Small-town aesthetics and the Virginia wilds meet in Buena Vista
Between the Blue Ridge Mountains and the Maury River, Buena Vista serves as a small-town base from which people can explore the outdoors. The Virginia community boomed into existence in the late 1800s thanks to the arrival of railroads, an iron ore furnace and factories. Today, it's known for mountain views, hiking and biking opportunities, riverside bluegrass festivals and the Southern Virginia University campus. Buena Vista, or BV as locals call it, is less than 10 miles from the college town of Lexington, with the two separated by the north and southbound lanes of Interstate 81.
Dense living in the city, with more land to the north and south
Most of the city is laid out in a grid, with ranch homes and Colonial Revivals lining the rectangular blocks. Mountains rising to the east are visible from front porches and backyards. Outside the city limits, homes usually come with more than an acre of land. Homebuyers typically find lower prices in Buena Vista, where the median is $210,000, compared to Lexington, which has a median of $400,000.
Buena Vista has a history of flooding, but a floodwall built along the Maury River in the ‘90s reduces the risk. Much of the city remains in federally designated flood zones, but most of the zones don’t require homebuyers to get flood insurance.
Glen Maury Park hosts music festivals, with paddling and hiking at the Maury River
Glen Maury Park spans 315 acres along the Maury River. People come to camp, play tennis and baseball or swim in the river or the public pool. Kayakers and canoers can launch from the park and paddle the Maury River, where they may see blue herons and belted kingfishers. The park’s open field and large pavilion host many of Buena Vista’s events, including several bluegrass festivals varying from the Maury River Fiddler’s Convention in June to the Nothin’ Fancy Bluegrass Festival in September.
People can hike along the river using the Chessie Nature Trail, a 7-mile walking and cycling route that connects Buena Vista and Lexington. They can also walk or jog the Buena Vista River Walk, a nearly 3-mile gravel trail on top of the Maury River floodwall. There’s more hiking to the west, where mountainous trails lead past waterfalls, through rocky outcrops and to scenic overlooks.
Gravista race takes cyclists through the mountains
Cyclists from as far as Colorado and Canada come to the community in May for Gravista. Participants in the annual bike race can pedal a 34-mile or 68-mile course, each full of steep climbs, brisk descents and hilltop vistas. Cyclists start from Glen Maury Park, where food trucks and bands set up during the races. Meanwhile, a downtown pocket park hosts the Buena Vista Farmer’s Market every Thursday.
Education split between Buena Vista and Rockbridge County school districts
Children in the city limits can attend Buena Vista City Public Schools. F.W. Kling Jr. Elementary School teaches kindergarten through second grade, and Enderly Heights Elementary welcomes third, fourth and fifth graders. Both receive B-minus grades from Niche. Sixth and seventh graders can go to Parry McCluer Middle School, graded a B-plus, while C-rated Parry McCluer High School covers eighth through 12th grades. To graduate, high schoolers must take at least one information technology course. Parry McCluer High offers several classes on the topic, from Computer Information Systems to AP Computer Science. Students outside the city limits may go to Rockbridge County Public Schools.
More than 1,000 students are enrolled at Southern Virginia University in Buena Vista. The private liberal arts college isn’t officially affiliated with a church, but it considers itself aligned with the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.
Dining in downtown, shopping off Route 60
More than a dozen local restaurants are concentrated downtown. JJ’s Meat Shak serves barbecue and wood-fired pizza and caters functions around the community. Tucked among the restaurants are small shops such as Coiner Country Store, Leaf and Lore bookstore and The BeeVe: Sweet Souvenirs, an ice cream parlor. A shopping center along Route 60 has a Food Lion, CVS and Dollar General. Roughly 7 miles separate downtown Buena Vista from downtown Lexington, home to a dense collection of restaurants, coffee shops and taphouses.
Bus and highway connect to Lexington
Route 60 leads to Lexington, and Interstate 81 cuts between the two communities as it stretches across western Virginia. Buena Vista also borders the Blue Ridge Parkway, a scenic road through the mountains of Virginia and North Carolina. Meanwhile, the Maury Express bus system stops throughout Buena Vista and takes riders to Lexington.
Written By
Alex Soderstrom
