Radford University in 2 Days: A Radford, Virginia College Visit Fly-In Trip
A parent-first plan for visiting Radford University in Radford, Virginia: how Radford's weekday information session and campus tour work and where to sign up, admissions guest parking in Lot DD, three Tyler Avenue hotels a few minutes from campus plus a 4-star option in Roanoke, drive times from Roanoke-Blacksburg Regional Airport, Glencoe Mansion and Claytor Lake State Park for siblings, and New River Valley weather by season, every fact sourced and checked Oct 30, 2026.
Kyle Hall on the Radford University campus, seen from Tyler Avenue (March 2017). Photo: Nyttend · Public domain · Wikimedia Commons · resized and cropped
Last checked Oct 30, 2026. Every fact comes from the pages listed in Sources at the bottom. Some hotel and tour links are affiliate links (disclosure).
The short version
Trip at a glance
School
Radford University (Radford, VA)
Days
2 days: fly into Roanoke and drive to Radford, then a Radford information session and campus tour the next day.
Fly into
Roanoke-Blacksburg Regional (ROA) is about 56 min from the Radford hotels with no traffic. Radford says Charlotte Douglas is about 2.5 hours away and Richmond International about 3.5 hours.
Best base
La Quinta Inn by Wyndham Radford, about a 3-minute drive to Russell Hall (Admissions).
Car or no car
Rent a car. The airport is about an hour away, and admissions guest parking is right by Russell Hall.
Registration
Register for a daily information session and campus tour on Radford's sign-up page, or request the self-guided tour.
1. Who this guide is for
This plan is for parents bringing a high schooler, and maybe younger siblings, to see Radford University, home of the Highlanders in Virginia's New River Valley.
Radford's main campus is about 36 miles southwest of Roanoke, right off Interstate 81, and visits start at the Office of Admissions in Russell Hall.
Why this order
Day 1: fly into Roanoke-Blacksburg Regional and drive about 56 minutes (about 42 miles) to the hotels on Tyler Avenue in Radford, with no traffic.
Day 2: a Radford information session with an admissions counselor, then a student-led walking tour of campus, starting at Admissions in Russell Hall.
With extra time, Glencoe Mansion, Museum & Gallery is about 6 minutes from campus by car, and Claytor Lake State Park is about 23 minutes away.
Plan ahead: registration and timing
Radford's daily main campus visit pairs an admissions information session (a Radford overview, financial opportunities and how to apply, for first-year and transfer students) with a campus tour of academic, student life and residential spaces. Pick an open date on the sign-up calendar.
Nursing or Honors? On select Mondays the College of Nursing adds an information session and Nursing labs tour (choose a Nursing major on the registration form; space is limited), and on select Fridays the Honors College adds an information session open to all majors.
Can't make a scheduled time? Radford offers a self-guided tour year round, with a map of recommended routes and stops; request it online. There's also an interactive virtual tour.
Fall Open House: the Radford main campus open house is Saturday, November 7, 2026; register on Radford's site.
Radford asks visitors to arrive 30 minutes early to park and get to the admissions office. To request accommodations, contact Admissions at least one week before your tour.
Tour availability varies by season.
Winters are cold: January averages about 42°F highs and 22°F lows at the nearby Blacksburg weather station, with about 7.7 inches of snow.
Summer is warm but not hot: July averages about 82°F highs and 61°F lows.
Rain is spread through the year at about 3 to 4.5 inches a month, and May is the wettest month at about 4.5 inches, so pack a rain jacket for the walking tour.
Check the Highlanders schedule before you book if you'd like to catch a game while you're in town.
2. The suggested 2-day plan
Drive and walk times are no-traffic estimates from OpenStreetMap routing, with addresses geocoded by OpenStreetMap Nominatim. Campus times are to Russell Hall (Admissions); guest parking is in Lot DD off Fairfax Street.
Day 1: fly into Roanoke and drive to Radford
Roanoke-Blacksburg Regional Airport (ROA) → La Quinta Inn by Wyndham Radford
Driving (no traffic)
~56 min, 42 mi
Driving
Rental car
Roanoke-Blacksburg Regional Airport (ROA) → Hotel Roanoke
Driving (no traffic)
~13 min, 5.7 mi
Driving
Rental car
La Quinta, Radford Inn and Super 8 sit side by side on Tyler Avenue (Route 177) near Interstate 81 Exit 109, the same road Radford's directions use to reach campus.
Radford's directions from the airport: take Interstate 581 North to Interstate 81 South, then follow the directions for Exit 109.
Day 2: Radford University information session and campus tour
La Quinta Inn by Wyndham Radford → Russell Hall (Admissions)
Driving (no traffic)
~3 min, 1.4 mi
Driving
Drive (about a 25-min walk)
Radford Inn → Russell Hall (Admissions)
Driving (no traffic)
~3 min, 1.3 mi
Driving
Drive
Super 8 by Wyndham Radford VA → Russell Hall (Admissions)
Driving (no traffic)
~3 min, 1.6 mi
Driving
Drive
Hotel Roanoke → Russell Hall (Admissions)
Driving (no traffic)
~58 min, 44.9 mi
Driving
Drive
Russell Hall (Admissions) → Glencoe Mansion, Museum & Gallery
Driving (no traffic)
~6 min, 2.2 mi
Driving
Drive
Russell Hall (Admissions) → Claytor Lake State Park
Driving (no traffic)
~23 min, 11.9 mi
Driving
Drive
Russell Hall (Admissions) → Roanoke-Blacksburg Regional Airport (ROA)
Driving (no traffic)
~58 min, 42.5 mi
Driving
Drive
From Interstate 81, take Exit 109 onto Route 177/Tyler Avenue into Radford, continue through the light at Jefferson, then take the first right onto Fairfax Street. Park in the reserved admissions guest spots or any open unrestricted spot in Lot DD.
Check in at reception in 110 Russell Hall, on the first floor. The Office of Admissions is open Monday to Friday, 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.
Flying out the same day? The airport is about an hour's drive, so leave time after the session and tour, or stay a second night.
3. Campus by campus
Kyle Hall on the Radford University campus, seen from Tyler Avenue (March 2017). Photo: Nyttend · Public domain · Wikimedia Commons · resized and cropped
Visits start at the Office of Admissions on the first floor of Russell Hall; check in at reception in 110 Russell Hall. Radford asks you to arrive 30 minutes early to park and walk over.
The visit is an admissions information session followed by a student-led walking tour of academic, student life and residential spaces.
Visitor parking
Park in the reserved spots for admissions guests or any open unrestricted spot in Lot DD, reached by turning right onto Fairfax Street from Tyler Avenue just past the Jefferson Street light. Radford posts a main campus parking map.
Getting there
Russell Hall is about 58 minutes by car from Roanoke-Blacksburg Regional Airport with no traffic, and about 3 minutes from the Tyler Avenue hotels.
What to know
Want a preview first? Radford's interactive virtual tour lets your student look around campus before you go.
Interested in health sciences? Radford University Carilion in Roanoke runs its own daily tours, which may be limited because the site is inside Carilion Community Hospital; its sign-up is on the Visit page.
Contact
Radford University Office of Admissions: Russell Hall, Radford, VA 24142, 540-831-5371, admissions@radford.edu (Monday to Friday, 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.).
Last checked Oct 30, 2026. Tour and admissions details change often, so confirm them on the school's official visit page before you go.
Expedia lists this hotel as a 3-star property, so we place it in the Mid-range tier. Rates vary by date, so check your dates on Expedia.
It's across Tyler Avenue from La Quinta, about a 3-minute drive to Russell Hall.
Good to know
Expedia lists a free buffet breakfast, an indoor pool, a children's pool, a hot tub and a 24-hour gym. Confirm details on the Expedia listing before you book.
Expedia lists this hotel as a 2-star property, so we place it in the Budget tier. Rates vary by date, so check your dates on Expedia.
It's about a 3-minute drive to Russell Hall with no traffic.
Good to know
Expedia lists a free continental breakfast daily, free self-parking, pet-friendly rooms and a minimum check-in age of 18. Confirm details on the Expedia listing before you book.
Hotel Roanoke & Conference Center, Curio Collection by Hilton
110 Shenandoah Ave. NE, Roanoke, VA 24016
Why here
Expedia lists this hotel as a 4-star property, so we place it in the Upscale tier. Rates vary by date, so check your dates on Expedia.
It's in downtown Roanoke, about 13 minutes from the airport but about 58 minutes from Russell Hall, so it suits a late arrival or an early flight home.
Good to know
Expedia lists a free roundtrip airport shuttle at scheduled times, a pool, two restaurants, and self-parking and valet parking for a fee. The minimum check-in age is 21. Confirm details on the Expedia listing before you book.
The three Radford hotels are within a block of each other on Tyler Avenue, so pick on breakfast, pool and price for your dates. Choose Hotel Roanoke only if you'd rather be near the airport than near campus.
5. Meals between tours
Hours change, so check before you go.
At the hotels
La Quinta and Radford Inn include a free buffet breakfast and Super 8 a free continental breakfast. Hotel Roanoke has two restaurants on site.
6. Things for siblings along the route
With siblings
Glencoe Mansion, Museum & Gallery
600 Unruh Drive, Radford, VA 24141
A three-in-one stop: a historic house museum about the Wharton family, history exhibits and an art gallery of regional artists, about 6 minutes from campus by car. Its site lists different hours in different places, so check with the museum before you go.
A lakeside state park about 23 minutes from campus, open daily 6 a.m. to 10 p.m., with a visitor center open daily 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. A parking fee is always required (self-pay envelopes and a QR code option are available). The beach-area parking lot is set for repaving starting November 2, so the park suggests the northeastern side during the work.
Turn onto Fairfax Street from Tyler Avenue and park in Lot DD, then check in at 110 Russell Hall. Arrive 30 minutes early.
Flying in and out
Roanoke-Blacksburg Regional is about an hour from campus. Radford says Charlotte Douglas is about 2.5 hours away and Richmond International about 3.5 hours, if fares are better there.
Weather by season (1991–2020 NOAA normals: Blacksburg NWSO)
Spring: April averages about 64°F highs and 39°F lows, and May warms to about 72°F/48°F with about 4.5 inches of rain, the wettest month.
Summer: July averages about 82°F/61°F.
Fall: September averages about 76°F/53°F, October about 66°F/41°F and November about 55°F/31°F.
Winter: December averages about 45°F/25°F and January about 42°F/22°F, with about 5 to 8 inches of snow a month from December to February.
Parent checklist
Register for a Radford information session and campus tour, or request the self-guided tour.
Nursing or Honors student? Look for the Monday Nursing or Friday Honors add-on dates when you register.
Book flights into Roanoke-Blacksburg Regional and plan a rental car.
Book a Radford hotel on Tyler Avenue.
Plan to arrive 30 minutes early and park in Lot DD.
After each visit, take five minutes to jot down what stood out to your student.
8. Student-athlete recruiting visits
For families whose student hopes to play a college sport. Rules below are the NCAA's; each school's links were checked Oct 26, 2026.
Coaches arrange the recruiting part of a visit, not the admissions office. The tour sign-ups in this guide are for the regular family visit. An official (school-paid) visit is offered by the school, and contact with coaches follows NCAA rules that vary by division, sport and grade level.
Start with your sport's questionnaire, then email the coaches. The NCAA suggests emailing coaches with your achievements, highlight videos and interest in their program, including your name, position, NCAA ID and graduation year.
1 Division I
Athletics
Radford University
NCAA Division I Big South Conference
RecruitingWe found no department-wide recruiting page. Look for a questionnaire on your sport's team page at the athletics site ↗, or email the coaches.
Unofficial visit: any campus visit you or your family pay for. You can take as many as you like; in Divisions I and II each one has to come after the first permissible date for your sport.
Official visit: a visit paid for by the school. Each school can offer your student only one. Before a Division I official visit, your student must be registered with the NCAA Eligibility Center, be on the school's institutional request list, and the school must have their high school transcripts.
Division I (Radford University): on an official visit the school can pay for travel for the student and up to two family members, lodging, up to three meals a day for the student and up to four family members, and up to $60 a person in entertainment, including five home-game tickets. On an unofficial visit there are no free meals, but the school can give up to three home-game tickets. Division I uses recruiting calendars with contact, evaluation, quiet and dead periods; in a dead period, no in-person contact and no visits.
Rules change. Confirm with the coach, or check the NCAA's recruiting page and recruiting calendars, before you plan dates.
Planning around the season
Check each school's athletics schedule (linked above) before you pick dates, so a coach meeting doesn't land on a road trip or game day for your sport.
Our recommendation, not a school rule: ask the coach whether they can line up an admissions session or tour around your meeting. If not, book the regular family tour yourself through the official sign-up links in this guide, and leave time between the two.
Add your dates and how you're getting there, and we'll pull this guide into one plan: tour sign-up links, the hotel base, parking or airport notes, the route and meals.
Coming soon
Planning more college trips?
Visit-season reminders and new trip guides from College Visit Guides. Newsletter coming soon.
Sources
All checked Oct 30, 2026. Tour schedules change constantly, so always confirm on each school's official sign-up page. Photo credits are under each photo and on our About page.
Expedia listing: La Quinta Inn by Wyndham Radford (star class; amenities and address via same-id Hotwire listing, checked 2026-10-30) (not linked: https://www.expedia.com/Blacksburg-Hotels-La-Quinta-Inn-By-Wyndham-Radford.h1393987.Hotel-Information)
Expedia listing: Radford Inn (star class; amenities and address via same-id Hotwire listing, checked 2026-10-30) (not linked: https://www.expedia.com/Blacksburg-Hotels-Radford-Inn.h51586.Hotel-Information)
Expedia listing: Super 8 by Wyndham Radford VA (star class; amenities and address via same-id Hotwire listing, checked 2026-10-30) (not linked: https://www.expedia.com/Blacksburg-Hotels-Super-8-By-Wyndham-Radford-VA.h39964.Hotel-Information)
Expedia listing: Hotel Roanoke & Conference Center, Curio Collection by Hilton (star class; amenities and address via same-id Hotwire listing, checked 2026-10-30) (not linked: https://www.expedia.com/Roanoke-Hotels-Hotel-Roanoke-Conference-Ctr.h1510.Hotel-Information)
