A Compendium of Hikes in and near Roanoke, Virginia


A fall hike at Bottom Creek Gorge


UPDATED: 10/26/2024

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We are lucky to live in the beautiful Blue Ridge mountain city of Roanoke, Virginia, a valley with endless outdoor activities and amazing vistas. Even without leaving the city, there is a dedicated Greenway trail system with over 400 miles of trails and a Blueway (waterway) system for canoeing and kayaking and other water activities. Carvin’s Cove, a reservoir with both water and land activities, including over 60 miles of paths, is the second largest municipal park in the entire country.

As for exploring all of this? The struggle is real.

Outdoor activities have played an outsized role in our domestic and foreign trip planning. But when it comes to our own region, we have explored far fewer hikes after over a decade here than we sometimes cram in to one week somewhere else.

The excuses are varied and both legitimate and not. Weekend weather is often crummy or unpredictable, several popular hikes in the area are packed and run out of parking very early, summer humidity is gross, winter cold is biting, and there are so many other priorities pulling at us on weekends. That is the beauty of a trip away from home - there are no chores piling up!

But, we have started to make some solid headway and are trying to prioritize exploring new hiking areas that we can share.

Because we post a fair amount about our own region, we are creating this as a single post that we will keep updated and linked to new Roanoke-area hikes as a one-stop-shop.

Fenwick Mines Hike & Waterfall

Waterfall at Fenwick Mines

Booker T Washington National Monument

Roaring Run Furnace

To be clear, there are a significant number of other hikes we have gone on that we did not post about, so we will only capture here ones that have a specific post we can link to! We will also be creative with how we define “hikes” - there are some spots that have other historical interest, for example, but also include decent paths and trails. In terms of location, these need to be within a reasonable day trip from Roanoke.

hikes within 30 minutes of downtown roanoke, virginia

Carvin’s Cove: Hiking Horsepen Trail

Poor Mountain Natural Area

Read Mountain Preserve - 3.5 mile loop: Buzzards Rock, Crossover Trail, Rocky Way Trail

Read Mountain Preserve: - 4.6 mile loop: Buzzards Rock, Rocky Way Trail, Crossover Trail, CCC Trail, Rocky Way

hikes within one hour of downtown roanoke, virginia

Apple Orchard Falls Trail

Booker T. Washington National Monument - also check out our winter visit to the site here

Cascades Waterfall

Fenwick Mines and Waterfall

Johnson Farm and Harkening Hill Hiking Trail & Living History at Peaks of Otter

Roaring Run Furnace and Waterfall

Sharp Top Mountain Trail

Smith Mountain Lake State Park: 3.7 Mile Loop Trail Combined from Walton Creek Trail, Osprey Point, Striper Cove

hikes within two hours of downtown roanoke, Virginia

Mabry Mill on the Blue Ridge Parkway

Roaring Run Falls

Fenwick Mines - site of a former mine filled in with water

Cascades Waterfall frozen in winter

Booker T Washington National Monument


We want to hear from you! Have you been hiking in Roanoke or Southwestern Virginia? What hikes are your favorites or off-the-beaten-path? Share in our comments box below!


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Check out our other posts about Virginia:


Northern hiking and exploring

Follow us on our 10-day road trip through the Scottish Highlands and Isle of Skye