We biked the Virginia Creeper Trail in mid-October and had a great time despite damage to the trail from Hurricane Helene.
Earlier in the year we made reservations to stay in Damascus and bike the portion of the Virginia Creeper Trail from Whitetop to Damascus. That portion of the trail is currently closed due to damage from Helene. Additionally, our lodging was cancelled due to damage from the storm. We thought we would be forced to cancel our trip. But after talking to the folks at Blue Blaze Bike Rental & Shuttle, we decided to try the Abingdon to Damascus portion of the trail. We found lodging at the last minute in Abingdon.
We drove from Abingdon to Damacus in the morning and had Blue Blaze shuttle us and our bikes back up to Abingdon to start our ride. The trail between Abingdon and Damascus was lovely. The trestles, the farmland, and the clear Holston River made for a very scenic trip. That section of trail is about 15 miles and is more level than the Whitetop to Damascus section, so there is less coasting and more pedaling. I haven’t been on a bike in a least a year and my knees are in marginal condition, but I was able to finish. It took us about 5 hours, but we made many extended stops to take photos, eat lunch, and just rest.
If you are considering a trip to the area this season you may still see some great fall color. The leaves did not seem to have peaked as of October 19-20.
