Dive into Summer with British Swim School

• Swim lessons for all ages and skill levels.

• Focus on water safety and survival skills.

• Improve your stroke, build water confidence, and have fun!

540-486-5057

Find a new walking path.

RECOMMENDED LOCATION: Greenfield Trail System

Off Preston Parkway, Troutville

Take advantage of the longest days of the year by finding a new location for your evening or weekend walk. We recommend trading a few laps around the neighborhood for a spot with a little more to offer — such as the Greenfield Trail System in Botetourt County.

The Bowyer Holiday Trail and Cherry Blossom Trail are located within a 600-acre business park near Troutville. Greenfield Recreation Trail in Greenfield Recreation Park backs up to the business park. There is also a disc golf course and a large pond that attracts many species of birds.

The Cherry Blossom Trail is cinder surfaced and about 8-feet wide, making it the best for a brisk walk or bicycle ride with friends or family. The other two trails are grass and open to cross country runners and equestrians. Learn more at www.botetourtva. gov/621/Trails.

Try out a new nature-inspired sport.

RECOMMENDED LOCATIONS:

Mayflower Hills Disc Golf Course

3319 Rutrough Road, Roanoke

Falling Creek Disc Golf Course

1257 County Farm Road, Bedford

Disc golf is steadily growing in popularity across the world — and as luck would have it, you are living in an area with some of the state’s top courses. What we love about the sport is where it’s played. Our region’s disc golf courses weave players across beautiful rolling fields and through majestic forests.

One of the most popular (and family-friendly) courses in the Roanoke region is the Mayflower Hills course at Explore Park. UDisc — an app for disc golfers — ranks Mayflower Hills as number four in the state. The course has 18 holes and the first nine are best for beginners or families.

If you want to explore disc golf a little further, Bedford County is one of the top spots for disc golf in the state — and beyond. (Proof of this: the Professional Disc Golf Association is bringing its 2024 world championships to Bedford County’s professional course in New London.)

Start a nature-inspired journal.

LOCATION: Your home backyard

Adults and kids alike can benefit from the practice of journaling, which is proven to improve your overall mental health. During the summer months, consider starting a journal that focuses specifically on the natural wonders around your home.

For some of you, this may look like stepping outside on your back patio and writing down what you observe. For others, it may include taking your journal a step further by describing how the scenes in nature make you feel or even crafting a short poem.

Then, there are some of you who may completely be turned off by the idea of flowery language. For this group, simply observe something in nature in which you aren’t familiar, do a little research on the topic and write down your new findings. At the end of the season, your nature journal can serve as a selfcreated encyclopedia of your neighborhood habitat.

Children can easily join you on this exercise. Fill an inexpensive composition book with their drawings about nature and even include a few treasures such as leaves and sticks.

Long summer days provide plentiful opportunities for awe. Enjoy the wonders all around us in the Roanoke Valley! ✦