North Bend Park OSAGE Picnic Shelter

North Bend Park is located on John H. Kerr Reservoir, a 50,000-acre lake that extends 39 miles up the wooded, cove-studded shoreline of the Roanoke River in Virginia and North Carolina. North Bend is the largest park on Kerr Lake and is located near Kerr Dam and the Corps Visitor Assistance Center. Kerr Reservoir, also known as Buggs Island Lake, was created with the construction of the John H. Kerr Dam in 1952, and its 800 miles of wooded shoreline stretch across six counties and two states. North Bend Park has a large day use area with picnic shelters and a swim beach, 3 boat launching ramps, an amphitheater, a disc golf course and a paved 1.5-mile bicycle trail. The OSAGE picnic shelter is the only shelter that can be reserved. The shelter in the day use area is open to the public. North Bend Park is forested and offers plenty of shade, and the shelter is shaded and near an accessible fishing pier and restrooms. Wildlife viewing is popular just below Kerr Dam, where waterfowl and bald eagles can be observed year around. This area, called Tailrace Park, has a wheelchair accessible canoe and kayak launch into the river, and is part of the Virginia Blueways Trail. Public lands around the lake are open to hunting with appropriate state licenses, with game species including whitetail deer, wild turkey, bobwhite quail, mourning dove, gray squirrel, cottontail rabbit, fox and raccoon. Resident waterfowl species include wood duck, black duck, mallard and Canadian geese. There are 26 Wildlife Management Areas around the lake that provide year-round opportunities for hiking, wildlife viewing and birding, and Buggs Island, located immediately below the dam, attracts migrating bald eagles in the winter and osprey in the summer, as well as gulls, great blue herons, waterfowl and the occasional river otter. Several trails are available for hiking and biking — the 1.5-mile Liberty Nature Trail and the 5.5-mile Robert Munford Trail are both a short drive away — and the lake is widely known for fishing, with large-mouth bass, striped bass, crappie and flathead catfish available. About a half-mile away, at the intersection of Mays Chapel Road and State Route 4, visitors will find the Joseph S.J. Tanner II Environmental Education Center. The center has interpretive programs and exhibits for the public from Memorial Day through Labor Day, on Saturdays and Sundays. Gas, groceries, firewood and restaurants are located within 2 miles, and also within 20 minutes in Boydton and South Hill, Virginia.