Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: SUNDAY, April 16, 1995 TAG: 9504170002
SECTION: CURRENT PAGE: NRV-3 EDITION: NEW RIVER VALLEY
SOURCE:
DATELINE: LENGTH: Long
So to help you take advantage of spring, we've made a list of favorite haunts in all corners of the valley and neighboring Wythe County that might delight you.
One of the must-see sites each spring is Blacksburg's Price House and Garden Park.
This historic home surrounded by a large lawn and gardens makes a wonderful weekend or evening stroll if you are in downtown Blacksburg. Rather than flying to England to see stunning pastel spikes of lupines blooming in formal gardens, you can stroll down Roanoke Street to Wharton Street, circle the old frame house and find rows of lupines and deep-hued iris blooming in the gardens.
You'll want to take time to walk up and down the rows of iris, checking out the different colors and varieties of this household favorite. The garden is spring at its best for a flower lover.
Once you've admired this garden, head across town to the Virginia Tech Horticulture Garden on Washington Street off Duck Pond Drive where you'll find a maze of different flowers in constant bloom throughout the spring and summer. The garden is a favorite leisurely Sunday stroll for many locals who enjoy the vivid displays and tranquil setting.
If you prefer less cultivated landscapes, try the scenic drive from tiny Newport in Giles County to New Castle along Virginia 42.
This is your chance to enjoy the rural countryside at its best with old farmsteads virtually untouched by modern times. The redbud are particularly striking along this route - designated a Virginia Byway. Almost anywhere you drive in Giles, in fact, will offer you a panorama of mountains and farmland. Even heavily traveled U.S. 460 on a pretty day provides expanses of mountain scenery in contrasting shades of green.
If you like to focus on the more fragile aspects of nature, however, Giles offers hikes for those who enjoy the hunt for spring wild flowers. Consider a hike to Angel's Rest in Giles County. The climb offers an exceptional selection of wild flowers as well as mountain views.
If you're new to the area, however, you may want to save these Giles sites for another year and go straight to the best-known hike in the valley - the Cascades.
A gradual 2.5-mile climb along a wooded stream leads up to a scenic waterfall in the George Washington and Jefferson National Forests. The spot is easy to reach, just off U.S. 460. The only drawback is that the trail will most likely be full of other visitors on a pretty spring day - but there is always a quiet place to settle on the rocks once you've reached the waterfall.
Rivaling Giles County for scenic spring beauty is the county on the southern side of the New River Valley - Floyd. Any road into Floyd will take you meandering by hillside pastures, rustic barns and old farmhouses.
The Blue Ridge Parkway winds through the heart of Floyd County, and in fact, was Floyd's first paved road. The parkway is the perfect spring destination for a family picnic. Two local favorites are Rocky Knob and Mabry Mill. The views will take you back a generation to a quieter time when primitive farmsteads and water-powered grist mills were a way of life in much of the New River Valley.
Another popular family destination is Claytor Lake State Park. In the spring, the park combines natural beauty with a variety of outdoor activities that children will enjoy such as swimming and boating, fishing and horseback riding.
The combination of mountains and water offers stunning scenery as well as recreation.
For those who like to travel on two wheels or by foot in the spring, the New River Trail offers a peaceful excursion along 52 miles of a former railroad bed through Pulaski, Wythe and Grayson counties. Try the stretch between Allisonia and Hiwassee in Pulaski County. It's a little known but beautiful part of Pulaski.
In fact, you could make the trail a spring-long project, traveling different sections each weekend until you've make your way through Pulaski, down into Wythe and past the historic Shot Tower and on to Fries, where the trail ends in Grayson County.
As a finale to your exploration of natural sites, you may want to end with a panorama of the area's natural beauty - and what better way than a balloon's-eye view during Wytheville's famous Chautauqua Festival June 17-25. The balloons generally fly on the first two days of the festival, which draws visitors from throughout the state and surrounding areas to the town to enjoy crafts, culture and the stunning sight of hot-air balloons against the sky.
You'd better get started now - with so many spots to visit you may not have enough weekends to sample all the New River Valley has to offer.
by CNB