Biking the New River Trail

Sunday, July 27, 2003

The New River Trail is an old railroad line running between Galax, VA and Pulaski, VA. It follows Chestnut Creek from Galax for about 12 miles and then runs along the New River to Pulaski. We chose to start from Galax and finish in Pulaski in order to have a short drive home after biking.

The 2.5-hour drive to Galax on Saturday was pleasant. After checking into our motel we strolled along Main Street in downtown Galax thinking we had returned to the 1950’s. We spent more than an hour stuffing ourselves at the local Macado’s restaurant before heading back to the motel.

At the start in Galax

Since the motel was located about a mile from the beginning of the trail, we started our journey right from the front door of our room. We pushed off at 6:56 AM looking down on fog-shrouded Galax. Our motel sat on a hill overlooking Galax; so we began with a mile-long downhill cruise to the trailhead. Soon we were pedaling along the trail next to Chestnut Creek. Fortunately, the fog wasn’t heavy enough to obscure views of the creek and woods. It was a bit cold for the first hour, but not uncomfortably cold. C accompanied me for the first hour of the trip. We rolled easily along the flat, well-maintained trail enjoying the early morning scenery, the sounds of rushing creek water, and the interesting country houses. Only one other biker appeared for the first two hours, so the trail was our own private recreation facility. About six miles into the journey we came upon Chestnut Falls, a small pretty waterfall in the creek.

Chestnut Falls in the fog

C looks out at Chestnut Falls from a small trestle

C turned around as planned after one hour of riding. She returned to the motel after her two-hour round trip, had time to pack up her bike, shower, and get breakfast before driving on to meet me at trail’s end in Pulaski. She should have continued with me for about ten more minutes! About a mile after C turned around, and approximately 12.4 miles from the start, the trail passed through an interesting short curved tunnel. Then, almost immediately, it opened upon a spectacular trestle crossing over the New River!

Trestle crossing the New River just before Fries Junction

Now the trail began to parallel the New River. The New River Trail is much nicer than the better-known Virginia Creeper Trail! The New River Trail seems better maintained and less crowded. The surface is well-compacted cinders, and there are several permanent restrooms along the way. The scenery is also more interesting because the trail mostly runs high above the New River, constantly presenting new views. I frequently heard the sound of rushing river rapids, and I really enjoyed the highland forest scenery. The trail often passed through shady groves of hemlock and pine trees. Rhododendrons were still in bloom in some locations. In many places one side of the trail was bordered by high stone cliffs while the opposite side dropped off to the wide rocky New River. Everything was quite a contrast to the swampy lowland terrain of the C&O Canal Towpath along the Potomac River where I had biked on a previous trip.

The Buck hydroelectric dam

When I ride my road bike I ride hard. I attack hills, drip sweat, pant, and grunt. When I ride a trail on my mountain bike I glide along at 10 to 15 MPH and enjoy the journey. The last thing I want to do is set a speed record!

Riding along the trail was like taking a railroad trip, but with several advantages. The trip proceeded quietly because I supplied my own power. I went along at an easy pace, and saw all of the scenery without being limited to the view from a window on one side of a train. I stopped to read informative signs along the way, ate or drank when I pleased, and no ticket was required for the trip!

Trestle over the New River at Ivanhoe

View down the river from the Ivanhoe Trestle

Eventually, after pedaling for about 27.5 miles, I came upon the Shot Tower visible about a hundred feet from the trail on a trailside hill.

The Shot Tower

This stone tower was built in 1800 by Thomas Jackson and operated for roughly ten years to produce lead shot for rifles. The lead came from a nearby lead mine, the oldest lead mine in the U.S. At the top of the tower molten lead was poured down the tower shaft where it formed spherical drops and partially cooled as it fell through a height of 150 feet. The visible tower is 75 feet high, but the tower shaft continues 75 feet further into the ground. At the bottom the falling lead drops splashed into a water pan where they were collected for ammunition. The bottom of the tower was accessed by a horizontal shaft dug from the nearby river’s edge. Someone had to crawl along this horizontal shaft to retrieve the lead shot at the tower bottom.

Approaching a very short tunnel

I continued on without much fatigue and passed interesting abandoned houses, a boarded-up cliffside cave, and the picturesque little railroad village of Allisonia after 40 miles.

Kudzu enveloped the front porch of this abandoned house

Two miles later I came upon the Hiwassee River Bridge which crosses the New River where the river widens into Claytor Lake. Views of Claytor Lake were spectacular here and on other trestles in the next mile or so.

The Hiwassee River Bridge Trestle spanning Claytor Lake

The view downstream from the Hiwassee Trestle

Now only about 8 miles remained until trail’s end near Pulaski. A few miles were noticeably uphill, but these were no problem since I’m in good shape.

Looking back at Claytor Lake after crossing another high trestle

I pedaled through sunlit rolling farm country passing solid concrete railroad mile markers and crossing several small trestles.

Sunny fields in the final miles to Pulaski

The trail just beyond Draper, VA

A typical railroad mile marker

Soon I arrived at the parking lot where the trail ends. The time was 12:17 PM. I had biked about 50.7 miles in 5 hours 21 minutes, slightly less than 10 MPH average. The trail ends at mile marker 2.

Feeling good at the finish!

According to a park ranger, if you go around the fence at the very end of the trail, you can walk through weeds for about a mile and come to a working Norfolk & Western rail line. The weeds were pretty high and impassable, so I decided to stop where the official trail ended. This was an extremely enjoyable ride!

Ready to head home