trailside services and accommodations.
River before easing slightly inland to State Route 5.
Cedartown, Georgia, is an ideal place to pause— for a visit to the town’s restored train depot and surrounding refreshment spots. One of the highlights on the Alabama side is a long, soothing ride through Talladega National Forest where you’ll now and then share the trail with wandering deer. It is said that eventually the Georgia / Alabama trails will connect to neighboring states to become part of an extensive intercontinental national trail network.
Except for a brief detour in Varina, the path runs close to the river as it parallels SR5. It is separated from the roadway by a healthy buffer of trail grass, trees, and fields of soybeans and corn that frees trail users from the vigilance required when sharing the road with cars and trucks. Near mile marker 27, the trail passes several former plantations that are well worth a visit, including Berkeley Plantation, birthplace of William Henry Harrison, the ninth president of the United States. Nearby Indian Field Tavern and the adjacent 5 Fields Brewing Company offer some great food and beverage options. At mile marker 15, you’ll find Fort Pocahontas, built and manned by African American Union troops during the Civil War. It was the site of a major Union victory when attacked by Confederate forces in 1864.
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Virginia Capital Trail, Virginia The Virginia Capital Trail (aka Cap Trail) connects the state’s present-day capital of Richmond and the early colonial capital at Jamestown on an easy-going 52-mile-course through American history. The pathway, most of which closely parallels scenic Virginia Route 5, offers access to numerous historical sites, trailside services and bucolic countryside. Meticulously maintained and mostly paved, the trail features some short wooden boardwalk sections and occasional road crossings that are marked or signaled. Measuring between 10 and 12 feet wide, the trail provides plenty of two-way room for cyclists, hikers, runners, inline skaters, and even parents pushing strollers. Native Americans plied this route along the north side of the James River before English colonists arrived, and settlers continued to use it as an alternative to travel on the river. During the decades following the 1607 settlement of Jamestown, this route (named by historians as America’s oldest road) became a path of colonial expansion connecting large tobacco— and then cotton—plantations along the river. Eventually, railroads replaced the road and river as the most economical means of transport. Today, the first mile from the Richmond trailhead follows an old Seaboard Coast Line Railroad bed, qualifying the trail as an official Rails to Trails route. On another historic note, the trail runs alongside the Richmond City Canal, which joins the James River at Great Shiplock Park. The park is home to a restored historic lock once used by ships docking in Richmond. From here, the trail briefly hugs the James
Virginia Capital Trail, credit Joe LaCroix
RAILS TO TRAILS
COAST TO COAST MAGAZINE SUMMER 2025 | 13
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