Virginia Creeper Trail

The Virginia Creeper Trail has been on my radar for quite some time.  Last year, when we were at Stony Fork Campground in Whytheville, VA, the weather did not cooperate for us to bike a portion of this (mostly!)  downhill  trail.  Bummer!  This year, I routed us so that we could again attempt to do it.  We stayed at Shadrack Campground in Bristol, TN.....and, we had success!

Dan, Syl, and I set out one morning for about a 45 minute drive to Damascus, VA.  We had decided to rent bikes and used the services of the Shuttle Shack.  Our friends Bill and Nancy had recommended that we rent bikes rather than use ours.  It was a great recommendation as we didn’t have to worry about our bikes being banged up on the shuttle ride to the drop off point.  And the wear and tear of a mostly gravel trail would be on rental bikes, not ours.   We opted not to use the rental helmets and used our own.  J

After some twisty turny roads, we were dropped off at Whitetop Station.

The trail did not disappoint.  It was a gorgeous day, albeit a bil cool when we first started out (sweatshirts would have been nice!).  We stopped off at several of the many trestles and bridges.

Dan taking in the view

I love how you can see the shadow of the trestle in the leaves of the trees!

Having fun on the trial

We found a path leading off of the trail and decided to investigate…this is what we found…

Christmas trees - the smell was intoxicating...

and the views gorgeous

We stopped at Green Cove Junction to have a look-see!

Syl arriving at the station

Dan checking things out

We spent some time checking out the insides of the station.

Along the trail, there were gorgeous rock outcroppings, beautiful fields, and a babbling brook.

Syl and I stayed on the ground...

Dan chose the high road.

We stopped at Whitetop Laurel Creek for a picnic lunch….

and had great views!

Some portions of the trail go through people’s front yards (literally!)

When we saw this sign, we decided to stop for a mid-trail snack!

Dan and Syl opted for ice cream.  I decided to see if the cake lived up to it’s name.  It did!

Back on the trail, we continued to take in the sights of the gorgeous scenery.

During several sections of the trail, we could see where hikers had set up camping areas.  Every time we saw one of these, it would bring a smile to my face.  We even got to see a few thru-hikers that were hiking the Appalachian Trail.

After about 4 hours, we arrived back in Damascus.  It was such a great day and I would love to do the trail again.  I have a feeling it is one of those things that you could do multiple times and see different things each time.
We bid “see you down the road” to Gin and Syl as we were headed to the farm in PA.  We will meet up with them when we are enroute to Maine.

Life is good!