Best Family Activities at Smith Mountain Lake
Smith Mountain Lake, Virginia — updated August 22, 2026
Boat rentals, dawn-to-dusk parks, and the day trips worth the drive from Moneta, ranked by how well they hold up with kids in tow and how settled their reviews are.
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Smith Mountain Lake spreads across Franklin and Bedford counties, which means a family weekend here tends to split in two: hours on the water near Moneta, and short drives inland when the weather turns or the kids have had enough sun. The lake itself supplies the boats and the swimming; Bedford, Rocky Mount and Roanoke supply the museums, memorials and park trails within an easy drive. The list below starts at the water's edge and works outward.
1. Bridgewater Marina & Boat Rentals
The most direct answer to the question, since getting a family onto the lake is the whole point of coming here. Bridgewater rents boats from the Booker T. Washington Highway side of the lake in Moneta, and its 4.7 rating across 667 reviews is a well-settled figure, not a small sample that could swing on a bad week. Book ahead for summer weekends, when rental fleets around the lake turn over fastest, and plan the pickup for early in the day so you are not returning in the dark. It is listed under restaurants as well as marina services, so check what is open when you arrive.
2. National D-Day Memorial
A short drive from the lake into Bedford, and the highest-rated place on this list: 4.9 from more than 1,800 reviews, which is a rare combination of near-perfect and heavily tested. Bedford lost more men per capita on D-Day than any other American community, which is why the memorial sits here rather than in Washington, and that local connection gives older children something concrete to hold onto. The site is largely outdoors, so it works best on a clear day and pairs naturally with a morning on the water. Expect a slower, quieter visit than the rest of this list.
3. Waid Recreation Park
The best free option for a family that needs to burn energy without renting anything. The Rocky Mount park is open dawn to dusk, has restrooms and accessible facilities, and covers hiking and biking trails plus soccer and baseball fields, so a group with a wide age spread can spread out. At 4.8 from 531 reviews, it is unusually well regarded for a county park, and the volume of reviews suggests that rating has held over time rather than reflecting a handful of enthusiasts. Bring your own gear; this is a park, not an outfitter.
4. Mill Mountain Star
The most reviewed place in this guide by a wide margin, with more than 4,500 reviews behind a 4.8, which makes it about as proven as a Virginia attraction gets. The star and its overlook sit above Roanoke, roughly an hour from the Moneta side of the lake, and the visit is short: park, walk to the overlook, take in the valley. That brevity is the appeal with small children. Go near sunset if you want the star lit, and treat it as one stop on a Roanoke day rather than the day itself.
5. Appomattox Court House National Historical Park
Worth the longer drive east if your family has a history reader in it. The National Park Service site holds a 4.8 across more than 2,100 reviews, so the strength of the rating is well established. The village layout means walking between restored buildings outdoors, which suits kids better than a single enclosed museum, though it also means weather matters. Check the park's site before setting out for current hours and ranger programming, since those shift seasonally. Budget most of a day once you add the drive from the lake.
6. Fun-N-Games
The rainy-afternoon fallback on the Moneta strip, a few doors from Bridgewater Marina on Booker T. Washington Highway. It rates 4.4 from 93 reviews, which is thinner evidence than anything above it here, so treat it as a promising local option rather than a proven one. What it has going for it is location and premise: it is close to where families are already staying, and it exists to occupy children. Confirm hours before driving over, particularly outside the summer season, when lakeside businesses in Moneta keep shorter schedules.
7. O. Winston Link & Roanoke History Museum
A small indoor stop in Roanoke, built around O. Winston Link's night photographs of the last steam locomotives on the Norfolk and Western. Trains hold the attention of a certain kind of kid completely, and the museum is compact enough that it will not outlast anyone's patience. The 4.8 rating rests on 136 reviews, a modest count, so the score is encouraging rather than conclusive. It sits on Shenandoah Avenue by the rail yards, which makes it easy to combine with Mill Mountain in a single trip inland from the lake.
8. Hot Shots Bar and Grill
Included as the place to end a lake day rather than as an activity in itself. It is a bar and grill in Moneta, holding a 4.4 across 420 reviews, a large enough sample that the rating can be taken seriously. Families should note the format: this is a bar first, so it suits older kids and parents better than toddlers, and evenings will be busier than afternoons. Check the restaurant's site for current hours before making it the plan, since lake-area kitchens adjust their schedules off season.