The Roanoke Valley-Alleghany Regional Commission is working with a group composed of local governments, non-profits, paddlers, fishermen, local outfitters and watershed groups to develop the Roanoke River Blueway, a 45-mile water trail on the upper Roanoke River.

A blueway is a navigable waterway with sufficient capacity for succesful progress of canoes, kayaks and other non-motorized vessels, with sufficient access and amenities to facilitate other recreational uses of the waterway. The Blueway runs from the South Fork Roanoke River at East Montgomery County Park to the Department of Game and Inland Fisheries Hardy Ford boating access in Bedford County at Smith Mountain Lake.

The Roanoke River Blueway flows through or borders the Cities of Roanoke and Salem, the Counties of Montgomery, Roanoke, Bedford and Franklin, and the town of Vinton. The Blueway also connects to numerous local parks, the Roanoke River Greenway, Tinker Creek Greenway, Mill Mountain Greenway, Blue Ridge Parkway, Explore Park and Smith Mountain Lake.