<p>Hi! We will be visiting VT in a few weeks with our son. Other than the things arranged through the school, what else should we see or do on our visit to Blacksburg to get a good feel for the area? Any recommendations on places to stay, eat, etc.? Also, our son is huge on outdoor activities (kayaking, rafting, fishing), so is there a nearby area with these activities we could check out? Thanks!</p>
<p>Oh, I could write a book. </p>
<p>How long are you staying? You should make sure to eat on campus once if you can (I believe one dining hall will be open for the summer students, unfortunately not one of the best ones but still good food if its D2) just to get a feel for it. Otherwise my standard restaurant suggestions are Rivemill (burgers and tater tots, get. the. tater. tots), The Cellar for Greek pizza/pasta, Sycamore Deli for hot sandwiches, Sub Station 2 for cold sandwiches, and Souvlaki for Greek gyros, and El Rodeo for American-Mexican food.</p>
<p>There are other places too like Boudreaux which has an excellent high class beer selection and Cajun/French (? I think so anyway I hardly ever recall walking out of there) menu, Sharkeys which is a burger joint, and Jimmy Johns which is a sub chain if you don’t have it locally. Everywhere mentioned is around 5 minutes off campus walking in the downtown area.</p>
<p>For things to do there is the Lyric theater downtown which shows second run and independent movies. See what’s playing, it’s really cheap. A half hour or so off campus are the Cascades which is a really cool hike ending in a giant waterfall. Take some clothes you don’t mind getting a little wet if you want to go walk out on the rocks and stuff. There are other good hiking spots around the area too but someone else will need to fill those in.</p>
<p>30 min. from Blacksburg is Claytor Lake State Park in Dublin. It is one of Virginia’s most beautiful state parks, great for a picnic, day hiking, canoeing, etc. If you plug your dates into this site, you can find all of the neat events they have going on. They even have cabins that you may luck out and rent (it is hard to nab one this close, but sometimes there are cancellations). </p>
<p>[Virginia</a> State Parks Events Search](<a href=“http://www.dcr.virginia.gov/state_parks/events.shtml]Virginia”>Events)</p>
<p>The Taubman museum in Roanoke (45 min away) is wonderful, too. </p>
<p>[Current</a> Exhibitions | Taubman Museum of Art](<a href=“http://www.taubmanmuseum.org/main/exhibitions/current]Current”>http://www.taubmanmuseum.org/main/exhibitions/current)</p>
<p>If you like history the Smithfield Plantation. It is right on the outskirts of campus.</p>
<p>[Smithfield</a> | history](<a href=“http://www.smithfieldplantation.org/pages/history/history.html]Smithfield”>http://www.smithfieldplantation.org/pages/history/history.html)</p>
<p>While on Campus, you also need to go to the Hahn Horticulture Garden off of Washington Street. It is beautiful just to walk around and see all of the different varieties of shrubs, flowers.<br>
<a href=“http://www.hort.vt.edu/hhg/[/url]”>http://www.hort.vt.edu/hhg/</a></p>
<p>And finally if you are there on a Saturday morning you can go to the Saturday Farmer’s Market on Main Street. Lots of local food and and arts and crafts. </p>
<p>Have fun! Hope you enjoy your visit!</p>
<p>Are you attending a new student orientation? If so, your son’s time will be fully booked. If you budget a day or part day before or after orientation then all of the above are excellent options.</p>
<p>We did the orientation last year with son#1. With son#2 I think we’ll just let him do his thing with the group; do a quick tour of campus with younger daughter and possibly head over to Cascades or Claytor lake. Dietrick dining hall is a must during your visit - - prices are great and you can rest assured that your son will eat well while a student at VT.</p>
<p>Thanks for all the great suggestions! Chris, he will be a high school senior next year, so this is part of a “looking trip” to check things out at several schools. He is very excited to visit VT, and the info you all have provided will really help us with planning.</p>
<p>Good places to stay-Inn at Virginia Tech, Main Street Inn.
Also Mountain Lake Lodge is close by. That is where Dirty Dancing was filmed. They renovated in 2012 and expanded their outdoor recreation program. [Mountain</a> Lodge Virginia ? Resorts in Virginia | Mountain Lake Lodge](<a href=“http://www.mtnlakelodge.com/]Mountain”>http://www.mtnlakelodge.com/)
Have fun on your college visits!</p>