville Backpacker Meetup.com group (http://www.meetup.com/backpackers-166/)?
.
Hikerhead
05-23-2011, 22:31
They have been on hard times lately. With the lake going dry and the lack of snow to stop the X country ski rentals not to mention the lack of visitors, seems they would be a little more open to hikers. Take the War Spur trail off of the AT to the dirt road and you're about 2 miles from the hotel. I think the only thing that keeps them open now is Dirty Dancing weekends where you can have your pic taken beside a cardboard Patrick Swaysee.
k.reynolds70
05-24-2011, 17:43
Yeah--last year I passed the place after getting lost on the way back from the Captain's bash, and the lake looked bad with about 15 or 20 feet of water missing. There were guests out & about, despite this. Die hard "Dirty Dancing" fans, no doubt, as Hikerhead so eloquently put it, haha!
The only natural mountain lake here in VA, if I am not mistaken. Depleting rapidly via global warming..?
Mountain Lake is more fun if you hit it on a weekend that they have some special event like Octoberfest going on.
The lake goes through cycles. Hopefully all these storms we've had recently are helping fill it back up.
Hikerhead
05-24-2011, 18:36
Yeah--last year I passed the place after getting lost on the way back from the Captain's bash, and the lake looked bad with about 15 or 20 feet of water missing. There were guests out & about, despite this. Die hard "Dirty Dancing" fans, no doubt, as Hikerhead so eloquently put it, haha!
The only natural mountain lake here in VA, if I am not mistaken. Depleting rapidly via global warming..?
Va has two natural lakes. The other is kind of near you, Lake Drummond close to Va Beach in the swamps. I would stay at Mtn Lake. Never had but I'd like to.....if it was Dirty Dancing Weekend. :)
MadAussieInLondon
05-25-2011, 21:36
*cough* my wife and I did the pre-dirty dancing anniversary year, we were guests on the cheap (wifes idea), as 'testers' for the anniversary. nice place, dont know if I would want to camp/backpack there, certainly with the lake gone dry and all. nice food, not cheap. certainly if the rhodies are not in bloom I'd consider not going too...
Wife and I spent our honeymoon there 32 years ago. Pre-Dirty Dancing. Cost was reasonable then and the lake was full. Great place then. Not the same now. Was up there two winters ago for a backpacking trip. Lake looked sad. I do hear they are not hiker friendly. Too bad.