The Vacation Home: Welcome to Lake Retreat, it is more than just a vacation home. Lake Retreat is a peaceful, quiet escape from the hectic pace so many of us live. This 4 bedroom, 2 full and 1 half baths home offers 2,000 sq ft of living space. Located on a waterfront lot with 1.25 acres full of blooming shrubbery and large oak trees, nature and wildlife is at your doorstep. A short walk from the back deck down a mild slope to the water reveals a natural sand beach and two private docks for your use nestled back in a cove. There is a sandbox near the natural sand beach for little children. You and your children can enjoy swimming in the cove and feel perfectly safe from boat traffic and waves. The old and the new docks provide ample docking space for your boats. There is plenty of parking for cars and boat trailers on the lot. Please note the fourth bedroom is downstairs in the unfinished basement and is a combined recreation/bedroom with its own full private bathroom and two queen size sleep sofas. We have central heat and air conditioning. The kitchen is very well equipped with all the appliances, cutlery and items you need to prepare gourmet meals. Amenities include a ping pong table, adult air hockey game, games, books, puzzles, television, DVD player, wood stove, BBQ and large deck overlooking our lakefront private docks. For the fishermen, the citation stripers await your arrival.

Location: Our lakefront vacation rental home is located on Craddock Creek between day-markers C6 and C8 at Smith Mountain Lake, Virginia: the 'Jewel of the Blue Ridge'. The approximate driving time to our vacation home is two hours from Greensboro, three hours from Raleigh Durham or Richmond, and four hours from Washington DC area. The central geographic location of our vacation home and the amount of sleeping accommodations make this home ideal for family and school reunions. We've had families meet from across the country and from overseas. Convenience stores, grocery stores, amusement parks, boat rentals and shopping are located within a twenty minute drive. You may launch your boat at a number of nearby marinas, such as Lake Haven, Smith Mountain Lake State Park, Parkway and Mitchell’s. I recommend Lake Haven Marina (540 297-7347) 15844 Smith Mountain Lake Parkway Huddleston, Va. 24104 as it is the closest to our vacation home by land and water. As an active Mooney pilot, I welcome general aviation pilots or small groups for fly-ins. I can provide ground transportation from Smith Mountain Lake airport (W91) with notice. W91 has a 3,000-foot paved runway.

Golf Information: You can walk to the very near Robert Trent Jones championship golf course. There are many other public and private golf courses such as Westlake, Sycamore Ridge, Waters Edge and Waterfront golf courses a half hour away.

Activities: Enjoy clean lake water and beautiful year around weather, sailing, Bass-Master and other fishing tournaments, jet-skiing, water-skiing, wakeboarding, snow skiing, canoeing or tubing on local rivers, mountain views, miniature golf, motorcycling, hiking and caving in State Parks and the Blue Ridge Mountains and NASCAR racing at Martinsville Virginia. The D-Day Memorial in Bedford, Booker T Washington's and Jubal Early's childhood homes are but a short drive away. Charlottesville (Monticello, University of Virginia), and Blacksburg Virginia (Virginia Tech football games) are just two hours away. Ferrum University is one hour away. Emerson Pottery Factory is a 30 minute drive; three new Wineries with award winning wines are nearby, driving or hiking on the scenic Blue Ridge Parkway is one hour away. Explore Park near Roanoke, and Thomas Jefferson's Poplar Forest summer residence near Lynchburg are less than a one-hour drive away. There are wine festivals and winery tours and tastings, home tours, antique boats and car shows, archery, water ski-wakeboarding competition held annually. There are fall color tours, live music by national artists nearby during the summer season, zoo and symphonic music in Roanoke, fiddle and banjo bluegrass music on the "Old Crooked Road" and civil war battlefields including where our country was re-united in Appomattox. There are two YMCA's within a twenty minute drive.

Reservations: Daily, multi-day rentals are available year around as are monthly rentals at special low rates. For details, contact the owner Mr. Theis to have a lease package sent by e mail. The maximum occupancy is eight adults. The County defines an adult as any person over two years old. You can view current availability by clicking on any of three links: A1vacations, Great Rentals or Cyber Rentals on this website. I rent with animals for a fee (per animal) ($50 small, $100 large plus 10% taxes). Repeat customers get a 5% discount on the base rent. Also, if you make a reservation prior to the year of your rental period you can get an additional 5% reduction and "lock-in” the time of your choice. Active duty military get a discount.

Prior Guest's Comments: All previous guest comments can be viewed by clicking on any of three links: A1vacations, Great Rentals or Cyber Rentals on this website and view the guest comments near the end of the web pages. Here are a few recent comments:

Date Submitted: June 17, 2008   Date of Stay: June 2008
My family and I have rented this house several times in the past 8 years and we enjoy the location. The location is just minutes to the SML Dam by boat and a very short drive to the D-Day Memorial, grocery store and many other places for sightseers. It's quiet, nice neighbors, and has a nice play area with a sand box for small children between the docks. The new dock is awesome. The house is very comfortable, has a great deck and the kids love the ping-pong and air hockey tables. It offers many amenities that make the stay comfortable also.

Date Submitted: May 12, 2008   Date of Stay: May 2008
7 of us ventured to Virginia for our daughters graduation at Liberty University. We found the house to be more than charming, like a step back in time. 3 of us are 'baby boomers' so the decor reminded us of family vacations when we were young. No cable needed here at all. There is so much to do and explore down there, we wish we had had time to do it. We are seriously thinking about returning to take advantage of the fishing, boating, hiking, wine tasting tours and many other activities the area has to offer.
Fantastic place to enjoy some quality family time together!!!!! Also great for a girls or guys get away!!

Date Submitted: January 16, 2007   Date of Stay: January 2007
This is a very roomy and comfortable house with a spectacular view of the lake. We stayed for six days at Christmas 2006 and were fortunate to have several days of sunny, 60 degree weather. We had our meals as well as afternoon coffee each of these days on the back deck overlooking the lake and felt it was a bonus that we had not counted on in Christmas season.
There is plenty of room for a family or several groups of people to spread out in the house and a TV set in almost every room. My wife found the kitchen spacious and well-appointed and we enjoyed the proximity of the home to the state park. Also had some nice walks beside the golf course back up to the main road. This is a first-class rental and a value at the price.

Date Submitted: July 19, 2007   Date of Stay: July 2007
The 2 weeks we have spent here in July were very relaxing. We had our grandchildren here for 4 days and the cove was ideal for them for swimming. If you have young children, this is the perfect place for you, away from the main traffic on the lake yet readily accessible for all areas. The owners are wonderful and will listen to any recommendations you make, saw this first hand, as Warren was adding a light to the deck as recommended by the previous renters. Will definitely consider renting this getaway again.

Date Submitted: October 01, 2007   Date of Stay: October 2007
August, 2007. We have been vacationing at Smith Mountain Lake for 5 years now, and have spent the last 3 at the Theis' home, and I can't say enough about it! The cove is peaceful, and great for swimming! The access into and out of the water is great for little ones, or (as our golden can attest to) dogs alike. The covered slip is perfect for tying up the boat or spending the afternoon by the water without getting too much sun! The creek isn't busy, which makes it perfect for tubing/waterskiing/kayaking, especially with children. The house is comfortable and has everything needed for a relaxing family vacation, including ping pong and air hockey! Thanks again for another great vacation. Hope we can make it for 2 weeks next summer!