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After our
backpacking trip at Grayson Highlands, we figured we'd catch a
little more scenery before we headed back to Greenville so we
brought our bikes along on the trip. We stopped at
Whitetop Station, the northernmost end of the 35 mile
bike/footpath. The trail stretches from Abingdon, Virginia
to Whitetop, Virginia... with the town of Damascus smack dab in
the middle of it all. Most people catch a shuttle and ride
either from Whitetop to Damascus, or from Abingdon to Damascus.
Others do the whole trail. We picked the Whitetop to
Damascus trip, which was around 17 miles one way. The
Creeper Trail is the result of a "rails to trails" coalition
that tore up the tracks from an old railroad that ran through
the area and made a bike/footpath. Horses are also allowed
on the trail, although we did not see any that day. The
train that ran through the area was so slow going up and around
all of the mountains that the locals nicknamed it "The Creeper".
 
We got on the
trail and immediately noticed something... we didn't really have
to pedal! The trail has a slight downward slope pretty
much the whole 17 miles from Whitetop to Damascus... maybe
that's why most people chose this route, plus we'd heard it was
the better of the two trips. Right from the start there
was lots of scenery... we were mainly in the middle of the woods
for the first 4 or 5 miles, and although it was around 80
degrees in the sun, it was COLD riding a bike in the shaded
forest area.
Our first check
in was at Green Cove Station, an old rail stop that was built in
1914 and served as a railroad station and post office.
 
The board located
at the Green Cove Station informed us we'd traveled about 4
miles so far. That was probably the easiest 4 miles we'd
ever biked! Cold, but easy. The next thing we
noticed on the trail was that there were lots of lodging places
catering to bikers. One was called Bikers Loft... it's the
old red barn below. There were also snack bars, small
restaurants and cabins along the trail to rent.
The trail took us in and out of
the woods, crossing creeks on wooden trustles, small bridges and
mountain meadows. The views were awesome the whole time.
 
The Appalachian Trail actually
runs along part of the Creeper Trail for around a mile or so.
We once again found ourselves not able to get away from the AT!
We'd been on it all weekend hiking now we were biking on it too!
We were so cold we looked
forward to the times when we hit the sunny valleys or meadows.
We'd sometimes stop to let our hands thaw out.
Just as proof that we were
still in the country, there was some not-so-beautiful scenery
along the way also... like two cars up on blocks in front of an
old trailer. SCENIC!!!
There were signs along the whole trail giving information about
the trail itself, the railroad that used to run where the bike
path is now, information on wildlife in the area, resource
conservation and many other things. Our favorite was the
"Where Kudzu Invades" signpost that was talking about how Kudzu
was planted along Highway 58 when they first built the road so
that the banks would not erode. It's now killing off lots
of plant-life in the area (and everywhere else in the South it
seems).
As we got closer to Damascus we
began seeing signs along the way stating how many more miles we
had to go. The trip went by very fast considering we were
pretty much in cruise control mode on the bikes.
 
We enjoyed the trip and would've liked to have
biked the whole trail,... oh well, maybe next time If you
have time to do this trail we highly recommend it.
Although the views are not quite as good as what you'd see in
Grayson Highlands State Park and the surrounding Mt. Rogers
area, it's still a great way to spend an afternoon and get some
exercise.
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