Virginia Creeper Trail

[waynesan]

Does anyone know if it's legal to carry with a HCP on the Creeper Trail from Abingdon to White Top Mountain? Virginia honors TN permits so that's not an issue. At one time the trail between Abingdon to Damascus was posted as no carry, but from Damascus to White Top it was OK. Has there been any change to allow carry on all of the trail?

[RinTN]

My understanding, which may or may not be accurate, is -

Certain localities - like Abingdon - had banned guns on their portion of the trail. These bans may not have ever actually been valid though, due to state preemption laws. This blog post seems to support this understanding - VA-ALERT: VCDL Update 1/11/09 - The Sentinel

[waynesan]

RinTN,

Thanks for the reply and the info of the change that has been made in the rules/laws on the Creeper Trail. I plan on going up there in the near future for a ride up to White Top and what you posted has cleared up what I thought to be the rule as of now. Thanks again.

[vontar]

Wow, I remember when I was in college in in to mountain biking being told about a trail in Virginia that was on an old railroad. The person that told me about it said you could start at the top and have miles and miles on a very slight down hill run. Not exactly a coast but a good ride. However I never got to it and had a falling out with that guy when he turned out to be a back stabber.

So I forgot about that trail but looking this one up on google sounds like a trail I wanted to do but never did. To bad I don't still ride

[macville]

Is the trail technically a state park or what?

[-Bristol-]

It doesn't help much, but the web site at www.vacreepertrail.us says:

On the Mount Rogers portion, hunting is allowed in season. Firearms may not be carried at any other time.

Target shooting is prohibited.

Among numerous other rules. I'm not really sure how to interpret that and they probably don't know the actual legal specifics either.

I've ridden it many times, If you plan to go UP the mountain, The main weapon you'll need is good reflexes to dodge the crazy kids, teens and overweight Moms as they come down. That trail can be crazy crowded on a Saturday or Sunday. And there are people who camp along the trail. Shuttle services carry tons of people to the top so they can coast down.

Good luck!

[waynesan]

Here is what I found on the U.S. Forest Service website:

Three agencies manage the Virginia Creeper Trail: Damascus and Abingdon administer the trail from Abingdon to Damascus (mile 0-15); and the Mount Rogers National Recreation Area manages the trail from Damascus up to the NC line (mile 15-34).

If the U.S. Forest service oversees the trail from Damascus to the NC line then carry should be OK there. And if the post above by RinTin is correct, then the trail from Abingdon to Damascus is now OK as well.

And I agree that the Creeper is one of the best bike rides around.

[GKar]

This is also a great trail to hike or ride horseback. Hiked the section from Watauga to Alvarado a few weeks ago, and saw no signs regarding firearms possession (which was a good thing...). In all the times I've been on various sections of the Creeper Trail, I don't ever recall seeing any LEO's, Rangers, etc...but with the trestle repair projects now underway, there may be more around (especially on the White Top end).

BTW - if anyone is into geocaching, there are 30-40 caches along the Trail.