Rudds Creek Park is a U.S. Army Corps of Engineers recreation area on John H. Kerr Reservoir, the 50,000-acre impoundment of the Roanoke River that most Virginians call Buggs Island Lake. The Corps splits the park in two along U.S. 58 about three miles west of Boydton in Mecklenburg County. The campground sits on the south side of the highway, and the day use area, which holds the public swimming beach, sits on the north side at the edge of an open stretch of the main lake.

Coming from Boydton, head west on U.S. 58 toward Clarksville and turn north into the day use area just before the highway bridge over the lake. The Corps lists the park address as 16064 Highway 58. Several paved parking lots sit right inside the entrance next to the boat ramp, and a short walk north through shaded picnic grounds leads to the beach. Parking is first come, first served, and the Corps notes that even picnic shelter renters are not guaranteed a space on busy days.

The swim beach is a strip of sand facing west across the open lake, with a buoy line marking off the designated swimming area. The bottom is sand near shore and slopes off into the reservoir. By midsummer the shallow water warms up a lot, which is typical of a big Piedmont lake, and the beach is popular with families on weekends. The Corps does not list lifeguards here, but it does keep a life jacket loaner station at the beach where you can borrow a jacket and return it when you leave. Dogs are allowed in the park on a leash no longer than six feet, but they are not allowed in the designated swimming area.

There is a day use fee. Every vehicle entering the day use area pays $7, collected at a fee machine, and you can also buy a pass ahead of time at the campground gatehouse or by calling the Kerr Visitor Assistance Center at 434-738-6143. Holders of the Corps Annual Pass or an America the Beautiful Senior or Access pass (including the older Golden Age and Golden Access cards) get into the day use area free if the pass is displayed. The day use park is open year-round. The campground across the highway runs April 1 to October 31, and its gatehouse is staffed 9 a.m. to 9 p.m. in season.

Kerr is a flood control reservoir, so the water level rises and falls with rain upstream, and heavy storms can push the lake up into low ground around the park. Check the Corps lake level before a trip after a wet spell. The boat ramp and courtesy dock sit at the south end of the same shoreline, so keep swimmers inside the buoys and watch for boats coming and going. Alcohol, off-road vehicles and golf carts are prohibited in the park, vehicles must stay on paved roads, and camping and hunting are not allowed on the day use side.

Besides the beach, the day use area has a picnic shelter that can be reserved through Recreation.gov (it has no electricity), picnic tables and grills under a lot of shade, a playground, and a restroom with flush toilets near the shelter. Rudds Creek Campground has 98 tent and RV sites with showers and a dump station, and a privately run marina is less than a mile away. Gas and groceries are a few minutes east in Boydton, and Clarksville is about 20 minutes west.