Leesylvania State Park

Good for Going for a walk, fishing, picnicking, or boating, they have a boat ramp and several people seem to be using this park for boat days.

**Leesylvania State Park — Freestone Point Fishing Pier** **★☆☆☆☆ (1/5)** Came Labor Day morning with my 4-year-old to catch a fish. What we got was a theme-park entry line dressed up as “outdoors.” You have to reserve online or they turn you around. Then it’s two checkpoints just to get in — gate energy before you’ve touched a rod. Pay the fee, become inventory, proceed to the rail. Freestone pier was shoulder-to-shoulder NoVA. People had been fishing all morning. Nobody was catching. Soft plastics hanging in brown water, shrimp soaking, empty buckets. The tide moves on, the bite dies, and you’re still paying for the privilege of standing there. Even if you hook up: Potomac fish here come with PCB advisories. So the grand prize is catch-and-release theater — entertainment for adults, nothing you should feed a kid. You’re a cash cow on a wooden plank over water that won’t feed your family. Oh, and the ranger welcome package: hard stop, spotlight in the face, that special holiday feeling of being processed. Not fishing. Throughput. If you want scenery and a managed crowd, go ahead. If you want your kid to catch something on a quiet bank without booking a reservation and clearing two gates — go somewhere else. Burke, a farm pond, literally any less famous hole. Freestone didn’t fail because we sucked. It failed because it’s built to extract parking money and herd people, not put fish in a 4-year-old’s hands. **Would not return. Bring patience, not expectations. Or just don’t come.**

Great destination! Enjoyed the open trail and peaceful outdoor atmosphere.

⭐️ 1 STAR — EXTREMELY DISAPPOINTED AND UPSET I am beyond angry and disappointed after what happened at Leesylvania State Park today. What was supposed to be a nice day with my husband and kids, enjoying food and spending time together, turned into an extremely uncomfortable and upsetting experience because of the way the security/police staff treated visitors. While families were peacefully eating, enjoying themselves, and having a good time, we were repeatedly being told to leave before the sundown and it wasn’t even dark time, The attitude and way we were spoken to made the entire environment feel hostile and unwelcoming. There is a huge difference between enforcing park rules and treating people with disrespect. What upset me the MOST was seeing three young girls trying to get an Uber after the gate was closed. They asked the security/police officer if he could simply help them get to the gate so their Uber could safely pick them up. His response was essentially that he didn’t care and that they needed to find their own way. ARE YOU SERIOUS?! These were three young women asking for help. Instead of making sure they were safe, they were left to figure it out themselves. My husband, my kids, and I ended up giving these girls a ride because we were not going to leave them in that situation. I honestly cannot understand how someone whose job is supposed to involve protecting and helping people could respond that way. If you are working in a position of authority, you should know how to communicate with the public, especially when young women are asking for help. The officer’s behavior was rude, cold, disrespectful, and completely unprofessional. It also gave me serious concerns about whether everyone was being treated equally, and the interaction left me with an uncomfortable impression that I cannot ignore. I am REALLY angry about this. People come to a state park to relax, enjoy nature, eat with their families, and have a good time—not to feel like they are being treated like a problem. Leesylvania State Park needs to seriously look into how its security/police staff are treating visitors. This is unacceptable. Please review what happened and take appropriate action because this is NOT how people should be treated. After today, I will NEVER come back to this park. I will also be telling my friends, family, and community about my experience so they can think twice before spending their money and time here. Absolutely unacceptable. Do better.

Great destination! Enjoyed the open trail and peaceful outdoor atmosphere.