Smith Mountain Lake is formed by an American Electric Power dam where the Roanoke River cuts through a gap in Smith Mountain, creating an impoundment that covers some 20,600 acres and extends 40 miles upstream. Built on the Roanoke River and completed in the mid-1960s, the project’s two dams and reservoirs have added about 600 miles of new shoreline and about 24,000 surface acres of water for multiple uses. The lake straddles three counties: Bedford and Franklin, which are in the BRLC service area, and Pittsylvania, which is not. Smith Mountain Lake has been listed by Boat U.S. Smith Mountain Lake is unique because it is a man-made lake, unlike Virginia’s two natural lakes, Mountain Lake in Giles County and Lake Drummond in the Dismal Swamp in Chesapeake and Suffolk. magazine in their 2018 April/May edition as one of the top eight lakes in the country, and the 2018 June/July. Most of the residential development along the lake is centered on lake access and water-based recreational activities, surrounded by retail and commercial land uses and changing quickly into traditional rural uses as you travel farther from lake communities like Moneta or Westlake. In addition, many of the residents and homeowners at “The Lake” are not southwest Virginia natives, so they bring fresh and unique perspectives to local issues. Staged out of beautiful Smith Mountain Lake State Park this triathlon classic has clear water, mountain views and fun courses. More than half of the Blue Ridge Land Conservancy’s 44 conservation agreements protect lands that drain into Smith Mountain Lake via its numerous tributaries.
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