303 N Main Street · Galax, Virginia
Three blocks from the New River Trail. Ten minutes from Blue Ridge Parkway milepost 215. A short walk from every restaurant, shop and stage in downtown Galax. Park once and leave the car where it is.
01 The Location
Most hotels in this part of Virginia sit out by the highway and hand you a map. We are on Main Street, in the middle of the old downtown, at the foot of the mountains. Everything below is measured from our front door.
Select a marker
Right outside
The open-air market pavilion is directly across from the property. In season it fills with growers, bakers and, more often than not, somebody playing. You can see it from the room windows.
Steps
Restaurants, coffee, a brewery, antique stores and the brick storefronts of one of the best preserved downtowns in southwest Virginia. All of it on foot from the front door.
4 minute walk
A 1940s movie house turned live music hall two blocks away, and home of the Friday night Blue Ridge Backroads broadcast. Old-time and bluegrass, most weeks of the year.
3 blocks · 5 minute walk
A 57 mile rail-trail along the New River, the second oldest river in the world. Walk it, run it, bike it or ride it. Rent a canoe and put in on water that has been running since before the Atlantic Ocean opened.
About 10 minutes
The closest Parkway access is a short drive northwest. From there it is 469 miles of ridgeline in either direction, and the overlooks start almost immediately.
About 12 minutes
A wide, low falls reachable on foot or by bike from the Galax trailhead of the New River Trail. One of the easiest genuinely beautiful walks in the county.
About 15 minutes
Stocked fee-fishing trout water north of town, in a valley that looks like a postcard. Bring the rod. Guests fish it in the morning and are back in Galax for lunch.
About 25 minutes
Parkway milepost 213. An outdoor amphitheater, a museum of mountain music and midday jam sessions that are free to walk up on.
About 45 minutes
High open balds, the tallest ground in Virginia next door, and the wild ponies people drive across three states to see.
27 miles
Just over the North Carolina line. A 600 foot granite dome, waterfalls, and some of the best hiking within an hour of Galax.
Piedmont Triad Airport (GSO) is 84 miles southeast. We sit directly on US-58, which makes us easy to find after dark.
02 The Rooms
Somewhere along the way the owners stopped ordering rooms out of a catalog. Ours have hewn beams across the ceiling, sliding barn doors in weathered pine, and a map of the country built out of old license plates on the wall. It is a roadside motel in the best sense of the phrase, and a good deal more interesting than the beige box out on the bypass.
Bed configurations vary by room. Tell us who is travelling and we will put you in the right one — (276) 236-5127.
03 The Stay
Pet-friendly rooms are available with a small nightly pet fee. Tell us when you book and we will put you close to the grass, so the last walk of the night is thirty seconds rather than a hike. Call for current fees and any size limits.
On site, outside your door, no charge and no garage. Bring the truck, the trailer, the bike rack or the boat. Call ahead if you need extra length and we will hold you a spot.
The front desk is staffed 24 hours a day. Rolling in at one in the morning off the Parkway is not a problem, and there is no kiosk, no code and no app between you and a person.
Free hot coffee at the desk and a coffee maker in the room, because the good light on the Parkway happens well before anything downtown opens.
Useful on night four of a trail trip, and the reason a week here does not require a week of clothes. Express check-in gets you out the door faster in the morning.
Free, and it covers the whole property rather than just the lobby. Work a morning and be standing on a ridge by two.
04 Explore Galax
Galax is a small city with an outsized claim: it is widely called the world capital of old-time mountain music, and it sits at the mouth of some of the best river and ridge country in the eastern United States. Here is what is within reach of the front door.
Old-Time Music
Every August the Galax Old Fiddlers' Convention, the oldest and largest event of its kind in the world, turns this town into a week-long open jam session. The rest of the year the music keeps going at the Rex Theater two blocks away and at the Blue Ridge Music Center out on the Parkway.
The Old Fiddlers' Convention takes place in Galax each August, two blocks from the hotel.
On the Water
Despite the name it is the second oldest river in the world, and it runs north through the mountains instead of south to the sea. Rent a canoe, float a lazy afternoon and be back downtown for dinner.
The New River is reachable from the Galax trailhead, three blocks from the hotel.
On Foot or Two Wheels
Fifty-seven miles of old railroad grade converted to trail, which means nearly flat, shaded most of the way, and open to walkers, runners, cyclists and horses alike. Chestnut Creek Falls is an easy ride out and back.
The New River Trail trailhead is three blocks, about a five minute walk, from Econo Lodge Galax.
The Drive
Ten minutes from the parking lot to one of the most photographed roads in America. Head south for the Music Center and the North Carolina high country, north for Rocky Knob and Mabry Mill.
Blue Ridge Parkway milepost 215 is about a ten minute drive from the hotel.
Trout Water
Fifteen minutes north of town, in a valley that looks like something off a calendar. Stocked fee-fishing water, easy access, and a genuinely good chance of catching something before breakfast.
Crooked Creek trout water is roughly fifteen minutes north of Galax.
Downtown
The market pavilion is right outside. Beyond it, a downtown of brick storefronts, local restaurants, a brewery, antiques, the Old Cranks Museum of classic cars and the Matthews Living History Farm Museum.
The Galax Farmers Market pavilion is directly outside Econo Lodge Galax on North Main Street.
05 When to Come
Two stretches of the year fill this town completely: the Old Fiddlers' Convention in August and the peak leaf weekends in October. Both are worth planning around, and both need a phone call well ahead.
March – May
Redbud and dogwood come up through the bare woods, the creeks run full and the trail is empty. The best hiking weather of the year and the quietest weeks on the calendar.
June – August
Festival season, market season, river season. The Old Fiddlers' Convention lands in August and books the whole town solid. Call months ahead for that week.
September – November
The reason the Parkway exists. Colour usually peaks around the middle of October up on the ridge and a week or so later down here in town. Weekends go first.
December – February
Bare ridges, long views you cannot get in summer, and a downtown you have largely to yourself. Rooms are warm, the coffee is on and the desk is staffed all night.
Travelling for the Fiddlers' Convention or a leaf weekend? Call early and ask about multi-night stays and group blocks.
Call (276) 236-5127— Gallery
Photographs of the hotel, the rooms and downtown are of the property itself. The landscape photographs illustrate the Blue Ridge Highlands surrounding it.
— Questions
If what you need is not here, the desk is staffed around the clock and a person will actually pick up.
Call (276) 236-5127
Econo Lodge Galax is at 303 N Main St in downtown Galax, Virginia, right on US-58. You are three blocks from the New River Trail State Park trailhead, steps from the Galax Farmers Market pavilion, and about a ten minute drive from Blue Ridge Parkway milepost 215.
About three blocks, which is a five minute walk. The New River Trail is a 57 mile rail-trail that follows the New River, the second oldest river in the world. You can walk, run, bike or ride horseback from the Galax trailhead, and canoe rentals are available on the river.
Yes. Pet-friendly rooms are available and a small nightly pet fee applies. Please tell us you are traveling with a pet when you book so we can assign the right room. Call (276) 236-5127 to confirm the current pet fee and any size limits.
Check-in begins at 3:00 PM and check-out is at 11:00 AM. The front desk is staffed 24 hours a day, so a late arrival is never a problem. Call (276) 236-5127 if you expect to arrive very late and we will have your room ready.
Yes. Free private parking is available on site and you park directly outside your room. There is room for trucks. If you are towing a trailer, hauling bikes or traveling in an oversized vehicle, call ahead and we will reserve the space you need.
Every room includes a refrigerator, microwave, 43-inch TV, work desk, seating area, private bathroom with tub and shower, hair dryer and coffee maker. Free WiFi covers the whole property and daily housekeeping is included.
Yes. Free WiFi runs throughout the hotel and free hot coffee is available for guests. The property also has a 24-hour front desk, express check-in and guest laundry on site.
About ten minutes. The nearest access point is milepost 215, and the Blue Ridge Music Center at milepost 213 is roughly twenty-five minutes away. Stone Mountain State Park is 27 miles from the property and Piedmont Triad Airport is 84 miles.
Downtown Galax starts at the front door. Restaurants, coffee shops, a brewery and the Galax Farmers Market are all within a few blocks along Main Street, so you can park once and leave the car for the evening.
Rooms during the Galax Old Fiddlers' Convention in August book out months in advance, as do October leaf season weekends on the Blue Ridge Parkway. Call (276) 236-5127 as early as you can and ask about multi-night rates and group blocks.
— Reservations
The fastest way to get the room you want is the phone, and there is someone on it at any hour. If you would rather write, send the details below and we will come back to you.
