The Smith Mountain Lake Charity Home Tour's FAQ still tells boaters how to keep a ticket dry. Put the paper ticket in a clear zip-lock bag with the QR code showing, because the volunteers' scanners can read it through the plastic. A few lines further down, the same page says that advice won't be needed this October. The lake is still too low for boaters to tie up safely, so all eight homes' docks are closed to boats for the 2026 tour.
The tour runs October 9 through 11. This year it's a driving tour, and that changes how the day goes. Seven of the eight homes have Moneta, Huddleston, or Union Hall addresses. One sits at 72 Saddleridge Road in Penhook. In a normal year you might reach it by boat as one more cove on a lake loop. On a car tour it is its own leg, and it rewards some planning.
Eight Docks, No Boat Landings
The low water has been changing the fall calendar for weeks. The 34th Annual Smith Mountain Lake Antique Boat Festival was set for September 12 at Goodhue Boat Company–Blackwater in Moneta, and it was canceled because of low water levels. In late August, the Smith Mountain Lake Insiders' Guide preview still said every 2026 tour home could be reached by boat, with a caution that drought "may make dock access unavailable." The tour has since made the call. Docks are closed to boats.
The docks themselves are still part of the visit. The organizers say the docks "are still open for Visitors to see by foot," and they encourage guests to walk down and look. For anyone who keeps a boat on the lake, a dock seen from the shoreline in a low-water October says a lot about how that property sits on the water.
What a Car Tour Does to the Map
By address, the 2026 homes break down as five in Moneta and one each in Huddleston, Penhook, and Union Hall. The Insiders' Guide gives car visitors a simple tip: plan the route from the map, not from the home numbers. The official site has a 2026 map that shows each home's location.
The Penhook home is the only stop with a Penhook address, so on a driving day it is easiest to plan around it first and fit the other stops in after. The rest of the logistics are below.
| Detail | 2026 tour |
|---|---|
| Dates | Friday, Oct. 9 through Sunday, Oct. 11 |
| Hours | Friday and Saturday, 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.; Sunday, 1 to 5 p.m. |
| Ticket price | $35 through Oct. 3; $40 from Oct. 4 to 11 |
| Online fees | 3.5% card processing plus $0.99 per e-ticket |
| Where to buy | Online, at the SML Visitor Center at Bridgewater Plaza, or at the homes during the tour |
| Boat access | All eight docks closed to boats; open on foot |
| Not permitted | Children under 12, including babies in arms or carriers; photography, smoking, food, drink, and pets inside the homes; high heels |
| Accessibility | Drop-off zone at every home; accessible parking at some homes where space allows; homes themselves are not accessible |
As of today, September 30, the $35 price has three days left. The tour runs rain or shine, and tickets can't be refunded. If plans change, the FAQ suggests giving the ticket to a friend or family member.
Phone service matters more on a driving day. The organizers warn that cell service can be spotty around the lake. They suggest taking a screenshot of your QR code so it still scans at a home with no signal.
What Waits at 72 Saddleridge Road
The Penhook stop is the Sycamore Heritage Home in Water's Edge. The tour describes it as a 5,500-square-foot waterfront home with five bedrooms and six baths. The décor is modern coastal, mixed with antiques that represent the homeowners' "three generations of family from this area." The 2026 tour guide adds that the homeowners' collection includes heirlooms and paintings by a homeowner's mother.
The layout is built for a family that plans to stay. The tour says the home was "designed to allow aging in place as well as for use by multiple family generations." It has a primary bedroom on the main level, another on the lower level, and an elevator. Inside, warm blues, greens, and grays carry the lake colors into the great room. The open kitchen and dining area have coffered ceilings, custom cabinetry, and a beverage fridge built into a quartz-topped island.
The room most likely to come up on the drive home is over the garage. The homeowners call this finished room "The Sorority House." It has four queen beds, a living area, and a full bath, and the tour calls it "a favorite of guests." Outside, a patio and landscaping lead down a gentle slope to the dock. With boats kept off this year, that short walk down the slope is the only way to see the dock.
The Horses Behind the Ticket
Each tour home is paired with one of the tour's charities. The Sycamore Heritage Home's partner is Tackfully Teamed Riding Academy. The academy is a nonprofit therapeutic riding center in Henry, Virginia. It offers therapeutic horseback riding and other equine activities to people with disabilities, to support their physical, mental, emotional, and social well-being. A January 2025 Longwood University profile named Susan Meadors Warren as executive director and said she has more than 40 years of experience working with children and adults with disabilities.
The academy's own grants page shows how much the tour means to it. For 2025, it lists "Smith Mountain Charity Home Tour $31,615.29." For 2026, it lists a $6,000 grant from the Community Foundation Serving Western Virginia. That makes the academy's 2025 tour money a little more than five times its listed 2026 foundation grant.
Across all its charities, the tour reports $245,000 awarded in 2025. Tackfully Teamed's figure is close to 13 percent of that total. The tour started in 1991, has supported more than 50 charities, and has raised more than $5.2 million over its history, according to the 2026 Insiders' Guide. The eight 2026 beneficiaries are Agape Center, Bedford Ride, YMCA Group, Food For Kids, Helping Hands of Franklin County, Free Clinic of Franklin County, SML Good Neighbors, and Tackfully Teamed Riding Academy.
Two of the eight beneficiaries work with horses: Tackfully Teamed and Bedford Ride. In a part of the region with plenty of farms and horse property, that seems fitting.
Building the Penhook Leg Into a Half-Day
Since the lake can't carry you this year, the Penhook stop works best as a planned half-day.
- Buy by Saturday, October 3. That keeps the price at $35. Buying online adds a 3.5% card fee and $0.99 per ticket.
- Choose Friday or Saturday. Those days run from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Sunday is shorter, 1 to 5 p.m., and the Insiders' Guide recommends starting early on Friday or Saturday to see all eight homes comfortably.
- Save your ticket as a screenshot before you leave home, in case there's no signal at the house.
- Wear flat shoes. The organizers ask guests not to wear high heels because they can damage floors.
- Walk down to the dock. It's open on foot, and this year walking is the only way to reach it.
- Stop at Nick's Penhook General Store on Old Franklin Turnpike before or after the house. Food and drinks aren't allowed inside the tour homes, so a meal fits better between stops.
Nick's is at 15320 Old Franklin Turnpike in Penhook, in the building that used to be Blair's General Store. According to the Smith Mountain Eagle, the building has about 110 years of history as a general store. Most of the floors are original, from around 1915, and the display case at the register came from the original store. The sports bar in back serves burgers, hot dogs, sandwiches, wings, and pizza, along with beer, wine, and mixed drinks. You can eat in or take out. Homestead Creamery ice cream is sold by the cone or cup. The shelves also carry groceries, fishing supplies, and Italian candies sold by the piece. The store listed its hours when it opened, so call 540.238.9478 to confirm before you go.
If you still need a ticket on tour weekend, you can buy one at the SML Visitor Center at Bridgewater Plaza, and the ticket team will also sell them at the homes.
This year's tour may have you looking at your own dock in a new way. A low-water fall shows what the shoreline really looks like, and it's a good time to learn how your property sits on it. Debbie Shelton has spent more than two decades helping Smith Mountain Lake owners understand their waterfront and price it carefully. When you want that conversation, start with a free home valuation.
