Bikepacking the New River Trail

My spouse and I bikepacked the New River Rail Trail over three days back in August. While the trail was nice, we picked up some lessons along the way.

While I had planned to start in Galax and ride north, Millrace Campground was full on Saturday night so I flipped the trip to start in Pulaski and ride south to Galax. On Sunday morning, we would meet a shuttle to take us back to Pulaski. 

View from Sloan Creek trestle and its neat
extruded viewing platform

On the first day, we got a late start and drove four and a half hours to Pulaski. We rode 22 miles from the Dora Junction parking lot to the Millrace Campground. Just half a mile in, we crossed one of the trail’s defining features, a high trestle bridge. There are about seven others along the trail, spanning valleys and even the New River. The Norfolk & Western Railroad (N&W) began building the North Carolina Branch with an eye towards shipping minerals from mines as well as iron ore. The N&W’s financial troubles (it went into receivership in 1895) required a cautious expansion and by the time it reached Fries and Galax in 1903, the financial prospects for a North Carolina extension had dimmed and the extension was never built. Instead in 1896, N&W bought the Roanoke & Southern Railway which already connected Roanoke to North Carolina.

As we crossed Hiwassee bridge, we felt rain and before we knew it, the sky opened up and managed to soak our shoes for the weekend. It was amazing how much water could come down in about 20 minutes. Due our late start, we did not arrive in the campground until after dark. Unfortunately, the campground’s site numbers were not sequential so it took a bit of looking to find our site but once we found it, we cooked up some beef stroganoff and then went to bed. 

There are two campgrounds along the trail and both are considered primitive, meaning pit toilets, no shower and no vehicle access, how fitting for a rail trail! But the park rangers still expect everyone to drive to the campground, providing a parking pass and wagons to cart your camping gear from the car to the sites. Both campgrounds also require reservations. All of the sites have gravel tent platforms, picnic tables, fire pits and a pole with hooks for food storage. At Millrace in the morning, we discovered flush toilets just up the hill, accessible on the outside of the gift shop. Millrace has a small store, stocked with fishing equipment, gifts, ice cream and soda. 

Millrace Campground

On day 2, we had to pedal 24.6 miles to Cliffview Campground. At breakfast, we discovered our shrimp probably would not make it to dinner. There are no amenities near the trail between Pulaski and Galax except for a dollar store in Ivanhoe. Fortunately, they had canned chicken and rice-a-roni as well as some other sweets and soda. I rode a side street to get to the store and there was a tiny creek passing right through people’s yards. One hundred years ago, the lower part of the town adjacent to the trail had factories and mills but now, it is all woods. I had to walk the bike up Botany Ln, a bit worse for wear than shown in Streetview.

We stopped for a snack at a picnic table and as I glanced over at the river, I noticed raindrops. Scattered thunderstorms were predicted for Saturday afternoon so we stayed at the picnic table (it had a roof) and then eventually resumed pedaling as the rain petered off. At Fries Junction, we stopped for a rest. I pedaled down to check out Double Shoals, a primitive campground of four sites about half a mile down the Fries branch of the trail (it splits into two branches, one to Galax and one to Fries). While I prefer trailside campsites, these did not look as though anyone had stayed in them all summer as the grass was tall. The sites were exposed right on the riverbank, had no picnic table or potable water supply, and the nearest pit toilet was back at Fries Junction. 

View from Austinville Trestle's extruded
viewing platform

We crossed the longest bridge towards Galax and the trail switched from following the wide New River to the narrow Chestnut Creek. The trail portion along the New River is often carved out of the cliff, up fairly high from the river bed. It is also mostly covered in trees, giving it a tunnel like feel. The portion along Chestnut Creek is much more open and the trail runs closer to the creek. The trail surface is cinder dust but it was a bit rougher in places. We passed through our second tunnel of the day and stopped briefly to looked at Chestnut Falls, a small waterfall which a great view from a trail bridge. 

We rolled into Cliffview Campground in the late afternoon. With just 12 sites, this primitive campground also lacks direct vehicle access but the park ranger left us two parking passes just in case! I eventually found the cliff, a small one across the creek. Our site looked out across the creek to a parking lot and country road. There was also a large power line running right through the campground. And of course, the cars in the parking lot had night spotlights to help them cope with their fear of the dark all night long.

There is only one shuttle in the area, New River Outdoor Adventures, and the owner only had time to pick us up Sunday morning at 8 am. He rents bicycles, kayaks and tubes as well, and is very friendly and highly knowledgeable about the area. After a leisurely 2.2 mile ride, he picked us up for the hour ride back to Pulaski. 

I learned a few lessons on this trip. First is the need to leave early, riding in the dark was not much fun and starting earlier on Saturday may have avoided some rain. Second, my desire for fresh food (beef and shrimp) was no match for my freebie soft cooler. Third, my spouse's bike needs a new seatpost and seat and could use a front basket to better balance the weight as her front wheel kept popping up on all of the rocks. Fourth, the trail dips down from Pulaski to the New River and then gradually climbs to Galax, which meant uphill pedaling for most of the trip. 

The New River Rail Trail managers, Virginia State Parks, does not really get bikepacking which negatively impacted our experience. Their master plan from 2012 omits any mention of bikepacking. In contrast, the nearby Greenbrier River Trail has a dozen trailside campsites with pit toilets and picnic tables. Some have potable water and even camping shelters. No reservations are required. There is also a state campground with showers at the midpoint of the trail. Having that many camping options makes planning much easier as one can stop at the nearest site whenever one tires. But with New River, one can pedal either north or south, stop at the same two places, and if you cannot manage the 24.6 miles between them, you are out of luck. 

While the park’s master plan calls for a full campground and reopening a closed Forest Service one, lack of funding has not advanced those plans. They could allow camping where there are already picnic tables and pit toilets such as at Lone Ash (MP 16.7) and Buck Dam (MP 32.6). All that would be required are signs and possibly tent platforms. Replacing Double Shoal’s exposed sites with a more sheltered and scenic option at Brush Creek (MP 36.8) or Fries Junction (MP 37.3) would also be inexpensive. With more funding, other trailside sites such as Gambetta, Big Reed Trestle, Harrison, Chestnut Falls, Ivanhoe River Bridge, and Bridge #1505 would provide better options for bikepackers.

Overall, New River Trail is a nice place but would be fantastic bikepacking destination with a few upgrades.

More photos