Things to do at Lake Anna: a weekend guide

Lake Anna sits about 90 minutes from Washington, an hour from Richmond and Charlottesville, and 45 minutes from Fredericksburg, which means most people are unpacked by lunch on day one. Here is how to spend the rest of the weekend, whether your group runs on horsepower, hiking boots, or a long tasting flight.

Get on the water

This is a boating lake first. There is no speed limit on the open water, the main channel runs long and wide, and the coves along the shoreline stay calm enough for swimming off the back of a pontoon.

If you are not trailering your own boat, the marinas on the public side have you covered. Anna Point Marina runs a full-service operation with rentals and slips, Pleasants Landing rents pontoons and other watercraft, and Drift & Float books pontoons and jet skis online before you arrive. Plan on roughly $400 to $700 a day for a pontoon and $300 to $500 per jet ski, and reserve ahead for summer weekends, because the fleet sells out before the weather does.

No motor required, though. Early morning is the lake's best hour, when the water goes to glass and a kayak or paddleboard is the right speed for it.

Spend a morning at Lake Anna State Park

The park covers more than 3,100 acres on the public side and earns its reputation. There is a designated swim beach, a fishing pier, kayak and paddleboard rentals, and better than 15 miles of trails through the woods and along the shoreline. No lifeguards, so swimming is at your own risk. The old gold mine walk is the sleeper hit, a short interpretive trail through what was once real Virginia gold country. Go early, claim a picnic shelter, and let the day sprawl.

Eat and drink like you have a boat

Two of the best meals at Lake Anna do not require a car. Tim's at Lake Anna and The Cove are both dock-up restaurants, which means you arrive by water, tie off, and order crab legs or a burger with the lake still moving under you a little.

Off the water, Lake Anna Winery pours tastings with picnic grounds and a calendar of seasonal events. If your group takes wine seriously, the Charlottesville wineries, Barboursville, Pippin Hill, and Veritas among them, are about an hour southwest and make a proper afternoon of it. And on Saturday mornings from May through October, the Mineral Farmers Market sets up early. Get there before the good tomatoes leave.

Fish it

Lake Anna is one of Virginia's most productive fisheries. Largemouth bass hold along the docks and grass lines, crappie stack up in the coves, catfish run deep, and the lake's striped bass are the headline act, especially in fall when they school on the surface and the birds give them away. Bring a rod even if you are not a fishing family. Dock fishing at dusk converts skeptics.

A sample Saturday

Coffee on the porch while the lake is still flat. Pontoon from mid-morning, with a swim stop in a quiet cove and lunch tied up at Tim's. Back by mid-afternoon for naps, books, and a slow hour on the dock. Fire lit by seven, dinner outside, and nobody checks the time.

Stay on the quiet part of the public side

Lakewood puts you inside all of it without the noise. The house sits in the hardwoods directly across the water from the State Park, with a private covered dock, kayaks provided, and five bedrooms across two levels for up to 14. The marinas and dock-up restaurants are a short ride away, and the first coffee of the morning is closer than any of them. Check availability here.