One Weekend in Roanoke

Here’s a look at the Valley’s top 10 not-to-miss destinations and attractions:

1. The Roanoke City Market

Named a “Great American Public Place” by the Lyndhurst Foundation, the Roanoke City Market – also commonly called the Farmers’ Market – is the oldest continuously operating open-air market in the commonwealth. Its history dates to 1882 when 25 licenses were issued to the first vendors, then called hucksters. Although open seven days a week, the market’s best day is Saturdays, with the highest number of farmers and artisans filling the 42 tables with the finest local produce, flowers, handmade crafts and more. Additionally, more than 120 locally owned shops, boutiques, restaurants and night spots surround the market and form the core of downtown Roanoke.

2. Mill Mountain

One of only a very few mountains in the nation to be contained entirely within a city’s limits, Mill Mountain stands at 1,740 feet high. Near the peak you will find the iconic 88.5-foot-tall Mill Mountain Star. The glowing icon of the “Star City of the South” contains 2,000 feet of neon tubing that make it visible for up to 60 miles at night. Nearby you will also find the 58-year-old Mill Mountain Zoo. Here approximately 80,000 visitors each year learn about 35 different species, including seven that are endangered.

3. The Taubman Museum of Art

The most recent major addition to downtown, the transformational 81,000-square-foot Taubman Museum drastically redrew the Roanoke skyline when it opened in late 2008. Featuring more than 16,000 square feet of gallery space, the contemporary-design facility has garnered praise from the artistic community and earned architect Randall Stout numerous awards, including the International Architecture Award in 2009. Other nearby museums include the Science Museum of Western Virginia, the History Museum and Historical Society of Western Virginia (both inside Center in the Square), the O. Winston Link Museum, the Harrison Museum of African American Culture and the Virginia Museum of Transportation.

4. The Hotel Roanoke

Roanoke’s award-winning “Grand Old Lady,” this 127-year-old Tudor-style signature hotel was built in 1882 and has gone through 11 major renovations, the most recent being a $6.5 million update completed in 1995. Listed on the National Register of Historic Places, the hotel offers 331 guest rooms, 20 suites, a 63,000-square-foot conference center, 34 meeting rooms, two boardrooms, a 14,400-square-foot ballroom that can accommodate up to 1,700 guests, two dining halls and more.

5. Virginia Tech

A 45-minute drive south on I-81 will lead you to the “Home of the Hokies,” Blacksburg. Founded in 1872 as a public land-grant university, Tech is ranked 46th nationally in university research and hosts more than 30,000 full-time students on a 2,600-acre campus. A 2007 public-private partnership with the Carilion Clinic to create the Virginia Tech Carilion School of Medicine and Research Institute in Roanoke (scheduled to welcome its inaugural class of 42 students this August) further strengthened ties between the university and Roanoke Valley. Virginia Tech is also home to a nationally respected football program, which as this issue went to press had posted five consecutive seasons with 10 wins or more (with an opportunity for a sixth with a Chick-fil-A Bowl victory), won six conference titles (3 Big East, 3 ACC), appeared in 17 consecutive bowl games (4 BCS, 1 National Championship) and had posted a 186-92-2 overall record under 23-year Head Coach Frank Beamer.

6. Smith Mountain Lake

Beginning in the early 1960s with the construction on the 816-foot-wide, 227-foot-tall Smith Mountain Lake Dam, Smith Mountain Lake provides 22,000 acres of water and 500 miles of shoreline less than 40 minutes away from downtown Roanoke. Today the lake is home to a community of more than 18,000 permanent residents and plays host to the National ESPN Bassmasters Elite Series’ Blue Ridge Brawl fishing tournament each April. The lake is also remembered for being featured prominently in the 1991 comedy “What About Bob?” directed by Frank Oz and starring Bill Murray, Richard Dreyfuss and Julie Hagerty.

7. Carvins Cove

The second-largest municipal park in the United States, Carvins Cove is the 630-acre, 6.4-billion-gallon source of most of Roanoke’s drinking water. It’s also the centerpiece of the 12,700-acre Carvins Cove Natural Reserve, which features 41 miles of hiking/biking/horseback trails. Elevation change on the trails is as much as nearly 1,000 feet; access to the Carvins Cove trail system is from Va. 740 off of Va. 311 west of Salem, or from Va. 658 to Dougan Lane near Hollins.

8. The Blue Ridge Parkway

“America’s Favorite Drive” turns 75 this year, so celebrate the semisesquicentennial by packing a lunch and taking a ride north or south on this 469-mile scenic mountain road. Be sure to mind the speed limit (45mph through most sections), and don’t forget your camera and a good pair of binoculars.

9. The Roanoke River Greenway

The Roanoke River Greenway currently stretches 6.7 miles through Wasena, Smith, River’s Edge and Piedmont parks before ending at Bennington Street near the Water Sewage Treatment Plant. Current plans would extend the greenway to a total of 25 miles stretching from Green Hill Park in Salem through Explore Park and to the Roanoke/Franklin County line. Projects expected to be completed in 2010 include a new pedestrian and bicycle bridge linking the Roanoke River and Tinker Creek Greenways, a new bridge and park west of Wasena Park and a new stretch of trail extending from Eddy Avenue to Mill Lane in Salem. Additionally, a grant for $19.4 million in federal stimulus money applied for last fall could shave at least 18 years off the total construction time, resulting in possible completion by February 2012.

10. Appalachian Trail Miles

Just 20 minutes west of Roanoke is access to some of the prettiest spots on the 2,175-mile, Maine-to-Georgia trail. Don’t miss McAfee Knob, a 3.7-mile climb to stunning views from a dramatic outcropping. (Get on the trail from Va. 311 west of Salem.)