{"id":4081,"date":"2020-10-07T14:49:11","date_gmt":"2020-10-07T14:49:11","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/travelgirlinc.com\/?p=4081"},"modified":"2020-10-07T18:13:42","modified_gmt":"2020-10-07T18:13:42","slug":"virginias-blue-ridge-beckons","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/travelgirlinc.com\/virginias-blue-ridge-beckons\/","title":{"rendered":"Virginia\u2019s Blue Ridge Beckons"},"content":{"rendered":"<p class=\"p1\"><span class=\"s1\">Fall is the perfect time to travel and Virginia\u2019s Blue Ridge Mountains are a top spot to enjoy nature\u2019s beauty and have some socially distant outdoor activities. There is a lot to do in the Roanoke area but if hiking is your passion, then this is the place. In fact, some of the country\u2019s best trails for hiking and biking \u2014 some 1,000 miles \u2014 are here. Here are some of our favorite trails.<\/span><\/p>\n<ul class=\"ul1\">\n<li class=\"li1\"><span class=\"s1\">Currently the National Park Service has reopened 27 miles of the Appalachian Trail known as the Triple Crown between Newport Road and Mountain Pass Road, which includes McAfee Knob and Tinker Cliffs. McAfee Knob is one of the most recognizable spots on the trail. It has an elevation of 3,197 feet and it\u2019s a steady climb to reach it \u2014 but it\u2019s worth it. It has stunning 270-degree panoramic views of the valley and mountains. If there is one picture for your Instagram, this is it!<\/span><\/li>\n<li class=\"li1\"><span class=\"s1\">Explore Park in Roanoke has more than 14 miles of hiking and biking trails, all open to the public at no charge, and with a $3 Explore Park day pass, you get access to the parking areas including Rutrough Point and Journeys End. It\u2019s located at Milepost 115 on the Blue Ridge Parkway Trail, and as you hike, you\u2019ll see dozens of reconstructed buildings from the 1800s through the early 20th century. There is also an 18-hole Mayflower Hills Disc Golf Course.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<figure id=\"attachment_4085\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-4085\" style=\"width: 800px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-4085\" src=\"https:\/\/travelgirlinc.com\/tgwp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/10\/ViewfromStar.jpg\" alt=\"A view from the Roanoke Star\" width=\"800\" height=\"540\" srcset=\"https:\/\/travelgirlinc.com\/tgwp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/10\/ViewfromStar.jpg 800w, https:\/\/travelgirlinc.com\/tgwp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/10\/ViewfromStar-300x203.jpg 300w, https:\/\/travelgirlinc.com\/tgwp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/10\/ViewfromStar-768x518.jpg 768w, https:\/\/travelgirlinc.com\/tgwp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/10\/ViewfromStar-600x405.jpg 600w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px\" \/><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-4085\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">A view from the Roanoke Star<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<ul class=\"ul1\">\n<li class=\"li1\"><span class=\"s1\">Mill Mountain Park features the city\u2019s most famous symbol \u2014 the Roanoke Star. It\u2019s the area\u2019s equivalent of the Hollywood sign. The star is the world\u2019s largest freestanding illuminated man-made star and was built on top of Mill Mountain in 1949. The park is 568 acres and there are picnic tables and 10 miles of multi-use trails, although some are not open for mountain bikers nor equestrian riders. But the great fun is walking to the star and looking out.<\/span><\/li>\n<li class=\"li1\"><span class=\"s1\">The Dragon\u2019s Tooth Trail, located in nearby Catawba, isn\u2019t for the faint of heart. It\u2019s rugged but rewarding. On the trail you\u2019ll see rock outcrops and the Dragon\u2019s Tooth, a unique spire that projects 35 feet above the surrounding rock. The climb is not really for beginners, so be careful!<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Fall is the perfect time to travel and Virginia\u2019s Blue Ridge Mountains are a top spot to enjoy nature\u2019s beauty and have some socially distant outdoor activities. There is a lot to do in the Roanoke area but if hiking is your passion, then this is the place. In fact, some of the country\u2019s best&hellip;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":10,"featured_media":4083,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"image","meta":{"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[137],"tags":[227,228,230,229],"class_list":["post-4081","post","type-post","status-publish","format-image","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-travel","tag-blue-ridge-mountains","tag-mountains","tag-rivers","tag-trails","post_format-post-format-image"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v21.0 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>Virginia\u2019s Blue Ridge Beckons - Travelgirl<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Travelgirl Magazine was created to help every woman find her oasis. Join CNN\u2019s former Travel Now anchor, Emmy-winning producer, Stephanie Oswald Langlois, and Renee Werbin as they bring your tips and resources for travel, everyday living and armchair escapes.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/travelgirlinc.com\/virginias-blue-ridge-beckons\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Virginia\u2019s Blue Ridge Beckons - Travelgirl\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Travelgirl Magazine was created to help every woman find her oasis. Join CNN\u2019s former Travel Now anchor, Emmy-winning producer, Stephanie Oswald Langlois, and Renee Werbin as they bring your tips and resources for travel, everyday living and armchair escapes.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/travelgirlinc.com\/virginias-blue-ridge-beckons\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Travelgirl\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:publisher\" content=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/travelgirlmag\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2020-10-07T14:49:11+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2020-10-07T18:13:42+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/travelgirlinc.com\/tgwp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/10\/Tinker_Cliffs_Roanokeb.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"800\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"540\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Mary Welch\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:creator\" content=\"@travelgirlmag\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:site\" content=\"@travelgirlmag\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Mary Welch\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"2 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/travelgirlinc.com\/virginias-blue-ridge-beckons\/#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/travelgirlinc.com\/virginias-blue-ridge-beckons\/\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"Mary Welch\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/travelgirlinc.com\/#\/schema\/person\/9c788c1a6e2d063923ce2f4658aaace4\"},\"headline\":\"Virginia\u2019s Blue Ridge Beckons\",\"datePublished\":\"2020-10-07T14:49:11+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2020-10-07T18:13:42+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/travelgirlinc.com\/virginias-blue-ridge-beckons\/\"},\"wordCount\":392,\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/travelgirlinc.com\/#organization\"},\"keywords\":[\"Blue Ridge Mountains\",\"Mountains\",\"Rivers\",\"Trails\"],\"articleSection\":[\"Travel\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/travelgirlinc.com\/virginias-blue-ridge-beckons\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/travelgirlinc.com\/virginias-blue-ridge-beckons\/\",\"name\":\"Virginia\u2019s Blue Ridge Beckons - Travelgirl\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/travelgirlinc.com\/#website\"},\"datePublished\":\"2020-10-07T14:49:11+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2020-10-07T18:13:42+00:00\",\"description\":\"Travelgirl Magazine was created to help every woman find her oasis. 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