Virginia Creeper Trail

Mike and I

October 4, 2020

This was a big weekend for the trail. We couldn’t get a reservation on Saturday and only one bike rental shop had an opening for 2 people at 9 am on Sunday. We had to be there at 8:30 to check in at Creeper Trail Bike Rentals and the shuttle left at 9. There were 12 people on the van. Plus there are about 12 bike rental shops around and they are all dropping people off every have hour. It was about an hour ride up to Whitetop Mountain Station (the 2nd highest peak in Virginia) where they dropped us off. We grabbed our bikes and set off down the trail.

It was all downhill. We barely had to pedal. I would think it was going to be super crowded but it didn’t feel like it. We passed people and people passed us but it was completely enjoyable journey down.

The trail is an old railroad line. If you are interested in its history you can find it here: Virginia Creeper Trail . It is a very interesting store that dates back to the 1800’s.

Anyway we stopped every couple of miles to take breaks, look over bridges and just to enjoy it. The ride is 17 miles and crosses 15 bridges. It rides through fields, small towns, old refurbished train stations, and pretty much follows the Whitetop Laurel Creek. I think fall made it even better. The leaves are changing in Virginia and it was just a beautiful ride.

It can take as long or as quick as you like. I think it took us nearly 4 hours but we could easily do it in 2. This trail is for hikers, bikers and horses.

We were taking a break and along came a local man on his horse. He stopped to talk to us and said his new horse was training. We talked about 30 minutes and he told us places to go and people he knew in Damascus.

We hopped back on the bikes and continued. Before you know it the trail is complete and your back in Damascus. We road past town to the park and back just to add some more time. we dropped the bikes off at the shop and we were done. It’s a great trip. I would do it again in a minute.