Burke's Garden

Burke's Garden is a mysterious geologic bowl about two hours west of Roanoke.  According to "The Majesty of Burke's Garden" by Helen Barranger, the valley could be a couple of things.

From the air, or from the Appalachian Trail which overlooks it for a time, Burke's Garden could be a volcano crater or an ancient lake bed. Indeed, millions of years ago it did lie beneath an ocean, for most of the rocks are of marine origin, say authorities Jim and Louise Hoge. However, the drip of water on limestone ultimately formed the 20,000-acre bowl.

According to the historical marker we saw when entering the valley, Burke's Garden has been settled since 1754.  Today it is still a very agricultural community, but there are now only about 250 people in the valley.

It's a nice trip, but there are almost no services so don't count on catching a meal at a local restaurant. While in the General Store, we heard a story about a lady locking her keys in the car and OnStar taking over seven hours to get someone to help her.

We came into Burke's Garden from the north since it appeared to be a little less crooked trip up and down the mountain.  This composite map will give you an idea of the area.

It's a beautiful area, and certainly more isolated than our Tay Creek Farm (now a B&B)  in New Brunswick.  We at least had a small grocery store, garage, clinic, library, and bank only five miles from us.  I suspect the Burke's Garden inhabitants have to drive to Tazewell which is fourteen miles away for any services.

I posted additional pictures of Burke's Garden at one of my websites.