Every organization we link to: local tourism offices, the state and federal agencies that manage the land, the nonprofits and clubs that keep access open, and the universities doing the research.
Know before you go
- Bulltown Campground is one of the better Corps sites in the state
- Excellent muskie water
What you can do here
968 acres of quiet, underused reservoir on the Little Kanawha gives room to spread out with little boat traffic to dodge. The Bulltown Historic Area on the shore makes an obvious destination to paddle toward, with Civil War earthworks and a preserved farmstead to land near. April through October is the practical window.
This is muskie water first, and well regarded for it among the state's reservoirs. The lake stays quiet enough that stretches of 968 acres are often yours alone, which matters when you are working shoreline and points slowly. Licensing, seasons and limits are set by WVDNR statewide, so check current regulations before you launch.
Bulltown Campground sits on the shore and is one of the better Corps of Engineers sites in West Virginia, with the earthworks and the preserved farmstead of the historic area right there. No site count, hookup detail or fee is published here, so confirm those with the Corps when you book. The season runs April through October.
Bulltown is a Corps lakeside campground, and lake roads are generally kinder to a long trailer than the switchbacks that constrain big rigs in the Highlands. What is not published is site length or hookup availability, so ask before you commit to towing in. April through October, and the historic area is walking distance from the sites.
Because the lake is underused, its 968 acres give open water without the weekend pressure of the larger reservoirs. The Bulltown Historic Area gives somewhere to run to and tie up near for an afternoon. Ramp access, registration and navigation rules are administered through the WVDNR boating program; the season here runs April through October.
The lake lists hiking but publishes no trail mileage. What it does have is the Bulltown Historic Area on the shore — Civil War earthworks and a preserved farmstead — which is ground that carries short interpretive walking rather than long routes. Ask at Bulltown what is open and how far it actually goes.
Open water, shoreline and the cleared ground around the Bulltown farmstead put several habitats close together, and the lake's light use means less disturbance than at the busier reservoirs. May is the peak, when migration moves through. No species list is published for this lake, so come with your own expectations and a scope.
Guides, gear and lodging near Burnsville Lake
Place-level placement for operators within range of this trailhead, put-in or crag.
List your business hereNearby in the Mountain Lakes
Elk River
One of the finest and least-known trout fisheries in the Appalachians.
Elk River Rail Trail
A developing rail-trail on the former Buffalo Creek & Gauley and Elk River Railroad grades, opening a long, remote corridor along the Elk between Gassaway and Clendenin.
Stonewall Jackson Lake State Park
A 2,650-acre lake with the most developed resort facilities of any West Virginia lake park — a lodge, marina, Arnold Palmer golf course and the state's largest open-water fetch for small-boat sailing.
Sutton Lake
A 1,440-acre Corps of Engineers reservoir on the Elk River in Braxton County, with several campgrounds, quiet coves and the dam that creates the Elk tailwater fishery below.
Holly River State Park
West Virginia's second-largest state park at 8,101 acres, in a narrow valley of hemlock and hardwood with waterfalls, cabins and a rugged trail network.
Cedar Creek State Park
A 2,483-acre park in Gilmer County with three small fishing lakes, a campground and a network of easy trails.
West Virginia has roughly 1.5 million acres of public land and a handful of places that carry almost all of the attention. The consequence is that a great deal of very good ground sits nearly empty, usually for one of three reasons: nobody has heard of it, the road in is gated or rough, or it is undeveloped and has nothing to advertise. Those are the places below — of them across regions.