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VA Creeper Rail Trail and Camping

Wonderful Bike and Camping Trip

Saturday, June 4, 2011

Whitetop, VA

Moderate

Hosted by TrailGuyEric

The trip report

The trip began at our designated origination point at 10:05 a.m at the campground. The first part of the trail (1/2 mile) started just feet from the campground at the trail head which then went up hill to the Whitetop Train Station, after that the trail began a sustained, gentle downhill grade along the river and across many bridges. The pace set was pretty fast, but were able to stop several times to take pictures of the rural countryside, forested hills, hay fields being harvested for the first time this season, and babbling streams wandering through fields.

The half-way point at the Creeper Trail Café was reached in only an hour, so that was a great place to take a break, get a bite and sit by the river on the deck on the banks of the river. After 20 minutes, it was back on the bikes and the ride became more leisurely with stops for pictures along the way.

The entire trip took less than 2 hours, but was full of the scent of honeysuckle, privet, and wild blackberries in bloom. It ended in Damascus, but since there was plenty of time before the shuttle brought the bikes back to Whitetop, the ride continued on west for a couple of miles west of Damascus before heading back to the shuttle stop.

The weather was low 80’s, dry air, cloudless, brilliant blue skies so it made for a perfect day for riding.

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About this event

We'll be camping at the VA Creeper Campground (http://www.creepertrailcampground.com/) and can share the cost of a campsite, which has electricity and water. Toilets and showers are a short walk down a small hill.

We'll ride on Saturday morning, 10am. You can arrive at the campsite, if you are camping, at anytime

I'll be arriving on Thursday to secure the campsites and preparing for the trip so feel free to arrive anytime

Cell phone coverage is spotty in the mountains so you need to plan ahead beforehand as much as possible before you get to the area.

Elevation is around 3800 ft, so the nights will be chilly. BE PREPARED and bring WARM CLOTHES.

Who came along (1)

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Comments

Member · May 31, 2011

Hey guys!! Looking forward to the trip down to Whitetop VA and the campground. I'm going down Thursday morning to secure a good campsite.