The story below is from our March/April 2022 issue. For more stories like it, Subscribe Today. Thank you!
Without a doubt, the Roanoke Valley is where hikers and walkers want to be. It’s all here and the world is learning about it.
Marketing campaigns tend toward obese rhetoric, but when the hiking triumvirate of McAfee Knob, Dragon’s Tooth and Tinker Cliffs became “Virginia’s Triple Crown,” nobody was thinking of horse racing.
Those are clustered destinations in Roanoke County’s brief segment of the Appalachian Trail. The Roanoke Valley, of course, is the largest metropolitan area on the trail, which meanders up and down mountains from Georgia to Maine, 2,190 miles through 14 states. Virginia’s 550.3 miles is nearly a fourth of the AT. The Crown is the glamorpuss of a hiking statement that deserves an exclamation point.
In the Roanoke Valley, the AT crosses the counties of Craig, Montgomery, Roanoke, Botetourt and Bedford.
Pete Eshelman, who heads GO Outside for the Roanoke Regional Partnersip, says, “With over 1,000 miles of trail within an hour of Roanoke, it is easy to find the path less traveled. The strength of our outdoors is its diversity. No matter the activity – paddling, cycling, fishing, hiking – there are endless choices to explore. And nowhere is this more evident than in the region’s trails.
“From the iconic Appalachian Trail, to greenways connecting communities, to hidden gems waiting to be discovered, the number of trails waiting to be explored are not only attractive to visitors but are also helping convince people that Roanoke is a great place to live. Trails help sell the region as a place to live; within minutes of clocking out of work a person can leave the stress of work behind and find rejuvenation in nature.”
Eshelman says bluntly that “Roanoke’s easy access to trails is a strong selling point. No matter where a person lives, a trailhead is nearby.”
Roanoke hiking is not top-heavy. The trails within an hour or two of downtown range from casual walks to hard climbs, from a few hundred yards in length to many miles of challenging ridge running. The valley has made a point of emphasizing its history, geography, opportunity and love of the outdoors. Young people move here for the views, the strolls, the full-gear hikes. Old people choose to die here for the same reasons. The valley is one of the world’s most desirable gardens, those who live here will tell you.
And the hiking? Let’s take a brief look, though this could easily be (and has been) a book.
The beginning, of course, is the Triple Crown, three high points along the Appalachian Trail, spanning about 35 miles and featuring overhead views of Roanoke, Carvins Cove (the city’s water supply, which looks like the Hudson River Valley from above) and the impressive ridges and valleys of our corner of the world.
There are various access points for the hikes, but the most-used is likely Catawba Mountain (on top and down the valley), which has been so crowded in recent times that cars have been towed from along Virginia 311. These are not easy hikes and sometimes they are claustrophobic … until the often-spectacular breakout views that make the sweat and sore muscles worthwhile.
As impressive as the Crown is nationally and internationally, Roanokers know it is but a small part of the hiking system, which includes a jaw-dropping 400 miles of greenway trails, according to greenways.org. They have all been built since 1995, mostly under the estimable guidance of Liz Belcher, who retired in the fall of 2022. According to its greenway website, Asheville, the second largest city along the Appalachian Trail and the Blue Ridge Parkway, brags of its 10.5-mile greenway system. Asheville considers itself a city friendly to walkers/hikers.
The Roanoke Valley greenway trails feature major paved segments, often along the Roanoke River, and a series of separate spurs that amble through Roanoke, Vinton, Salem and Roanoke County, often through neighborhoods and up/down mountains. Mill Mountain, for example, has nearly a score of spurs, often intersecting with each other. Those spurs are generally in the “easy” to “moderate” ranges and they welcome neighborhoods to take a walk.
In addition to those official greenway trails, there are a number of hiking venues—officially and otherwise—along the Blue Ridge Parkway, which courses through the Roanoke Valley (including a spur off Mill Mountain) offering a variety of easy to difficult hikes for the beginner or the veteran.
And if it seems that the land is growing full of these trails, look again. There is plenty of land and there are plenty more hikes to review. Here are some of the better and more popular ones (along with some not-so-well-known). Google them by name for directions or go here: roanokeoutside.com/land/hiking/all-hikes.
Roaring Run and Hoop Hole in Botetourt County offer a short, spectacular walk on the former, which culminates with split waterfall, and an uphill loop that can challenge (and which can intersect with Roaring Run at the falls). The wild blueberries in the spring are an inducement for Hoop Hole.
Stiles Falls at Camp Alta Mons just outside the Roanoke Valley in Montgomery County is another easy, short-ish hike that gives you a beautiful waterfall at its end. The waterfall spills into a lovely swimming hole, following an uphill walk along the stream. It is beautiful every step of the way. (It is not generally accessible during weekdays of the summer months when church camp is in session.)
The Devil’s Marbleyard near Natural Bridge Station (about an hour from Roanoke) can be a difficult 8.3 miles and five hours of climbing or as little as 3 miles, but still a climb among boulders often as large as a tag-along camper. The views are impressive, the challenge significant. Note: There are but a very few parking places for hikers.
Carvins Cove/Hay Rock is a steep walk up Tinker Ridge at Daleville, one culminating in the overhead view of the beautiful lake in a crescent moon shape. At the Tinker Mountain Ridge, the trail levels out for miles and you can walk its Appalachian Trail to any number of destinations. It is a moderate hike, but the slope will bring the sweat on warm days. It is eight miles long and climbs 1,600 feet.
The Cascades/Barney’s Wall near Pembroke, about an hour or so from Roanoke is one of the most popular walks in these mountains, at least partly because of its big waterfall, accessible in all seasons (you gotta see it in the snow and ice, but that’s a challenge). It is an 8.5-mile hike with a 1,600-foot elevation gain.
Poor Mountain, Chestnut Ridge, Murray Run and Mill Mountain’s variety of trails are great basics in the Roanoke Valley, offering easy to moderate, short to mid-length trails that offer a few vistas and daily challenges.
North Mountain in Rockbridge County near Lexington is one of several “North Mountain” trails. Don’t confuse them. This one’s on a ridge, accessible by car, and has several wonderful overlooks, ultimately giving you a 360-degree view of the area. The rhododendron is dazzling in the spring.
Bottom Creek Gorge near Bent Mountain is actually three trails in one, depending on how you want to approach it. One trail leads downward to the beautiful, rock-strewn creek; a second through the woods and a couple of disintegrating homesteads and graveyards; and the third to a spectacular overlook of a tall, thin waterfall seen best through binoculars. Another rhododendron refuge in season.
Apple Orchard Falls and Crabtree Falls near Sedalia and Montebello are nice day trips from Roanoke with the former at 3.4 miles and quite steep along the high falls. Apple Orchard Falls trail is 2.5 miles near Buchanan with a lovely waterfall. Because of its steep incline, it is rated as difficult. Crabtree is often cited as the highest waterfall in Virginia and features five separate waterfalls along the climb, dropping 1,200 feet in half a mile at one point. The hike is 5.4 miles.
Blue Suck Falls near Clifton Forge at Douthat State Park is a difficult, steep walk with a solid payoff in its falls. The trail is 5.5 miles with an elevation gain of 1,700 feet.
Sharptop at The Peaks of Otter on the Blue Ridge Parkway is less than 30 miles from Roanoke and is one of the most visited stops along that national highway. It features a 360-degree view of the mountains and valleys surrounding it and is a moderate to difficult hike. If you want to ride up and walk down, there is a shuttle.
Regardless of your level of ability or the purpose of your hike, you can easily find an outlet in and near the Roanoke Valley, the Hiking Capital of the Blue Ridge.
The story above is from our March/April 2022. For more stories, subscribe today or view our FREE digital edition. Thank you for supporting local journalism!