We had the best experience! I love that the site was a small community with a saloon and everyone…read morewas so incredibly friendly. I wasn't sure what to expect but they exceeded whatever that expectation was. I can't wait to bring the kids back and also come back without them. The complimentary breakfast was a little less than expected but lunch is provided with zero complaints and the guides were absolutely amazing.

Went WW Rafting with them again on Friday 13th. My buddies and I had a great time and will go with…read morethem again next year. We stayed with them as well both Thursday and Friday Night. Excellent. I highly recommend them.

Great place to launch your boat or rent one! The coves near this marina are perfect for SUP or…read morekayaks, and the large no-wake zone means you don't have to fight the motor boat waves as you try to get off the docks. And the restrooms are outstanding!

We had a great experience here. Rented a brand new pontoon boat for the day. Very nice boat. Great…read morestaff. Very helpful and friendly. Nice relaxing day on the lake. Not super crowded either. Super clear water. Reasonable pricing.

I came to this campground after I looked on line to see if I could fish during the night for…read morecatfish. The answer came back that registered campers could but not general public. Park day use areas close down at 10 PM. According to the Internet, they only close these fishing areas at 10 PM for daytime visitors but last registered campers fish all night. At 10PM, we were asked to leave the fishing pier. I mentioned what the Internet said and the ranger seemed baffled and said that it's not true so we had to leave. He did say he would look into it because it was important to him that people had the right info. Problem is, during the summer, in this part of the country, the water gets hot and the fish go deep. Being a bank angler, it's impossible to catch any catfish during the day, they only come shallow at night. The bass fishing is the same. Fishermen and hunters pay for the bulk of what it costs to keep these parks operational yet when we would like to use them, we get the shaft. This quote is from the VA Outdoors Management : A lot of our funding to help conserve wildlife and habitat comes from public spending on things like fishing and hunting licenses, tags, or stamps, boat registrations, and via a federal excise tax on firearms and ammunition. Those sources of financial support have helped us protect hundreds of species and their habitat for over 100 years, but there's always more we can do for Virginia's wildlife. That's where you come in. You too can become a steward of the outdoors by supporting our work or working with us -- whether you hunt, fish, and boat or simply enjoy the outdoors. So, you can see what I'm saying. It is not right or fair that everyone else gets to do what they want but we flip the bill for it. Then our rights keep getting tanked. They put hiking trails and bike trails and beaches for swimming, but keep taking away hunting and fishing rights and they keep raising the prices. Hunters and fishermen are always on the bottom of the list of whom these people cater to. It's not fair or just. At the very least, we should be able to fish when we want especially when that is the only time those fish will bite!!!

This park is one of those ones that feels like a private to public site; the majestic house at the…read morelakefront has been turned into a visitor center. The visitor center has a room or two of exhibitions on hydrology and wildlife but is not anything big. I came seeking a New Year's hike and expecting some scenery while being unsure if the amount of trails available would be enough. I managed to spend a solid two hours circumnavigating the place. In summer, swimming and boating are more likely the activities du jour, and it appears to be an excellent place for such activities. While the park looks close to the highway on the map, it feels like being at a park and there isn't any road noise. Like most VA state parks, they do charge for parking (waived for New Year's Day).

What a great way to spend a summer day. This is a rafting review, we only came up for the day, but…read morewe are already talking about next year and doing a two day visit and double our rafting fun. We picked the Lower New River, a full day adventure. We kicked off a little bit before 9 and had a quick equipment assignment and then climbed aboard a well seasoned bus. Its a bus and it served its purpose. During the ride we got a basic but funny safety briefing. You can tell these guys love their job and enjoy making life fun. After about a 25 minute ride, we arrived at the departure spot and got assigned a raft. We are a family of 4 so they assigned two more people to our raft and our guide, Jackson was phenomenal! Seriously, Jackson is so chill and personable, we could have just hung out and listened to his adventures in life. He did a really great job making everyone feel welcomed, valued and appreciated. For me, I know I would have been barking rules at our novice tubers, but he just gave specific instructions on what to expect, what to do if the 'in case' happens, and provided assurance that he would protect everyone. He also provided fun little facts about the river and history of the Gorge. We saw class II to class IV rapids and there were some intense moments. It took me a couple rapids to figure out that Jackson would strategically place our boat in the best part of the rapids for maximum effect, which made this ride so memorable. Despite sometimes facing a wall of water, we always felt in control and hearing Jackson hooting and hollering like a kid gave the assurance and reminder that this is 100% fun adrenaline. The river water was cool and refreshing, not shockingly cold in July and the levels were high so we had a good time. We did stop half way down for a lunch which consisted of either meat/cheese sandwiches or PB sandwiches, potato salad, a pasta salad, watermelon, chips & salsa, and a desert. It was good and sustained everyone. The second half of the day the river was even better than the first half. At the end, we got picked up by the bus with an even shorter ride back to AOTG. They provided a couple coolers of ice cold water, soda, and gatorade for the ride back. Once back we showered, changed and checked out the photos of our trip. This was an 11 out of 10 experience for my family and like I said, we are already planning on coming back for a 2 day trip.

Wow wow wow. We tend to be a little bougie with our accommodations so we were going out on a limb…read moreduring our trip to West Virginia. Partly because there were no four seasons in the area (mostly joking) but also because we were in WeSt vIrGiNiA and wanted to get in touch with NaTuRe we decided to go outside of our cocmfort zone and picked some closer to nature options. This was the second. We went with Kaymoor at Adventures on the Gorge. Thjey have the full scale between literal camping and hotel-like, I believe we chose the most hotel-like option. I wanted to do the glamping but there were none available about a month before our trip when I finally got my shit together to book shit. Check in was super easy. We were given a key and a treasure map of how to get to our "cabin" which was easy to drive to. It is a legit cabin in the woods but will all amenities one would expect staying in the a hotel. Great bathroom and shower with a ton of towels, bedroom and separate lounge room that included a mini fridge. TV, wifi, climate control. There was even a cute little porch with chairs in the literal woods. It is so cool. AC worked great. The shower was great. They provided more towels than I'm used to getting at hotels. The bed was SUPER COMFY. I literally don't have enough good things to say about this place. Such a good choice.

If you want to go White Water Rafting on the Upper Gauley with Class 3, 4 and 5 rapids, West…read moreVirginia Adventures is your place! Our group had an absolute BLAST! The "Beast of the East" showed no mercy and it was worth all the time and money spent. We will be back!! Our personal boat guides, Nathan and Tristan, were great. They told us each rapid's name and explained how we were going to maneuver the rapid. We went in October and the water was pretty warm. We were provided wet suits, blue water resistant pullovers and life jackets (of course!). Safety was always top of mind. On our way to the Upper Gauley, our instructors took about 25 minutes to go over commands, do's/dont's and overall expectations.

We have been rafting with West Virginia Adventures once or twice a summer since 2020, and we…read moreabsolutely love this company! We bring a group of about 50 people, ages 5 or 6 to mid 40s, and Rob does a great job taking care of our group. The Upper New River trip is a favorite for all of our younger kids. And my husband loves a great Lower or Upper Gauley trip with his buddies in the fall. We have had many guides over the years, but Nathan is our absolute favorite guide! We love love love going white water rafting with West Virginia Adventures. This past weekend, we had Nathan, Mia, Christen, and Eli as our guides, and they were so amazing with our kids. Keep up the great job guys!

The folks were extremely helpful and great to work with. Our boat was fantastic (albeit a bit old)…read moreand they moved us to a lovely cove for fishing and privacy. We would highly recommend them for anyone wanting a peaceful yet fun adventure.

We rented a Houseboat and were not happy with the condition of the boat. Only one working motor…read moreand it kept stalling out. Had to spend one entire day of the vacation getting repaired and to date have not been compensated for our issues. The management has offered a reduced rate on out next stay but due to our trip we will not be visiting again, and I have not gotten any response since. I have contacted numerous agency's in West Virginia to see what my next step should be and I have been told that there is no help available, as it is a privately run entity. I would not rent a houseboat to anyone that was not properly maintained. I hope that this reaches someone so that in the future you do not have the BAD experience like we did.

Our group of 8 rented a pontoon boat from SMBR this weekend. The owners Jason and Jenny were great…read moreto work with. They even delivered the boat and picked us up to return. We will definitely return and rent from them again. Friendly, flexible and accommodating - thanks so much Jenny!

fantastic staff! great boats!…read moreeveryone was kind and friendly and the boats were in great condition. prices and policies are very fair! rented three times in a week and was FANTASTIC each time. 100% will be back.

This was our second time renting from Claytor Lake Water Sports. Check in is very thorough. They…read moreprovided dockside training and gave you an overview of the lake. They do not allow ANY alcohol on the boat. That goes for the driver and all passengers. They WILL check your coolers. This time we were able to rent their "Funtoon" on the 4th of July. We had 4 adults and 3 kids. The boat featured multiple adirondack chairs, a propane grill, swim platform, and best of all a porta-potty. The porta potty made boating all day with 3 kids bearable, but let's be honest...the adults enjoyed it as well. We rented a towable for the kids. The boat only has a 90HP engine and is "blocked" at the top of the throttle so you need to temper expectations. We had an issue with a tear in our tube, but it was quickly taken care of back at the dock. The staff replaced it with a new chariot style tube. We had a great time on the lake. We came out of the dock and went left to anchor and swim. We took the time to fix hamburgers and hot dogs while stopped. We then went a tubed for a long time and ended up at Rock House Marina. They had some live music, so it was nice to get off the boat and relax for a bit. Overall a great day... Filled up with gas at the end of the day and back to the campground.

Pit stop on our trip out west! We were traveling out I-81 South and decided to break up the trip…read morewith a stop at Claytor Lake. Researching online, I found Mountain 2 Island and ended up booking a 10:30am Tiki Tour boat ride of the lake. It ended up being a private tour with just me & my boyfriend. Jimmy was our captain, and he was super friendly and knowledgeable about the area. We had a great tour of the lake and a nice lunch at the Tiki Hut afterwards! Highly recommend this company...they also do boat, kayak and paddleboard rentals as well.

We found Mountain 2 Island Paddleboarding through Claytor Lake State Park (exit 101 off I-81)and…read morechecked out their website. They offer lessons and paddleboard rentals. Lessons are cheaper when you bring more people with you. When we gave them a call no one answered, but someone called right back. The man was extremely nice and answered all of my questions. They were also pretty flexible with reservations days and times which I thought was great. Mtn2Island is next to the Claytor Lake State Park visitor center. You have to pay the $5 dollar Park entrance fee (for park maintenance people, totally worth it!) Transactions were completed through Square using iPads (love that). They fitted us for a paddle, gave us a lifejacket (he said VA law requires you have one with you), and then we got to it. They had the paddleboards down by the dock, and the Mtn2Island people put them in the water for us. The instructor, Issac, was very calm and extremely patient while my younger sister (who is in her 30s by the way) was in hysterics about getting in the water. Another young lady, Rachel, came down to help coax her into giving it a try. It took them about 30 minutes to get her to get in the water, but she did. It was definitely harder than I thought it would be and I don't recommend doing squats the day before because my legs were killing me after, but it was a lot of fun and I would do it again. The waves from the nearby boat made it difficult for me to keep my balance and about that time my sister fell in (she was wearing her life jacket and was totally fine), but she got back on her board and we made it back to the docks.

We've rented boats from there twice and the boats have been in great shape and the rental process…read morewas quick and easy. My only complaint is that the price they charge per gallon of gas is ridiculous.

Had a day to kill waiting for my daughter to finish finals at Roanoke College so I made a trip out…read moreto see the lake. I had no plan to rent a boat but the fleet looked well cared for (almost new) and I jumped. The crew was really nice and helpful. I took out a "Tritoon"with a 200hp Yamaha. The lake is huge and there is some amazing sightseeing. I found a cove, anchored, finished up some work and then went for a swim. My 2 hour rental flew by and when I arrived back at the dock, the crew was waiting to help dock and replace my used fuel. I couldn't have asked for a better experience. For a spur of the moment adventure it was amazing. I highly recommend Bridgewater Marine.