Hungry Mother State Park

Hungry Mother State Park is one of Virginia's original six state parks, established in 1936 on 3,334 acres of mountain woodland in Marion, Virginia. At its center sits a serene 108-acre lake, framed by hiking trails, a sandy beach, and a boat launch, giving couples and event hosts a mountain-and-water backdrop that's been drawing visitors for nearly a century. The park's Civilian Conservation Corps-era infrastructure, built between 1933 and 1941, earned it a listing in the National Register of Historic Places and still shapes the setting today. For events, the park offers the lakeside Lakeview Event Facility, an amphitheater on a footbridge-accessed island, picnic shelters near the beach and in secluded woodland, and the meeting rooms and sports complex at Hemlock Haven Conference Center. Named for the local legend of a pioneer woman found near the mountain now called Molly's Knob, Hungry Mother pairs its scenic lake and woodland setting with a range of indoor and outdoor spaces suited to weddings, retreats, and gatherings of varying sizes.