Abingdon, donated legal assistance while
championing the trail initiative at the
state level. Moreover, after being elected
to the U.S. Congress in 1982, Boucher
proposed a bill, which was enacted, to
upgrade the trail right-of-way and secured
more than $2 million in federal funds to
preserve the Virginia Creeper Trail as a
National Recreation Trail.
Despite Boucher’s advocacy and the
tenacity of Moore and Brillhart, efforts to
create the trail were met with formidable
obstacles. The ribbon of land connecting
mountain to towns was quickly becom-
ing what Moore describes as an “under-
ground railroad”—a place that attracted
vandals and illegal hunters. Despite con-
cerns about such uses, many landown-
ers worried that a trail on the old rail
corridor would bring trespassers to their
farms. These farmers (some of whom
also happened to be Moore’s patients)
protested the trail effort, made their own
attempts to purchase the land and even
filed a lawsuit.
“
I just kept going,” Moore says. “I
always believed the trail would be a suc-
cess—something no one can ever take
away from us.”
And in 1981, the dream of local
ownership of the line became a reality.
Armed with $28,000 in grants, Brillhart
and Boucher arranged for the towns of
Damascus and Abingdon jointly to buy
the right-of-way that would become the
first 15 miles of the VCT. It took another
six years to restore the wooden trestles, an
effort that was interrupted in 1985 when
abingdon
whitetop
creek
junction
green cove
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barter
theatre
Map for reference only. Not for navigation.
T E N N E S S E E
N O R T H
C A R O L I N A
V I
R G I
N I
A
South
Holston
Lake
Green Cove
Creek
watauga
alvarado
damascus
taylors
valley
straight
branch
81
11
58
58
755
91
91
w h i t e t o p
m o u n t a i n
miles
1
0
2
3
4
Parking
VIRGINIA CREEPER
TRAIL
Trailhead
or endpoint
Restrooms
Trail length: 34 miles
Trail surface: Gravel
map illustration by
daniellemarks.com
State border
N
virginia
one of the 450-foot bridges burned down
in a mysterious fire.
Finally, in 1987, the long-awaited 34
miles of converted rail line opened to the
public as a shared-use hiking, biking and
equine recreational trail.
Managing the trail is a joint effort
of the USFS and the municipalities of
Abingdon and Damascus. While the
USFS trail section is run separately from
the section owned by the two towns, the
three entities cooperate on trail upkeep—
with the Virginia Creeper Trail Club
(
vacreepertrail.org
)
p
roviding plenty of
volunteer labor to aid
in that job.
Economic Engine, Priceless Asset
Today the sleepy towns of Abingdon and
Damascus welcome about 250,000 trail
riders a year, more than 25 times their
combined populations. The trail is an eco-
nomic engine for the communities, gen-
erating business for bike shuttle services,
rental cottages, restaurants and shops.
Jerry Camper, co-owner of the Virginia
Creeper Trail Bike Shop, has been onboard
from the start. In 2002, he and his brother
risked their savings to open up their shop
with just a handful of rental bikes. Today,
with 200 bikes out at a time, they can
barely keep up with demand. On a sum-
mer day at 9 a.m. opening time, the place
is buzzing. When Camper is not loading
The variety
of leafy trees
along the trail
wows visitors in
the fall.
JAsON BArNeTTe-sOUTHeAsTerN TrAveler/PHOTO COUrTesy ABINgDON CONveNTON AND vIsITOrs BUreAU
DANIelle mArKs
rails
to
trails
u
winter.15
11