The conference will be held at the Inn at Virginia Tech and Skelton Conference Center, which opened in 2005 and is located adjacent to the VT campus. The Conference Center has 24,000 square feet of flexible meeting spaces including its largest room, the 8,832 square-foot Latham Ballroom, which can accommodate up to 300 people. Besides this room, there are many medium-sized rooms, the largest of which is the Assembly Hall, which can accommodate 135 people. The Skelton Conference Center also has state of the art AV systems and, not less importantly, provides continuous coffee breaks throughout the day and has a kitchen and staff to serve lunches, receptions, and banquet dinners. The Skelton Conference Center is thus an ideal venue for ICPPB & Biocontrol 2024 allowing us to host up to 300 attendees in general sessions, offering parallel sessions, and poster sessions in a modern, comfortable, and welcoming space. 

The Inn at Virginia Tech is in the same building as the conference center with 147 hotel rooms, a fitness center, and a restaurant. Other hotels are just across the street or at walking distance and we reserved a total of 75 rooms at these Hotels. As registration starts in January 2024, we can increase or decrease the number of rooms as needed. There are also several other hotels a short drive away.

The Cascades Hiking Trail - A 66-foot waterfall within Jefferson National Forest. The hike is a 4 mile round-trip and is low to moderate difficulty. 

The New River Junction - Tubing down the 320-mile New River is one of the New River Valley’s favorite traditions. 

Jefferson National Forest - The George Washington and Jefferson National Forests stretch along the beautiful Appalachian Mountains of Virginia. Whether its hiking, horseback riding, or mountain biking, the forests have something for you to enjoy. 

McAfee Knob Hike - McAfee’s Knob is the most photographed location on the Appalachian Trail. The Knob has a 260 panorama view of Catawba Valley and North Mountain to the West, Tinker Cliffs to the North and the Roanoke Valley to the East. It is a steady climb of 4.4 miles to the Knob. 

Mountain Lake Conservancy - Mountain Lake Lodge is the ideal place for families, friends, couples and groups to recreate and relax amidst nature’s bounty. Enjoy hiking, biking, tennis, wagon rides, outdoor recreation, and family entertainment Mountain Lake. 

Huckleberry Trail - A 6-mile trail that stretches from Blacksburg to Christiansburg. This trail is great for running, walking and biking.