Excellent water quality is one reason people are flocking to Smith Mountain Lake. The vast majority of spots on more than 500 miles of shoreline have crystal clear water year-round. Unfortunately, as in any fresh body of water, a few places have less than perfect water quality in certain seasons of the year. These are [...]

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The Channels One of the many wonderful features of Smith Mountain Lake is the numbered navigation channel marker system on both the main channels and the tributaries. The Roanoke Channel numbers start at R1 near the dam and extend west, then north/northwest, toward Roanoke, ending with R80 near the Hardy Bridge. The Blackwater Channel and [...]

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Is Smith Mountain Lake natural, or is it man-made?

What do the channels of Smith Mountain Lake look like?

Learn about the answers to these questions and more, in this my first “factoid” post.

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Shoreline: 500+ miles Main Channel: Approximately 40 miles Elevation: 795 feet above sea level at lake Local Population: Approximately 20,000 Nearby Cities: Roanoke – Under one hour. Area population approx. 290,000 Lynchburg – Under one hour. Area population approx. 240,000* Greensboro/High Point/Winston-Salem Approximately 1.5+ hours. Blacksburg/Virginia Tech – 1.5 hours Charlottesville – 2 hours Raleigh-Durham/Chapel [...]

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