Virginia Creeper Trail – Watauga

Sections of the trail were damaged during Hurricane Helene. Please check the status before heading out.

Elevation: 1936 ft.

This site’s most prominent feature is the long trestle that leads over a small creek and back 3.7 miles to Abingdon. Going east towards Damascus, the trail crosses Rt. 677 and then River Knobs to where the middle fork and the south fork of the Holston River meet. This is at the upper end of South Holston Lake. From the trestle to Damascus is approximately 11.8 miles. This area of open farmland holds similar birds to those found in Abingdon and in Damascus. Visitors can witness the surrounding fields alive with singing indigo bunting and several species of swallows. The trees lining the trail should be checked during migration for a variety of warblers, vireos, tanagers and grosbeaks.

Historical Notes:

Although used for centuries by Native Americans, the trail took on its more recent look just after 1900 when the Virginia-Carolina railroad was built to link Abingdon with Damascus. By 1914 the rail line was extended to Konnarock and Elkland, North Carolina. The railway hauled passengers and supplies into and lumber and iron ore out of the mountains for over 70 years. The Creeper had failed to make a profit since the Great Depression and ran its last train on March 31, 1977. Since the demise of the railroad, efforts by volunteers as well as state and federal governments have been concentrated on developing the trail into its present state as a National Recreational Trail. In 2014, the Virginia Creeper Trail was inducted in to the Rail-to-Trail Hall of Fame.

Notes:

• Please be mindful of property lines around the parking area.