Philpott Lake is just a beautiful place to visit with approximately 3,000 acres of lake and close to 100 miles of shoreland. There are eight campgrounds, six beach areas and nine boat launches here so that visitors can engage in boating, swimming, picnicking,hiking, biking, hunting, fishing and wildlife observation to their hearts content. Construction of the lake was started by by U.S. Army Corps of Engineers in the late 1940’s and completed around 1953. You can enjoy concerts, plays, discussions, lectures and celebrations at the Reynolds Homestead on the Commonwealth Campus of Virginia Tech. The restored Homestead is the birthplace and boyhood home of R.J. Reynolds, the tobacco giant.