On The Water
- Stoney Creek
Lake Laura is a 45-acre private lake with a grassy beach area. Activities include swimming, non-motorized boating, fishing, and a 3-mile hiking trail around the lake. Open Memorial Day weekend through Labor Day weekend.
There are several North Fork Shenandoah River access points open to the public. Launch your hand-carry boat from Seven Bends State Park or various locations across Shenandoah County such as New Market, Edinburg, Woodstock, and Strasburg. Each point adds its own touch of magic to…
Get closer to nature and your loved ones while journeying on the North Fork of the Shenandoah River, which flows through the countryside of Shenandoah County, VA. The clear, shallow waters with gentle whitewater create the perfect setting for paddlers and anglers. The…
ELIZABETH FURNACE [ELIZ] Further south on RT 678 you will see signs for the Elizabeth Furnace Rec. Area. If you are camping, there is a short path to a swimming hole from the back of the family campground. This path begins in the rear of campsite #16 by the green water fountain. Take this path, you may have to clamber over a couple of fallen logs and watch out for poison ivy. If not camping, turn into the area signed “Day Use Picnic Area”. There is a place to play in the creek right at the bridge to the picnic area but not quite deep enough to swim. Go all the way to the rear of the lot, right hand side (south) and follow a path that roughly follows the creek south until you get to a clear place on the riverbank that is across the creek from the campgrounds. There is a small deep place at the bottom of a gentle rapid that is just big enough and deep enough to swim.
BUZZARD ROCK HOLE [BUZZ] (Also known as the “Red Hole”) This is a great little swimming hole in Passage Creek. Continue south on RT 678 and park at the SECOND paved parking area on the right (about 2.5 miles from RT 55 or 1.3 miles from RT 619, the fish hatchery road.) Walk back along the road (north) until you get around the bend in the road (about .25 mile). Here, in Passage Creek, you will see a very large, flat rock sloping down to the creek. There is a deep swimming hole and small rapids to play in. THERE ARE HIDDEN ROCKS IN THIS HOLE, DO NOT JUMP unless you can see clearly
BLUE HOLE [BLUZ] This is a traditional “Blue Hole”, even marked as such on USGS and other maps. To get here, on RT 678, about 2 miles south of the RT 55 intersection, there is a small dirt pull-off on the east (left) side of the road. If you look toward the creek, you will probably see a long swinging rope hanging from a tree on the far side of the creek. Park and walk to a deep place in the creek.