For one couple, the lure of the cabins at Breaks Interstate Park on the Virginia/Kentucky border is a four-season pull, with scenery, hiking and solitude adding to the pleasures of the well-equipped cabins.
Beverly Lynn Stepp comes to Breaks Interstate Park in all seasons, cruising a few hours from her home at Galax, Va., to perch herself at the lip of the giant, fuzzy gorge, where the Russell Fork of the Big Sandy River’s endlessly churning waters scream furiously, year-round.
Come spring, wildflowers blaze in yellow below lonesome pines, pitched alongside conifers hugging the big boulders of the Breaks Canyon’s countless cliffs. Rhododendron rings the edge of trails and blooms magnificently as spring sizzles into summer at The Breaks, where the border between Kentucky and Virginia blurs inside the park’s craggy corridors.
“I love the wild blueberries along the path to Grassy Creek Overlook,” says Stepp, a 48-year-old registered nurse. “I love the walk down the steps to Clinchfield Overlook.”
In hot weather, kids of all ages can splash on the water slides of the park’s newly opened, Hawaiian-themed water park. Then, as water is released upstream at the John W. Flannagan Reservoir, autumn marks the moment to run the rapids of the Russell Fork.
In winter, a mysterious mist shrouds the canyon, says Stepp’s companion, Doug Rener, a software developer from Manassas, Va.
“On overcast or cold days, the mist looks ominous to me,” says Rener, 46. “It gives an adrenaline spike, like when going through a haunted house.”
‘A Vacation House’
Breaks Interstate Park features choices for almost any kind of overnight outing. Sample the campground in either a tent or trailer. Cuddle up in a cottage. Motor into the motel, choosing from recently built units near the Rhododendron Restaurant or beg for one of the vintage motel rooms, each featuring a priceless view of the rocky Russell Fork.
Away from the gorge, look for the park’s five cabins, standing on the banks of Laurel Lake. These handsome jewels rise with the lake on one side and the water park on the other.
And, coming here, says park manager Matthew O’Quinn, “You feel like you actually went to a vacation house.”
Rener praises the “very rustic” cabin design, bearing a wide, open room and a large loft, as well as a stone hearth and beautiful wood varnish. Each harbors a hot tub on a screened-in porch plus a couple of baths, a kitchen, dining area, front porch and a gas fireplace.
“They are beautiful,” Stepp says. “Four out of the five cabins have three large bedrooms. The fifth has two bedrooms and is special-needs accessible.”
‘The Lake Is Gorgeous’
On Laurel Lake, behind the cabins, you can fish for bluegill, cruise in a canoe or pedal a paddle boat.
“The lake is gorgeous, reflective and full of life,” Stepp says. “Each cabin offers a picture-perfect view of the lake, and a cozy stone gas fireplace with two recliners separated by window light and lamp. The kitchen is large and spacious and offers every modern convenience.”
Once, while staying in the cabins just before Christmas in 2009, Stepp says, “We were pleased to have everything we needed to prepare any pre-holiday meal we wanted.”
Here, unlike some state parks, the cabins have cable television.
Which, of course, leads to this: Breaks is not a state park; it’s not a national park, either. It’s a rarity known as an “interstate” park, meaning it’s jointly owned and operated by two states – in this case, the commonwealths of Kentucky and Virginia. Still, most development now exists on the Virginia side, where you’ll find the restaurant, playground, amphitheatre, gift shop and museum – and all the lodging, including those cozy cabins.
“There is peace in those mountains and wisdom,” Stepp says, “so I try and get a recharge and re-grounding at least every couple months.”
‘The Biggest Joy’
Stepp likes to hike, and so does Rener.
“The biggest joy to the park are the trails. They’re all over the place,” Rener says. “I really feel like I’m out in the wilderness due to the fact that we’re down the mountain a bit, and away from everything.”
For this couple, whether it’s gazing at The Towers, standing at the Stateline Overlook, or looking up from the Garden Hole, all is magical.
“I take the deepest breath of that vast glory – that clean, strong, solitary, unchanging mountain air,” Stepp says. “My senses, at that moment, are recharged. I am renewed. I am home.”
Want to Go?
Breaks Interstate Park is located about halfway between Haysi, Va., and Elkhorn City, Ky., along Va. 80, near the Kentucky-Virginia border. Rates for the cabins vary, generally starting at $140 per night. Contact: Breaks Interstate Park, 627 Commission Circle, Breaks, Va., (276) 865-4412. breakspark.com, info@breakspark.com.
