The Town of Clarksville:

I was honored and thrilled to be graciously hosted by the adorable Town of Clarksville, VA, for a romantic weekend getaway with my husband, James. We were celebrating our 3 year wedding anniversary (a little early) – and the lovely town of Clarksville, VA was just what we needed. Clarksville, VA is located right along Buggs Island Lake (Kerr Lake) and is about an hour east of Danville, VA, 30 minutes west of South Hill, VA, and about 1 hour and 20 minutes north of Raleigh, NC! But, what makes Clarksville, VA unique? Let me tell you…

Where to Stay in Clarksville:

Hands down – Cooper’s Landing Inn has to be one of the BEST Bed and Breakfasts in the state of VA! I was extremely impressed with everything at Cooper’s Landing Inn. The owner, Nichol, was very personable, and everyone at Coopers showed us great hospitality! I honestly and whole heartedly recommend setting aside a night or two just to come to Clarksville and stay at Cooper’s Landing Inn!

The Cooper’s is also a popular wedding venue and catering company! There was actually a wedding going on while we were there. Also, they have a delicious farm-to-table restaurant on site, The Travelers Tavern – I will go into more detail about that in the “Where to eat” section of this Travel Blog!

Cooper’s Landing Inn has several rooms in the Main Inn, but they also have separate cottages available! We stayed in their brand new Sunflower Cottage! It has two bedrooms, a kitchen, dining room, bathroom, and living room. To see a video tutorial of the cottage, visit my Instagram feed and click on the “Clarksville, VA” button on the highlights section!

My favorite part was the fact that breakfast is included with your stay… and it is PHENOMENAL! The stuffed French toast is out of this world! When you first arrive in your room or cottage, you fill out the breakfast card and hang it on your door for pick-up. Then, in the morning, you simply walk down to the dining area where they have fresh juice and fruit waiting for you!

Things to Do in Clarksville:

It is a very small town – but that is what makes it so unique and inviting! The downtown area is gorgeous and actually has many thriving businesses! There are several cute shops downtown, including: clothing stores, antique shops, ice cream, home decor, art, a wine and beer shop, restaurants, and more. Plus… the lake! How many small downtown streets are located two steps from a lake front? You can see the lake behind me in the next picture!

Shopping:

There are probably 10-15 shops/businesses downtown; however, I am just going to mention a few that stood out to me:

1. Hite’s has casual, along with some formal, men and women clothing!
2. The Cottage Barn has DELICIOUS ice cream!
3. Galleria on The Lake has a great VA wine and beer selection. Plus, local art!

Buggs Island Brewing:

While wine is my first love, craft beer is my second! We had a great time visiting Buggs Island Brewing! They are located just a short (2 minute) drive away from the downtown Clarksville area. We split a flight, so that we were able to sample each of their different craft beers. I was very pleased with Buggs Island Brewing’s and their wide variety of craft beers on tap. I am sure that everyone can find something that they like! The Amber Ale was both of our favorites!

Also, Buggs Island Brewing has an adorable taproom. It is small – but they did an incredible job of utilizing every inch of space possible to accommodate their customers! We talked with one of the managers and he said that their demand has been so high that they are looking to relocate downtown! So, that would add more business to the downtown area, plus give them more space and more foot traffic! So, if you ever do head over to Clarksville, VA for a getaway, definitely check out Buggs Island Brewing!

Woodbine Vineyards:

This information is a little premature – However, I think that it is important to include for future planning purposes! Woodbine Vineyards is a brand new winery that is going to open just outside of Clarksville, VA. They are still in the planting and preparing stages; so, they are projecting that their grand opening will be in 2020. You may or may not know this, but it takes grape vines around 3 years to mature enough to produce good fruit for wine making. So far, they have planted Cabernet Franc, Merlot, Tannat, Pinot Grigio, and Chardonel grape varietals! So check back with them in a few years for a brand new local winery!

Events:

Throughout the summer, the town of Clarksville, VA hosts many different events for the community! During our visit, there was a “Lake Life Live” event! The downtown streets closed down and they had a big summer outdoor concert! Most local people brought their own lawn chairs, and the streets were filled with people out enjoying the beautiful afternoon!

Here is a list of other upcoming summer events:

• May 12th – Big Lake Flea Market
• June 2nd – Lake Life Live – Summer Concert Series
• July 7th – – Lake Life Live – Summer Concert Series
• July 21st – Lake Fest (Huge Lake Festival)
• August 4th – – Lake Life Live – Summer Concert Series

Where to Eat in Clarksville:

Los Bandidos Mexian Restaurant:

We did visit on Cinco De Mayo, so we had to try out the local Mexican Restaurant, right? I was highly impressed with Los Bandidos Mexican Restaurant in Clarksville, VA! Their salsa was some of the best that I have ever had! Plus, they were giving out free Cinco De Mayo t-shirts! lol 🙂

Travelers Tavern

Ok, so back to talking about The Travelers Tavern, which is the restaurant on site at Cooper’s Landing Inn! We had dinner outside on their gorgeous patio. The patio has vines growing up and over the trellis and beautiful lights wrapped around the entire area. The whole setting looks like a scene out of a movie!

We enjoyed a bottle of Catena, Malbec, which is my absolute favorite go-to wine! It is a bit pricey, but it is so worth it! Then, we ordered bacon pimento cheese as an appetizer, and it was out of this world good! I HIGHLY recommend it!

As our main course, I order a rack of lamb and James ordered a filet steak. All of the food was delicious and very generously portioned. Plus, the sides that came with both were outstanding – cheesy potatoes and perfectly seasoned green beans!

However, next time I would order the steak for myself instead of the lamb. I say that simply because it was a bit difficult to cut into the lamb – not that it was dry, it was just a bit awkward.

And to end the night, we split a brownie sundae! Two huge brownies with a large scoop of ice cream in the middle! Can we say YUM? We were so stuffed after this outstanding meal, but it was so worth it!

Things that we did not get to do:

• The Lake: Obviously, since Clarksville, VA is located on Buggs Island Lake, there are many Lake related activities that you could take part in during the summer months.  You can read about fishing, boating, etc. here!
• Outdoor Activities: In addition to the lake, if you had more time to explore the area, then you could check out some of Clarksville’s off shore activities. Some examples include: golfing and hunting.
• Blue Creek Cove: We were actually quite sad that we didn’t make it by Blue Creek Cove. They are famous for their extravagant donuts! However, after a delicious breakfast at Cooper’s, we were too full for donuts!

Conclusions:

Both James and I were in desperate need of some time away AND some time together! Being a teacher, I am approaching the end of year testing period. And James, being a farmer, is in FULL work mode right now. The lovely town of Clarksville, VA was the perfect quick getaway that we needed! I highly recommend a visit to Clarksville, VA and the Cooper’s Landing Inn next time that you are in need a short, romantic weekend getaway!

As always, please reach out with any questions about the trip! I love talking with you guys about travel tips and ideas! Also, share any upcoming travel suggestions that you might have! I thank you for your continued interest and support for Wine and Weekends! It truly means the world to me! Next Stop? VA Beach Neptune Festival!

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XOXO

This trip was generously sponsored by the Clarksville Chamber of Commerce. However, all reviews and opnions are honestly and organically my own!