virginia tech driving tour

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Virginia Tech: College Tour Tips and Itinerary

Planning to take a tour of Virginia Tech with your child this summer? Learn what to expect from your time on campus and discover fun ways to make your day trip to Blacksburg, VA one to remember.

This summer my oldest daughter and I are hitting the road to visit college campuses throughout the south east.

While we live in Charlotte, NC, we are considering schools both in and out of state.

Our first trip of the summer was a day trip to visit Virginia Tech in Blacksburg, VA–an easy 3 hour drive from Charlotte.

I’m sharing all my tips and tricks and a peek inside the tour to help you and your student navigate a college tour of your own. But don’t miss my general college tour tips here, too!

Getting There

Virginia Tech For parking for your college tour, you’ll add this address to your GPS: 901 Prices Fork Road Blacksburg, VA

For more general directions on how to get there, Virginia Tech has a very helpful page here.

If you’re starting from the south side of Charlotte, NC like we did, plan for about 3 hours in the car. The worst traffic we hit was just getting over the north side of Charlotte by Huntersville. It was smooth sailing after that.

Register for Your Tour Before You Go

Virginia Tech offers virtual tours, like so many colleges and universities now do.

However, if you want to see campus in person, take part in an information session with an admissions officer, and get a guided tour with a student guide, you’ll want to register for a campus visit before you go.

Be sure to sign up with one of their open dates, you can find all the information you’ll need to register here .

Once you’ve registered as an official visitor, they will send you all the details you need once you arrive on campus.

During our visit, we were asked to park at the The Inn at Virginia Tech and sent a printable parking pass to put in our car dashboard so we didn’t have to pay a parking fee.

You’ll park near the Visitor and Undergraduate Admissions Center which is up a small hill. You’ll spot the staircase next to this statue of the Hokie Bird:

Our Itinerary

We left home in Charlotte at 8 am so we could arrive in Blacksburg, VA by 11 am.

We drove through downtown Blacksburg and past the university so we had a better sense of where we’d have to park for the tour.

Then the rest of the day went as follows:

• Buy Donuts at Carol Lee: Save them for the drive home.
• Have Lunch in Downtown Blacksburg
• Campus Tour at 1:30 pm
• Visit the Bookstore After the Tour
• Take Pictures
• Drive Around Campus
• Head Home: We got home around 8pm

Information Session

Be sure to arrive at your parking spot early so you are not late for your information session and tour.

Once you’ve parked, head up to the Admissions center and check in with the team at the front desk.

The lobby is filled with interesting displays of the historical facts about the university.

You’ll be assigned an information session with an admissions officer who will present the basic information you need for applying to Virginia Tech.

This is an excellent place to ask any general questions you have about the admissions process. The presentation lasted about 30 minutes.

Walking Tour

After the information session, you’ll be lead down the hill towards a campus tour guide for your walking tour of the campus.

During our visit, the walk was gentle and easy and did not involve any stairs or difficult inclines.

There is a spot on the website to request an accessibility-friendly tour when you register if that is a concern for your family.

The walking tour lasted for about an hour and a half and covered about 1 mile on campus.

NOTE: If you visit campus during summer, be prepared for construction projects throughout campus. They expedite these “spruce-ups” during the times when students are home for the summer.

We walked through the heart of the university past major landmarks on campus including:

• Burruss Hall
• Torgersen Hall
• The Pylons and War Memorial
• The Drill Field
• Newman Library
• The Bookstore

The only buildings we entered during the the tour was a peek at the lobby of the chemistry building, the Newman library, and a brief hallway tour of Torgersen Hall.

Our guide pointed out the dormitories and dining facilities along the way.

If it is important for you to see the inside of these things, be sure to ask your tour guide about how to make that happen.

Our tour guide was an extremely recent graduate (she just graduated 2 weeks ago) and so very helpful during our tour.

She wore a microphone headset so that the entire group was able to hear her narration and she stopped for questions every several minutes.

We ended the tour at the Pylons, in the center of the campus, and she stayed for 30 more minutes to answer any additional questions and offered suggestions for where to head next on our own.

Where to Eat

If you plan to eat before or after your tour, there are several places to eat near the university.

I wanted to share a special meal with my daughter somewhere just off campus since it was our first college tour together but it could make for a really interesting experience to eat like the students do right on campus.

We chose to visit The Cellar which is in Downtown Blacksburg, a very easy 8 minute walk from the university bookstore.

The menu had a little something for everyone: pizza, sandwiches, salads, fresh specials, and tons of appetizers.

We arrived starving and every plate of food brought out from the kitchen looked amazing .

Our server recommended the pesto chicken pizza as one of their more popular dishes. (See photo above.) My daughter picked that and I was extremely jealous. I’d definitely order that next time. My gyro pizza was good but didn’t come close to hers.

Side Note: We couldn’t stop talking about that pizza for weeks. We finally had to make our own chicken pesto pizza at home.

As luck would have it, our server was also a very recent graduate of Virginia Tech. Once she heard we were going on tour, she bubbled over for 10 minutes about how it was the best experience of her life and she just wanted to spend one last summer there before heading on to graduate school in the fall.

She was a fountain of great advice, so be sure to chat up to the people you meet around campus!

On-Campus Dining Halls

If you really want to get a feel for student life, our tour guide mentioned it was possible to eat in one of the student dining halls during your visit.

Be sure to ask them for more information if this is of interest to you!

8 Things to Do During Your Visit

The 2 hours of your information session and tour are just 1 part of your day at Virginia Tech. Be sure to plan for some extra time before or after your tour so you can experience more than the area offers your student.

1. Visit the Bookstore

If your teen is anything like my kiddo, a visit to the campus bookstore is a Must-Do. We purchased a t-shirt for her to enjoy wearing between now and her final decision, it will also possibly come in handy for our decision day announcement in the spring.

2. Check out Lane Stadium

If you have a student athlete or marching band kid, you’ll want to make time to drive or walk over to the football stadium on campus.

While not part of the official tour itself, Lane Stadium is easy to find and very impressive to see.

3. Stroll by Duck Pond

Very close to the drill field, Duck Pond is a popular student hang-out spot and was voted “most romantic date spot” for picnics, etc.

4. Drive through Greek Village

If your student is interested in rushing a fraternity or sorority, you can find all the Greek housing nestled together just off campus behind the golf course.

5. Take a Student Photo

Once we bought my daughter’s VT tee, she changed into it so we could take an on-campus picture to potentially use in her announcement later next spring.

I’m saving all the campus pics in an album on my phone for easy grabbing when the time comes.

NOTE: This was my daughter’s idea, not my own. If you think your child would feel way too much pressure with this, skip it! They don’t need any more stress placed on their shoulders. For us, there was just a simple feeling of excitement and potential and hope surrounding that pic. We know she’s an awesome kid who will land some place that is the right fit. Maybe that will be Virginia Tech, maybe not.

6. Walk Through Downtown Blacksburg

There are several shops and restaurants down the cute main street that is Downtown Blacksburg.

You can easily walk there from the bookstore or you can drive over there and park your car in on-street parking.

7. Visit the Blacksburg Farmer’s Market

If you’re in town on Wednesday, there is a local farmer’s market near campus that would make for a fun visit.

Unfortunately for us, the timing didn’t work out. The market opens at 2pm and we were ready to head off campus. You can get all the details you need for your visit here .

8. Visit Carol Lee Donuts

When I was researching things to add to our itinerary, I discovered that Blacksburg is home to a donut shop that was listed among the “ Top 100 Donut Shops in the Country ” by Yelp’s online community.

We were not about to spend 6 hours in the car and be that close to a best donut shop and not stop in!

Carol Lee Donuts is a very tiny donut shop just a couple minutes off campus by car. They have very limited hours so we made it our first stop of the day once we arrived.

We bought a half dozen donuts in a variety of flavors, they were already picked over by 11 am when we arrived! We tried to select flavors that wouldn’t melt in the car heat and saved them as a special end-of-day treat for the drive home.

When I asked for the Toasted Coconut donut, our server mentioned it was specifically chosen at the Best Donut in Virginia. I can totally see why. It was absolutely amazing — light and fluffy, glazed all over, with perfectly crispy toasted coconut on top. Worth the visit for that alone!

Final Thoughts

My daughter and I had the best time during our day trip to Blacksburg, VA together. This was the first of several college campus tours we have planned for the summer and I’m already looking forward to the next one.

Virginia Tech blew us away and we fell in love with the campus and the amazing list of student activities she could participate in.

Every single person we met that mentioned they were a recent grad expressed a huge amount of love for their school.

The in-person tour helped the university move up several notches on her list of favorites and she is eagerly looking forward to applying this fall.

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A division of Enrollment Management

Daily Admissions Campus Visits

Thank you for your interest in visiting Virginia Tech!  Click on the date below that works best for your schedule to see available sessions. Visit Format: Our visit includes a 30-minute information session directly followed by a 60-minute campus walking tour.  Fall Schedule:  Registration for Fall daily visits are available through December 10th. We offer weekday visits when classes are in session, and offer limited Saturday availability.  Waitlist for Daily Visits: If the visit you are interested in attending states that it is full, please click on the session and time to be added to the waitlist. 

In the unlikely event that an in-person program is cancelled or postponed due to unforeseen circumstances, the university cannot be held responsible for any other expenses, including cancellation or change charges assessed by airlines, hotels, travel agencies, or other organizations.

For weather or disaster-related program cancellation or postponement information, please watch the admissions home page or our social media channels.

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Questions? Contact us | [email protected] | 540-231-6267

Getting Around

We won’t sugarcoat it.

Driving around and parking on Virginia Tech’s campus is not a walk in the park. What is a walk in the park is walking or biking around campus, and using the bus system and other transportation options . Follow Sustainable Transportation on Twitter for regular updates on traveling on campus.

Blacksburg Transit buses are awesome for getting around town—it basically goes wherever you’d want to go. All bus schedules are online to make sure you’re not late to the bus stop. Check out the schedule and maps —with your Hokie Passport, you can go anywhere and everywhere for free!

If you bring a car with you to campus, you’ll need to register it with Parking Services and purchase a university parking permit . Buy one online after August 10 or get it at their office when you get to campus. Make sure you check out the different options for passes. The Parking Quick Guide has all you need to know about having your car at Virginia Tech. In fact, check out our Commuter Alternatives Program !

Biking is a popular way to get around at Virginia Tech, and Gobbler Gears rental bikes , bike racks, and Fix-It Stations are provided throughout campus and at residence halls. For bike parking locations and designated bike routes and trails, check out the campus bike map . You’ll have to register your bike like you’d register your car, but bike registrations are free! Need help working on your bike? Check out the Hokie Bike Hub or visit an on-campus Fix-it Station .

No need to be nervous about coming to campus without a car! You can take advantage of a wide range of regional, statewide, and out-of-state transportation options that will get you to Roanoke, Northern Virginia, and far beyond. Virginia Tech also has a ride sharing program on campus. Contact the Sustainable Transportation Department at [email protected] or 540-231-2116 with any questions.

Check out the Heads Up Hokies campaign, aimed at reminding Hokies to pay attention when traveling around campus.

When you’ve got friends or family visiting you at school, make sure they know to get a visitor parking permit !

Visit the School of Design at Virginia Tech in Blacksburg, Virginia

The School of Design offers weekly tours of the School and its Programs every Friday during Fall and Spring Semesters.

Tours are led by faculty members and often include student leaders. Visitors will tour our design studios and other instructional spaces. Tour leaders will discuss the program, curriculum, and answer visitor's questions. Each tour lasts between 30 and 60 minutes. You may schedule more than one tour or attend the multi-program tour at 1pm. 

• Industrial Design: Friday 10:30 a.m.
• Landscape Architecture: Friday 11:00 a.m.
• Interior Design: Friday 12:00 p.m. 
• School of Design (multiple programs): Friday 1:00 p.m.

Tours begin in the School of Design lobby: 121 Burruss Hall, Industrial Design tours begin in 201 Cowgill Hall. Office staff and tour guides will meet you at the scheduled time to begin the tour. 

The School of Design offers biweekly tours of the School and its Programs every other Friday during the Summer Break. The multi-program tour begins at 1:00 pm and includes tours of Industrial Design, Interior Design, and Landscape Architecture.

Tours begin in the School of Design lobby: 121 Burruss Hall. Office staff and tour guides will meet you at the scheduled time to begin the tour. 

Undergraduate Tours

Tours are always held on Fridays during the academic year. Times vary based on degree program.

Register  here  for tours during the Fall and Spring Semester.

For more information email:  [email protected]

The Undergraduate Admissions Office offers general university  information sessions and campus tours  as well.

Graduate Tours

Prospective masters and Ph.D. students should email  [email protected]  to schedule an appointment and to tour the School's facilities. The Virginia Tech Graduate School also offers  campus tours  for prospective graduate students.

Weekly tours of the School and its Programs are every Friday during the academic year. Can't attend a Friday tour? Are you visiting during summer or winter break? Please email us at  [email protected]  to request a tour, we're happy to find an alternative time for your tour.

Questions about visitor parking? Visit this page .

Plan a Visit

Insert your title here.

Come spend some time at Virginia Tech

What’s on your “must see” list for a campus visit? Our beautiful green spaces and Hokie Stone buildings? Where you’ll be taking classes? Where you’ll relax with friends in between classes? Where you’ll live? 

We suggest signing up for a CNRE interest session (or watching below) in addition to the regular Office of Admissions campus tour and info session. But regardless of whether you are just starting your college search — or are already admitted — there are plenty of options for visiting Virginia Tech and experiencing life as a Hokie.

Questions? Connect with CNRE’s director of recruitment , John Gray Williams, at [email protected] or 540-231-4909.

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Visiting during your high school spring break

If you’re planning to visit during your high school spring break, you’re not alone! Many future Hokies come to campus in April, so we have some special events planned during the weeks of April 3-7 and April 10-14, 2022.

Please note that CNRE will offer two info sessions per day during this period; if one session is full, please consider attending our other session that day. Info sessions will take place from 11 a.m. to 12:15 p.m. and from 1:30 to 2:45 p.m. during these two weeks. Most importantly, make sure you  sign up in advance to reserve your seat for a CNRE info session .

Also, don’t forget to sign up for an Admissions info session and campus tour as well!

CNRE Interest Sessions

Offered Monday-Friday, 11:00 a.m. to 12 noon. You’ll learn about majors, see our classroom and lab spaces, and meet a current student.   

Campus Tours and Info Sessions

Offered weekday mornings and/or afternoons and some Saturdays. Tours are led by Hokie Ambassadors; the walking portion takes about an hour. You can also take a virtual tour any time.

Events for prospective and admitted students

Consider attending one of the special open house programs noted below and check the Recruitment Programs and Events page for more opportunities such as the Black and Hispanic College Institutes.

Fall Virtual Open House: October 10-11, 2020

Learn more about first-year and transfer admission, scholarships and financial aid, housing, and dining. You can also talk live with faculty and students from the College of Natural Resources and Environment.

Spring Open House: March 20 or 21, 2021

Learn more about what it’s like to be a Virginia Tech student at this open house program. You’ll attend admissions and college info sessions, learn about life on campus, and have the chance to ask questions.

Virtual Hokie Focus: April 2020

Hokie Focus is an exclusive online event for students offered admission. The session for CNRE session begins at 11 a.m., and you can learn more about the academic experience in the college, including information about our departments and majors, and ask questions. Click here to see the agenda.

Fall Open House

• Sept. 28 and 29, 2024
• Nov. 2 and 3, 2024

Learn more about what it’s like to be a Virginia Tech student and attend sessions on admissions and financial aid, college academic opportunities, and student services.

Spring Open House

• March 1 and 2, 2025

Hokie Focus 2023

• April 5 and 6, 2025

Hokie Focus is an exclusive event for admitted students. Visit on either day and you will take a campus tour and learn about academics, residence life, financial aid and scholarship opportunities, and more.

Take time for an off-campus adventure, too

If you’re coming to Southwest Virginia, carve out some time in your schedule to experience life beyond campus. Downtown Blacksburg is a great place for coffee, lunch, or shopping. The Blue Ridge Mountains are known for great hiking and scenic views, so bring your hiking boots or bicycle, or plan for a leisurely drive. Check out the sites below for more options:

• Downtown Blacksburg
• Visit Southwest Virginia
• Blue Ridge Parkway
• Visit Virginia’s Blue Ridge

Travel tips for a great visit

• Make sure you register in advance. Most information sessions and campus tours fill up quickly!
• Check out the Holiday and Winter Closing Schedule to make sure the university is open. You may also want to consult the  academic calendar .
• Be prepared with a campus map .
• The address for Cheatham Hall (College of Natural Resources and Environment) is 310 W. Campus Drive, Blacksburg, VA. Directions are also available for Admissions visit options.
• Need accommodations ? The Inn at Virginia Tech is located on campus, but there are plenty of other options in Blacksburg and the New River Valley.
• Experience Hokie student life when you visit by attending a Hokie athletic event, a performance at the Moss Arts Center , or more.

Visiting Virginia Tech

Fall open house.

Our Open House dates will be October 7th or 8th, and November 11th or 12th. Registration for Open House is now live.  Click here for more!

Register for your Visit

Please register online for your upcoming visit to Virginia Tech. After you register, you can print your ticket, which you will bring with you when you visit campus. If your party size is greater than nine, please register for a group visit.

High School Spring Break

From  April 10, 2017 - April 21, 2017 , Undergraduate Admissions will offer expanded information sessions and tour times as well as a College and Departmental Information Fair to accommodate a high volume of visitors during the period when many high schools are on spring break. To make the most of your day on campus, we encourage visitors to plan to attend an admissions information session, a campus tour, and a college or departmental information session relevant to your academic area of interest. Admissions information sessions will be held at the Inn at Virginia Tech. Tours will meet on the front steps of Burruss Hall and will leave promptly at the designated tour times.

Hokie Preview: Junior Open House

Hokie Preview is designed specifically for  high school juniors  to provide a comprehensive look at life as a Virginia Tech student. We invite high school juniors and their families to visit our campus on  Saturday, March 24, 2018 , and learn about Virginia Tech through an admissions information session, college information session, and a campus tour. We will answer your questions about our university and how to become a Hokie!

Group Tours

If you plan to bring a group of 10 or more students to campus, visit our group tours section so we can make special arrangements for your group.

Directions and Parking

Our Directions to Campus page provides detailed driving directions. For other modes of transportation, see Directions to Virginia Tech .

On weekdays, you will need a visitor's parking permit from the Visitor and Undergraduate Admissions Center . See Parking Services' visitors page (and parking maps in the right sidebar) for details.

On Saturdays, visitors do not need parking permits for most lots. Refer to this list for the exceptions. Be sure to check signs for any 24-hour faculty-staff notations before parking.

Requests for Accommodation

If you are a person with a disability and desire assistance or accommodation, please notify the Admissions Office at (540) 231-6267 during business hours, Monday through Friday.

Information Sessions and Tours

Below is a general information session and tour schedule.

• Check out our information session calendars for specific information about sessions and tour times. (Please see links at right for upcoming information session and tour times.)
• Please register for your information session and/or tour (unless part of a 10 or more person group visiting campus).
• Please see College and Department Information Sessions for specific department information session times and registration requirements.
• If you are planning on bringing a large group (10 or more prospective students) to campus, visit our group tours section to register in advance.
• Please note that the schedule is subject to change , so be sure to verify the dates and times before your visit.

The Office of Undergraduate Admissions, located at 925 Prices Fork Road in the Visitor and Undergraduate Admissions Center , is open Monday through Friday, 8 a.m. to 5 p.m., and many Saturday mornings, 8:30 a.m. until noon, unless the university is closed. Our office is closed on Saturdays in May, June, and other select weekends.

Information Session and Tour Schedule

•   September 2017
•   October 2017
•   November 2017

College/Department Information Sessions

Many of our various colleges and departments offer information sessions that are more-specific to their areas of study.

•   Schedule of college and department information sessions

Make the Most of Your Visit

Below are some suggested ways to get the most out of your time on campus and in Blacksburg.

• Attend an admissions or departmental information session.
• Schedule an appointment with a faculty member in the department of the major in which you are most interested.
• Inquire about entertainment (plays, concerts, speakers, etc.) or athletic events that are taking place on campus. You can find more information on the  Virginia Tech Calendar .
• Talk with Virginia Tech students you encounter during your visit. Find out why they chose Tech and learn about their experiences as Hokies.
• Plan to have a meal or snack in one of our award-winning on-campus dining facilities. Be sure to have cash on hand and bring your appetite – menus are available to please every palate.
• Go exploring! In addition to a tour, make sure you see as much of campus and the surrounding area as possible.
• Investigate local hiking, biking, canoeing, and more, or take time for a leisurely drive on the Blue Ridge Parkway.

Tour our Residence Halls!

Prior to visiting our campus, please check this page for the most up-to-date information related to cancellations and closings for the Office of Undergraduate Admissions.

Quick Resources

• Directions to Campus
• Self Guided Tour
• Area Accommodations
• Campus Maps
• All About Blacksburg
• Local Weather
• Virginia Interstate Traffic Information

Spanish Information Sessions Available

To reserve a spot, email  [email protected]

Visit VT App

The Visit Virginia Tech Guide to Campus is designed for prospective students, their families, friends, and anyone planning a visit to Virginia Tech. App on iTunes » App on Google Play »

Visiting AOE

Virginia Tech's main campus is in Blacksburg, Virginia, which is located on US 460, about 10 miles from Interstate 81 and about 45 miles from Interstate 77. Commercial air service is provided by the Roanoke Regional Airport , and the Virginia Tech Montgomery Executive Airport is a public airport located half a mile from campus.

• Directions to campus
• Campus maps
• Visitor's center

AOE MAIN OFFICE

The Kevin T. Crofton Department of Aerospace and Ocean Engineering main office is located in the Virginia Tech Corporate Research Center, Room 241 at 1600 Innovation Drive. 

UNDERGRADUATE VISITS

If you are a prospective undergraduate student and wish to visit the department, student AOE Ambassadors  present department information sessions during the fall and spring semesters. Prospective AOE students may also explore points of interest around campus on a  self-guided tour .  Please contact Emily Metzgar  if you have questions about visiting during the summer or require additional information.

GRADUATE VISITS

If you are a prospective graduate student and wish to visit the department, please contact  Rachel Saville   (540-231-4023) or  Audriana Cunningham (540-231-3579) for an appointment.

Cory Thompson

VISITING RESEARCHERS & ENGINEERS

Visiting researchers who are collaborating with our faculty members or making use of AOE facilities, please contact Cory Thompson  (540-231-9057) for more information.

Visiting Virginia Tech

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• --> General Item High School Spring Break Schedule -->
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Engineering Open House for Undergraduates

Engineering Open House April 15, 2024 | 8:30am-3:30pm Squires Student Center

Check out all of the recorded presentations from 2021 on our youtube playlist .

Are you a high school student interested in applying to Virginia Tech's College of Engineering or an undergraduate college student interested in transferring into Virginia Tech and the College of Engineering?  If so, join us for a day full of activities that highlight all that Virginia Tech and the College of Engineering have to offer. 

2024 Day at a Glance   2024 Engineering Open House Program

Parking is on the Chicken Hill Lot , across the street from Lane Stadium. This is free parking and there will be a charter bus available to shuttle you to the Squires Student Center. This shuttle will be operating all day. If you'd prefer to park elsewhere, you'll need to follow the visitors parking rules on the parking services website. Please be sure to park in the top half of the Chicken Hill Lot (up the hill). 

Check-In  Registration will be available at the Squires Student Center Williamsburg Room starting at 7:45am. For those that did not pre-register, we will also have a table for you to add a lab tour to your day. 

Please email [email protected] with any additional questions!

Other Important Information

• Already accepted? If you are an already accepted high school senior, you should schedule a campus visit through the  Hokie Focus website .
• More information about  visiting Virginia Tech
• Not able to attend? If you would like to schedule a visit to Virginia Tech and the College of Engineering on a different day, please visit the  Information Sessions  page or email  [email protected]

For more information, please call the Center for the Enhancement of Engineering Diversity office at 540-231-7411 or email  [email protected]

New Campus Shuttle route set to transform transportation at Virginia Tech

• Linda Hazelwood

20 Jun 2024

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Blacksburg Transit and Virginia Tech will implement a significant enhancement to campus transportation with the launch of a new Campus Shuttle (CAS) route. This initiative is a major step forward in making travel around the Blacksburg campus more convenient for students, faculty, and staff.

The project marks the culmination of over a decade of planning led by the Town of Blacksburg in collaboration with Virginia Tech.

The new Transit Center, located in the North Academic District near Perry Street, spans over 6 acres and includes a 13,000-square-foot, two-story building. It will serve as a central hub for various modes of alternative transportation, including Blacksburg Transit (BT), Virginia Tech's Sustainable Transportation and Hokie Bike Hub, and other partners such as the Smart Way bus and Virginia Breeze.

The center features two paved bus loops, which will be the new central hub for all BT buses on campus. The Campus Shuttle will operate using these loops, running in opposite directions around campus. The Orange Loop, located to the west of the building between West Campus Drive and the Perry Street Garage, and the Maroon Loop, situated to the east between Stanger Street and the Perry Street Garage, will facilitate easy and quick access to different campus areas. Bays 1-9 are in the Maroon Loop, and Bays 10-17 are in the Orange Loop. The loops are designed to be fully accessible, with ramps on all buses to allow for easy boarding. This centralization aims to streamline bus schedules and routes with minor adjustments from the previous academic year to accommodate the new system. All BT buses arriving on campus will now drop off and pick up passengers at the Loops near the Perry Street Garage, reducing congestion and improving safety.

To ensure seamless connectivity throughout central campus, the new CAS will provide convenient access to key locations including McBryde Hall, Newman Hall, Torgersen Hall, the Creative and Innovation District, Cassell Coliseum, McComas Hall, Litton-Reeves Hall, and Hahn Hall. Campus Shuttle buses will be available frequently on weekdays from 6:15 a.m. to 6:30 p.m., ensuring minimal wait times and easy travel across campus.

As an alternative, the Hokie Express (HXP) offers reliable service to central campus, running every 30 minutes from 7 a.m. to 9:30 p.m. weekdays and from 9:30 a.m. to 9:30 p.m. weekends.

In August, when regular service resumes, the frequency and span of shuttle services will increase, providing even more flexibility and convenience for campus transportation.

"The new Campus Shuttle routes will transform how everyone gets around campus," said Carrie Cox, senior director of Auxiliary Services at Virginia Tech. "By centralizing our transportation hub and optimizing bus schedules, we are making it easier than ever for students, faculty, and staff to move around the university. This project demonstrates our commitment to improving the overall campus experience for everyone."

In an effort to show faculty, staff, and students the firsthand experience of getting around campus, tours of the new Campus Shuttle have been scheduled. These tours are designed to demonstrate the convenience of the shuttle system, allowing the campus community to quickly and efficiently reach meetings, classes, and other campus locations without the hassle of driving. Registration is required. Register for one of the following tour dates:

• Thursday, July 11, 10 a.m.
• Tuesday, July 16, 10 a.m.
• Thursday, July 18, 2 p.m.
• Tuesday, July 23, 10 a.m.
• Wednesday, July 31, 2 p.m.

Currently, BT provides over 3.5 million rides annually, with approximately 22,000 rides occurring on a typical weekday during the semester. With 43 percent of off-campus students commuting via BT, the new system is expected to make a significant impact.

The Transit Center building is slated to open later this year, however, the new routes will begin on June 24, ushering in a new era of convenience and efficiency for campus transportation. All on-campus time checks will move to the Loops, and there will be no BT service to Burruss Hall, Alumni Mall, Squires Student Center, War Memorial Hall, and Beamer Way.

For information, questions, bay assignments, and the new route maps and timetables, as all routes have been changed, please visit ridebt.org/loops .

Mark Owczarski

540-231-5396

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Golf Course

Events at the Golf Course

View events, june 30 - july 6.

Red-White-Blue Sale

All red, white, and blue shirts and outerwear will be marked down 20%, green dot items excluded

• Virginia Tech Golf Course Pro Shop

August 19 - 26

Welcome Back to School Sale

As a welcome back to campus, our golf pro shop will host a sale with all clothing marked down 20%! Green dot items excluded

Fall Football Gameday Sales

Our pro shop will host the following sales on home football gameday weekends:

• October 16-18
• October 25-27
• September 6-8
• September 20-22
• November 8-10
• November 29 - December 1

The sale will include 20% off all clothing, 10% off balls and gloves. Green dot items are excluded

December 4 - 24

Holiday Sale

Our pro shop will host a holiday sale that includes 25% off clothing and 10% off balls and gloves. Green dot items are excluded

Golf Course Resources

Christine Lovrine [email protected] Assistant Director of Golf Operations

Jason Ratcliff [email protected] Golf Course Superintendent

1085 Duck Pond Drive Blacksburg, VA 24061 540-231-6435

Lost Communities of Virginia Driving Tour Brochures

We’ve found that people are using the  Lost Communities of Virginia  book to tour the state, but there are many more fascinating places than we had room for in the book.  Lost Communities of Virginia  Driving Tour Guides introduce travelers to lesser known aspects of Virginia history by providing backroad routes to lost communities. Communities highlighted on the routes reveal physical remnants of once thriving communities and unique areas to explore and visit; each with their own unique piece of Virginia’s history and character.

The tour guides are brochures covering a few counties at a time via rural roads, with historical information and points of interest highlighted, along with a detailed map showing the tour route. The brochures are available in local county tourism offices, at our office (101 South Main Street, Blacksburg), or can be downloaded as PDFs.

Backroads of Southwest Virginia - Carroll, Montgomery, Pulaski, and Wythe Counties

Virginia’s back roads and rural areas are dotted with traces of once-thriving communities. General stores, train depots, schools, churches, banks, and post offices provide intriguing details of a way of life now gone.  The  Lost Communities of Virginia Backroads of Southwest Virginia Driving Tour  gives people the opportunity to explore a sampling of Virginia’s back roads in counties connected by the mountains and the New River.  Enjoy seeing mountain views, iron furnaces, agricultural landscapes, historic churches and cemeteries, and general stores; browse historic downtowns; hike trails like the New River Trail; listen to music of the Crooked Road. This route is designed as a loop so that you can jump on the route from a multitude of locations.

Please note that some points of interest in the brochure may no longer be open or be open different hours than stated in the brochure. 

Download the 28″x19″ interactive PDF copy of the brochure.  (Note: For best results, download the PDF file and use  Adobe Acrobat Reader ) Click on communities and points of interest on the map to link to their descriptions in the text. Click on URLs in the text to learn more about points of interest.

Alternatively,  download the brochure as a PDF of 16 (8.5″ x 11″) pages  that can be printed and assembled into a full-size copy of the brochure on your home printer.

Southern Driving Tour - Appomattox, Campbell, Charlotte, Halifax, and Pittsylvania Counties

Virginia’s back roads and rural areas are dotted with traces of once-thriving communities. General stores, train depots, schools, churches, banks, and post offices provide intriguing details of a way of life now gone.  The  Lost Communities of Virginia   Southern Driving Tour  gives people the opportunity to explore a sampling of Virginia’s back roads in south central Virginia.  The route is designed as a loop so that you can jump on the route from a multitude of locations and spend an afternoon exploring or create a multi-day adventure.

Please note that some points of interest in the brochure may no longer be open or be open different hours than stated in the brochure.

Download 28″x19″ interactive PDF copy of the brochure here.  (Note: For best results, download the PDF file and use  Adobe Acrobat Reader ) Click on communities and points of interest on the map to link to their descriptions in the text. Click on URLs in the text to learn more about points of interest.

Motorcyclist's Guide to Virginia's Blue Ridge - Grayson, Montgomery, Pulaski, Smyth, Washington, and Wythe Counties

The Motorcyclist's Guide to Lost Communities of Virginia's Blue Ridge Driving Tour Brochure is the first of our driving tour brochures and is less detailed than the later brochures. It provides directions and suggested stops for 2 drives of less than 100 miles each in Southwest Virginia that highlight the boom and bust of Virginia's Iron Industry.

Download the brochure as an 11"x17" PDF.

It is envisioned that these brochures will become a guidebook that seeks to bring to life the past and present characters of Virginia’s lost communities by providing the traveler with a historical sketch of each community written in the words of its residents. Accented by a general narrative of the trends and movements of Virginia and U.S. history, the book will highlight those moments in time that make each community a unique part of our shared American story.

For more information, call 540-231-5644, or email  [email protected] .

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