Conferences & Retreats

Services

Whatever the group or whatever the reason, the W. E. Skelton 4-H Educational Conference Center at Smith Mountain Lake is the ideal location for meetings, lodging, meals, rest, and recreation. Our modern and spacious meeting rooms can handle almost any crowd as can a variety of recreational sites on our 120 shoreline acres!

We're open year-round so for whatever reason you want to retreat to Smith Mountain Lake, please know these are just a few of the events we can host:

Administrative Workshops | Corporate Meetings | Family Reunions | Retirement Dinners | Company Picnics | Professional Seminars | Holiday/Birthday Parties | Anniversary Celebrations | Religious Retreats | Club Gatherings | Private or Group Banquets | Weddings & Receptions

Conferencing

Groups have thirteen (13) indoor meeting spaces to choose from. Our 14,500 square foot of meeting space includes meeting rooms as cozy as 280 square feet to the more spacious accommodations of our 7,130 square foot auditorium.

Our main conference rooms are located in the Taubman Center, Reid Jones Jr. Lodge and JOCO Learning Center. Each has a kitchen or kitchenette and restrooms with accommodations.

Outdoor shelters include our Open Air Pavilion, Willard Pavilion and the Challenge Course Pavilion. The Open Air and Willard Pavilions both have restrooms and ample seating. In fact, the Open Air Pavilion can seat 400 for picnics or meetings and the Willard Pavilion can accommodate 200 at its picnic tables.

Meals

A large variety of delicious and satisfying menu options are available for breakfast, lunch, and dinner. Meals are served buffet style with groups choosing from "conference" or "camp" set-ups, simply denoting the use of skirted or non-skirted tables, basic or more eloquent flatware, and other touches to determine the "feel" of your meal.

Continental breakfast, brunch, picnic, and snack menu items for conference breaks are also available. Special menus and meals to meet specific dietary needs can also be created. Your group sill surely want to save room for dessert! For larger groups, our spacious dining hall can accommodate more than 400 people at a time.

Lodging

Six centrally located lodges have a total of 440 beds. For large retreat and recreation groups, our dormitory style lodges may be just what you're looking for. They sleep six per room, with "community" restrooms. Overnight conferencing groups may prefer our other lodges featuring rooms with private baths and individually controlled heating and air conditioning. Most of these rooms are ADA compliant. Whatever your preference, we have convenient options to choose from.

For more information about rates and date availability please contact our Conferencing Department at 4Hconferencing@vt.edu or (540) 721-2759.