Sugar Hollow Comes Alive As Weather Turns Warmer

What a difference a week makes.

While spending more than an hour at the Sugar Hollow picnic area in Bristol, Va., two Sundays ago, we could have streaked through the park the entire time without shaming ourselves.

We enjoyed the solitude, but were simultaneously puzzled by the lack of people. The afternoon was cool, but sunny. My husband and 11-year-old son, Nelson, hiked a trail to the top of the adjacent ridge. I walked around and through both nearby playgrounds with my younger son, Miles, 7, while he tried to determine which was better. We finally wandered to the creek, where he couldn’t resist tossing a few rocks into the water.

Easily an hour passed on our playground and creek adventures. We didn’t spot another human. Eventually we wandered back to the car, just as the rest of our brood was coming down off the trail, our happy, panting dog, Jake, leading the way.

This is like our own secret place, the boys agreed.

Fast forward a week.

With a picnic lunch, bottled water and my teenaged daughter, we returned to Sugar Hallow last Sunday. Sunny and easily 20 degrees warmer than on the previous visit, the place was crawling with people. Spring had sprung.

Families were eating lunch at nearly all of the covered picnic shelters. Several children were wading in the creek. Dozens of kids were playing at both playgrounds. A birthday party was underway, complete with pizza and balloons.

We found a table beside the creek and spread out our lunch. Miles had no interest in eating, only in wading. He stayed in the water, muddy and wet, and grinning ear to ear.

The older kids gobbled turkey sandwiches, laid in the sun, played with the dog and did their own creek wading. They struck up conversations with some of our neighbors, who we were surprised to see at the picnic area, and some friendly strangers, who were enjoying this glorious day.

We also made a return trip to the nearby Sugar Hollow campground to weigh the benefits and drawbacks of every single site. Yes, we have carefully examined every one of the 75 campsites at Sugar Hollow, using our own patented and laser-honed rating scale. Nelson set up a pretty strict judging regimen that measures all the most important things – cleanliness vs. rustiness of the on-site grill, quality vs. rickitiness of the picnic table, and proximity to the bathrooms.

There were other factors, such as how deep the site was, to park more than one vehicle, and the proximity to a small play area. We came up with our top contenders, giving each got a red dot.

The superachiever sites – clean grill, good picnic table, level, long site, close to bathrooms – also got a check mark and a notation on the separate list Nelson was keeping. Some of the best sites, in our humble opinion, are 11, 20, 27, 43 and 46.

The very best one? I won’t tell you. The scouting last Sunday was in advance of the kids’ spring-break camping trip. If we lose the best-ever campsite because I revealed it in the newspaper, the boys will never forgive me.

Look for a full report – including s’mores, tent pitching and scary stories – next week.

Nelson has said he hopes it will be the most fun he’s ever had. I hope the boys have a ball and there are no first-aid stories to tell afterward.

In the meantime, get out to the Sugar Hollow picnic area, the playground, campsite or walking trails. The weather is warming up, so get outside and enjoy it.

Suzanne Tate is the opinion page editor at the Bristol Herald Courier and can be reached at or (276) 645-2534.