$4 per day for a day pass, $23 for a yearly pass, or one of the acceptable licenses/waivers. More information below.

Cavalier WMA provides coastal and forested habitats for a wide range of wildlife, including black bear, neo-tropical migratory songbirds, canebrake rattlesnakes, white-tailed deer, and eastern wild turkeys.

Currently, much of the management area is cutover forestland, with several hundred acres in 15-year-old planted pine. The 3,800-acre main tract, located approximately 2.5 miles east of the Great Dismal Swamp National Wildlife Refuge (NWR), was once part of the Great Dismal Swamp but was ditched and drained more than 200 years ago.

Directions

From Deep Creek. Route 17 south to Ballahack Road. Left on Ballahack for 1.5 miles. Entrance to Cavalier WMA on right.

New Rules for Virginia WMAs
As of Jan 1, 2012, all Virginia Department of Game and Inland Fisheries areas — pretty much any state WMA area — now requires either a valid VA (or non-resident VA) hunting license, fishing license, VA boat registration, or a paid Access Permit (daily, yearly, or group) to set foot on DGIF WMA lands. Waivers are only for those on official federal, state, or local government business, visiting graves, those 16 and younger, and those assisting disabled hunters who possess valid disabled hunter licenses. If you’re simply passing through via road, river, or the Appalachian Trail, you don’t need a pass, either.

Basically, all campsites in Virginia under the Fish and Wildlife category now cost a minimum of $4 per day for a day pass, $23 for a yearly pass, or one of the above licenses/waivers. Saltwater fishing licenses aren’t valid. (EDIT: freshwater licenses are $23/yr for residents). Learn more about the Access Permit »