Recreational Land in Appomattox County, VA: State Forest & Holliday Lake

Beyond the Civil War history the county is best known for, Appomattox County contains a genuinely large public recreational resource: the Appomattox-Buckingham State Forest, which fully surrounds Holliday Lake State Park. Here's what that means for private land nearby.

This page covers what's specific to Appomattox County. For the general explanation, see the national guide.

A 19,513-acre state forest, not a small county park

The Appomattox-Buckingham State Forest, managed by the Virginia Department of Forestry, covers 19,513 acres scattered along the southern edge of State Route 24, spanning both Appomattox and Buckingham counties, with a mix of oak-hickory and pine forest. That's a substantial, genuinely large tract of public forestland -- large enough that a private parcel bordering or near the state forest boundary can offer real practical recreational value beyond its own deeded acreage. The forest supports hunting, fishing, trapping, hiking, mountain biking, trail running, horseback riding, and wildlife watching as recognized public uses.

The state forest completely surrounds Holliday Lake State Park, a developed recreational anchor within it: the park offers a swimming beach, fishing, boating, a boat ramp, campgrounds, picnic shelters, a playground, a snack bar, a gift shop, and hiking trails including a roughly 6.5-mile loop around the entire lake, with additional access to the state forest's own multi-use trail network beyond the park boundary itself.

What this means for a private land buyer

If recreational use, hunting access, or simple proximity to public forest and a developed lake park is part of why you're evaluating Appomattox County acreage, confirm a specific parcel's actual distance and boundary relationship to the state forest directly -- since the forest's footprint spans two counties and follows an irregular boundary along SR 24 rather than a simple, single contiguous block, don't assume general county-wide proximity translates into direct forest-line adjacency for any specific tract. Also confirm current Virginia Department of Forestry hunting-access rules and any seasonal restrictions directly, since state-forest hunting regulations can differ from a private landowner's own rules on adjoining ground.

A private parcel that borders the state forest can also be a genuinely attractive draw for a recreational-land buyer specifically because it offers effectively expanded hiking, hunting, and trail access beyond its own deeded boundary -- but that same adjacency means confirming the exact surveyed line matters more here than on an interior parcel with only private neighbors on every side. Get a current survey or at minimum a title search referencing the state forest's recorded boundary before assuming where your fence line, if any, should actually run, and ask the county's GIS office whether its parcel viewer shows the state forest boundary accurately enough to rely on for a preliminary look before commissioning a survey.

Recreational Land in Appomattox County, Virginia

A 19,513-acre state forest, not a small county park

What this means for a private land buyer

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