Troutville, VA

Troutville is a Botetourt County town along U.S. 11 in the Roanoke metropolitan area, with 458 residents at the 2020 census. The Appalachian Trail crosses U.S. 11 just south of town, and Troutville is a designated Appalachian Trail Community. That makes the post office, town park, and Main Street stops familiar to hikers moving through the Blue Ridge, while local roads connect the town with Cloverdale, Buchanan, and the wider Roanoke Valley.

The railroad reached Troutville in 1881, and the town grew into a shipping center in the 1890s with farms, canneries, and factories. The name came from brothers John, Jim, and George Trout, whose houses marked the settlement before the railroad gave it a larger role. Today Troutville Elementary, Read Mountain Middle, and Lord Botetourt High serve local students, and Trail Days gives the town a yearly celebration around its Appalachian connection. Troutville is a rail-and-trail town: one route built its commercial past, and the other keeps hikers arriving.