Hiking around Blacksburg

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One of the best things about living in Blacksburg is its place within nature. The town, a hilly paradise of slopes, has an abundance of trees and a wealth of hiking trails nearby. During my shoulder surgery recovery last April, my parents gifted me a trail book called “Roanoke and the New River Valley.” It has become my go-to guide for hiking. Every time I wanted to do a new hike, I referred to it. I took photos of the trail information, elevation and information so that I’d have it with me while on a hike. I’d like to do every hike listed within it before I graduate. So far I’ve done plenty of hiking around Blacksburg, but there are still more hikes to do!

These are the hikes I’ve done so far:

Cascade Falls

This was the first hike I did. The book says it’s a 4.0-mile loop, but at the end, our pedometer showed 5.0 miles. It meant to be only 2 miles to the waterfall, but we were not at the waterfall at 2 miles. We took the scenic lower trail, which was maybe longer and on the way back, the easier upper trail. A quarter of the way into this hike, a bug flew into my eye and got stuck in it, until I was finally able to get it out at the waterfall. This is probably the most famous and heavily trafficked hike in the area because people of all ages could do it. The waterfall area felt like a water park swimming hole. Countless kids were playing around and screaming as well as teenagers showing off at the speed at which they could swim. 

Bald Knob and Bear Cliffs 

I did this hike when my friend Kendall visited for the weekend of my birthday. It was the second hike I did and the shortest and easiest out of all of them. Bald Knob is the showstopper. You don’t need to hike bear cliffs because bald knob is where the views are at. Also, when Kendall and I hiked this, we couldn’t find bear cliffs. I didn’t have alltrails app, so we followed the guidebook and the signs, but they weren’t good ones. It’s possible we didn’t go far enough, but we hiked along the trail for what seemed about two miles and didn’t come across markers after a certain point. I’ll need to do it again because it still bothers me. Bald Knob is an easy .5-mile steep forested trail or an easier mile gravel road. Its peak sits at 4,365 feet and provides outstanding views. The drive up to the trail is worth it on its own and as an added bonus it’s close to mountain lake and mountain lake lodge, which is where Dirty Dancing was filmed. Fun fact, there’s no longer any water in the lake because of some natural causes. I think I’ve done this hike four times now, once because I wanted to go for sunset, and another time to bring a different friend. 

Kelly Knob

The least trafficked hike I’ve done and probably less visited amongst ones in the area due to its limited parking area (there was room for only two cars). It’s a 4.0-mile out-and-back trail with an intense steep beginning, but after that it’s relatively flat. It leads to a pretty beautiful view of the surrounding area. Not like bald knob, but beautiful nonetheless. 

Pandapas Pond

I wouldn’t refer to this as a hike, more like a walk. Apparently there’s a 2.5-mile loop starting from one of the parking lots, but I’ve only ever just walked around the pond. It’s removed from the town off of route 460, surrounded only by nature. It’s a beautiful place to spend a couple of hours and to go for a walk. 

Falls Ridge Preserve

This was the first post-leaves/still technically fall/winter hike. It’s a 3.7-mile double balloon loop that took about two hours. The falls, unlike at Cascade falls, are at the very beginning. At cascades, the falls are the payoff. Here you walk three minutes and you’re there already, so if you wanted to just see the falls, it’s an extremely easy hike. According to the book, “the waterfalls flow over some of the largest calcium carbonate displays in the world.”

McAfee Knob

The longest hike on the list, and the longest hike I’ve ever done, coming in just under 8 miles at 7.8. However, if you count the walk to and from the car, as well as off trail bathroom breaks, I definitely hiked over 8. According to the book, “this hike is a rite of passage for Roanoke and New River Valley, it’s one of the jewels in the crown of the Appalachian trail in the South.” We did it at the peak of fall and arrived at the trailhead between 8:30 and 9:00 and the Parking lot was already full.