It’s All About the Bikes
For Abingdon Economic Development
Director Kevin Costello, the biggest chal-
lenge in increasing tourism is gathering con-
crete visitor data, beginning with numbers
of trail users. A lot of guesswork is required
when counting visitors on a public-access
trail. But one critical fact Costello knows for
sure is that each year, nearly 100,000 visits
begin with a stop at one of the local bike
rental shops.
Abingdon’s first priority, according
to Costello, is to welcome those out-of-
town riders before they hit the trail. A new
trailhead visitors center, which opened
in October, showcases the area’s growing
array of businesses. The town is also tack-
ling an ambitious project to make all of
Abingdon—from the Barter Theatre to the
many specialty shops—bike accessible. The
project, called Urban Pathways, will unfold
incrementally, developing “bits and pieces”
of right-of-way to connect riders to restau-
rants, shops and inns.
“
I’m also trying to reach out to craft
bicycle manufacturers about creating a
Virginia Creeper Trail bike designed just for
our trail,” says Costello. “Why not bring the
bike manufacturer here? As much as pos-
sible, we want to see the tourism dollars stay
local.”
Whether you talk with shop owners,
town officials, trail volunteers or innkeep-
ers, you’ll hear a single refrain: “People
always come back.” Like the family on the
shuttle up to Whitetop, they come back for
the breezy, shady ride down the mountain.
They come back for the wild beauty of the
trail and the antique luster of the towns,
just as Moore predicted nearly 40 years ago.
The pathways to capturing the full eco-
nomic potential of the Virginia Creeper
Some of the same
farmers who once vocally
opposed the trail now
leave baskets of free
vegetables and flowers
for trail users.
Trail are still emerging, but one thing is
clear: Each visitor on a bike brings the
promise of new vitality to this corner of
Appalachia.
And each return visit gives the locals a
new reason to treasure the remarkable trail
that spans mountain, forest, field, river and
lake. The trail that draws entire families
back year after year.
The trail that very nearly disappeared.
Maureen Hannan is a freelance writer based in
theWashington, D.C., area. Her love of rail-trails
began 16 years ago when she started walking
the W& OD Trail every day.
In October 2014,
Rails-to-Trails Conservancy
formally welcomed the
Virginia Creeper Trail into
the national Rail-Trail Hall
of Fame. Congratulations,
Creeper!
Green Cove Station
and Visitors Center in
Damascus is the only
original remaining
depot building along
the Virginia Creeper
Trail.
Tyler everT/AP ImAges
Sarah Young runs in the morning on the
Virginia Creeper Trail in Abingdon, Va.
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