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Appalachian Engine: The Virginia Creeper Trail Keeps Bringing Visitors Back

Posted 05/15/15 by Maureen Hannan in America's Trails | Tagged with Featured Magazine Articles, Trail Destinations, Virginia

Photo by Jason Barnette - Southeastern Traveler/Courtesy Abingdon Convention and Visitors Bureau

Though it may feel antique to the families who return year after year, the Virginia Creeper Trail is a fairly recent development—and one that almost didn’t happen. The trail is a beloved regional asset and economic boon that once ignited fierce opposition from neighboring landowners. A relic of the railroad age, it came within a pen stroke of simply vanishing into the forest.

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RTC's 2015 West Virginia Rail-Trail Sojourn | Photo courtesy Cleo Fogal

100 Riders, 3 Days, 7 Trails (and Sheep!): RTC's 2015 West Virginia Sojourn

Posted 05/04/15 by Tom Sexton in Building Trails | Tagged with Biking, Demand for Trails, Pennsylvania, Sojourn Series, Trail Communities, Walkability and Bikeability, West Virginia, Why Use Trails?

On April 24, 2015, approximately 100 people came together for RTC’s 2015 West Virginia Rail-Trail Sojourn. This 122-mile, three-day bike ride through four counties and seven rail-trails promised beautiful landscapes, warm communities and lots of adventure—and we weren't disappointed! Here are a few highlights from this incredible event.

Locks and dams—like this one along the Monongahela River—make for some awesome sightseeing along the Mon River Trails | Photo by Jeff Wimer

Top 10 Attractions on the Mon River Trails (Sojourner's Guide)

Posted 03/09/15 by Laura Stark in Trail Use, America's Trails | Tagged with IHTC, Trail Destinations, West Virginia

RTC is pleased to present you with this top 10 list of great attractions (in no particular order) that you will find along the spectacular Mon River Trails system. But don’t take our word for it; this April 24-26, check out the trails firsthand on our first-ever West Virginia Rail-Trail Sojourn; registration is now open!

Photo by Steve Shaluta, courtesy Mon River Trails Conservancy

West Virginia's Mon River Trails

Posted 02/11/15 by Laura Stark in America's Trails | Tagged with Connected Systems, IHTC, Trail Destinations, Trail of the Month, West Virginia, Wild and Wonderful

“Wild and Wonderful” is West Virginia’s slogan, but the same could be said of the Mon River Trail system in the north-central part of the state. The beauty of the trail network spiraling out of Morgantown is that you have access to four trails—and four unique experiences—all in one interconnected system spanning nearly 50 miles.

Photos © Katie Harris

Trail Towns Roll Out the Red Carpet: “Impressions" of a Greenway Sojourner

Posted 07/10/14 by Katie Harris in America's Trails, Trail Use | Tagged with Maryland, Pennsylvania, Sojourn Series, Tourism and Economic Stimulus, Trail Businesses, West Virginia

My absolute favorite part of RTC’s 2014 Greenway Sojourn (June 22-27) was talking to many of my fellow 300 riders about their experiences as we made our way from just outside Wierton, W.V., to Cumberland, Md. Every evening, I would strike up a conversation with someone about the day’s ride; some exhausted after, say, their first 50-mile day, others eager to share their list of wildlife sightings, and all excited for what would come next.

Ohiopyle Bike and Pedestrian Bridge | Photo by Katie Harris

Tales from the Trail: RTC's 2014 Greenway Sojourn

Posted 07/02/14 by Katie Harris in America's Trails, Trail Use | Tagged with Maryland, Pennsylvania, Sojourn Series, Tourism and Economic Stimulus, Trail Communities, West Virginia

Here's a great wrap-up of the 12th Annual Greenway Sojourn by RTC's Katie Harris! Katie talks about the impact of the trip on her, her fellow riders and the communities through which they had the pleasure of passing through during their six days together.

THE TUNNEL: A Documentary Film About the Creation, and Re-Creation, of the Blue Ridge Railroad Tunnel

Posted 06/10/14 by Rails-to-Trails Conservancy in America's Trails | Tagged with Heritage and Restoration, Virginia

American Focus, Inc. is producing a documentary film about the Blue Ridge Tunnel, a 19th-century railroad tunnel located in the Blue Ridge Mountains near Crozet, Va. Directed by Academy Award-winning filmmaker Paul Wagner, the film will have a dual purpose: to document an important and fascinating chapter in Virginia history, and to provide a case study of how local preservationists work together to save and celebrate their places and their stories.

Trestle on Virginia Creeper Trail | Photo by Anthony Le, courtesy RTC

Virginia Creeper National Recreation Trail

Posted 05/01/13 by Laura Stark in America's Trails | Tagged with Best Of, Hall of Fame, Overcoming Opposition, Tourism and Economic Stimulus, Trail Destinations, Trail of the Month, Virginia

Bicycling 68 miles in a day would be an accomplishment for most people. But doing it nearly every day is a testament to endurance and willpower. At 81 years of age, it seems an impossibility. Meet Lawrence the Legend. On any day of the week, you're likely to see Lawrence Dye, a slender man with big glasses, pedaling along the Virginia Creeper National Recreation Trail on a bike that he says has been "a great friend."

A World War, a Baptist Church, and a Cycling Pastor: the Wonderful Story Behind a Virginia Rail-Trail

Posted 04/30/13 by Kelly Pack in Building Trails, America's Trails | Tagged with Corridors and Railbanking, Heritage and Restoration, Virginia

Often the greatest rail-trail stories are not those about the trail at all but its railroading past and the history of its transformation.This one is a beauty: a railroad track through a small Baptist Church cemetery, a World War II gun supply route, and a cycling pastor. Add to that the involvement of one of Rails-to-Trails Conservancy's Rail-Trail Champions and you have a rail-trail story for the ages!