Lewisburg Area information:
Launch site: Caldwell launch site on Greenbrier River, free
Paddleboard rental nearby or Bring Your Own Board: See Melvin at Wild River Coffee or BYOB
Nearby lodging: Lewisburg motels or go big and spend the night a Jim Justice’s Greenbrier Resort
Dining options: Food & Friends (causal) Café Del Sol (causal) The Greenbrier – The Forum (Italian – try the coal fired pizza) various fast food nearby in Lewisburg or White Sulfur Springs
“Other nearby area activities: Hiking and Mountain Biking – Greenbrier State Forest
Second stop – Sherwood Lake
I almost skipped Sherwood Lake on the tour, but thanks to my talk with Melvin, I decided to make a visit to Sherwood, this is a remote lake, but it has became my favorite small lake for paddleboarding, this lake is epic, today we were one of only a few people in the park, water was glass, the sky was blue with big clouds and it was still the only sound I could hear was a few birds and a camper chopping firewood. The water was a little brackish, 72 degrees, it was the calmest water of the tour, I launched at the boat ramp and headed out around the island to the main body of the lake and paddled in the direction of the dam, then around another island and back by the swim area and through a narrow canal under the walking bridge to the island, this little canal had a marsh area to the right and made for a interesting paddle. Sherwood Lake is a great place to paddle even being a small lake, the lake is a US Forest Service Lake. I will be back during the fall to do a fall foliage paddle session. We loaded up and headed to our next stop Lake Moomaw.
Sherwood Lake Area Information:
Launch site: Boat launch area near swimming area, $3 fee
Paddleboard rental nearby or Bring Your Own Board: BYOB – bring your own board
Nearby lodging: Camping at Sherwood Lake Recreation Area
Dining options: Plan on bring your own food
Other nearby area activities: Hiking, Mountain Biking, Fishing
Third stop – Lake Moomaw
Once I got back into cell service I called a friend from my days at The Homestead Resort, Mike Peery to see if he could get away from work to try a paddleboard session, he was able to get away and we planned to meet a the Fortney Branch Boat Launch, we arrived at the launch before Mike, so Rasta and Bahama did a little swim before we headed out on the paddleboard session. This was Mike’s first paddleboard experience, I gave Mike a brief instructional clinic and we headed out, Mike learned the basics quickly (paddleboarding is easy to learn, the key is getting the basic skills and instruction before heading out on your own). We paddled out the cove to the main body of the lake, the lake has a couple islands to explore, and a nice cove that leads up to the dam . The lake was clear and 72 degrees, the fall drawn down was in progress, so the water level was down about 15’, the coves were calm and glassy, there was slight breeze on the main body of the lake, but the water was still fairly calm, a couple boats from a Friday morning bass fishing tournament. Moomaw is a great lake for camping, they have three camping areas, some are even waterfront, this makes for a nice paddleboard weekend or mid week getaway, there are plenty of areas to explore on the paddleboard around the lake, a couple of my favorite areas are some of the coves that still have standing trees from when the lake was built and the Bolar Flats area, this area normally has plenty of wildlife to view along the shore. Lake Moomaw is a US Forest Service Lake. We loaded up and headed for our next stop Douthat State Park.
