The Roanoke area, renowned for its outdoor amenities such as greenways and iconic hiking spots like McAfee Knob, has recently faced challenges due to storms, routine maintenance, and ongoing construction. These factors have led residents and visitors to seek alternate routes for their favorite outdoor destinations.
Late winter storms have significantly impacted many recreational areas this season, but crews have been diligently working to reopen them. Currently, the greenways are clear for use. For updates, visit Greenway updates.
However, downed trees and lingering weather damage continue to cause closures along the Blue Ridge Parkway, affecting areas like Explore Park Road, Roanoke Mountain Loop, and Mill Mountain Spur Road. For more information on parkway closures, visit Parkway closures.
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Kathryn Lucas, director of public relations for Visit Virginia’s Blue Ridge, stated, “Fortunately, we are no stranger to closures on the Blue Ridge Parkway. We’ve been dealing with that for several years, so the positive side to that is we already kind of have systems in place for informing visitors about the closures.”
In the heart of Roanoke, the Star Trail parking lot off Riverland Road is closing for a few months for a new project led by the Roanoke Parks Foundation. For details on the new project, visit New Project. Lucas explained, “The Mill Mountain Park is expanding. They currently have 10 miles of trails up on Mill Mountain, and they are adding 4 miles of multi-use trails for hiking and biking.”
Meanwhile, in Roanoke County, hikers heading to McAfee Knob can once again catch the trailhead shuttle, signaling the arrival of spring. Paula Benke, a transit planner for Roanoke County, shared, “We are very excited that this past weekend we launched for the fourth year the McAfee Knob trailhead shuttle, and with the beautiful weather we had, we were very lucky. We saw about 30 folks utilize the shuttle to actually get to Dragon’s Tooth and McAfee.” Book through: McAfee Knob Trail Shuttle – Take the stress out of finding a parking spot for your hike and hop on the shuttle to the McAfee Knob Trailhead!!
Roanoke County officials announced that the pedestrian bridge near McAfee Knob is expected to be completed this winter, enhancing safety for hikers crossing Route 311. For updates on the pedestrian bridge, visit Updates on pedestrian bridge.
A hiker commented on the situation, “You got this curve on 311, and traffic moves out pretty quickly, so just being able to hike across,” adding, “At this point in the trip, you know, an old guy like me gets kind of tired. I don’t want to sprint across the road.”