On the road between Radford, Christiansburg
During the 10-mile drive between the Virginia towns of Christiansburg and Radford, gas stations and mechanic shops interrupt the trees and ferns flanking U.S. Route 11. This brief change in the landscape along the highway signals drivers are entering the community of Plum Creek. Motorists can drive through the neighborhood in less than 2 miles, likely not knowing there are nearly 250 homes along the streets that branch off Route 11. Chase Biegler is a local Realtor and owner of Home 4 Me Realty with EXP Realty, who has helped clients move into the area. "Plum Creek feels like a small town," Beigler says. "It sits right on the edge of Radford and Christiansburg, both of which are fantastic for shopping and dining. Plum Creek is also on the same main road that leads into downtown Radford, so you pass through all sorts of businesses."
Baseball and horse-riding in Plum Creek
Montgomery County Parks and Recreation uses the baseball field at Plum Creek Park for youth baseball and softball games. A gravel walking path surrounds the field, dugouts and two sets of bleachers. There’s also a small playground with a pair of slides and a picnic pavilion. In Radford, people walk and cycle on The Riverway. The paved trail follows the New River for roughly 3 miles between Sparky’s Run Dog Park and Bisset Park. There are several equestrian farms to the east and west of Plum Creek offering riding lessons and stables to board horses. Some organize events too, such as horse-riding competitions at Meadow Ridge Stables and cornhole tournaments put on by Winterfrost Farm.
Heading to Radford, Christiansburg for shopping
Shopping in Plum Creek is limited to Route 11 Thrift and Gift, selling used items from furniture to collectible model cars, and a pair of convenience stores. One is Sandstone Market, home to a deli serving biscuits and gravy and Philly cheese steaks. A 2-mile drive into the city of Radford leads to Food City supermarket and Dollar General. Visitors to Radford’s Main Street can grab coffee and crepes at Arabica Cafe & Bakery or a beer at Long Way Brewing, located inside a stone church building. In 2023, Radford University opened a business incubator downtown. Meanwhile, the local government is lining up plans to redevelop a shuttered iron factory so the site can attract new businesses to town. Biegler highlights nearby Christiansburg as another hot spot for dining out and shopping. "You have a lot of popular restaurants in Christiansburg," Biegler says. "Radford and Christiansburg have a Macadoos, which is a local chain. Sandros in Christiansburg is my favorite restaurant in southwest Virginia. The owners are great." Also in Christiansburg, shoppers can find Walmart, Target, The Home Depot and other big-box stores at the intersection of Peppers Ferry Road and Route 460.
Ranch houses and mobile homes
South of Route 11, houses are clustered together in mobile home parks and small subdivisions of ranch homes. Biegler says he had a client who settled in Plum Creek to be close to Radford, but the client also plans to turn the home into a rental property later on. Plum Creek features home prices that are considered low for the Blacksburg region. Homes typically sell between $150,000 and $300,000. North of the highway, there are fewer houses, but lots are larger. A few houses are in flood zones that surround Plum Creek. Mortgage lenders may require homebuyers in these zones to purchase flood insurance.
Auburn High athletics get statewide recognition
Plum Creek is 10 miles from the campuses that Montgomery County Public Schools zones local kids to. Auburn Elementary School is graded a B by Niche, and Auburn Middle School gets a B-minus. Sports are a big deal at B-plus-rated Auburn High School, where the girls soccer team won the 2024 state championship and the boys basketball team finished as the state runner-up that same year. Auburn High in 2024 won its sixth straight National Guard Cup, an honor the Virginia High School League gives the schools with the best overall athletic performance throughout the school year.
Stone put and sheepherding at Radford Highlanders Festival
Sports fans can catch Radford Highlanders games 3 miles away on the Radford University campus; the school is home to 15 teams, with men’s and women’s basketball particularly popular. The university and the city come together in October to host the Radford Highlanders Festival. The Scotch-Irish-themed event has grown since it started in the mid-‘90s, welcoming 10,000 people every year. Contestants in the Scottish heavyweight games hurl stones while others demonstrate the art of sheepherding, and bands perform Celtic music. Biegler also points out how close Plum Creek is to Virginia Tech, where fans across the region visit for football matches. "Blacksburg as Steppin' Out, and it's always the first weekend of August. They close off downtown, and there are vendors everywhere." Nearly 40,000 people visited for the festival as recently as 2024.
Traveling via Route 11
Route 11 is the primary road, and all of Plum Creek is within 2 miles of the highway. It leads to the city of Radford and the town of Christiansburg. Radford Transit buses pass through Plum Creek on their route between Radford and Christiansburg, but they don’t stop in the community. It’s 6 miles to Interstate 81, which motorists can take for 35 miles to Roanoke. Residents are also about 6 miles from the LewisGale Christiansburg Emergency Room and 5 miles from the Carilion New River Valley Medical Center hospital, both about a 10-minute drive.
