The Shadow
Douthat State Park in southern Bath County opened on June 15, 1936 after the Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) cleared the forest, created a 50 acre lake by damming Wilson Creek, and constructed roads.
The architectural style developed by the CCC was a log cabin style, and Douthat State Park served as the model park for other state parks that followed, including the other five that were being constructed at the time.
The CCC builders experimented on cabin construction, and the one that proved to be the best was adopted by other state parks in Virginia.
Most of Douthat State Park and its major facilities are located in Bath County, but the purchase of Whispering Pines Campground in Alleghany County adjacent to Route 29 that runs through Douthat State Park to intersect with Route 39 north of the park, created the park’s first RV camping area in Alleghany County.
In addition to the 4,493 acre park’s 40 miles of trails, a white sand beach and bathhouse, a boat dock, a launching area for private owned boats, several picnic shelters and playgrounds, a country store and restaurant, an amphitheatre, RV and tent camping areas, and dozens of log cabins for rent are featured in the Bath County section of the park.
The Douthat Land Company, a group of businessmen, donated 1,920 acres to the Commonwealth of Virginia during the Great Depression, and the Virginia General Assembly appropriated $50,000 for the park project in 1933.
As one of the first six state parks, Douthat has a visitors center, and the Douthat Speed Group in Alleghany County, a nonprofit organization, holds three major annual events in support of the park: Kid Fishing Day in March, Douthat Lake Run Car Show in May and Octoberfest Camp Site Cookoff.
