Breaks Interstate Park

What a beautiful day and this place is worth the $3 admission. We were on our way back from North Carolina and decided to check it out. I see why they say it is the gorge of Kentucky Virginia. It's absolutely gorgeous the overlooks for nothing hard to get to there's a few steps on a couple of them but the state line we just walk straight out on it basically. It's such a beautiful view.

Really fantastic park. Camp grounds were amazing. Lose 1 star as the campground host was always off duty , and a storm came through and we needed some help - would have been nice to have a person around. Another star down - when booking and paying for the campsite there is no mention that at time of check in there’s another charge for the vehicle or vehicles - additional $10 each. Just would have loved to know what it actually costs! No junior ranger coloring books available. They could do a tiny bit better. However views and trails are spectacular and very special

Awesome park! Overlook close to the lodge was one of the best I have ever seen. Not to take away from stars, but if you eat more vegetarian the lodge restaurant has few selections. Mostly fried meat comfort foods. We brought our own food in case. Rooms nice with fridge and microwave. Trip to Haysi Main street country kitchen worth the trip. They will custom make what you want. Small town friendliness there is great.

Oh my gosh!!! This place is where heaven touches earth. It is SO BEAUTIFUL. My husband and I just returned from a long weekend stay at the Catawba Lodge at Breaks Interstate Park and I'm ready to return. We were immersed in natural beauty every hour that we were there. Our room overlooked the gorge and every morning we woke to a white wall of fog off the balcony. Not being able to see into the gorge only sharpened our other senses and the sounds were amazing: the rushing water from the river below; calls from a wide variety of birds, especially the crows; the dripping of the condensed fog from the leaves of the surrounding trees; and the plopping sound of acorns crashes through the branches. The coolest part was watching the sun try to break through the fog. One minute it appeared as a white circle, the next it was sending fuzzy tentacles of light through the branches of the trees, other times it was absent except for its reflection on the thinning areas of fog. Between 9 and 10 AM the fog completely disappears and what is left is a beautiful green view of the gorge, with the sunlight illuminating the green with its golden rays and casting shadows of the opposite side of the rises. During the days we hiked and got ourselves completely surrounded by mountains, woods, water, and rock. Every trail exposed us to different aspects of the park, and the overlooks were amazing. Stateline Overlook provided us with a beautiful sunset one evening. A second beautiful sunset was from the top of a hill during our Elk Tour. The Elk Tour is one of many activities that are available throughout the year at an extra charge. The tour bus leaves from the Visitor Center at 5 PM and goes to an elk grazing and research area. A boxed meal is provided at the shelter with an educational presentation, then followed by a drive around the gravel roads in search of elk, deer, and wild turkeys. On our tour we saw 70+ elk, several deer, and one group of turkeys. The restaurant, Rhododendron, is in the same building with registration/check-in, gift shop, and conference center. One side of the restaurant overlooks the gorge and a wooden deck. One evening we had young deer right outside the window. We had breakfast and dinner, so I'm providing the menus from that; I'm not sure about lunch (we were out on the trails during lunch hours). The food is good and reasonably priced. The staff friendly and attentive. I needed a jacket on two occasions due to AC temp. Check-in was pleasant, with the staff member being very helpful with suggestions for overlooks and trails. The check-in desk is also the check-out desk for gift shop purchases. And, the gift shop is full of wonderful park themed T-shirts, caps, books, hiking aids, and souvenirs. There is even a section for children. Across the drive from the gift shop lot is the Visitor Center. The staff are knowledgeable and informative of park activities. There is a gift shop in the Visitor Center that has different items than the other gift shop. There is also a small museum about the history of the area. And, outside the visitor center are examples of things common before the park was a park. There are playgrounds throughout the park, as well as shelters, picnic tables, cabins, campsites, a water-park (seasonal), boat ramps, lakes and ponds. It is a wonderful destination and one that will call me back again and again.

This is a beautiful park, with gorgeous views from the overlooks and trails. The campground is very nice and quiet, with bathrooms that are cleaned daily. Some sites have hookups, some are primitive. All the ones I saw looked pretty level. There are cabins that can be rented, and also a lodge with hotel rooms. The lodge also has a buffet and made to order restaurant , which is heavy on the fried food but decent enough. Great breakfast. There are playgrounds for the kiddies. There’s even a water park that’s open during the summer. There are hiking and biking trails, ponds to fish in, and fantastic cliff lines for the rock climbers. It has a little bit of everything!

Very nice for the most part. The campsites vary greatly in terms of how nice the "camp side" is so do your research. Playgrounds are adequate where they are and splash park is fun. Nearby Flanagan lake offers great boating and fishing. Remote. Bring what you need. Biggest con would be man sized poison ivy EVERYWHERE.

We stayed in Cabin 1 for 8 days and it was absolutely fantastic! We saw deer right outside our door almost everyday. The food in the Park restaurant was great and the Park staff friendly and helpful! The views from the overlooks are incredible. We also saw several elk along the Coal Fields Expressway! If you are looking for a relaxing vacation with beautiful scenery you cannot beat the Breaks Interstate Park.

We stayed at Catawba Lodge. It was very dated, but the view from the balcony was breathtaking. Unfortunately, guest at the lodge are on their own for food services Monday through Wednesday as they only have the restaurant open Thursday through Sunday. There’s really very limited options in nearby cities unless you pack your own. There’s a great visitor center. That should be on your list of “must see “. Very peaceful, relaxing, and certainly friendly!

Beautiful place to visit! The overlooks are awesome. The hiking trails offer a good workout plus you get to see some amazing scenery!

Wow, what a beautiful place!! Even the drive in is impressive! Stop by the Towers Overlook for an amazing view of the Breaks! The trails are well marked and well maintained. Believe them when they say they are strenuous, though! The Bottom of the Breaks Trail is stunning, but it's quite a trek! The lodge is set up hotel style, and the Dogwood Lodge is pet friendly! I saw an elk and so many deer! Hit all the overlooks, hike the trails, eat at the restaurant, and stay somewhere in this gorgeous park! There's a lake and nearby rivers if you are a boater or a paddler!

The Breaks was beautiful. The view at the over look was spectacular. I will go again. The only thing was the gift shop was close. You could not make reservations. We called the number but nobody called us back.

Nature at its finest! Trails, food and atmosphere. Come to Gods country and enjoy . I've lived within 5 minutes of this place my whole life. Absolutely love it!

All my life, my family has been coming here for a special treat. So, when I returned to SW Virginia after being away for a few decades, I certainly had to take my family for a visit. The mountains are just as beautiful as they have always been. Maybe a little worn down over the ages (ok, sometimes I just feel old). The overlooks are pretty fantastic. We went to the tunnel overlook. We went the "long" way. You can go to the second parking lot from the Visitor center for a much quicker hike, but it wasn't an epic journey through tunnels of mountain laurel and rhododendrons. Your choice for the jungle experience or the straight run. Once there, the views of the tower and tunnel were spectacular. We also stopped at the Lodge Restaurant for lunch. It was just an awesome, calming time. I really wish we had spent days instead of an afternoon. Maybe when I retire, we will stay longer in the fall. I had the club sandwich which was really good. The fries in it were just the way I like them: crispy on the outside and soft in the middle. Waitress was good & prompt which checks all the boxes for me. DEFINITELY recommend this for a visit. Whatever your outdoor criteria is, this place will meet it.

First of all, this place is beautiful. The scenic overlooks are all amazing and fairly easy to access. I kept running into all kinds of wildlife on the trails. The trails are incredibly well kept and free of trash or obstruction. All of the staff are very nice and informative.

Oh there are so many wonderful things to say about this majestic park. Such a wonderful gift. It's grand yet quiet and offers many options to enjoy mother nature. My family lives very close to this beautiful piece of Heaven on earth. High on top of the Appalachian Mountains, this is a must see if you are near the Kentucky West Virginia border. My cousins would drive up on a regular basis as teens looking for fun. When I visited from Wisconsin, they would take me up for a visit too. The sheer height and grandness of it all is deeply engrained in my memory. Looking down, my stomach would do summersaults. If you wait for it, you can see a tiny train down below chugging past where two mountains meet. On my last visit, so much had changed. Instead of a just a quiet little piece of nature, there is now a campground and small motel. I think it's nice that it offers more visitors and families the opportunity to enjoy this special gift. Easy to get to, just off a small highway, the park offers walking trails and many look out points. As an adult, I have a fear of heights and I often wonder if it came from standing on the edge of those cliffs looking out at the wonderment before me. I cannot wait to go visit my cousins again. I'll take another ride up that mountain and think about my childhood memories. I'll bring my camera, as this park offers many photo opportunities.

This hidden gem on the state line of Virginia & Kentucky is absolutely beautiful. There are several scenic overlook points to stop and take pictures, as well as picnic areas and several spots for your family to enjoy a gorgeous day outdoors. We made a quick stop here on our way to Kentucky but I'm looking forward to going back to spend more time.

This was the most beautiful and enjoyable place I've had ever been. And my wife and I have been many places. All the staff that we had the pleasure to meet was outstanding to our family. I recommend anyone who needs a break from everyday life to come here to regain there insanity. My granddaughter had the time of her little life. Thank you from the, Francis family

Great spot. Beautiful views. And peaceful! The online pictures of rooms look frightening, but they are somewhat poorly advertised. I asked for the cleanest room and they put me in hemlock. All white walls. Clean smelling. However the rooms with paneled walls do have the best views. Reviews online had me nervous about dining here. Reviews are accurate. Bring your own food and drinks. Kids meal came out 20 minutes after our meals and we ordered it when ordering beverages. We were the only people in the restaurant and it was filthy. Our room has a mini frig, but no way to reheat leftovers from the restaurant. This place has so much potential but it's way overpriced for how outdated it is. Camping would make more sense due to all you'd need to bring to stay in the hotel/lodge for 100+ a night. I asked for a gallon of tea to take back to my room and they wanted 17 dollars, which was insane to me. Tea bags are cheap. Serious price gauging here. It's no wonder it's a ghost town during their peak season. Save your money. Visit the park for the day instead. Or come prepared to overspend for super8 style lodging.

My experience in this park was interesting. All together, there were 10 of us who stayed here for a week in June 2016 and the intention was to split into two cabins. Unfortunately, when the second group was booking their stay, they say "lakefront cottage", instead of Cabin, and the booking agent didn't question the fact that there are no lakefront cottages. So, my group was booked into a cabin and the other group was booked into a much smaller cottage with no view of the lake. Not the end of the world, but it also meant that our two groups did not get to stay side by side. Pros: Cabins are spacious and lovely and are equipped with a hot tub on the back porch! Cottages are also very nice, but less spacious Walking trails are well maintained Boats that are available for rent are in good working condition Cons: Hot Tub did not come with operating instructions Back porch included a netted section around the hot tub so critters could not get in, but there were many big holes in it Swimming pool is uncomfortably cold $8.00 admission to the pool area, even if you are staying in the park The deepest part of the pool is only 4 ft deep Plenty of places to fish, but nobody actually caught anything. Like... nothing. My family fished quite a bit, and we asked other families that we saw in the area. I may consider going back sometime, if other family members were going, but it would not be my first pick.

Camping here for 4 days. Well spaced campsites. Most are heavily shaded. Electric, water and sewer. Beautiful overlooks. Friendly park staff. Nice restaurant. Only negative and it is not about the park itself is the twisty and narrow roads you must use to get here.

The Breaks Interstate Park is a thing of natural beauty. Most of my extended family lives in the nearby areas and we've always had our yearly reunions at the park in one of their shelters. We just had a somewhat impromptu picnic at a shelter next to another one that was celebration a wedding. Beautiful place for all sorts of events. Also got in a little hike with my pup to one of the overlooks. Breathtaking! My family and I stayed at the campground there for the first time since we were hauling a camper from out of state and it seemed like a good idea to park the camper at the park for the week we were there, rather than hauling it any more than we had to on those windy coal mountain roads. We had a great stay! The only complaint I have for the campgrounds and the park in general are about their restrooms and other facilities. The restrooms by the shelters didn't have lights on, and were kind of dirty overall. The restrooms/shower areas were full of bugs and one of the only two showers didn't even work, it just leaked all day. If the campground had been busy when we stayed, I would've really had a problem with it. Luckily, there was only one day I took my time waking up and missed my chance for a shower because there was a line waiting for it. I was happy they had a laundry room on site, but disappointed to find just one washer and two dryers for the whole campground, and the laundry room housed some of the biggest spiders I've seen outside of the zoo. But we got our clothes clean, I suppose that's all that really matters. The park is beautiful, they just need to do a little updating and maintenance.

Lots of fun outdoor activities! If you need a weekend away from the city, or some time in nature, this is a good place to go. My boyfriend and I arrived late for check in, however the receptionist had our keys ready in a drop box to pick up. She was extremely helpful and polite! We stayed in a non-smoking and no pets room and it smelled like clean laundry. While this place is a little out of date, nothing was broken and it's VERY clean. Not a speck of dust to be found! They do have flatscreen TVs and basic cable, but you don't come here to watch tv! We visited in mid march, before the open season, and the weather was perfect. If you're here in the summer, you could easily sleep with the windows open. It's so naturally quiet outside, and you don't need to worry about noisy neighbors because they have quiet hours are from 10pm to 6am. Definitely recommend for couples or families!

This was on my daughter and boyfriends bucket list and they enjoyed this so much! The staff was so friendly and informative.

We've lived in Kentucky most of our life and never heard of Breaks Interstate Park. We were traveling around Eastern Kentucky and staying in the State Park campgrounds Someone asked us if were had ever been to Breaks Park? After saying no we did a little research on the internet and decided to drive over and give it a try. If you are pulling a trailer there are a few challenges getting there. Just take it easy and drive slow. The campground is gorgeous and the sites are large with full hookups. If you don't camp, there is a lodge as well as beautiful cabins. There is much to do there from hiking, swimming, biking or just site seeing. They also have a pool, playground and a Nature Center that is well staffed. The views and scenery are spectacular. It is quite a drive to the nearest town so plan your activities accordingly. We will definitely go back and stay in one of the beautiful cabins.

Me and my family was looking for a great place for the summer once we found out there was no longer a pool we we not interested. This place has gone down hill since I was a kid.

We had a great time. Views were excellent and trails were well maintained. We tried canoeing and that went very well also. The restaurant was ok, basic standards. We stayed in the hotel at the park and everything was clean and probably updated in the last few years. Everything was priced well too. There was a nice water park for families too on site. There is no shopping in the surrounding area, coal mining towns, so pack what you need.

I live in Virgina we road motorcycles to the breaks it is beautiful. The restaurant there is delicious. If you are looking for a day trip or for a night or two they have cabins you can rent. If you have never been you should go try other out. It is georgous to take pictures have a picnic or eat later the restaurant. The Breaks Park would be a beautiful place for your honeymoon or anniversary. Everyone should visit.

Sadly disappointed with our visit I took the teen age grandkids to a kiddie plash pool. The park restrooms were less than desireable every thing to costly to enjoy.

This is the Grand Canyon of the South! The overlooks were breath taking! This was an exceptional place for pictures and nice nature trails.The trails are well marked and have stairs hued out to assist a smooth path. There were tourists everywhere willing and able to help you with those group pictures you want, in return for you doing the same for them. I was very glad we stopped. It would have been a bad thing to miss this. For those who need it,the overlooks were not wheel chair access able.

After looking at a pretty slick website, we reserved a 51' pull-through site. While it is technically a pull-through, it has a 90 degree bend in the middle making it impossible to pull my fifth wheel through. All of their pull-throughs are designed this way. After see-sawing a bunch, we managed to wedge our trailer into the site. I had to disconnect my truck at a sharp angle just to get it out the other end of the site. It's going to be a treat trying to hook up. Bathrooms were what you would expect from a lower end campground. Peeling paint, leaking faucets, mold and bugs in the corner of the shower and the ever present, half rotted wooden bench. This place might work for you if you have a smaller camper and don't plan on using their facilities but we're not going to return. Marking this one up as lessons learned.

The park is really nice and there were several nice additions to the park (Water park and Cabins). The restaurant and lodge were a disappointment. The lodge had not been updated in a long time and the food was just okay.

This is a very beautiful place. I love going out to the overlooks and hiking down the trails to the river.

I took my kids & grandson to the new waterpark at the Breaks on June 21, 2013. If you have little ones, this is fantastic. Lots of age appropriate play areas, very clean. The only drawbacks were not quite enough seating and the food choices at the "grill" were slim (no healthy choices either). However, bring towels - there's plenty of grassy area - and pack your own picnic to eat before going in and you will have a 5 star day!

You want room 125 in the Catawba lodge Trust me. Pack your breakfast with you, there's a fridge in the room. Didn't eat at the lodge (not open weekdays off season), so ate in Grundy or Pikeville.

I camped here for 2 nights in June 2015. I considered getting a room in the lodge, but decided to save money and camp in the campground. I did buy one of my breakfasts in the lodge's restaurant, and that was very nice. This state park is administered by two states in a partnership. It seems that the park has EVERYTHING -- comfy hotel accommodations, nice restaurant and gift shop, good campground, camp store, small lake with boat rental, swimming pool complex, beaver pond, hiking trails, and most of all, the park has a series of overlooks that provide fabulous views of the mountain terrain and the very wild river, the Russel Fork of the Big Sandy River. The river cuts through the mountains, creating the "Grand Canyon of the South." In this park, all the facilities are high-quality and well maintained. This is a great place to visit. I think you should stay for a couple nights, at least, in order to see everything there is to see here. Highly recommended.

The Breaks Park is a hidden gem for anyone wanting to "get back to nature." nestled in forty six hundred acres of unspoiled wilderness in the middle of Appalachia. The accommodations are clean, reasonable, and varied, depending on your needs. The oldest motel units offer the best views but the newer units are close to the resturant, convention center, and outdoor ampitheatre. There are also well appointed cabins and campsites offered. Access is the big problem as you will have forty miles of bad road, meaning narrow, two-lane, winding mountain roads once you leave the four-lane, to get there. Trust me, its worth the trip! I have been returning year after year for the scenery and relaxation. Each labor day week-end for the past sixty years gospel singing groups from several surrounding states have assembled to sing, worship and fellowship. What a treat, and no admission to the amphitheatre to sit and listen. You may want to bring a folding chair or a blanket to sit on the hillside as the bleachers fill up early. For recreation there is a small lake with paddle boats (fishing allowed), a large swimming pool, nature trails for hiking--and unbelievable scenery. To top it all off, nearby is a sweet nine-hole golf course that will challange your skill and stamina. Truly a great vacation stay!

The restaurant is just plain awful. I've literally had more attentive service in East Germany. The waitresses' attitude suggests that they really couldn't care less. And they probably don't, since they're the only show in town. And while I'm making comparisons, I've been in outhouses less fragrant than the men's room. There were soap dispensers, but they weren't even hooked up to soap! My guess is that they were just there for decoration. Bad food, butt-ugly hotel, in the middle of what was once pristine mountain wilderness.

Had to listen to trucks idle all night, no tv no hot water, wake up was stump grinder in the morning, next time well stay in town and drive out to park.