Great Dismal Swamp National Wildlife Refuge

Loved this history here. The wind was high today but that did not stop us from traveling to the lake and having lunch. Seen so many turtles along the way. Being the largest lake in Virginia I expected to see so many people but there was no one on the water. Beautiful trip through the swamp

We came here because it was our second to last trip to Virginia. If we didn't end up going, I would have been more than fine. We hiked all of the trails they had. It was decent but pretty underwhelming. I would not go again because it's a lot of driving for mediocre sites and views. Things you need to remember are sunscreen and bug spray! We forgot bug spray, and I got bit by some deer flies -___-I wish their brochures/pamphlets were better as well. Didn't really give any info. Didn't state how long trails were. Barely any pictures of the animals. We saw turkeys and turtles and bugs. Nothing too exciting.

I have no idea what possessed me to want to pay the Ol' Dismal Swamp a visit as we were a good 45 minutes away then after leaving it would take us an hour to get back to the hotel in VA Beach.Maybe because it was free but more than likely because I was intrigued at something which had dismal in the name or maybe because I was hoping on the off chance to encounter a Black Bear. Who knows?The Refuge got its formal start in 1974 when the federal government purchased the initial 49K+ acres from the Nature Conservancy who acquired it the year prior from the Union Camp Corporation (a logging company). The Dismal Swamp Act of 1974 gave responsibility for the swamp to the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service who over time purchased additional land to give the refuge it's current size of more than 112K acres.While the swamp was formally recognized in the 70's, human involvement in the area dates back around 13,000 years but for the most part until the mid-17th century the area was inhabited by Native Americans.European settlers start to find out about the swamp in 1665 when the first Governor of the Albemarle County colony (what is later called North Carolina) William Drummond discovers the swamp and the large circular freshwater lake which now bears his name at its center. (Historical dork sidebar - Drummond in 1677 is part of the great insurrection called Bacon's Rebellion and is eventually executed by Virginia Governor William Berkeley for his role in the rebellion.)Almost one hundred years later, George Washington visits the swamp and with a group of share-holders he organized the Dismal Swamp Company to drain, farm, and log portions of the swamp. A five-mile hand dug ditch leading from the western boundary of the refuge toLake Drummond.The swamp is also now recognized as an official part of the Underground Railroad as it offered shelter and refuge for freedom-seekers traveling north to the port of Norfolk and beyond.For the purposes of our brief visit to the refuge, it was late in the day and cold as hell outside so we kept things simple by sticking to the Lake Drummond Wildlife Drive which starts at the Railroad Ditch entrance. I know the website mentions needing some kind of a permit and paying a fee but since I'm a douche I didn't bother and the gate at the entrance opened without issue.The road itself from the entrance until you drive the six miles to Lake Drummond is slow going unless you want to damage your car's paint or put nicks in the body on account of the rocky roadbed. Granted we weren't exactly looking for every little thing but aside of an owl we saw no wildlife the ninety minutes we were on the property. Along the way there are trails where you can get out an walk further into the brush/swamp/trees but there is very limited parking to be able to do that. Mostly just a single space or you would need to park I assume along the side of the road.Finally we get to Lake Drummond and while it's beautiful it is also spooky when it's that cold in winter and you're the only people out there for a few miles in any direction without any kind of cell service. It's like a perfect setting for something out of The Walking Dead.Eventually we double back and exit the same way we came in never seeing another car or person the entire time we're there.If you go there are five main access points for the refuge with over eighty miles of trails for hiking and biking. You can fish on Lake Drummond with the proper licenses and permits and hunting for things like deer and bear are available by limited permit in fall and winter but camping is not allowed.While the main refuge office is open Monday-Friday from 8:00 am to 4:00 pm, all trails are open daily year round sunrise to sunset. The one exception to that is the The Lake Drummond Wildlife Drive. It's entrance is gated and is open from April 1 to September 30, 7am-7pm and October 1 to March 31, 7:30am-5:00pm.www.fws.gov/refuge/Great_Dismal_Swamp/

Well to be honest, it's quite..Dismal. Not a whole lot of access. There are a couple trails on the East side but that's it. You have to drive an hour or hour and a half to the Suffolk side I suppose to get to Lake Drummond.

Make sure you wear your bug spray when you come here and don't keep your car door open for too long when you get out. Mosquitoes will swarm your car and try and get inside. The trails are nice and you will see a lot of animals however, they are very short and all of them you have to drive to. This is not the place for you to find one parking spot and stay. You have to drive to each trail you go to. At the end of the last trail, there is a big lake for you to go fishing qnd kayaking in. Not much parking.

First, let me say that there are turtles everywhere. We saw hundreds of turtles. Herons, deer, unusual butterflies, it was unreal. The only word of caution that I can impart is take bug spray. It is a swamp so bugs are part of the game so be prepared. Don't let them discourage you. This pristine place is amazing. I had a really great time.

Free - but you do have to stop in to the refuge center to pick up a pass for your dashboard if you are driving into the refuge. I'm not sure what the purpose of this pass is. You drive on straight gravel paths that run parallel to swampy ditches. Apparently, these straight roads were originally planned out by George Washington! LOTS of bugs and bees along the first path in from the entrance, then less as we went along. The scenery got more interesting, with more open swamps and turtles in the ditches as we went along. Lake Drummond is at the end of the auto trail. The soils from the swamp give it a neat color that makes it look like root beer. We hung out for a while on the dock before heading back. Decent bird and turtle spotting here. Use the free binoculars on the dock!The lake was definitely worth checking out. It is very unique for Virginia. Just be prepared for bugs and a long gravel drive. 3.5-4 stars.

The Great Dismal Swamp is an incredibly unique and strange place, worth checking out if you're interested in unusual ecosystems or, like me, the history of how humans have used them.I came here in March with my sisters, and it was lovely. A couple things to note that I wish I'd understood a bit better up front:1) You will, as other drivers have noted, need to drive between locations and trails in the Swamp, which is vast even though it is a tiny fraction of its former size. That's important to note because parking is pretty limited at most of the trails. By "limited" I mean there could be literally just 1 or 2 spots carved out of the swamp. Since we were visiting in late winter/early spring and during the pandemic, that wasn't an issue, but if there were more even a few more visitors it could have been a pain. Prepare for extra walking if things are at all crowded.2) You truly can't (well, shouldn't) drive at all fast in the park, because of the horrible clouds of dust it kicks up, and because the roads are 1 lane wide and surrounded by swamp. Because of that you'll need some time to drive between locations and see everything.3) There's not a lot of interpretive signage/info around. There's some on the trails, but it left us wanting more and making list of the questions we planned to google as soon as got back in cell phone range again. 4) Although there is a pavilion about the role of the Great Dismal Swamp in the Underground Railroad/ as a place where escaped enslaved people lived, that's the only info available - so if you read about that pavilion online, you've probably already learned everything available to learn on site from the display. I hope they'll add more in the coming years! Although the landscape was extra weird and desolate in March, I suspect late fall through early spring is the best time to visit. Given that the whole place is one giant mosquito breeding ground (many miles of standing water), it must be a nightmare in summer. Definitely worth the trip!