My husband and I like to hike so on our recent visit to Roanoke we started exploring options. We…read morelearned that McAfees Knob is the most photographed spot on Appalachian trail. We were a bit nervous about an 8 mile hike, but decided we were going to take it on. That hike was no joke, it kicked my butt. However, I did it and I am not someone in amazing shape by any means. There were some very steep/uphill parts and some stretches that were mostly flat. Trail was well marked. I was happy for the variation and we stopped as needed. It is doable, its just long. They say it takes you about 4 hours, which was accurate for us as we arrived around 10am, finished about 2pm. We did the AT trial up and decided to go for the fire road (runs basically parallel but isn't as strenuous) back as we were already tried. I highly recommend this if you not a serious hiker. Most everything I read kept saying you need to get their early as it gets so busy. That wasn't our experience, but it was an unseasonably colder, windy day so that probably deterred people. We also went on a Thursday to help reduce crowd as recommended. Note there are no bathrooms near parking. We found an outhouse near one of the camping sites about 2/3 way up, which we were grateful for. I am not sure it is being maintained regularly, so bring your own TP and hand sanitizer. Now, the view once you get to the top is absolutely beautiful. You can see out so far while you sit/stand on the rocky overlook. I even slowly inched my way out to the very tip of the rock to get the full 360 view. Breathtaking! We brought some snacks to eat up there to replenish (do this) and enjoy the views. We didn't stay up there as long as I would have liked as it was quite cold with the wind when we no longer had the tree cover. Dress appropriately! After we finished the hike, we took a long nap at our Airb&B. I am not sure I would choose to do it again, but I feel very accomplished that we completed this trail and enjoyed the views and our picutres very much.

What an awesome hike. Our new Thanksgiving tradition has been to go on a hike and this was our pick…read morethis year. We got there around 10am since it's a 3 hour drive from Charlotte. I thought it would be empty on Thanksgiving, but it was pretty crowded. We got a parking spot just fine, but the lot was fairly full. The hike is rated as strenuous, but I thought it was moderate. It's about 4 miles to Mcafee Knob from the parking lot making it 8 miles round trip. We took the Appalachian Trail on the way there and the fire road on the way back. The fire road is flatter and wider--an easier hike overall. Parts of the AT were covered in leaves making it a bit hard to hike. Everyone says the last mile is hard. It's uphill but I didn't find it to be too steep. The views at the end are gorgeous. Luckily it wasn't too crowded and we didn't have to wait to get our picture. We didn't stay at the top long because it was incredibly windy which made it pretty cold even though the rest of the hike was comfortable. The whole hike with stops took us just under 4 hours. With views and difficulty combined, we thought it was a great hike!

This park is one of those ones that feels like a private to public site; the majestic house at the…read morelakefront has been turned into a visitor center. The visitor center has a room or two of exhibitions on hydrology and wildlife but is not anything big. I came seeking a New Year's hike and expecting some scenery while being unsure if the amount of trails available would be enough. I managed to spend a solid two hours circumnavigating the place. In summer, swimming and boating are more likely the activities du jour, and it appears to be an excellent place for such activities. While the park looks close to the highway on the map, it feels like being at a park and there isn't any road noise. Like most VA state parks, they do charge for parking (waived for New Year's Day).

Don't let all my NJ posts fool you. I was born and raised in southwest Virginia and most of my…read morefamily still lives there. Although I am forever grateful that my parents moved us out of the area when we were younger - especially when I get a peek at the local electoral maps - my heart remains in the mountains. Can't say my brains remain here though because it took until today to realize Claytor Lake was 1) a state park and 2) gorgeous and amazing. All these years I just thought it was nowhere special that my cousins would go fishing. And to think I road trip all the way to NH and Maine every year and could have just driven 7 miles from my grandmother's for an equally rewarding experience. I had cabin fever today at my granny's and caught the local Outdoors magazine write up about Claytor Lake. There's camping?? Swimming?? Trails?? I watched a few videos on YouTube then got in the car to see for myself. Need to know: -There's a booth at the entrance - closed after 4pm. $7 parking fee for most paid by the honor system with cash or check or by card through the QR code during after hours. There are 4 campgrounds - I only saw Campground D open and it was overwhelmingly being used by those with RVs, teardrops, and campers. These are NOT wooded lots, rather gravel pull-ins and you'll likely be very close to your neighbor. A lil too close for me but I can see it not being a huge deal since everyone had campers to sleep in. I took a drive through this campground to see if I would feel comfortable and I didn't see any displays that would make me think I wouldn't (you picking up what I'm putting down?) Trails and paved paths galore. I saw one trail today but didn't get to explore much. Apparently the only shoes I packed for this trip were Crocs. Paved paths snake through the park and are accessible for those with mobility devices. The "lake" was created by damming the river. The water is clear by the shore. We love clean river water! Tons of shelters, grills, benches. There is something for everyone! Not sure if shelters are first come first serve or if you need to book them in high season - check the website. There's a gift shop but it was closed. I was bummed because you know I love stickers! I am counting down the days until I can return in the warmer weather. I would not be opposed to camping here or swimming once they reopen the beach for the season. I also look forward to exploring the trails. Fantastic solo outing. What a gem in my little country corner of the world.

AMAZING TIME and I highly recommend this place to anyone visiting that wants to float on the river…read more Now, you float for about an hour and then they pick u up and take u back to the beginning where u can do it all over again. They never once complained, and the driver even thanked me for coming- after I've soaked in the river and am now wet and sitting in HIS vehicle getting a ride back. THANK YOU! We had a great time - went down river 3 times for only $10 and that included the shuttle ride

Great setup if you're interested in tubing without all the hassle that other tubing businesses…read morerequire such as safety classes or life jackets, etc. $ cash to park, but accepts credit cards/debit cards to pay for tubing. Reasonable prices to tube and they offer a tube for cooler's. They have a small store where you can buy soda's, ice cream, and snacks. You can leave your cooler at the landing spot and they have grills set up there where they'll provide the charcoal and light the grill for you. Park, pay the tubing fee, take your receipt to pick up your tube's. They'll hold your driver's license and you can hang your keys at the gate. The River is clean and clear! It can take a good hour to get down to the landing spot or you can hang out in the river and relax. There's two landing spots. The first one is before the small rapids and that's where the grills are located. The second landing is shortly after the rapids. If you get out after the rapids you'll have to walk a short distance to the first landing where you can enjoy a picnic or grill out before boarding the buses to return to home base. Staff are professional and friendly! There's two bathrooms and a shower at home base where you can cleanup or change clothes. I've been three times and I've enjoyed each time. When the River is low the water depth is up to your knee in most place's and can go up to your waist in a few places. The depth of the River after the rapids is what I'd say requires swimming in some areas. If you can't swim or aren't wearing a life jacket I wouldn't go down the rapids. Their season goes until the end of September and during September they're only open on the weekends. They open at 10:00 a.m.

This is a GREAT park. Was in town over the holiday break, and had kiddos who needed to run out some…read moreserious energy. Luckily the weather was nice, so I found this place online and took them over. There are some serious climbing apparatuses here -- perfect for active kiddos. They also apparently have a pool (obviously closed right now for the winter, but it still looked amazing), basketball courts, a disc golf course, and several covered patio areas with grills. I could see this being a great spot to chill in the summer, or even a place to host a kid's birthday party on the cheap.

When I visited, it was the end of the school year, so there were lots of photo shoots happening in…read morethe Hahn Horticulture Garden. Of course there were: This is one of the most beautiful spots on the Virginia Tech campus. The garden is six acres of beauty, and it's a wonderful place to wander around and look at all of the plants and flowers and trees. Perhaps you can also relax at one of the benches that are placed hither and thither. The garden serves as a resource for the students to learn about horticulture, landscaping concepts and environmental stewardship. But it's also just a nice place to sit and relax. I like a good bridge over a pond, and they have that here. The pond has lots of koi fish in it, which I was told an egret will sometimes make a nice meal out of. (Poor koi!) Such is life, though, I guess, right? There are also trellises to walk under, brick paths to walk down, statues to gaze upon, and Adirondack seats to sit in. I saw a couple of students working on their laptops in the garden, which you can do because the campus wifi is also accessible in the garden.

The university has a constructed garden kind of on the edge near where the academic buildings end…read moreand the sports start. It has a variety of interesting plant life and the pond was filled with some lively fish. It's not a major destination like the botanical gardens and arboretums I've seen at some other universities, which was a bit of a surprise, but it's a nice place to stop through.

This park is currently in flux due to a massive bridge project that has been under construction for…read moreyears. As such, the park access is not ideal, and the greenway trail running by the river is interrupted and requires a detour. The main section of park that is open has notable merits, including a fitness loop, a smaller pedestrian bridge, and athletic fields. I hope that eventually construction on both the bridge and park will finish and give way to a better facility, but it is a pleasant area.

Wasena Park is a big multipurpose park in a Roanoke subdivision called Wasena, and one of many that…read moreRoanoke River Greenway runs through (Smith Park is just to the east of Wasena Park). Roanoke River Greenway, in turn, is one of almost a dozen Roanoke Valley Greenways, and extends over many miles of paved trails. The park has several entry points along Wiley Drive SW with plenty of parking spaces to accommodate the locals and visitors here to enjoy what the park has to offer: the skate park is a clever use of bridge bases (pictured); the baseball and basketball courts seem popular and are often nicely crowded; several picnic areas have tables, bench seats, water fountains, and more; and the children's playgrounds are usually filled with little ones. The trails are paved all the way through, and the Roanoke River is never more than 20 metres away. Enjoy!

This small park on a triangle of green space where two roads intersect is in the middle of a…read moreresidential neighborhood. The park features playground equipment, a swing set, picnic tables under shade trees, a small basketball court The park is in very good condition with no litter. There is ample street parking. [Review 13827 overall, 1148 of 2020, number 1260 in Virginia.]

This large park has a number of different activities and I'm sure the surrounding neighborhood…read moreappreciates it. There is ample parking and I spotted no litter anywhere. The grass is well maintained. Baseball and softball, a basketball court, swing sets and a playground with a cimbing frame and slides, a large picnic shelter and even a row of horseshoe pits. There are walking trails and it is connected to a series of biking trails, too. [Review 13811 overall, 1132 of 2020, number 1245 in Virginia.]