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Natural Bridge Zoo
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Located only 45 minutes from beautiful Roanoke Virginia, Natural Bridge Zoo offers more animal variety than you have ever experienced. Their program for rare and endangered species allows you to see many animals that may not be available in any other facility. Many of the zoo animals are bottle fed from birth which creates closer, more friendly encounters than you have ever experienced. On your visit, you will encounter a variety of exhibits and wide open regions that offer the maximum in up close experiences. Natural Bridge Zoo in Natural Bridge VA is one of the few zoological parks in the US to offer an African elephant ride with an opportunity for hands-on interaction. more »Star City of The South
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Roanoke Virginia
Introduction to Roanoke, VA
54 miles SW of Lexington; 74 miles NE of Wytheville; 193 miles SW of Richmond; 251 miles SW of Washington, D.C.
Sprawling across the floor of the Roanoke Valley, Virginia's largest metropolitan area west of Richmond likes to call itself the "Capital of the Blue Ridge." It's also known as "Star City," for the huge lighted star overlooking the city from Mill Mountain, which stands between it and the Blue Ridge Parkway.
There was no star on the mountain when colonial explorers followed the Roanoke River gorge through the Blue Ridge Mountains in the 17th century. They established several settlements in the Roanoke Valley, including one named Big Lick. When the Norfolk and Western Railroad arrived in the 1880s and laid out a town for future development, it decided that Roanoke -- a Native American word for "shell money" -- was a more prosperous-sounding name for the new city.
Roanoke is still a major railroad junction, as the many tracks running through downtown will attest, but it's also a lively regional center of business and the arts. Roanoke launched itself on a renaissance long before Norfolk and other Virginia cities undertook to rebuild their downtown areas. Most notable to us visitors is the restored Market Square area around the Historic City Market. With its museums, theater, and trendy restaurants, Market Square serves as the focal point for both daytime activities and lively after-dark entertainment.
Roanoke and surrounding communities host the annual Commonwealth Games of Virginia, an Olympic-style amateur sports festival.
Roanoke also plays host to Festival in the Park, an annual festival which is used to "To enhance and promote the visual and performing arts and sports activities in the Roanoke Valley and surrounding areas, to generate a positive economic impact on the Valley, and to fund an Arts Scholarship Program."
With its zoo, museums, restaurants, and a fine theater, Roanoke makes a great place to overnight if you're traveling the Blue Ridge Parkway. If you're just touring the state, you can easily spend a day and more exploring its sights.
Roanoke Virginia Headlines
and Roanoke County VA Headlines
Roanoke Virginia
notables about Roanoke Virginia and surroundings
Roanoke is an independent city located in the Commonwealth of Virginia. The city of Roanoke is adjacent to the city of Salem and the town of Vinton and is otherwise surrounded by, but politically separate from, Roanoke County. As of the 2000 census, the city had a total population of 94,911. The city is bisected by the Roanoke River. Roanoke is the commercial, cultural, and medical hub of much of the surrounding area of Virginia and southern West Virginia.
The United States Census Bureau includes in Roanoke's metropolitan area the counties of Botetourt, Franklin, Craig and Roanoke, and the cities of Salem and Roanoke. The metropolitan area's population in the past three censuses has been reported to be:
- 1980 --- 220,393
- 1990 --- 224,477
- 2000 --- 235,932
- 2005 (estimate) --- 292,983
Please note that the figures through 2000 do not include Franklin County (50,345 est. 2005 population) and Craig County (5,154 est. 2005 population) which were recently added to the Roanoke MSA, which is the fourth largest in Virginia (behind the Greater Richmond area, Northern Virginia and Hampton Roads) and the largest outside of the eastern half of the state.
Hotel Roanoke
The Norfolk and Western Railroad built this grand Tudor-style hotel in 1882 on a hill overlooking its new town, even before it changed the name from Big Lick to Roanoke. Heated by steam from the railroad's maintenance shops and cooled by America's first hotel air-conditioning system (which cooled the rooms with circulating ice water), it became a resort as well as a stopover. Some 26 passenger trains a day rolled into the station (now the visitors center and the O. Winston Link Museum) at the foot of the hill, and virtually every celebrity passing though Roanoke stayed here, among them Elvis Presley and five presidents. For the locals, it was the place for wedding receptions, reunions, beauty pageants, and other special events.
The hotel fell on hard times and was closed from 1989 to 1995, when it reopened after a magnificent restoration financed in part by local residents who dug into their pockets to save the venerable property. It's now recognized as a Historic Hotel of America, and Roanokers -- who call it simply The Hotel -- again celebrate very special occasions in the elegant Regency Room. Pub fare is available in the knotty Pine Room Pub, which has a large bar, sports TV, and billiard table.
The building was gutted and rebuilt above the public areas, so all the rooms and suites are completely modern. Given the odd shape of the structure, there are now 92 room configurations, many with sloping ceilings and gable windows. Some have windows on two sides, while a few others seem like small cottages.
Worth a Look -- Even if you don't stay at the Hotel Roanoke & Conference Center, come inside after visiting the O. Winston Link Museum across the street to see the hotel's rich, black walnut-paneled lobby with its Oriental rugs and leather lounge furniture. To the right, as you enter, is the oval-shaped Palm Court lounge with its four lovingly restored murals of colonial and Victorian Virginians dancing the reel, waltz, minuet, and quadrille.
Facilities:
2 restaurants; bar; outdoor pool; health club; concierge; business center; limited room service; laundry service; concierge-level rooms; wireless Internet access
Must Visit
Once in your life if in Roanoke, you must visit the Texas Tavern. Great place for a quick bit to eat after the nightlife. www..texastavern-inc.com
Other Hotels
Nightlife
Available at the visitor center and at many hotels and restaurants, the free City Magazine has a rundown of what's going on around town.
Mill Mountain Theatre, in the Center in the Square building on Campbell Avenue (tel. 800/317-6455 or 540/342-5740; www.millmountain.org), offers children's productions, free lunchtime readings (Oct-May), and year-round matinee and evening performances on two stages. Productions range from Shakespeare to minstrels. Recent performances have included Beauty and the Beast and Always Patsy Cline. Ticket prices range from $5 to $30, depending on performance and venue.
The Roanoke Civic Center, 710 Williamson Rd. NE (tel. 540/981-1201; www.roanokeciviccenter.com), hosts visiting performers and concerts by The Roanoke Symphony (tel. 540/343-9127; www.rso.com).
Showtimers Community Theatre
2067 McVitty Road
Roanoke, VA 24018
Phone: (540) 774-2660 www.showtimers.org The oldest, continuously-performing community theatre in Virginia, Showtimers brings a delightful blend of comedy, music and dance to the Roanoke Valley. Showtimers is a non-profit organization whose primary purpose is to provide exciting, live theatre at an affordable price.
Opera Roanoke
108 First Street NW
Roanoke, VA 24016
Phone: (540) 982-2742
www.operaroanoke.org Opera Roanoke is a professional opera company presenting fully staged productions and a variety of programs for patrons of all ages.
The Market Square area running along Campbell Avenue to Jefferson Street is Roanoke's pub-crawling scene, especially on weekends when many restaurants and pubs have music and dancing. Metro! attracts the well-heeled young professional set, while Corned Beef & Company gets the sometimes rowdy masses (don't be surprised to see a cop or two on Jefferson Sreet near the downtown locations. So call a cab, do not drink and drive!).
The Regency Room and the Pine Room in the Hotel Roanoke & Conference Center have live music and dancing on weekends.
Getting There
By Plane -- Roanoke Regional Airport (tel. 540/362-1999; www.roanokeregionalairport.com), 5 1/2 miles northwest of downtown off Hershberger Road (Exit 3E off I-581), is served by Delta, Northwest, United, and US Airways. The major car-rental units have booths on-site.
Roanoke Airport Limousine Service (tel. 800/228-1958 or 540/345-7710) www.roanokeats.com runs vans to downtown and to points as far away as Abingdon and throughout the Shenandoah Valley.
If you're not in a hurry, you can catch the Smartway Bus (tel. 800/388-7005 or 540/982-6622; www.smartwaybus.com), an express service between the airport and the Hotel Roanoke & Conference Center, nine times a day Monday through Saturday. Fare is $3 each way.
By Car -- From I-81, take I-581 (Exit 143) south into the heart of Roanoke. I-581 becomes U.S. 220; together, they form an expressway that passes all the way through town. The Blue Ridge Parkway runs along the top of the mountains east of the city; the major Roanoke exits are at U.S. 460, Va. 24, the Mill Mountain Spur Road (at Mile 120), and U.S. 220.
Bt Train -- Amtrak (tel. 800/872-7245; www.amtrak.com) provides Thruway bus connections daily between Roanoke and its stations in Lynchburg to the east and to the west at Clifton Forge, on I-64 west of Lexington. Either is about an hour's bus ride away.
Yellow Cab (tel. 540/345-7711) is the largest taxi company here.
Valley Metro (tel. 540/982-2222; www.valleymetro.com) provides public bus service Monday through Saturday from 5:45am to 8:45pm. The downtown transfer point is Campbell Court, 17 W. Campbell Ave. The visitor center distributes free Ride Guide route maps.