virginia creeper trail club

A fantastic trail that runs 34 miles from Abingdon through Damascus VA and then to Whitetop at the NC state line. It's a rails-to-trail type trail, with a grade that makes it accessible for non-hardcore bikers like myself. The section in Abingdon is nice and level, and runs through gentle rolling pasture and woods. The most popular way to do the trail is to take one of the many shuttles to the top of Whitetop, and then bike (downhill all the way) to Damascus. Then, if you're inclined, you can continue biking to Abingdon, which is a little more effort but not difficult, or if you're tired you can stop in Damascus and grab lunch or dinner. We were on a budget and didn't want to spend the whole day (it was chilly!) so we drove two cars, and took one to the top and left one in Damascus. Then we ate a late lunch in Damascus (we felt like we'd really earned that pizza and beer!) and came back to Abingdon for the evening.To do the entire trail, plan for most of the day including lunch. To just do Whitetop to Damascus, you can do in a couple of hours. March was a little chilly, but not bad. Bring layers that you can shed as you get warmer.