Smith Mountain Lake Community Park

Smith Mountain Lake Community Park encompasses a wooded peninsula that stretches out into Smith Mountain Lake. The trail leading out to the park passes through dense conifers to a mix of pines and deciduous woodland. The area hosts many of the resident birds found in the woods of the western Piedmont while providing an attractive site to look for migrant songbirds. The area’s almost 360-degree view of open water on Smith Mountain Lake is ideal for searching for waterfowl. Common loons, horned grebes and numerous waterfowl can be found in the surrounding inlets as well as ring-billed gulls, double-crested cormorants, great blue herons and an occasional tern or other vagrant. The lakeshore should also be carefully searched for several species of damselflies and potentially half-a-dozen or more dragonfly species.