Mill Mountain Star Trailhead — Attraction in Roanoke

I decided recently about 5:30 am me and my son would Hike the mill mountain star trail. Figured we could catch the sunrise at the top about 6:45 if we kept a good pace. Boyyy ... I thought I was gonna have to be helicoptered out somewhere near the top. I say somewhere near the top because until you're almost there you can't tell where the top is. Wasn't bad til about halfway.You start out down on Riverland Rd near the light at the start of Garden City Blvd. There's a little gravel area to park in. Brought our bicycles so we could just cruise back down the mountain. Glad I did. I'd've had to called somebody. Or begged a ride down. Or took a nap at the top. So you start out going up this gravel access road to the trail head. Probably a quarter to a third of a mile uphill. Then you get on the trail and its mostly flat weaving back and forth. Few little inclines, but not bad. Then up a small hill and you cross the main road (J P Fishburn parkway) going up Mill Mountain. Not the real steep one near the top, the winding one. When you cross here you're kinda near the bottom part of the main road before the houses start. That's when you start going uphill and don't stop. It follows the road for about a half mile then you go around a switchback and keep going up for another mile. Winding back and forth over tree stumps, rocks, mud, (since it had been raining recently) all the while looking for the top. And I thought we were there once, but it was dark and was only a false summit. Stole that line out of the Lone Survivor movie. Good movie. So anyway, still had about a half mile to go and its getting rocky and steeper. Not bad steep, but I was already toast. I was at that point where your muscles are spent, you're huffing, and can take a breather and catch your breath, only to start huffing as soon as you start back walking. Of Course my kid was fine. I'm almost 50 and 100 lbs overweight. So I feel like I'm dying. It's just barely getting light with a half mile to go, and all of a sudden about 8 to 12 wolves just start barking and howling. I know what you're thinking. "There are no wolves in Roanoke". Oh but there are. Most certainly. And when you are on a trail that you now have hiked so far in on that you are nowhere near a road much less the end of the trail, there is no doubt in your mind that they are actually native to Roanoke. Forget what you've read, because at that moment you're not exactly sure what you've read. My kid was like "Is that wolves?" I'm like yeah but they're in the zoo. Yeah. I'm hoping they're in the zoo. But, at this point I also cant remember if they have wolves in the zoo. I'm thinking I'm pretty sure they do. But they are loud. And sound very close. I'm looking hard to see if they are coming through the trees, and at the same time looking for trees to go up. Of Course none of them have lower branches. So now, even though I already feel like I'm dying, I have to pick up the pace. Thankfully they quiet down and pretty soon we see the wooden rail beside the road up the hill a ways. And I realize we are at the top, and that we are very close to the zoo. And their wolves. lol. Thankfully there were drink machines up there. The sun was not quite up yet, and the whole valley was covered in fog and mist. Pretty awesome sight. And I guess it was worth almost dying from exhaustion and being eaten by...

You have to park at the trailhead across the street from a manufacturing facility but that was closed due to washed out road so we parked across street in the gravel outside manufacturing facility. The hike is straight up which has areas of gravel. Dirt and roots. There are also benches to rest here and there. There is mountain biking trails but stick to the Starr Trail and you’ll be fine. About a dozen hikers on the trail. You can bring dogs but keep them on a leash. Bathrooms are available once you get to the Star. The view is amazing. We did see a deer. It was about 50 feet from us...

Great trail! Shady most of the way, and not crowded on the trail (10am). As of Sunday, 6/19, there’s a fallen tree about .3 miles up from the parking lot, so be prepared to climb over that. We enjoyed waking around the star and other paths (easy) up at the top. Took us 2.5 hours total. Most of the hike is on rocky roots, and we hiked with our poles which helped. Parking lot at the trailhead has room for 10-12 cars. Our first hike in the Roanoke area-...