Virginia travel writers and photographers voted a bike trail #2 in their top 10best Virginia attractions list, the Virginia Creeper Trail

The entire trail length is just over 34 miles, and is entirely gravel except for the wooden decks of the 47 trestles along the route.

It starts up in Abingdon, Virginia and ends over by the border with North Carolina, just past Whitetop Station. The trail takes you through the town of Damascus, Virginia, which helps to maintain it along with the town of Abingdon. It was created back in 1984, but made memorable by O Winston Link's photo

 It is considered to be THE single most beautiful rail trail in the country.

it even goes through this farm



The Virginia Creeper is the Appalachian Trail for a stretch through Damascus. When the rail trail was first approved the local assholes went ballistic. They even burned down the tallest train trestle which then had to be rebuilt to accommodate the trail (thus delaying the official opening of the rail trail).

The Virginia Creeper Trail got its name from a play on words. Virginia Creeper (Parthenocissus quinquefolia) is a native five-leaved ivy found growing wild all over Southwest Virginia

At some point the Abingdon Branch of the Virginia-Carolina Railway that ran from Abingdon to Todd, NC was nicknamed the Virginia Creeper because of the slow speed of the train when climbing Whitetop Mountain. The name stuck and came into common usage though the railroad company did not like the nickname and never referred to it by that name.

https://underthemagnifier.wordpress.com/tag/visiting-the-virginia-creeper-trail/
https://tilthelasthemlockdies.blogspot.com/2013/09/virginia-creeper-trail.html
https://www.activeweekender.com/top-15-best-trails-for-fall-bike-rides-in-the-us/
http://summerscottageabingdon.com/the_creeper_trail