Markers alongside the trail keep you headed in the right direction
Because the trail is a rail-to-recreation trail, it crosses many former railroad trestles.
the 30 years since its opening, the Creeper Trail remains one of the country’s premier rail-trails, honored as the inductee into the 2014 Rails-to-Trails Conservancy’s Hall of Fame and a recipient of numerous local, regional, and national accolades. The Virginia Creeper Trail runs on a railroad right-of- way dating to the 1880s. In the early part of the last century, the rail line carried lumber to feed the busy sawmills of Virginia and North Carolina. Its name was inspired by the steam engines that slowly crept up the mountainside, although some argue that the name actually comes from the native Virginia creeper vine that can be found growing along the trail, which turns a brilliant red in the fall. According to information about Rails-to-Trails Conservancy: “Since 1986, we have worked from coast to coast, supporting the development of thousands of miles of rail-trails for millions to explore and enjoy. We’ve helped craft rural trails that spool out over a hundred miles of open prairie, snake through mountain passes, span canyons and hug riverbanks, offering views of the countryside often unknown to the highway traveler. We’ve been a part of the connections between towns and suburbs, linking communities along vibrant corridors in much the same way as the railroads did in
their heyday.” To find a trail near you, visit www.traillink.com. View more than 30,000 miles of trail maps for walking, hiking, biking, or horseback riding. Although the entire Virginia Creeper Trail is nearly 35 miles in length from Whitetop Station to Abingdon, we opted to take the shorter, 17-mile downhill portion that ends in Damascus. After stopping for a photograph, our group set out. Maybe you never forget how to ride a bicycle, but my riding skill was hidden somewhere in one of my memory’s locked file cabinets, so it took a few stops and starts for me to be comfortable on two wheels. Soon I was reliving the joy of feeling wind in my hair as we passed some of the most beautiful scenery to be had in the Blue Ridge Mountains—open farmlands and fields, dense forests, Christmas tree farms, and rushing streams and creeks seeming bent on racing us to the bottom. Cool fall temperatures meant the trees and bushes along the way were bright colors of orange, yellows, and reds. The Virginia Creeper Trail is best known as a biking trail, but in reality, the trail is multi-use with opportunities to bike, walk, run, fish, horseback ride, people watch, cross country ski, and geocache, along with chances
TRAILS OF TWO CITIES
COAST TO COAST SUMMER MAGAZINE 2018
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