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Print Friendly MapThe Roanoke River Greenway will one day span 25 miles between Roanoke and Salem along its namesake waterway. Currently, much of the paved pathway is already in place and runs through a wide variety of settings from busy shopping and dining areas to quiet residential neighborhoods and well-loved parks.
On the eastern side of the trail, you'll traverse Roanoke's Piedmont Park, a small pocket of greenspace where you can stop and enjoy the river views. You'll find benches and a playground in the park.
Mid-trail, you'll reach the River's Edge Sports Complex with just about every facility for the athletically minded: baseball diamonds, tennis courts, and football and soccer fields. There are also restrooms and concessions available here.
West of the sports complex, Smith Park offers a bike repair station, playground, picnic shelter, restrooms, and a drinking fountain. Less than a mile farther, the larger Wasena Park offers athletic facilities and a skate park.
From Wasena Park, cross a 215-foot pedestrian bridge over the Roanoke River and you will enter Vic Thomas Park, which is notable for its public art and exercise equipment. The 16-acre park is named after a local politician who served in the state legislature for 30 years.
The continuous trail ends a little over a mile farther at a parking lot off Bridge Street SW, before picking up again farther west just outside of Salem after a gap. Within Salem, the trail offers access to Salem Park and Riverside Park. In the former, you'll find a rain garden, picnic tables, and benches. Riverside Park offers fishing access.
Just west of Riverside Park, the trail continues through the James I. Moyer Complex, named for a former mayor of Salem. This portion of the greenway has been designated the David Smith Trail. Northwest of the sports complex, the trail winds through Ted Weber Park, which offers a baseball field, restrooms, and a playground.
The trail continues about a mile farther, hugging the tree-lined river, to Riverside Drive. There are then a couple of short breaks in the trail before it ends in Green Hill Park, one of the largest parks in the county and a popular spot for fishing.
From east to west, parking along the Roanoke section of the trail is available in:
From east to west, parking along the Salem section of the trail is available in:
We rode 20 miles (10 miles each direction), starting at the Bennington St parking lot. Note that there are no facilities right at that lovely parking area, but there is restroom at Golden Park, just to the east. It was an enjoyable ride! I’d do it again! All along the Roanoke River. Multiple river crossings, usually with a 90 degree turn at each end of the bridge. We went by several City parks, and stopped at an ice cream and burger place on the east end of Wasena Park for ice cream on the way back. There is a well marked detour around Wasena Park for construction. There are several places along the trail where other trails intersect. The signage was great to keep us on track. The only place we got confused was just past Black Dog Salvage (we were heading west) and after crossing the river on Memorial Ave, it took us a minute, and a slight detour, to realize that the trail goes left at Wasena Ave, and loops around to go under Memorial Ave. The signs are there, but not quite big enough to get our attention at the right moment. We turned around at Tidy Services. TrailLink shows the trail ending at Bridge Street. We rode over 3 more miles on paved and marked trail.
It's a 4 mainly because of the creosote / diesel odors as we went around the rail yard. The trail itself is super. all paved. very little root bumps. well maintained.
Good for walks, runs, and bike rides. Pretty sunny, with a few shaded sections. Usually not crowded!
We rode this a 2nd time and it is so nice. Love the artwork. You ride right by Black Dog Salvage. Mostly level, not crowded. You can see the STAR from trail.
Mostly level ride, beautiful artwork, poppy, lily flowers , containers along way. Bathroom at a park. Ride next to Black Dog Salvage too!! Restaurants.
Excellent bike ride for young riders. Offers a flat, soft surface without too many climbs etc. Also, lots of places (restaurants) etc. to stop and eat along the way. Plenty of parking available around the trail. Trail runs right through downtown Lynchburg!
I ride the Roanoke River Greenway several times a week. I park at either the Norwich trailhead At Bridge Street or the 13th Street entrance. To add the Tinker Creek Greenway, I park at one of two side by side lots on Wise Avenue or at Fallon Park. This section has a very steep hill which connects to the Roanoke River Greenway at the Water Pollution Plant. Great fun. A nice side trip is to cross over to the Garden City Greenway, a two mile climb up and back 2 miles to the RRG. An 18-20 mile excursion in total. Did it this morning. Great!
The ride through the several city parks is quite beautiful and on the weekends there are lots of riders, joggers and walkers sharing the trail with families using the many picnic tables along the route.
I’m always safe, always within shouting distance of help if I need it at 75 years.
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