Smith Mountain Lake Virginia
“Jewel of the Virginia Blue Ridge”
Town of Smith Mountain Lake
Smith Mountain Lake is a community in the Blue Ridge Mountains southeast of Lynchburg. Smith Mountain Lake was created in 1963 to dam the Roanoke River. Smith Mountain Lake is the largest reservoir in the Roanoke region and Virginia. The lake is located in Franklin and Bedford counties. Smith Mountain Lake has grown and become a popular recreation location for visitors to the area. The recreational opportunities are outstanding with boating and fishing being the most popular with the state record for striped bass.
Smith Mountain Lake, Virginia’s most popular lake, offers many different recreational activities to enjoy your vacation. Smith Mountain Lake offers, water sports, restaurants, lodging, marinas, and lakefront real estate. Smith Mountain Lake is the Virginia version of the “Jewel of the Blue Ridge Mountains”.
History of Smith Mountain Lake
Smith Mountain Lake was created to produce electricity by building a dam on the Roanoke and Blackwater Rivers. The dam’s construction began in 1960 and was completed in 1963. The lake is the largest lake in Virginia covering 20,600 acres and has 500 miles of shoreline. During the time of construction of the dam the SMith Mountian Lake area was mostly rural with tobacco farms and other agriculture. The residences around the lake started with small trailer parks and small homes. In the 1980s large lakefront homes, condominiums, and developed communities with golf courses became the normal around the lake.