Smith Mountain Lake Airport — Moneta, Virginia
Smith Mountain Lake Airport is a general aviation facility serving the Smith Mountain Lake resort community in the Moneta area of Franklin County, Virginia. Smith Mountain Lake, created in 1963 by the closure of American Electric Power's Smith Mountain Dam on the Roanoke River, has grown into one of Virginia's premier recreational destinations with over 500 miles of shoreline, approximately 20,000 acres of water surface, and a year-round residential community of retirees, vacation homeowners, and permanent residents. The airport provides direct aviation access to this recreation-driven community, which draws visitors from throughout Virginia, North Carolina, and the broader mid-Atlantic region.
A dedicated airport serving Smith Mountain Lake specifically reflects the community's demand for aviation access separate from the general Franklin County aviation infrastructure. The lake's appeal spans all seasons — summer water recreation, fall foliage cruising, year-round fishing, and the area's growing wine trail — creating sustained aviation demand that warrants a dedicated facility. Pilots approaching Smith Mountain Lake Airport should be aware of the lake's large water body, which creates distinctive visual approaches from some directions, and of the relatively low terrain compared to the Roanoke-area mountains visible to the northwest. The airport serves private, recreational, and limited charter operations connecting lake visitors from the broader southeastern aviation network.
Frequently Asked Questions
What makes Smith Mountain Lake a popular aviation destination?
Smith Mountain Lake combines excellent water recreation (boating, fishing, swimming) with a well-developed resort community offering restaurants, marinas, golf courses, and wine-trail access. For pilots, direct fly-in access eliminates a 1–2 hour drive from Roanoke or Lynchburg airports, making lake weekends dramatically more accessible for families with aircraft.
Which county is Smith Mountain Lake primarily located in?
Smith Mountain Lake spans parts of Franklin, Bedford, and Pittsylvania counties. The Moneta community in Franklin County serves as the primary commercial and services hub for the lake. The Smith Mountain Dam itself is located at the Bedford-Pittsylvania county line.
What public airport serves the Smith Mountain Lake area?
Roanoke-Blacksburg Regional Airport (ROA) approximately 30 miles northwest provides the nearest commercial airline service. For general aviation, multiple private strips serve the lake community, with Rocky Mount Municipal Airport (near Wirtz) providing the nearest public-use alternative to the dedicated lake-area strips.
Smith Mountain Lake Airport Contact Information
Address, Phone Number, and Hours for an Airports in Moneta, Virginia.
| Name | Smith Mountain Lake Airport |
| Address | 1090 Cutlass Road, Moneta VA 24121 Map |
| Phone | (540) 297-4500 |
| Website | |
| Hours |
Map of Smith Mountain Lake Airport
Aviation Access to Virginia's Largest Recreational Lake
Smith Mountain Lake's aviation ecosystem reflects the economic success of a planned recreational reservoir community that has evolved over six decades from a modest fishing destination to a year-round resort with billion-dollar property values along its shores. The airport serves as a practical amenity for the lake's higher-end real estate market, where lakefront properties regularly sell in the $500,000–$2 million+ range and buyers include aircraft owners who consider direct fly-in access a desirable feature. For real estate agents marketing lakefront properties with adjacent airstrip access, proximity to Smith Mountain Lake Airport is a meaningful selling point.
The broader aviation community around Smith Mountain Lake includes both the dedicated lake-area strips and a tradition of water-based aviation — floatplane operations on the lake itself, subject to FAA and AEP (the dam operator) coordination. The Virginia Department of Game and Inland Fisheries (now the Department of Wildlife Resources) and AEP maintain regulations governing lake surface operations, and pilots considering floatplane operations should research applicable regulations before attempting water landings or takeoffs. For wheeled aircraft, Smith Mountain Lake Airport provides the most practical entry point to one of Virginia's most beloved recreational communities.