I spent 48 hours in Roanoke: Here’s what I packed in
Roanoke’s city vibe jives well with the nature outings found minutes away from downtown.
In 2023, Roanoke popped up on my radar. I’ve been there three times since, and each time, I’ve added new activities to my itinerary. Virginia’s Blue Ridge region is too large to see everything in one weekend–but in 48 hours, you can make a dent in the outdoor adventures and city experiences the area has to offer.
Friday
Choose from one of Roanoke’s iconic downtown hotels for your weekend stay. These three are listed on the National Historic Registry and are walkable to cafés, restaurants, and shops.
Fire Station One Boutique Hotel features seven rooms in a restored 1907 firehouse. On the first floor, Stock Bistro & Bar brings northern European and Scandinavian cuisine to Virginia. Delve into the pork schnitzel, served over warm potato salad with lemon, horseradish, and white anchovy.
Built in 1882, Hotel Roanoke, with its Tudor revival-style architecture, is a prominent destination in Roanoke. The recently refreshed 327 guest rooms honor the hotel’s history and include updated technology and furnishings. The old-fashioned mail slots on each floor will deliver your mail to the front desk. Relax in the hotel’s Pine Room, once a World War II Officers’ Club, with warm pimento cheese and a hearth-fired reuben.
The Liberty Trust Hotel offers sleek accommodations in 54 rooms, some pet-friendly, that once served as bank offices as early as 1910. The Vault, the hotel’s restaurant, is in the lobby. Teller windows, an original vault, and marble pillars keep the bank vibe alive. The must-try starter is the khachapuri, a Georgian recipe with bread filled with Sulguni cheese, egg yolks, and special seasoning.
If you can pull yourself away from these delightful accommodations, walk downtown to window shop, sample sweet treats, and get a head start on holiday shopping. No plan is needed–but if you want a few options, look for Crafteria, a makers market with 13 to 16 booths offering handmade products, including Chocolatepaper (don’t leave without a truffle), WyndRose Boutique, and Bread Craft.
You should build in time for The Taubman Museum of Art, open only Thursday through Sunday. Permanent collections and rotating exhibits such as “Opposites Abstract: A Mo Willems Exhibit,” displaying through September 14, are included in the museum’s free admission. A guided tour is available at 1 p.m. each day the museum is open.
City Market Building, a food hall featuring a variety of cuisine from ramen and tacos to burgers and hibachi, is perfect for a casual dinner in downtown. For a sit-down meal, The River and Rail is a 10-minute drive south of downtown. The menu includes crab scampi, pan-seared grouper, skillet-fried cornbread, and a soro lobster roll. Try the banana pudding, a twist on a southern favorite, which uses cornmeal crispies, lime zest, and coconut jalapeño sorbet.
Saturday
Start strong with breakfast at Scrambled, overlooking the City Square. Sit at the counter, inside or outside, and order the veggie Denver, one of its signature scrambles.
Before an outdoor adventure at Carvins Cove Natural Reserve, grab drinks and sandwiches at Crystal Spring Grocery for a picnic-style lunch at the park–a well-deserved treat after hiking or kayaking.
Rent a single or double kayak, rowboat, or jon boat to explore the reservoir. Hike one of 34 trails, ranging from easy to extremely difficult. Bring cash for park admission and boat rental fees.
On your way back, hit up Black Dog Salvage for hours of amusement: 40,000 square feet of salvaged items, including art, woodwork, and home and garden decor. Black Dog Salvage was the set for the DIY Network’s 11 seasons of “Salvage Dawgs,” a show featuring the shop’s owners, Robert Kulp and Mike Whiteside.
Take a nap before dinner.
Then make reservations for Bloom Restaurant & Wine Bar in Roanoke’s Wasena neighborhood, which was once a renovated general store from the 1930s. Dishes arrive one at a time with a focus on molecular gastronomy, using innovative techniques to achieve surprising appearance, flavor, and texture.
Finish the evening with a visit to the Roanoke Star, a symbol of the city since 1949, and ice cream at Blue Cow Ice Cream Co. Strawberry balsamic and goat cheese blueberry are some of the unusual flavors served alongside traditional chocolate and vanilla. Nondairy and gluten-free options are also available.
Sunday
A traditional brunch at Billy’s, with loaded fried green tomatoes, berries and cream waffles, your choice of omelets, fried chicken and waffles, and much more, will prepare you for the day.
In case you sleep in and need a quick breakfast, Scratch Biscuit Co. serves cat head biscuits (5 inches wide) with eggs, gravy, chicken, pulled pork, and more.
Sign up for the 2 p.m. Views and Brews Electric Bike Tour with Roanoke Mountain Adventures. This three-hour guided tour covers almost 11 miles through Roanoke’s greenway trails, stopping at three breweries for tastings.
On your way home, begin planning your next visit to Roanoke to see Dixie Caverns, Natural Bridge State Park, and the Virginia Transportation Museum.
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