McAfee Knob
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McAfee Knob rises to 974 m in Virginia. Poor Mountain stands 1,141 m to the south-southwest, 15 miles off. The nearest named place is Catawba Mountain, a peak 1.3 miles away. Blue Ridge Parkway passes 11 miles off.
The story
McAfee Knob is a geological feature with an elevation of 3,197 feet (974 m) above sea level, located on Catawba Mountain in Catawba, Virginia, roughly 15 miles northwest of Downtown Roanoke. It is named for a Scottish-Irish 18th-century settler. Considered to be among the most iconic points along the Appalachian Trail, the vista offers panoramic views of the Catawba Valley, 1,600 feet (490 m) below.
From Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0.
Wikidata Q6799872, referenced by the OpenStreetMap record.
What the record says
- Elevation
- 974 m
How to reach it
- 10.8 mi off the Blue Ridge Parkway, National
- 19.7 mi off the Farm Heritage Road
Overlooks nearby
- Mill Mountain Overlook · 11 mi
- Mill Mountain Star Overlook · 11 mi
- Roanoke River Overlook · 13 mi
- Roanoke Mountain Loop Lookout · 14 mi
Named places within 25 miles
- Catawba Mountain: 1.3 mi
- North Mountain: 3.0 mi
- Brushy Mountain: 3.1 mi
- Tinker Mountain: 3.6 mi
- Green Ridge: 3.8 mi
- Whispering Pines Park: 1.8 mi
- Biergarten: 4.6 mi
- Walrond Park: 5.0 mi
- Havens State Game Refuge: 5.5 mi
- Cedar Lawn Burial Park: 5.6 mi
- The Rock: 5.9 mi
- Agatha Strother Lewis | Col. Elijah McClanahan: 8.1 mi
- Via Field Memorial: 9.0 mi
- Eagle Crossing Memorial: 9.2 mi
- Hunton Life Saving and First Aid Crew: 9.6 mi
- Eleanor D Wilson Museum: 5.8 mi
- Salem Museum: 6.8 mi
- Craig County Historical Society: 8.6 mi
- Virginia Museum of Transportation: 9.6 mi
- O. Winston Link Museum: 9.9 mi
- Carvins Cove: 2.7 mi
- Havens Wildlife Management Area: 8.4 mi
- Read Mountain Preserve: 9.0 mi
- Happy Hollow Gardens Park: 11.7 mi
- Explore Park: 14.9 mi
- The Rock: 6.7 mi
- The Solar Wind: 6.8 mi
- Sculpture Garden: 9.6 mi
- Roanoke Firefighter statue: 9.7 mi
- Henrietta Lacks: 9.8 mi
- Jupiter Missile: 9.7 mi
- Norfolk Southern 8661: 9.7 mi
- Roanoke Star: 11.4 mi
- Dixie Caverns: 12.3 mi
- Eastern Continental Divide: 14.4 mi
- Community Garden: 5.5 mi
- Beale Garden: 5.9 mi
- George Washington Carver Community Garden: 9.3 mi
- Mountain View Community Garden: 9.4 mi
- Dr. Robert L. A. Keeley Healing Garden: 11.0 mi
- Rowan Memorial Home Spring: 19.6 mi
- Old Sweet Springs: 19.8 mi
- Sweet Chalybeate Spring: 20.5 mi
- Thomas Spring: 22.9 mi
- Big Spring: 23.8 mi
- Tinker Cliffs: 3.7 mi
- Dragon's Tooth: 7.8 mi
- Lovers Leap: 9.9 mi
- Piney Point: 21.0 mi
- High Point: 21.8 mi
- Bent Mountain Falls: 20.6 mi
- Camp Creek: 20.6 mi
- Beaverdam Falls: 21.7 mi
- The Cascades: 21.7 mi
- Middle Cascades: 22.0 mi
- Troutville Safety Rest Area: 13.4 mi
- Virginia Rest Area Mile 158 South (I-81): 13.4 mi
- Iranto Rest Area: 14.8 mi
- Howrytown: 8.8 mi
Other summits around it
The highest named summits within 15.5 miles of McAfee Knob. Elevation from each summit’s own record; bearing measured between the two coordinates.
| Summit | Bearing | Elevation | Distance |
|---|---|---|---|
| Poor Mountain | SSW 205° | 1,141 m | 14.9 mi |
| Sinking Creek Mountain | WNW 289° | 1,117 m | 9.5 mi |
| Chimney Rock | WNW 286° | 1,108 m | 10.1 mi |
| Hanging Rock | NW 323° | 1,102 m | 14.8 mi |
| Earn Knob | WNW 293° | 1,097 m | 8.6 mi |
| Bald Mountain | N 0° | 1,074 m | 15.4 mi |
| Potts Arm | NNW 333° | 1,000 m | 14.1 mi |
| Fort Lewis Mountain | SW 230° | 998 m | 8.9 mi |
When to go
Light through the year
| Date | Sunrise | Golden hour | Sunset |
|---|---|---|---|
| March equinox | 07:25 | 18:58 | 19:32 |
| June solstice | 06:00 | 20:06 | 20:45 |
| September equinox | 07:09 | 18:44 | 19:19 |
| December solstice | 07:32 | 16:26 | 17:06 |
Local time (America/New_York).
Climate normals
Months averaging 50–80 °F: Apr–Oct.
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Avg °F | 36 | 38 | 46 | 55 | 64 | 71 | 75 | 74 | 68 | 57 | 46 | 39 |
| Precip in | 3.3 | 2.7 | 3.8 | 4.0 | 4.4 | 5.2 | 4.7 | 3.8 | 4.3 | 3.2 | 3.0 | 3.3 |
1991–2020 U.S. Climate Normals, NOAA NCEI — Roanoke 8 N, 5 mi away.
Where this comes from
Location and category confirmed against OpenStreetMap.
OpenStreetMapWikipediaWikidataOpenStreetMap element node/356573174
Day trips start here
- Roanoke · 10 mi
Take the scenic way to McAfee Knob.
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