RV Adventures – Virginia Creeper Trail – Ice Cream Shop & Winery

Posted on Monday, June 15th, 2009

Hands down, our favorite find has been biking the Virginia Creeper Trail.

We really like the trail from Abingdon to Alvarado Station the best. It has the best trestles and scenery…and it’s flat.

However, we biked the most popular section as well – Damascus to White Top Station. It is a 17-mile climb that is accomplished by a shuttle service… Once at the top, the ride down requires NO PEDDLING. It’s the easiest 17 miles on a bike…and one has no choice but to pass by an ice-cream shop at the bottom of the hill!

Y’all know I think Foresters are special people. They do have some peculiar habits though. Racing at break-neck speed down a mountain trail on a bicycle, a Forester might come to a screeching halt to snap a twig from a tree and take a long sniff…as it is a Black Birch, betula lenta, and it smells strongly of Wintergreen. After appreciative recognition of the wonder of Mother Nature, prior activity can be resumed.

Imagine our surprise, as one day we are peddling along our favorite part of the trail, when we encounter a sign pointing the way to a local winery…only a half mile off the trail. Our bikes made a left turn and to the vineyards we went! We tasted, we selected and we sipped a nice “back porch” wine before making the return trip. I love the great outdoors!