Twin Lakes State Park Campground

My husband and I went here for our anniversary weekend with our camping and hiking group. While some members went biking High Bridge Trail, my hubby and I set out kayaking and loooved it! The staff were beyond fun n friendly - even offered me use of the ranger's personal fishing equipment as I left mine at home! Camping was great and spacious between sites. Beautiful place great people and an all around great time!

Had a blast with our camping and hiking group!

**Campground Review**

The staff at this campground really went above and beyond to make sure I had all the correct information needed for my stay. They truly run like a well-oiled machine. They are the reason for the 3-stars. This was actually my second time at the park, but I didn't remember that until after I'd arrived and things started looking familiar. I should have known something was up if I didn't remember being here.

The campground itself is not my style. The sites were packed in close together and most of the tent only sites were tiny! There's even one site that wraps around a second site. After picking out my (first) site, I parked my car, looked around, and realized that there wouldn't be room for my both my tent and my friend's tent. I moved to the next site, put up my tent, and started looking for a place for my hammock. We're in the woods, it shouldn't be that hard. There were zero trees behind the second site. So, I moved again. Third time is a charm, right? We were able to get both tents up and found a place for both hammocks in between our site and the next. To give an idea of how close some of the sites are, the wood barrier around my site was only two feet away from the next site's barrier. I go camping to get away, not hang out with the neighbors.

The regulator on my lucky stove broke, so we cooked everything over a campfire. State Parks don't allow you to bring outside firewood (it's a good rule of thumb), so we bought their wood. All they had was huge pieces of fresh pine. I didn't bring a hatchet since I shouldn't need one for car camping. Luckily I had my Leatherman. More on that later.

The swimming lake is a good size. There is a concession stand, a beach with lifeguard, and a rental station for paddle boats. There were people in the water all weekend enjoying the awesome weather.

The lake trail passes right through the beach, then into the woods. The trail goes from sidewalk, to gravel, to jagged stones, to dirt, then blacktop. The last part of the trail is actually on an unmarked two-lane road over the spillway. All-in-all not the relaxing hike I had hoped for.

My take on this park is that it is best for families who love the water and want to go swimming every day. It does not have good hiking trails, or good camping - not the kind I'm looking for anyway.

**Product Review**

As a Ranger for The Dyrt, I get products to test from time to time - today I am testing the [Leatherman Charge ALX](http://www.leatherman.com/charge-alx-6.html?dwvar_6_color=10&amp;cgid=#q=Charge&amp;lang=default&amp;gclid=CjwKEAjwtJzLBRC7z43vr63nr3wSJABjJDgJRfqSs5b0Oce-CeMpjVcY4_K6r6eK9lVuDjQRtqjo4xoCb7Tw_wcB&amp;start=1). First, let me say this thing is AWESOME! I used it numerous times this weekend. It's fair to say that everything that could go wrong did go wrong. The regulator on my propane stove started acting wonky. I would be in the middle of cooking and the flame would go out. The only way to light it is to lift the grate in order to get the firestarter close to the burner. The cast iron grate was already scalding, so I used my Leatherman needle-nose pliers to lift it up. Voila! After relighting the grill the fourth time, we gave up on it and decided to build a fire.

The pine logs were HUGE! Plus, there was very little kindling in the campground to use as a firestarter. We found some large branches and used the handy saw on my Leather Charge ALX to cut them up into fire-sized pieces. The sawing took way less time than I would expect for a hand-sized tool! Then, I used the straight-blade knife to shave off some bark for a little fire-starter. This blade is sharp! We had a fire going in no time.

I used the knife to cut paracord for hanging my hammock, slicing my ribeye, and even used the diamond file to fix a broken nail. Hey, a girl's gotta have good nails even in the woods.

Now that I'm back home, I reach for the Leatherman any time something needs fixing. I don't have to lug a tool box around the house and yard to fix things. Everything I need is all in one amazing pocket-sized tool. This thing is the best!

Ranger Review: Leatherman Charge ALX at Twin Lakes State Park, VA

We so enjoyed camping here. The swimming area is so amazing. Great area for the kids to enjoy a safe and fun swimming experience. 

They have boat rentals and a fishing pier. The camp sites are of nice size and are mostly well shaded. They have a large playground for the kids and the roads are good for bike riding . We hiked some of the trails, there is beautiful nature thT surrounds you. Close to the High Bridge and different Daily excursions.

Absolutely wonderful place!!

Tent sites are shady, although some can be VERY close to one another. There’s a nice beach area and the park seems to offer boat rentals (unsure of COVID policies at the moment, though). 🛶

The playgrounds and amenities for kids are cute, and the bathrooms are clean. The park sells wood and has a little mini outdoor library and charging station which is adorable and something I don’t see often 💜

Wooded Sites

Our family loved this park and its amenities.  The campground was nice but some of the sites are a little small so definitely pay attention to the camper length per individual site.  The bathhouse is in the center of the loop so that makes it convenient to most of the sites.  The swimming lake has a nice beach and we happened to be there this last weekend and the temperature was nice and warm and the kids enjoyed playing on the beach and on the water playground.  There is a small camp store with some supplies if you forget something.  The park is also close to Sailor's (Sayler's) Creek and High Bridge State Park.  If you have your bikes you definitely want to check out High Bridge.  Go to the Paradise Rd. Entrance.  We really enjoyed our time here and look forward to returning this summer.

We loved this VA State park!

This was our first time camping in Va in our Popup.  

This is a nice spot. Easy access to hiking trails and swimming or fishing in the lake.

The bathrooms are clean and they have a decent dish washing station.

All RV sites have H2O and electric.

A few of the sites did not seem to be very level.

The sites are fairly close together.  

All sites have partial shade or more.  

Other campers were very friendly and helpful.

The host family was fantastic when we were there.

The firewood for sale was good. Not the prepackaged stuff that can be hard to get burning.

First VA outing

Twin Lakes State Park Campground is pretty small, but the sites were large and well spaced out. It was very shady and the sites were pretty level. There are a few trails and a beach on one of the lakes. People were also fishing from the banks of the lake and in boats. The bathhouse was very clean and well maintained. All in all a nice place to camp while riding on the High Bridge State Park Bike Trail and visiting Appomattox Courthouse. 