blue ridge parkway

Roanoke and Smith Mountain Lake

Roanoke is a great base city for exploring Virginia’s Blue Ridge Mountains! To make it even better, Smith Mountain Lake is just an hour east of the city. SML is a popular lake getaway with 500+ miles of shoreline. Most folks just visit one or the other, but I found it was a great way to combine a mountain weekend and a chill lake weekend all into one trip together.

McAfee Knob

McAfee Knob

Roanoke Recommendations:

  • Blindhouse Beer: A stellar brewery focused on Belgian and French styles where everything is a slow pour. The beers are fantastic and the vibes are great. You can also get Food Hut RKE delivered to your table.

  • Go for a hike! The Appalachian Trail runs on the west side of the city and the Blue Ridge Parkway is on the east side, providing ample trailheads all close to downtown.

    • McAfee Knob via Appalachian Trail: This 8.1 mile long trail with 1,811ft of elevation gain leads to one of the most photographed areas of the Blue Ridge Mountains. It takes just under four hours to complete. The trail is shaded the entire way which is a bonus in the hot summer months. The views are fantastic and the trail is quiet—highly recommend. You can also choose to go up or down the fire road which is flatter and smoother than the AT.

    • Carvin’s Cove Hay Rock via Appalachian Trail: A 7.9 mile/1,423ft of elevation gain hike to an overlook of Carvin’s Cove. You can also shorten the distance to 5 miles (same elevation gain) to the first lookout to save time. A nice view of the water below.

  • Take a scenic drive: The Blue Ridge Parkway has some great viewpoints—a lot of them can be overgrown in the summer months but Great Valley is a stellar spot, especially for sunset.

  • Big Lick Brewing Company: This brewery has a wide variety of beers on tap, a nice patio, and you can get food delivered to your table from nearby restaurants.

  • A Few Old Goats Brewing: A solid brewery with chill vibes and a nice patio space.

  • Mill Mountain Park & Star: The famed star overlooking Roanoke lights up at night and there is a great viewpoint over the city and surrounding mountains. Heads up the Google maps location is a little off if you search for the star, search for the park instead.

  • Barrel Chest Wine and Beer: A bottle shop with self-pour beer and wine taps. They also have a charcuterie selection.

  • Three Notch’d Brewing: An average brewery with a full food menu.

  • Olde Salem Brewing: The Roanoke location of this brewery is located in the downtown market and their main taproom is in neighboring Salem. You can get food delivered to your table from nearby restaurants. The beer is mediocre.

  • Twin Creeks Brewpub: A brewery off the Blue Ridge Parkway.

Fables & Feathers Winery

Fables & Feathers Winery

Smith Mountain Lake Recommendations:

  • Jake’s Place: A restaurant and beer bar on the water with a killer tap list. The food menu is pizza-focused and tasty. Great atmosphere and experience.

  • Hickory Hill Vineyards: Very tasty wine in a relaxed atmosphere.

  • Smith Mountain Trail: The lake’s namesake mountain provides a unique vantage point! There is a moderate trail that is 5 miles long with 1,000ft of elevation gain out to a cool viewpoint or you can go all the way up for another view. To reach this viewpoint you’ll turn left at the 2.5 mile point and go downhill to a small ledge with beautiful views. This trail takes just over two hours in totality and is very quiet. You will need an access permit which can be bought online ahead of time. 

  • Fables & Feathers Winery: A nice winery a bit off the beaten path. Tasty wines, friendly service, nice patio overlooking the vines.

  • Smith Mountain Lake State Park: This is a nice state park that has 7 short, mostly flat trails along with some water access and picnic areas. There is a $7 entrance fee.

    • Chestnut Ridge Trail: This trail is 1.5 miles long, is mostly flat, and takes about 40 minutes to complete.

    • Turtle Island Trail: This trail is 1.4 miles long, mostly flat, and takes about 30 minutes to complete.

  • West Lake Coffee and Café: A decent spot for coffee and breakfast.

  • Ramulose Ridge Vineyards: Another winery 2 minutes from Hickory Hill. They also offer sangria. Unfortunately it seemed like the bottle I ordered from had been open for far too long, wouldn’t really recommend.

  • The Bagel & I: Solid bagel sandwich but the bagel itself was stale.

Bryson City, NC

Bryson City is a small mountain town in Western North Carolina. It is nestled between Great Smoky Mountains National Park and Nantahala National Forest. This is a beautiful area to explore, especially in the fall with changing leaves.

Bryson City is about 1 hour west of Asheville, NC and 1 hour and 15 minutes south of Gatlinburg TN. Check out my Asheville guide here and my Gatlinburg guide here.

Tom Branch Falls

Bryson City Recommendations:

  • Bryson City Outdoors: A beer bar and gear shop with a nice patio and daily food trucks.

  • Explore Great Smoky Mountains National Park! Deep Creek Waterfall Loop is a popular option very close to town with 3 waterfalls on a 2.4 mile long trail with 426ft of elevation gain. You’ll encounter Tom Branch Falls, Indian Creek Falls and Juney Whank Falls.

  • Mountain Layers Brewing: A nice brewery in the heart of downtown with a rooftop deck. They also have a Hawaiian food truck out back The Rice Wagon. You can see all of town from the roof and offer wine and cider for non-beer fans.

  • Zipline, whitewater raft, or stay in a yurt with WildWater! Whitewater rafting is very popular on the Nantahala and super fun. It is 8 miles of class 1 and class 2 rapids with one class 3 rapid. Their ziplining course goes through the gorge and has a couple of spots with great views.

  • High Test Deli: A delicious sandwich shop in the heart of downtown. They are also known for their frozen ice cream sandwiches.

  • The Road to Nowhere: Drive this historic road and be sure to check out the Lake Fontana overlook and the Road to Nowhere Tunnel. Just be prepared, the road does indeed go to nowhere.

  • Meander the many shops throughout downtown.

  • Take a scenic drive:

    • The Hellbender 28 is full of hairpin turns and right near Bryson City

    • The Tail of the Dragon takes you towards Tennessee with 300 turns in 11 miles

    • The Blue Ridge Parkway is a popular route with numerous viewpoints and hiking trails along the way

      • Waterrock Knob Trail is a popular, quick choice that is 1 mile long with 439ft of elevation gain so it’s quite steep!

      • Mount Pisgah Trail: 4 miles long with 1077ft of elevation gain. This trail is about halfway between Bryson City and Asheville off the Blue Ridge Parkway in Pisgah National Forest. I would park at the Google Maps trailhead, not AllTrails trailhead. The last section of the trail is pretty steep and leads up to a TV tower.

  • Honey Bear’s Cupcakery: Grab cupcakes and other sweets from this local bakery on the main strip!

  • Cardinal Coffee: A cute spot for coffee, bagels, and smoothies off the highway a bit outside of downtown.

  • Darnell Farms: A large farm with produce, pumpkins, hay rides and festivals. Located in Bryson City on the river.

  • Explore nearby Waynesville:

    • Boojum Brewing: A popular brewery with a full food menu. Expect a wait during lunch and dinner times, but their food is super tasty and worth it!

    • Sauced: An average spot for pizza and beer

    • Check out the cute shops throughout downtown

  • Explore nearby Sylva:

  • Skip: Bryson City Brewing This spot was formally Nantahala Brewing. They have all guest taps and zero of their own beers, the food is not good and the service quite frankly sucks (the bartenders were wasted). It’s a bummer to see this formerly great space go downhill so quickly.

What are your favorite spots in Western North Carolina? Let me know in the comments! Cheers—ALexis

A Weekend Along the Blue Ridge Parkway

A Weekend Along the Blue Ridge Parkway

A weekend exploring the Blue Ridge Parkway. What to do in Boone, Banner Elk, and Little Switzerland. Hiking and breweries along the Blue Ridge Parkway.