Hungry Mother State Park is a state park in southwestern Virginia. We stayed in the main campground, Camp Burson, which is 1 mile before the main entrance gate. There are 50 sites, some are full hookups and some have electric and water. There is a dump station on site as well as bathrooms and a small laundry. There is lots of hiking and biking trails and a swimming beach at Hungry Mother Lake.
The Legend of Hungry Mother takes many forms, and all have whispers of the truth. The one widely accepted by the people of Southwest Virginia goes like this…
Legend has it that a pioneer named Molly Marley and her small child were captured by a Native American tribe and taken to their mountain camp. Molly and her little one eventually escaped and wandered through the woods foraging for food and searching for shelter. One day Molly collapsed from exhaustion, and the youngster continued along the creek until help was found. The only words the child could utter were “Hungry Mother.” A search party later found Molly dead at the foot of the mountain near the creek.
