Thrashers Lake - September 2008

Four thousand seventy-one foot Mount Pleasant dominates the horizon at Thrashers Lake, Virginia, a 40-acre impoundment which is part of the Buffalo River Water Preservation District in Amherst County. 

Thrashers is a small fishing lake suitable for paddlecraft and small fishing boats with electric motors. The park itself is nice enough, with a good boat ramp and dock, restrooms, a playgound for the kids, picnic tables, and plenty of parking. Unfortunately, there is no view of the mountains from the parking and picnic areas. The Blue Ridge view opens up after you put your boat in the water and paddle around a bend.

The lake is slightly larger than I imagined - I wish I had brought my 17' kayak and my sail (it was finally windy today) - and I was able to do one circuit of the lake in my 14' Heritage in about 30 minutes. Factor in a trip up and down the center of the lake, plus some hanging out to soak up the view, and you have yourself a 45 minute paddle. The county placed four Batteaux in this lake in 1996, securely tied near the boat dock. According to Wikipedia, "A bateau is a shallow-draft, flat-bottomed boat which was used extensively across North America, especially in the colonial period. Bateau were used as freight boats on canals in the northern U.S. until replaced by the larger canal boats in the early 1800s." The remains of four boats can be seen at Thrashers Lake. It is unknown if these are original boats or replicas.

The lake is home to a couple dozen waterfowl. And other than one home tucked into the woods, the banks of this lake are deserted. Except for the geese, I had the lake to myself this afternoon.

This iake is the smallest of the three fishing lakes in this part of Amherst County. The other two are Mill Creek Lake and Stone House Lake. Thrashers Lake is good for a quick afternoon paddle, and given its small size, it's probably deserted most of the time.

View this location in Google Maps by clicking here.