Breaks Interstate Park
My expectations for this park were as high as the magnificent peaks surrounding it. And let me tell you, Breaks Interstate Park far exceeded those expectations and quickly jumped to the favorite park spot for my family. I booked this park several months before our visit because we decided to devote a week-long trip to this place. And I highly recommend doing just that. Even after a whole week, I still wanted more time!
Dubbed “The Grand Canyon of the South” - this park has it all. Technical hiking, breathtaking overlooks, a river AND a lake, mountain-biking trails, zip lines, waterpark (seasonal), elk tours (seasonal), boat rentals (seasonal), a restaurant, a lodge, cottages, cabins, a yurt, and many full-hookup sites with sewer.
Breaks Interstate Park is jointly operated by both Virginia and Kentucky and is one of only two interstate parks in the country. We learned from Ranger Colleen (who was super helpful!) that because Breaks is an interstate park things work a little differently, and they do not receive as much funding as other state parks. Therefore, Breaks receives much of its revenue from offerings such as the Splash in the Park waterpark (kids loved this), Canyon Rim Zip Line (which we did not take part in, because two of the four of us - me included - are not a fan of heights), Rhododendron Restaurant (where we enjoyed a dinner), and Elk Tours (which is not offered in the summer due to the vulnerability of the calves being born during this time). They also provide kayak, canoe, and paddleboat rentals on Laurel Lake.
Another difference to be aware of is that you will make your reservation on the Breaks Interstate Park website, not in the same reservation system as the rest of the Virginia State Parks. Therefore, your Customer Loyalty Points cannot be applied here. And this park is not listed in the Trail Quest program.
Most of the park property lies in Virginia, with the exception of one short trail leading into Kentucky and one of the Russell Fork River access points. Both of these spots were big highlights for us. We took the short drive across the border to the Center Creek Trailhead parking and accessed the infamous Bottom of the Breaks Trail by way of Center Creek Trail. This is the most strenuous hike in the park with creek crossings, rocky terrain, and very steep switchbacks. I am so proud of my nine and ten-year-olds for conquering this adventure! Just past this trailhead on KY 80 is Ratliff Hole. This place is a must. I’m so glad one of the park staff members recommended we stop there after our hike because we would have missed out on a gem! The perfect swimming spot with picnic benches, kayak access, a couple of small sandy beaches, tube shoots, rocks to jump off of, and canyon walls to admire. This section of the river is fairly tame, especially compared to the “gorge” just before it which is rated class IV for those crazy people… I mean whitewater kayakers.
This was a jam-packed week for sure. And I’ll share all my notes below. We also took one day to drive to three other Virginia State Parks (that don’t offer camping) in that part of the state, so I’ll provide those details as well. But first here are a few tips that might be helpful to you when you plan your trip to this amazing park!
Tips:
Bring tube floats. The waterpark sells tube floats for $10 but they are more kid-sized than I would prefer, so I’m glad we brought our own. We were able to use these in the lazy river and on the one slide that allows tubes, as well as for floating the section of the river at Ratliff Hole.
Follow the Facebook page (@breakspark) for up-to-date schedule info. We were there on a holiday week, so the hours were different for places like the waterpark and restaurant. They also post about events going on that week, so I found their FB page to be very helpful.
Pick up several copies of the map from the Visitor’s Center. I am a big fan of old-school paper maps and I went through several copies as they got soaked with sweat on a hike or misplaced. We found that AllTrails and even our Garmin watches were not quite accurate all the time in this area. The park map was a must.
Take advantage of the full-hookup sites they offer if you are camping in an RV or travel trailer. They are even a couple dollars cheaper than other Virginia State Park campsites!
Don’t miss Towers Overlook! This overlook is not on a trail like the other overlooks and we almost forgot to park and check it out. And it offers the most spectacular view of the canyon.
Bring all the gear! Hiking poles are a must on most trails. If you have a kayak bring it. Fishing gear? Yes, just make sure to be mindful of which state you are fishing in and have the appropriate license. Mountain-bike? You bet. There are a few multi-purpose trails for that. Rock-climb? They even have marked spots along some of the trails for rock-climbing.
Bring the dogs too. We left our little dog in the camper for the hiking but took him to play in the river. Our big dog joined us on all the hikes. I just recommend that you evaluate the trail descriptions (their website has photos and detailed descriptions of most of the trails... I loved this!) and the abilities of your dog. There are many sections that can be very dangerous if your dog were to pull you down a steep rocky incline.
Watch out for poison ivy and stinging nettle on the trails and around campsites.
Call and ask for the best route if pulling a big rig. My husband did this before we left so that we took the road with the least amount of sharp turns. It gets very mountainous with very winding roads the closer you get.
Lodging and Amenities
Hiking and Ratliff Hole/Russell Fork River
Fast Facts (and Opinions)
Location: Breaks Interstate Park - Breaks, VA
Equipment: Travel Trailer
Date: July 2023 (Week of Independence Day)
Weather: One hard rain during the night, overcast, sunny, one chilly morning
Kid-Friendly: Yes (ours were ages 10 and 9)
Dog-Friendly: Yes (We have a big dog and a little dog)
Site: B17
Water/Electric/Sewer
Pull-through (kind of - still needed to back up the the hookups)
Slightly level (had the hardest time leveling yet)
Gravel (all sites appear to need more gravel - muddy in rain)
Partial shade
Spacious with forest behind it and bathhouse parking on one side
Several good hammock trees
Right next to bathhouse and right across the road from the playground (there are advantages and disadvantages to this)
Paved roads
One of 4 campgrounds, Campground B has a laundry facility, bathhouse, basketball court, gazebo, bear-proof trash bins, playground, and trailhead.
A deer visited our campsite almost every single day! Lots of deer and wild turkeys at this park. And don't forget - this is bear country. We didn't see one, but coolers of food and trash cannot be left out.
Bathhouse:
2 showers per men's and women's
Very little hot water
No dishwashing station
Cell Service: Yes (Verizon) but only at the campground
Park Highlights:
Click here to watch highlight reel.
Small waterpark
Additional fee (depends on weekday or weekend and ages - it was cost-effective for our group of 7 to purchase a punch pass)
Short lazy river, 3 slides for older kids/adults, 1 slide for little kids, water features for little kids
Tubes cost $10 (we brought our own)
Picnic tables and tables with umbrellas, as well as lounge chairs
Gets pretty crowded, especially during a holiday week
Our kids loved this place so we went twice (even though it's not a big place and seems more geared towards younger kids it's still a blast!)
We learned that there are plans of expanding later this year to include a pool
Closed Mondays - Wednesdays
Near the waterpark is another playground and a very nice large brick pavilion with restrooms (a wedding was being set up next to the pavilion with the pavilion reserved for the reception - nice spot for an event)
Ratliff Hole: Click here to watch reel.
Kentucky Russell Fork River access point and swimming hole
Picnic tables, two small sandy beaches, portable bathrooms
Cold clear water (so refreshing after a hot hike!)
Bring tubes for floating and for two nearby tube shoots
Bring kayak for paddling or fishing (only paddle this short section - before and after are class III-IV rapids and require a different kind of kayak and gear!)
We went here twice (loved this place!)
Located in the lodge and has huge windows providing a view of the mountains
Decent prices and good food
We went on a Thursday night so we were not able to try the buffet that is offered only on the weekends
Closed Mondays - Wednesdays
Visitor Center
Small gift shop (larger one in the lodge)
Info/museum of area (Hatfields and McCoy feud)
Large 3-D topographic map (very neat to see the trails marked out with the elevation changes - it's out-of-date as several trails have been renamed and/or slightly re-routed - but still very cool)
Counts Cabin next to it (Ranger unlocked it and let us look inside)
Moonshine exhibit outside
Little library outside
Area Highlights:
We took a day (10 total hours!) and traveled to the following Virginia State Parks for our Trail Quest log (Read my notes in the blog post, Four Parks in One Day!):
Clinch River State Park (1 hr 8 min from Breaks Interstate Park)
Southwest Virginia Museum Historial State Park (1.5 hr from Clinch River) and ate lunch at Curklin's in Big Stone Gap (excellent food and great lunch prices!)
Wilderness Road State Park (1 hr from Southwest Virginia Museum - then 2 hr 20 min back to Breaks)
Natural Tunnel State Park is also out in this area (1 hr 45 min from Breaks) but we already visited this great park
Park Hikes:
Geological Trail to Laurel Branch Trail (only to connect) to Grassy Overlook Trail to Ridge Trail - 1.5 mile loop (easy to moderate difficulty)
Parked at Stateline Overlook (beautiful overlook) to access Geological Trail but could have taken Grassy Overlook Trail from our Campground B
Geological Trail is the gem of this route with huge rock formations (we forgot to borrow a guide from the visitor's center that explains the rocks formations along the way - wish we had done this)
Trails were a little muddy after a hard rain, but not terrible
Hiking shoes and trekking poles are helpful but not a must
Some elevation changes and cliff dropoffs but was fairly easy for our athletic 9 and 10-year-olds
Grassy Overlook (nice views) is where we turned around to get back on the loop toward Ridge Trail which leads back to the parking lot
Pink Rhododendrons are in full bloom during July and can been seen throughout the park and many trails
Took us 1.5 hr to complete (with many stops to explore)
Grassy Overlook Trail to Laurel Branch Trail (only to connect) to Prospector Trail to Overlook Trail to Geological Trail back to Laurel Branch/Grassy Overlook - 3.7 mile loop (easy to moderate difficulty)
Began from the trailhead in our Campground B
Bypassed the overlook spur off Grassy Overlook Trail since we already did it
Prospector Trail was moderately difficult with very rocky beginning and neat rock formations
Overlook Trail is pretty easy but with major dropoffs (keep that in mind with kids) and incredible views - many suggest doing this in the morning or evening to enhance the views but it was still beautiful in the middle of the day
Pretty decent elevation changes
Some muddy spots after recent rain but not bad due to the many rocks
Passed a few rock-climbing access points
Took us 2 hr 20 min to complete
Center Creek Trail to Bottom of the Breaks Trail to Prospector Trail (connecting Bottom of the Breaks) back to Center Creek Trail - 4-mile loop (difficult and strenuous)
Parked at Center Creek Trailhead on the KY side of the park
Center Creek has tricky creek crossings and we all ended up with muddy rear ends right from the start (keep that in mind when dressing for this hike)
Hiking shoes or boots and trekking or hiking poles are necessary for this hike (we brought hiking sandals for creek crossings and I'm glad we did)
We were warned a couple times before hiking Bottom of the Breaks Trail that people have had to be rescued, that plenty of water is needed due to the strenuous climb (we found this to be true), snacks are a good idea (we brought sandwiches for lunch), and to make sure phones are charged (thankfully we didn't need them)
We hiked Bottom of the Breaks counter-clockwise and I'm not sure which direction would be hardest (steep switchbacks)
More cool rock formations and caves on Bottom of the Breaks
Waterfall on Center Creek
Passed at least 3 wasp, bee, and yellow jacket nests on Bottom of the Breaks (one sting)
Very strenuous and technical trail but so rewarding!
Took us 3 hrs 20 min to complete (several stops to rest, to change shoes, to eat - kids were very tired by the end but did great - we were all whipped by the end!)
Camp Branch Trail - 1.5 mile out and back - Garmin said it was only 1 mile though (easy to moderate difficulty)
Parked at Camp Branch Trailhead
Pretty decent descent down to river along a creek
Map does not appear to be accurate because we could not find the last part of the trail (shows trail crossing over creek, but we could not find the trail after the creek)
After the other hikes we did, this one was a little bit of a letdown
Took us 55 min with a stop at the river
Drove further down Garden Hole Road from trailhead to Garden Hole which is not nearly as nice as Ratliff Hole but may be a good fishing spot
Area Hikes:
None that we explored
We did pass Bull Creek Pedestrian and Bike Trail near the park
Other Campsites:
There are 4 campgrounds - A, B, C, and D
Campground C does not have a bathhouse (because all sites have sewer) but the other three do
Sites we would consider in A: 45, 46, 47, and 43 (branch off of A loop to the left has tiny sites without sewer)
Other sites we would consider in B (besides 17, which we liked pretty well): 1, 23, 7 (but I'm unsure if these have sewer)
Sites we would consider in C: 73 and 74 (but no bathhouse)
Didn't really see any in D that looked better than the others
The Lodge offers rooms and suites (pet-friendly with fee)
Four Woodland Cottages are 2-bedroom/1-bath (no pets allowed)
Five Lakefront Cabins of various sizes are literally on the lake (nice deck over the water) and look very nice (only Cabin 1 is pet-friendly)
The Yurt is located near the Campground D bathhouse and appears to be way more luxurious than most state park yurts (has electricity and water, full fridge, microwave, etc.)
Things to Do Next Visit (Because There's Just Never Enough Time!):
Flatwoods Multiuse Trails - I hate that we didn't get a chance to ride our mountain bikes! But the incredible hiking won over these trails. Next time though!
Fishing - We brought our gear but didn't have time.
Park-organized events - Since we traveled there on a Saturday and home on a Saturday we missed several activities. I will keep this in mind in the future. There is also a theater group that regularly performs at the amphitheater, and that would have been neat to attend!
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