Roanoke, Virginia —
Magic City. Star City of the South. The southwestern Virginia city of Roanoke has earned some impressive nicknames.
One stems from the railroads that almost magically turned the sleepy Roanoke Valley town once known as Big Lick into a bustling commercial hub in the 1880s, the other from a giant illuminated star that’s become an enduring civic symbol.
But both monikers could also be applied to its lovely location between the Blue Ridge and Allegheny mountains, just off the Blue Ridge Parkway and the Appalachian Trail, or AT.
“I think our access to the outdoors is unparalleled compared to other areas,” says Ryan Wagoner, an Appalachian Trail volunteer who was out for a regular run up to McAfee Knob in early May. Wagoner, who lives in Blacksburg, noted how close the trail is to the sizable city of Roanoke, which has a regional airport and is right off Interstate 81.
