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Virginia Creeper Trail
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Appalachian Trail Sign |
The Virginia Creeper is
a "rails to trails" project. With the harvesting of
lumber halted years ago, the old railroad tracks were removed to provide 33.4
miles of soft trails for hikers, bikers and horseback riders. (Combine
the Creeper with The New River Trail for 160 miles of
trails.) The Creeper begins on Whitetop Mountain, the 2nd highest
peak in Virginia (5,520') and extends to Abingdon, VA.
Your Creeper experience surrounds you with picturesque views, shady
lanes and abundant wildlife - an opportunity too good to miss for the fly
fisherman of the group who will find well-stocked trout streams winding along
The Creeper. So, be sure to throw in your fishing pole.
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After
crossing numerous railroad trestles and many meandering streams you will find
yourself in the small, quaint town of Damascus. Here is the home place for
the famed Appalachian Trail Days Festival where mountain bikers and
hikers gather in droves. Even for the faint at heart, mountain biking is
fun on The Creeper. There is a bike shuttle available that will
take you to the top of Whitetop mountain so that you may follow the delightful
17% declining grade of the trail into the heart of Damascas.
Trail History
The
trail began as a Native American footpath. Later, it was used by
European pioneers including Daniel Boone. |
Railroad
Trestle |
By 1907, W.B. Mingea had
constructed the Virginia-Carolina Railroad from Abingdon to
Damascus. In 1905 the line was extended by Hassinger Lumber Co. to
Konnarock and Elkland, NC. It hauled lumber, iron ore, supplies and
passengers. It got its nickname "Virginia Creeper" from the
early steam locomotives as they struggled slowly up steep grades.
With
about 100 trestles and bridges, sharp curves and steep grades, the Virginia
Creeper was the quinessential mountain railroad. Crews faced wash-outs,
rock slides and other hazards, but it was economics that sounded the line's
death whistle. Having failed to turn a profit since the Great
Depression, the Creeper ran its last train on March 31, 1977.
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