Virginia Creeper Trail: Whitetop to Abingdon

On an early weekday morning in June, I drove to the Virginia Creeper Trail Visitor Center located in historic downtown Abingdon, Virginia. Two blocks away, I caught a shuttle from Virginia Creeper Trail Bike Shop up to Whitetop Station, the most popular access point and considered the eastern trail head, even though there is another 1.3 miles of trail east of Whitetop Station (I too skipped this part). The first half of the trail is the 17 mile Whitetop to Damascus section. It's downhill almost all the way, with the first several miles being a fairly significant 5%+ grade. This section is characterized as mainly passing through portions of the Jefferson National Forest and follows Whitetop Laurel Creek, with many scenic creek views including small cascades and waterfalls. There are numerous camp sites along this section of the trail. The Creeper also host a few miles of the Appalachian Trail north of Damascus.

The trail passes through downtown Damascus, and continues west along the South and Middle Forks of the Holston River, passing the historic depot town of Alvarado, beautiful farm land, and peaceful woodlands with numerous rocky bluffs. The trail is mostly flat or slightly downhill west of Damascus until crossing the Holston River. There, the trail begins a slow, steady climb up to Abingdon. While there are a few long steady grades, overall the trail only climbs about 700 feet over 7 or 8 miles. It's mostly a gradual climb that is only really "felt" in a few short sections.

The Virginia Creeper Trail is a 34.3 mile multi-use trail that begins in Abingdon, Virginia, and crosses the Holston River Valley to climb up the lower slopes of Whitetop Mountain and on to the VA/NC border. The trail has not be developed into North Carolina. The trail is open year-round for hiking, biking, and equestrian use. The trail is managed and maintained by the towns of Abingdon and Damascus, along with numerous other partnerships. The majority of the rail bed right of way is located on private property.

The Virginia Creeper Trail derives it's name from a type of plant, called Virginia Creeper, that commonly growns in the area. One can certainly imagine that the old steam locomotives, loaded with coal, iron, timber, passengers, and other goods, that slowly chugged up and down the line were quite literally "Creepers" as well. Construction of the railway began in the 1880s, but was not fully completed until the early 1900s. In it's day, Whitetop Station became the highest elevation standard gauge rail station east of the Rocky Mountains serviced by a regularly scheduled train. Many small towns popped up along the route of the railroad. The economic crash of the 1930s brought development of the area to a standstill, and by the 1950s there were no longer any trains servicing this line. In the 1970s, after heavy rains and flooding damaged much of the line, the tracks began to be removed. Thereafter, the National Forest Service and the towns of Damascus and Abingdon worked to establish the recreational trail along the old rail bed. Today, thousands of people visit the trail each year.

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Soundtrack:
"Rural Stride" by John Kirsch and Media Right Productions
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"Angeline the Baker" by Nat Keefe with The Bow Ties
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"Battle Royale" by Au.Ra
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