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Travel Virginia: Hungry Mother State Park

Road trips from Fredericksburg, Spotsylvania and Stafford, Virginia

By Jenny Sites August 22, 2021

Hungry Mother State Park is a beautiful wooded area surrounding a 108 acre lake. Campgrounds and cabins are available along with hiking trails, boat launch and biking trails. A beach area with a roped off area for swimming is available during warmer months. (No lifeguard on duty.) 

There is a gift shop and a restaurant in the park, along with public restrooms.

According to the Hungry Mother State Park website,  Legend has it that when the Native Americans destroyed several settlements on the New River south of the park, Molly Marley and her small child were among the survivors taken to the raiders’ base north of the park. They eventually escaped, wandering through the wilderness eating berries. Molly finally collapsed, and her child wandered down a creek until the child found help. The only words the child could utter were "Hungry Mother." The search party arrived at the foot of the mountain where Molly collapsed to find the child's mother dead. Today that mountain is Molly’s Knob, and the stream is Hungry Mother Creek.

Located at

2854 Park Blvd., Marion, VA 24354

This trip is about 4.5 hours from the Fredericksburg area.


*Visit the website for details related to COVID-19 changes.