Lake Laura is a mile-long, man-made lake near the border of the Virginia, West Virginia state line, in the heart of the Shenandoah Valley. The lake is surrounded by mountains, homes hidden in the trees high up on the shore.
We’d intended to launch our own kayak…
Literally up a creek without a paddle but not yet realizing it, we unloaded our tandem kayak at the boat launch at Lake Laura and prepared to launch, and then suddenly realized we were 2 hours away from home and that’s where our paddles were!
(We’ve now named our kayak Charlie, after our sweet elderly beagle who loved loved LOVED car rides and who died a year ago, because all our kayak did that weekend was ride around, just as Charlie loved to do.)
Our daytrip was saved by the Bryce Resort kayak rental, which provided kayaks. Bryce Resort Boat Rental offers several options, in addition to sit-on-top kayaks. Paddleboards, paddleboats, canoes, and tubes are also available.
Don’t feel like swimming, but still want the view? Take a walk on the relaxing nature trail that wraps around the entire lake. The trail is open daily all year long and takes anywhere from one-and-a-half to two hours – an easy to moderate hike for all ages.
The Lake Laura Trail is beautiful any time of year and a fun activity with children as young as four years. Start from the Lake Laura Beach Area, the parking lot at the base of the dam, or the boat launch parking lot on the southern end of the lake.
