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Martinsville-Henry County, va
Philpott Lake Celebrates 65 Years!
2018 marks the 65 th anniversary of
Philpott Lake, located in Virginia’s
Henry, Patrick, and Franklin counties.
Philpott Dam was built by the U.S. Army
Corps of Engineers from 1948-1953 to
control flooding in the area and created
beautiful Philpott Lake, which is now a
recreational hotspot in Southern Vir-
ginia.
Nestled among the rolling foothills of
Virginia's Blue Ridge, Philpott Lake is a
scenic wonderland. The lake covers
3,000 acres with 100 miles of shoreline.
188 | Spring 2018 | Travel South
The lake has eight campgrounds, six
beach areas, and nine boat launches.
Every year hundreds of thousands of
visitors enjoy boating, fishing, camping
and hiking at Philpott. The lake offers
pleasure boaters and paddlers a variety
of places to explore including hidden
waterfalls, scenic rock outcrops and
three islands. Deer Island, the largest of
the three, offers nightly camp site
rentals that are only accessible via boat.
Locals and visitors alike enjoy fishing
the reservoir for walleye, smallmouth
bass, carp and largemouth bass.
Philpott has played host to several re-
gional and national fishing champi-
onships like the FLW College Fishing
Tournament and the Fishers of Men
Tournament. Throughout boating sea-
son, you can usually find a small group
fishing tournament to join and take
home the prize - bragging rights! In
2014, the Philpott Marina officially
opened and now offers fisherman and
boaters the convenience of not having
to leave the lake to refuel or grab extra
supplies.