Virginia Forestry Summit
May 7-9, 2025
Hotel Roanoke, Roanoke
TOURS & WORKSHOPS
As of 3/10/2025 - Subject to Change
Summit tours and interactive workshops provide experiences that allow participants to learn in a non-seminar setting.
Learn more about these value added options below. Space for both tours and workshops is limited.
Explore Park Tour
Thursday, May 8
2:00 PM - 5:00 PM
The Blue Ridge Chapter of Appalachian SAF worked with Roanoke County to build 1,083 linear feet of trail and recondition 1,963 linear feet of trail in the Explore Park, expanding the Forestry Education Area. Bill Sweeney, SAF will give a brief talk about the park and how SAF has aided in its development. Participants can then engage in self guided walks along the park’s many trails.
Tour fee is $45 Early bird | $60 Regular
Tour - TBA
Mill Mountain Park Hike
Thursday, May 8
2:00 PM - 6:00 PM
Roanoke is one of the only cities in the country with a mountain within its city limits and Mill Mountain features an awesome park full of great trails. Roanoke’s Mill Mountain Park is unique in that it truly is an “urban” mountain biking experience in Virginia’s Blue Ridge. Whether you start straight up the mountain on Monument trail or opt for a more rolling climb up on Woodthrush, the Roanoke Star and the Mill Mountain Discovery Center are must see destinations located atop the mountain.
View trail map.
This is hike is self-guided.
Nearby Activities
Thursday, May 8
2:00 PM - 6:00 PM
VFLEP Landowner Workshop
Friday, May 9
12:00 PM - 4:30 PM
An Urban Forestry Tour in the Star City of the South
Description: On this tour of Roanoke (and a little of Salem), we will eat lunch at, and tour the grounds of the famous Fishburn Mansion, a 42-room Georgian-revival home built in 1907. We’ll learn about using Missouri Gravel Beds to propagate trees, community gardens, and hear from the local tree Stewards.
Next, we’ll travel over to Virginia Western Community College, a Bee Campus USA, and have a guided tour of their arboretum.
We’ll end the afternoon at Sherwood Memorial Park in Salem where we’ll learn about Virginia’s Big Tree Program and see Virginia’s Champion Atlas cedar. We’ll also learn about efforts to protect urban ash trees from the emerald ash borer.
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Registration fee: $30 | Lunch is included.
