# Virginia Creeper Trail



## go do it (Sep 12, 2007)

can a road bike be ridden on the Virginia Creeper Trail?

i want to go from Damascus to Whitetop, so how would that ride be?

it is a section of a longer ride here

how is the riding through he blue ridge mountains?


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## MB1 (Jan 27, 2004)

can a road bike be ridden on the Virginia Creeper Trail? We have done it on our fixed gear road bikes without any problem.

i want to go from Damascus to Whitetop, so how would that ride be? Nice.


how is the riding through he blue ridge mountains? Hilly.


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## go do it (Sep 12, 2007)

thanks for the reply
any hotels in or near the blue ridge mountains that can be used for credit card touring


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## bradkay (Nov 5, 2013)

The "Blue Ridge Mountains" encompasses a very large area. The Blue Ridge Parkway runs from Shenandoah National Park in north-central Virginia all the way down to The Great Smokies National Park in southwestern North Carolina. Are you talking about Damascus - Whitetop only or a longer range than that?

Here is a link that will help you for the portion of the Virginia Creeper Trail you were asking about:

The Virginia Creeper Trail


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## go do it (Sep 12, 2007)

the music sucks but here is the trail


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## rm -rf (Feb 27, 2006)

Hmm. I haven't been on the Virginia Creeper Trail for 6 or 7 years. It's a beautiful ride, well worth a detour to do. But I remember some soft, sandy areas on the trail, and wouldn't have thought a road bike would work very well.

There are shuttles that rent one-speed balloon tire bikes, drive them up to Whitetop, and the riders mostly coast down the 15 miles to Damascus. Don't do that. It's way more interesting to ride up and have time to see all the forests, whitewater, etc. I'd avoid warm weekends so I didn't have to dodge the rentals coming down.

In general, the Blue Ridge Parkway has many long, but reasonable grades. Most are under 7%, with a few climbs up toward 9%. It's great on a bike, with a 45 mph speed limit and light traffic most days.

The roads from the foothills up into the mountains are very often steep! Switchbacks over 15% aren't unusual.


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## rm -rf (Feb 27, 2006)

Did you simply have Google Maps draw a route from Damascus to Charleston? They just pick the most direct route that's compatible with bicycling. It might go up steep climbs, or not route near towns with services like food, camping, motels, etc.


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