Get Into My Swamp: Shenandoah University’s Kayaking Adventure

On Saturday, October 4, 2025, a group of students from Shenandoah University set out to the Great Dismal Swamp, a historic landmark of southern Virginia. After arriving at the swamp and getting set up to launch into the canal, we hit the water and got to paddling! Songs broke out on the water as one participant started singing ‘The Princess and the Frog’ and the whole group joined in to pass the time as we made our way into the depths of the swamp.

We were surrounded by sights and sounds of wildlife as we approached the secluded peninsula where we
planned to make camp. After setting up the tents and getting settled, the sun was beginning to set, and we got ready to get back on the water. Lake Drummond, one of only two natural lakes in Virginia, was just a little bit further into the swamp. After a short paddle, the dense tunnel of foliage opened up and the whole lake lay before us. We paddled through a loose array of bald cypress trees growing out of the water. It might have been most people’s favorite part of the trip when we discovered a tree stump sticking just out of the surface that you could stand on; it appeared as if you were walking on water!

As the sun continued to set and paint the horizon in all kinds of colors, we got to witness the most breathtaking sunset many of us had ever seen. As the last bit of light left the sky and we paddled back to camp, the topic of conversation was what a once-in-a-lifetime kind of moment we had all just experienced. Around the campfir,e we told spooky ghost stories and had a lot of laughs too. In the morning, the crisp autumn air put a hustle in our step as we packed up and started paddling across the misty canal back to the launch. Everyone was so grateful for the night we had had and for the National Park Trust for allowing us to experience the magic of Great Dismal Swamp and Lake Drummond.