Checking out Roanoke, VA’s Urban Trail System
Darcy Grimes | Published on 4/27/2025
On a recent camping road trip, my husband and I decided to check out the urban trail system in Roanoke, Virginia. We’ve traveled to Roanoke many times but we typically ride mountain bikes in Carvin’s Cove. (Which is also AMAZING!) We were lucky enough to have 2 days in Roanoke on this trip so we thought we’d spend our second day on the urban trails. We found the Mill Mountain Full- Pull Route on Trail Forks and thought we’d give it a try. And, I’m so glad we did! This route and trail system ended up being my favorite ride of the week!
We parked our campervan at a local park next to the Greenway and rode up and around Mill Mountain. From there we followed the route which had a mix of chunky, rocky single track and double track. At the top we crossed the Blue Ridge Parkway and popped out next to the Mill Mtn Zoo! No joke, I could hear the animals while we were riding next to the fence! We rode through part of the Zoo and up to the base of the Mill Mtn Star! (We saw the star lit up at the top of the mountain the night before and I thought it was sooo cool to be able to ride my bike to it!) After we rode by the Star, we dipped back down into the single track and then popped out in a neighborhood with huge million dollar houses. This continued a couple of times with beautiful views of the city below! The route then took us back up to the top via a different trail, by statues of bikes, and finally back down again through neighborhoods back to the Greenway!
I had heard Roanoke referred to as the Mountain Bike Capital of the East Coast and living in Western North Carolina, I never really understood why. I always thought well we have Pisgah! However, now seeing the amazing mix of urban trails, backcountry mountain trails, and the bike lanes throughout the city I understand why!