Virginia Creeper--Our New Favorite Bike Trail

We have heard good things about the Virginia Creeper Trail from more than one source, so that usually means we will head there if we get close in our wandering lifestyle. It's an hour's drive from where we are camped in Bristol, Tennessee; and we decided that a cool autumn weekday would be a perfect time to go on the most famous bike ride in Virginia. So we drove to Damascus, Virginia, where there are several businesses that will shuttle you and your bike (or their rental bike) to the summit of White Top Mountain.

At an elevation of 3,576 feet, it was cool at the top even at noon. The old station at White Top is the beginning of the Virginia Creeper Trail.

The reason it is so popular is that this 18-mile bike ride is almost completely downhill--a no-pedal bike ride!

At this higher elevation, we can see that the trees are past their autumn peak. They had some rain and wind several days ago that knocked many of the leaves to the ground.

The evergreens certainly didn't mind the wind and rain. We discovered that this is prime Christmas tree territory, and we could walk into one of the fields of trees.

The perfectly spaced and shaped Christmas trees went on for miles around us at one point.

Denisa was glad to have her jacket with cool temperatures, and a wind chill from our steady downhill descent. We've been on the trail for miles by now, and we still haven't pedaled!

Most of the time we were riding in the shade of the forest trees. But occasionally we broke out into the sunshine on this beautiful autumn day.

There are 47 bridges and trestles along the entire 34 mile length of the Virginia Creeper that winds through the Mount Rogers National Recreation Area. The trestles make nice photo opportunities among the trees and leaves.

The Appalachian Trail (AT) also winds through this area, and shows up here at bridge number 38. We've seen the white blazes that mark the AT many times this year, so it's always a welcome sight to us. We had wondered why there are double white blazes at times, like the one that Denisa is standing beside. We found out that this is the signal to hikers that they are on the right path, but there is a complicated turn or change to be aware of. This complicated turn is out of the woods and across the tall trestle bridge the AT hikers will share with the Virginia Creeper bikers.

We parked our bikes temporarily so we could hike down the AT for a short ways. The thick pile of leaves completely covers the trail--as well as the rocks and roots. Because of the rain, the leaves are slippery and make this section of the trail a bit perilous.

We hiked on the AT until it led us to the base of this long trestle bridge. You can barely see Mark in the bottom left-hand corner of the picture, almost hidden by leaves. 

This wooden trestle is the real-deal, and it goes on for 537 feet over our heads. You can see Denisa in her bright red (and very warm) jacket standing at the base of the bridge.

This bridge is also supported by rock columns that hold it up 54 feet above the little creek below.

White Top Laurel Creek is our companion for most of the day, as it winds its way along the Virginia Creeper Trail.

A very picturesque little creek, we can also report that the water is very cool in October.

There are more than 100,000 people that ride on the Virginia Creeper Trail each year. Ninety percent of them do it just like we did today--downhill from White Top to the midway point in the town of Damascus.

We've been on the trail for two hours by now, still coasting downhill most of the time. It is probably time to explain that this trail is not named for the common plant that climbs trees and fences and makes a thick ground cover--the Virginia Creeper.

Instead, it is named for the little train that used to use this exact path, carrying trees and cargo. Because of the steep elevation change through the mountains, the under-powered steam engine would barely creep up these Virginia mountains to its destination over White Top. So it was nicknamed the Virginia Creeper.

We were using more brakes than pedals as we zipped down the mountain on this favorite rail-to-trail path.

About ten miles down the mountain, bikers have options for food to sustain them on their journey. We had heard about a famous chocolate cake available on the trail, so we stopped at the Beet Cafe when we saw their sign for homemade cake beside our path. We were disappointed to find that the huge crowds on Sunday completely wiped out their cake supply.

But they did have an interesting alternative--Fried Oreo Sundae. Made with three deep fried oreos, covered with three scoops of chocolate ice cream and more oreos, topped with whipped cream, and drizzled with chocolate and caramel sauce.

Mark is smiling as he contemplates this massive plate of ice cream and goodness in front of him. We were smart enough to order only one. With no pedaling, we're sure we haven't burned off near this many calories on the trail today.

As we waddled back to our bicycles, we continued down the trail to find the Virginia Creeper Cafe--home of the world-famous chocolate cake. With only two eating establishments on the trail, we had accidentally stopped at the wrong one. But we think it was a great mistake to make! As we are getting to lower elevations, we are noticing that the trees here still have most of their leaves.

After so much time in the forest, it was unusual to come out into an open valley. The Virginia Creeper descends a total of 1,646 feet, so we are beginning to see mountain tops high above us now.

This trail can be crazy busy on the weekend, but it was very pleasant in the middle of the week. Besides that, the Shuttle Shack gave us a 20% discount on the shuttle price during the week. Our driver said that October is their busiest month. But after riding by so many rhododendron and mountain laurel plants, it should be beautiful when they are blooming in the spring as well.

The last couple miles are almost flat, so we actually had to use our pedals instead of our brakes. The trees close to town still have their leaves, and they are surprisingly green to us.

We were sad to come to the end of the Virginia Creeper Trail. The 18 miles went by quickly, and we certainly didn't burn as many calories as we consumed today. We heard that some of the rental bike seats aren't very comfortable for the long ride, but our wide gel bike seats even made the trip comfortable. It took us almost four hours to get back to our car, but only because we took so many pictures, did some extra hiking, and ate way too many deep fried oreos. We'd do it all again, as the Virginia Creeper is our new favorite bike trail.