A Gem in the Foothills of the Blue Ridge: Blacksburg and Its Environs
Blacksburg, Virginia, the home of Virginia Polytechnic Institute (better known as Virginia Tech) is a delightful town nestled in the Blue Ridge foothills of southwest Virginia. Before my oldest son started attending school there last fall, I had never visited. Although I had driven past it on Interstate 81 as I made one of my countless drives east to or west from Quantico and Arlington, Virginia, I had never made the twenty minute detour over to Blacksburg. Now I know what I was missing. I have attended school in, lived in, and visited other “mountain” towns that are loud in promoting themselves as great oases in the hills, but none of them have Blacksburg’s sheer diversity of outdoor, artistic, education and culinary pursuits, all in a place with a population still low enough to call itself a town and easy to get to.
Blacksburg, with a population of 42,000 at the 2010 census, has retained a small college town charm that has eroded in numerous similar college towns that hold themselves out as highland paradises, but have struggled with pacifying the competing interests of those resistant to change and the monolithic forces of overdevelopment. Some towns change and grow too quickly for their infrastructure to handle it and become bloated and crowded imitations of their former selves, while the ruling elite in some other towns dig in and unreasonably cling to trite slogans about keeping their town “weird” or “funky.[1]” Keep in mind the latter element in most of these towns is not actually opposed to development; they just don’t want certain types of development: go ahead and approve bike paths all over the place that somehow take years to complete, but do not approve of a building that detracts from the “vibe.” In being able to control both of these fringe elements, Blacksburg appears to have figured something out that has escaped some towns that have swung so decidedly in one direction: Sometimes compromise can be reached, and there’s nothing wrong with refusing to cow down to the loudest sentiments of the day.
Blacksburg is a mainstay and consistently ranked on an eclectic array of U.S. “best places” lists. For instance, it has been named a top mountain town, a top 25 place to retire, a top place in which to raise a family, one of the South’s best college towns, and one of the top 10 college towns in the nation. This past June, Blue Ridge Country Magazine ranked it the best college town near Blue Ridge Parkway, ahead of Lexington and Charlottesville, Virginia.
Blacksburg is also located at a perfect crossroads for lovers of the outdoors. The nearby New River, which flows in from North Carolina and gains speed and ruggedness as it courses through southwest Virginia, has been named one of the Best 50 Rivers in the Southeast. It offers anywhere from Class I-V rapids. For golf enthusiasts, the new Pete Dye River Course, recently opened and home to the Hokie golf team, sits along the New River just west of town and is open to the public. Blue Ridge Parkway, which can be driven or cycled and runs some 469 miles from its southern terminus at U.S. Highway 441 near Cherokee, North Carolina, to its northern exit at Interstate 64 just east of Waynesboro, Virginia, is easily accessible and just 30 miles east of Blacksburg. For hikers, it’s just a 20 minute drive from the Appalachian Trail. In the winter, several ski resorts are within distance from Blacksburg, including Snowshoe and Winterplace in West Virginia, the Homestead, and Beech Mountain near Boone, North Carolina. Beach lovers can even reach the Atlantic at Virginia Beach and points south to the Outer Banks in 4.5 to 5 hours — all on interstate highways. And for spectator sports,the Boston Red Sox advanced single-A affiliate, the Salem Red Sox, play their home games at Memorial Stadium just up I-81 toward Roanoke.
Back in town, there is plenty to placate the appetite — much of it on Main Street right off-campus. Cabo Fish Taco Baja Sea Grill specializes in more than just the signature fish tacos. The Sweet Blackened Tuna, Diablo Shrimp, and Barbecue Mahi Tacos all satisfy. Down the street, The Cellar has a diverse food and drink menu. El Rodeo offers standard, reliably good Mexican food. And Bull and Bones Brewhaus and Grill serves up steak and ribs along with multiple beers brewed on site. The Signature House Ribs, Tri-Tip, and Pulled Pork Platter are great choices, and for the beer — inclined, the Summer Hefe, Lunch Pale Ale, and St. Maeve’s Stout will hit the spot.
For beer aficionados, the Virginia Beer Trail has several excellent microbreweries in the area. The Flying Mouse Brewery, located just off I-81 in Troutville, about a half-hour drive from Blacksburg, is open Friday through Sunday. Check out the #3, a Golden, Kolsch ale that is perfect for warm summer days, or the #5, a reddish-amber with pale ale characteristics. Parkway Brewing Company, located in an industrial area in Salem, is open Thursday through Sunday. Try the Raven’s Roost, a Baltic porter with chocolate undertones, or if you think you have what it takes, try the Magella Belgian Dark Strong Ale, a dark Belgian abbey ale that packs an ABV of about 11%. (You might want to arrive and leave on your bike if you want more than one of these.) And the taproom at the Roanoke Railhouse Brewery is open seven days a week. Their Track 1, a hazelnut-hued lager, and their seasonal Conductor’s Choice, a chocolate stout, are outstanding selections.
Blacksburg is conveniently located 40 miles southwest of Roanoke, a city of 98,000 that provides regional jet service from Roanoke-Blacksburg Regional Airport through some of the major hubs — Atlanta, Charlotte, and Chicago. But if you are just making your way north or south on Interstate 81, take exit 118 at Christiansburg and drive the 20 miles up U.S. highway 460. It will be worth the detour.
[1] A short internet search revealed at least a dozen websites dedicated to keeping a town or city “weird” or “funky.”
