W.E. Skelton 4-H Center
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Address: 775 Hermitage Rd. |
Located on beautiful Smith Mountain Lake, the 4-H Center is Virginia’s largest 4-H Center and considered by many to be America’s leading 4-H Center. The 4-H Center is less than 45 minutes from downtown Roanoke and offers a wide variety of programs and services. Along our 2.5 miles of Smith Mountain Lake shoreline you will find 120 acres of beautiful forests, open pastures and green space, and a variety of facilities to meet the needs of many different types of groups.
Our modern facilities include comfortable, year-round lodging for up to 435 people; food service for approximately
500 people; and more than 15,000 square feet of meeting/classroom space. The 4-H Center serves approximately 20,000 people annually including youth and adults from all walks of life. We offer a variety of summer camps, year round weekend camps, teambuilding programs, outdoor education for school groups that correlate with the Virginia Standards of Learning, adult education programs, conferences, retreats, weddings, corporate meetings, family reunions, organizational training, and much more.
One of the region’s most valuable summer residential camping experiences can be found here each summer with children from across the country being served through our summer camp programs. As an American Camp Association accredited camping program, the 4-H Center’s camps are unparalleled in 
overall value when considering the breadth of activities, safety, excellent supervision ratios, high quality staff, comfortable facilities, cost, and overall experience! Activities range from canoeing and climbing tower, to robotics and video production, as well as horseback riding, riflery, swimming, performing arts, and much more!
Our Outdoor Education program features our James A. Meador Nature Center: a “green” facility built using sustainable building practices that houses our animal exhibits, interactive environmental education classrooms, and more. Serving schools from all over Virginia and throughout North Carolina, the program includes options in environmental education, adventure education, and general recreational activities. Options range from day trips to overnight programs.
Recent building projects at the 4-H Center include the Willard Amphitheatre and the John G. Rocovich Regional Shooting Sports Complex. The Willard Amphitheatre was actually opened in 2006 and is the perfect venue for small outdoor concerts and festivals. 
Already host to bluegrass and jazz performances, the naturally bowl-shaped amphitheatre can accommodate approximately 1,500 people in the lawn area. The shooting sports complex is our newest project and will be completed in 2010. Featuring a twelve-lane indoor firing line, electronic target retrieval systems, classroom space, range office, and ample armory/storage space, the shooting sports complex will be one-of-a-kind in our region and will host firearms safety courses, shooting sports competitions, and much more.
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