Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: SUNDAY, May 13, 1990 TAG: 9005090179
SECTION: DISCOVER THE NEW RIVER VALLOEY PAGE: 44 EDITION: NEW RIVER VALLEY
SOURCE: SU CLAUSON SPECIAL TO THE ROANOKE TIMES & WORLD-NEWS
DATELINE: LENGTH: Long
You'll find plenty of trails for both biking and hiking, and most are within an easy drive of either of the valley's two universities.
For beginning trekkers - by bike or on foot - there's the Huckleberry Line Trail starting behind the library in downtown Blacksburg.
The Huckleberry Line was a railroad between Blacksburg and Christiansburg, and because railroad tracks were always laid in the flattest, smoothest places around, this should be easy.
The tracks have been removed and the trail paved for use as a bike path. It extends just about a mile, between Harrell and Miller streets behind the library, slightly uphill to Airport Road and Country Club Drive near Margaret Beeks Elementary School.
\ Hiking
Other easy walks are the Montgomery County Park's 3-mile nature loop at the county recreation center across U.S. 460 from the Corning Glass plant and the Blacksburg Department of Parks and Recreation's Rocky Run Trail in Ellett Valley.
The county park's 18 fitness stations, including sit-up platforms, chin-up bars and stepping posts, invite you to make this an all-around workout. You can take the high loop past lady slippers and shad bush or the low trail along the stream.
The entire Rocky Run Trail of the town park is a mile. On the left is the Earth Awareness Loop, about 400 feet long, which was constructed by the park naturalist and the Virginia Tech Wildlife Society to help youngsters develop their senses and an appreciation for nature.
Hikers walk along this trail with closed eyes, holding onto a rope. When they come to a knot in the rope, they feel the object next to it: a briar, pine sap, moss, lichens and the bark of various trees.
For hikes you need to make with your eyes open and your energy level in high gear, there's the Cascades near Giles County's Pembroke.
You can hike a 4-mile trail loop from the picnic area to a 60-foot waterfall. Trails to Barney's Wall Overlook and points north start from the falls. To get to the Cascades, take U.S. 460 west from Blacksburg to Pembroke and turn at the sign at Virginia 623 on the right. The road ends at the parking lot.
A high point on the Appalachian Trail is Angel's Rest, towering over Pearisburg, the county seat of Giles County.
After a grueling two-hour climb, you will have earned the right to sprawl out on a flat rock and enjoy a magnificent view of the New River, West Virginia and most of Giles County.
To get there, drive about 25 miles west of Blacksburg on U.S. 460 to Pearisburg and take the second exit into town. Turn right off North Main Street, left on Virginia 793 and pull off to the side when you see the white Appalachian Trail blazes.
Floyd County's Rock Castle Gorge, which can be reached from Rocky Knob campground on the Blue Ridge Parkway, is a good all-day jaunt.
Take Virginia 8 from Interstate 81 through Floyd to the parkway. Turn south. In less than four miles, you will come to the Rocky Knob parking lot. The gorge loop takes you through lush green forest to high bald meadows. The total distance is at least 12 miles.
Sometime this year, the New River Trail, which already runs from the Shot Tower to Fries, will be extended to the Pulaski town limits. For more information, call the New River Trail State Park headquarters in Austinville at (703) 699-6778.
\ Biking
You may have seen these roads from behind your windshield, but pedaling them turns travel into a visit. When you pass an apple orchard, you inhale the fragrance of the flowers, you see the mourning dove on the fence post and hear the round tone of its call.
A good all-afternoon jaunt in the Radford area takes you around Claytor Lake on Virginia 626.
Start from the Fairlawn side of the Radford bridge. Just before the I-81 underpass, Virginia 626 will merge with Virginia 611. Stay on 611 until you come to a service road to Virginia 612 and the Lowman's Ferry Bridge. From here, take Virginia 693 to Snowville and turn left to take Virginia 787 back to Radford.
David Abraham, owner of the Hokie Spokes bike shop in Blacksburg and the New Wheel in Radford, recommends that adventurous cyclists take Virginia 787 all the way to Willis in Floyd County. From there, he says, fanatics can continue on to Mabry Mill on the Blue Ridge Parkway.
Energetic cyclists in the Blacksburg area can make a 40-mile loop to Catawba by taking Harding Avenue (Virginia 785) down the mountain to Luster's Gate.
If you would like a shorter trip, turn right on Virginia 723, turn right again at North Fork Baptist Church and head back up the mountain to Blacksburg on Virginia 603.
If you're headed to Catawba, take Virginia 785 straight 20 miles past several historic homes to Virginia 311, just outside Catawba. At 311, turn left, ride for two miles and take Virginia 624 (Mount Tabor Road) back to Blacksburg.
As you climb the first hill, you will be able to see Dragon's Tooth rock, a popular spot on the Appalachian Trail, on your right.
For a longer trip, take 311 three miles past Virginia 624 to Virginia 621, a smaller, less populated road between Brush and Sinking Creek mountains. About five miles of this road is unpaved, but it is relatively flat. Virginia 621 joins U.S. 460 about a mile west of Blacksburg.
Most folks who come into the local bike shops are buying mountain bikes, according to Stewart Hoyer, of Hokie Spokes in Blacksburg. He recommends taking the Brush Mountain Ridge north from U.S. 460 for a rough 15-mile jaunt.
Dave Collins, district ranger of the Jefferson National Forest, says most forest roads in the National Forest are open wheeling for mountain bikers. He notes that the Poverty Creek area near Pandapas Pond is a popular biking spot for Virginia Tech students.
The Appalachian Trail, however is off-limits.
Maps of popular bike trips are available at all the local bike shops: New Wheel on Norwood Street in Radford and Unicycle, Hokie Spokes and East Coasters in Blacksburg.
by CNB