Must-See Attractions in Smith Mountain Lake, Virginia
Smith Mountain Lake, Virginia — updated August 22, 2026
Eight attractions in and around Smith Mountain Lake, from the county beach at Moneta to the dam overlook, ranked by how well each answers the question and how settled its rating is.
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Smith Mountain Lake is a 20,000-plus-acre reservoir with no single downtown, so its attractions are scattered across Bedford, Franklin and Pittsylvania counties and spill out toward Roanoke, Bedford and Floyd. That means most days here involve a drive, and it pays to know which stops are five minutes from the water and which are an hour out. The list below runs from lakeside to farthest afield, with the strength of each place's review record noted as we go.
1. Smith Mountain Lake Community Park
This is the public access point most visitors want: a Franklin County park in Moneta with a swimming beach, a partly covered accessible fishing pier with seating, and picnic shelters with grills. The park itself is open year-round from dawn to dusk, while the beach runs on a summer schedule, roughly 10am to 6pm, daily through the peak weeks and weekends only into early September. There is a small per-person charge for the beach. At 4.7 across 482 reviews, it is a well-tested rating rather than an early one, and the count is high for a county park. Go early on hot weekends; parking near the beach is the constraint.
2. National D-Day Memorial
Bedford lost more men per capita on D-Day than any other American community, and the memorial sits on a hill above town at 3 Overlord Circle, about a half hour from the lake's northern shore. It holds a 4.9 rating from 1,848 reviews, which is an unusually high average for a count that large, and the strongest evidence on this list that visitors leave satisfied. The site is exposed, with limited shade across the plaza and the invasion tableau, so morning visits in July and August are more comfortable than midday ones.
3. Mill Mountain Star
The most-reviewed attraction in the region by a wide margin: 4,533 reviews at 4.8, which makes the rating about as settled as ratings get. The neon star sits above Roanoke off JB Fishburn Parkway, with an overlook onto the city and the Roanoke Valley. It is roughly an hour from the lake, so it works best paired with other Roanoke stops rather than as a standalone trip. The view is the point, and it changes character entirely between afternoon and after dark, when the star is lit.
4. Spring Valley Farm
A horse farm on Horseshoe Bend Road in Moneta, minutes from the lake, and the closest thing in the immediate area to a non-water activity with a serious review record: 4.8 from 653 reviews. That combination of a high average and a count in the hundreds is meaningful for a rural operation. Details on programs and scheduling are on the farm's own site, svhorsefarm.com, and booking ahead is the sensible approach for anything involving horses. Useful for families with a rained-out boat day.
5. Smith Mountain Lake Dam Vistors Center
The dam is why the lake exists, and the visitors center at 2074 Ford Rd in Sandy Level is the place to see the structure and the drop below it. The evidence here is thinner than elsewhere on the list: 4.5 from 139 reviews, which suggests a solid but modest stop rather than a headline attraction. Treat it as a 30-to-45-minute detour on the way around the southern end of the lake, not a destination in itself. Worth doing once if you have spent a week on the water without ever seeing what holds it in.
6. Appomattox Court House National Historical Park
Where the Army of Northern Virginia surrendered in April 1865, preserved as a village of restored buildings rather than a single monument. The National Park Service site rates 4.8 from 2,158 reviews, a large and well-established sample. It is the longest drive on this list from the lake, at 111 National Park Dr in Appomattox, so plan a full half day. Hours and ranger programming are posted at nps.gov/apco, and checking before setting out matters more here than at an outdoor overlook.
7. Floyd Country Store
An hour-plus southwest of the lake, and included because it functions as a live-music institution as much as a place to eat: old-time and bluegrass sets, including Tuesday Tunes with Jesse Smathers and Friends. The rating is 4.8 from 1,089 reviews. The cafe is closed Mondays, runs 11am to 3pm Tuesday and Wednesday, 11am to 8pm Thursday, 11am to 9pm Friday, 10am to 8pm Saturday and 11am to 6pm Sunday, so evening visits work only later in the week. Check the store's event calendar before committing to the drive, since the music is the reason to make it.
8. Belle Garden Estate
An estate property in Wirtz, on the Franklin County side of the lake, rating 4.9. The caveat is the sample: 69 reviews is a promising signal rather than a proven one, so treat the score with more caution than the four-figure counts above it. Confirm what is open to visitors and when at bellegarden-estate.com before driving out, since properties like this often operate on an event schedule rather than fixed public hours. Closest of the non-lake attractions here to the water, which counts for something on a packed weekend.