Best Virginia Lakes for Sailing & big water

6 Virginia lakes meet our sailing & big water bar — each has a cited public-access or conditions signal behind it. Top of the list: Smith Mountain Lake in Bedford County. Ranked by public boat ramps and marinas on open water (≥2,000 acres); surface acreage and live readings are shown where published.

Public boat ramps come from VDWR open data; marinas from OpenStreetMap; surface acres from USGS NHD or cited research.

  1. 1

    Smith Mountain Lake

    Bedford County, VA20,600 acres

    20,600 acres of open water

    See full conditions & things to do
  2. 2

    Claytor Lake

    Pulaski County, VA4,472 acres

    4,472 acres of open water

    See full conditions & things to do
  3. 3

    Leesville Lake

    Pittsylvania County, VA3,270 acres

    3,270 acres of open water

    See full conditions & things to do
  4. 4

    Lake Anna

    Louisa County, VA13,000 acres

    13,000 acres of open water

    See full conditions & things to do
  5. 5

    Lake Chesdin

    Chesterfield County, VA3,100 acres

    3,100 acres of open water

    See full conditions & things to do
  6. 6

    Lake Moomaw

    Alleghany County, VA2,530 acres

    2,530 acres of open water

    See full conditions & things to do

More best-of lists for Virginia lakes

Virginia sailing & big water — frequently asked

What is the best lake for sailing & big water in Virginia?

Smith Mountain Lake in Bedford County tops the list — 20,600 acres of open water. 6 Virginia lakes qualify for this list overall.

How is this Virginia sailing & big water list ranked?

Every lake on the list has a cited public-access or conditions signal — never an opinion. Sailing-eligible lakes have ≥2,000 acres of open water and at least one ramp or marina; we rank by access count, then by acreage. LakeVibe doesn't invent rankings: a lake only appears here when the data already supports it.

Which Virginia lakes are best for sailing & big water?

Our top picks are Smith Mountain Lake, Claytor Lake, Leesville Lake, Lake Anna. Tap any lake for its full conditions, things to do, and where to stay.