All Aboard as we head to Damascus VA to ride the Scenic and DOWNHILL Virginia Creeper Trail…AGAIN!! Pack 108 is taking their adventures to the Railroad……..well at least a former Railroad. The Virginia Creeper National Recreation Trail is a 34.3 mile rails-to-trails recreation trail located in beautiful Southwest Virginia. Traversing through two counties from Abingdon, Virginia, through Damascus, and ending at Whitetop Station in the Mount Rogers National Recreation Area, at the Virginia-North Carolina border. The Virginia Creeper Trail remains one of the United State’s premier rail-trails, and was honored as the inductee into the 2014 Rails-to-Trails Conservancy Hall of Fame and a recipient of numerous local, regional and national accolades.
Pack 108 will not be doing the entire trail, but a portion of the trail from Whitetop Station to Damascus. We will be renting bikes (with helmets) from Sundog Outfitters in VA, and then shuttled to our start point at the top of Whitetop Mountain. From their Pack 108 will ride the trail downhill all the way back to Damascus (about 17 miles). The slope is downhill 95% of the way -this trip can be completed in 3 hours at a moderate pace. It’s not a race, but a moderate paced enjoyable bike ride through the VA countryside. The point of the trip is to enjoy the trail not set a new speed record!
We will be camping at the Town of Damascus Campsite for Scouts (919 South Shady Ave. Damascus, VA 24236) both Friday night and Saturday Night. The bike ride will start at Sundog Outfitters (331 Douglas Dr. Damascus VA 24236) at 9am. We will be fitted for Bikes and Helmets there, then shuttled to the start point. We plan to arrive back Sundog by Lunch/short after that. Lunch will most likely be in town at one of the Restaurants at the completion of the ride. Pack 108 is covering the cost of the campsite for everyone. Families are responsible for the cost of food and bike rentals. Midway down the mountain there is an Ice Cream Stand that we will stop and have a break.
Pricing for Bike Rentals is $45.00 per bike. You may bring your own bikes, but there is a shuttle fee of 28.00 if you bring your own so it may be easier to just rent the bike at the location. The trail is a combination of paved and gravel roads. The bike shop does has tag behind bikes and baby-ride behind trailers to rent as well for additional fees for those families that need these types of bikes.
RSVP is required and we need to secure equipment about a month out. RSVP DEADLINE IS MAY 17, 2024. Pack 108 will secure all equipment, so we just need to know what families are coming and how many adults/kids. RSVP can be done here (below) or on the Band App- you do not need to do both!
Contact Ryan Hamel with any questions.
Check out pictures from last years trip. This was voted the best trip we did last year!
