In 1934, decades before other municipalities began to think about greenways, the citizens of Lynchburg were envisioning such places. It took until 1979 for their plans to become a reality, and now the Blackwater Creek Natural Area is located within the center of the city and is home to such a large and diverse population of wildlife that you could easily find yourself believing you are in some of the state’s remotest backcountry.
The area’s main paved route follows an old railroad bed on a nearly level grade, while dirt side trails drop into the creek’s deep canyon where the sound of moving water overcomes any traffic noise. The abundance of wildflowers, such as mayapple, bloodroot, Indian pipe, dogtooth violet and robin’s plantain, adds to this nice illusion of wilderness.
Laurie Foot, who has completed the full lengths of the Appalachian and American Discovery trails as well as a number of other long distance pathways in several foreign countries, finds Blackwater Creek to be a quick escape from the metropolitan landscape of her hometown. She also likes that “the trail enables me and others to use a non-motorized and non-polluting way of getting from one part of the city to another.”
800-732-5821, discoverlynchburg.org
NO-CAR WEEKENDS
- BLACKSBURG
540-552-2636, montgomerycc.org - Eat: Poor Billy’s for seafood; Gillie’s offers free appetizers on Fridays and live music; Bollo’s, a cafe close to campus, stays open until midnight
- Stay: Clay Corner Inn
- See: Plays and recitals at Virginia Tech’s Squires Center; performances at the restored 1929-’30 Lyric Theatre
- CHARLOTTESVILLE
434-295-3141, cvillechamber.org - Eat: Continental Divide for Mexican and southwest; Escafe for Asian and American
- Stay: Dinsmore House
- See: University of Virginia campus; Charlottesville’s Downtown Mall; performances at Paramount and Michie theaters
- STAUNTON
540-332-3800, staunton.va.us - Eat: The Dining Room; Mill Street Grill; The Split Banana
- Stay: Frederick House
- See: Blackfriars
KEY TRAVEL INFO
- State travel information. 800-847-4882, virginia.org
- State parks. 800-933-7275, dcr.state.va.us
- State B&B Association. 888-660-2228, innvirginia.com
- Blue Ridge Travel Association of Virginia. 800-446-9670, 276-223-3441, virginiablueridge.org
- Blue Ridge Parkway. 828-271-4779, nps.gov/blri
- Booker T. Washington National Monument. Hardy. 540/721-2094, nps.gov/bowa
- Cumberland Gap. 606-248-2817, nps.gov/cuga
- George Washington and Jefferson national forests. 540-265-5100, fs.fed.us/r8/gwj
- Mount Rogers National Recreation Area. 540-265-5100, fs.fed.us/r8/gwj/mr
- Shenandoah National Park. 540-999-2243, nps.gov/shen
- Skyline Drive. Between Front Royal and Waynesboro. 540-999-3500
- Shenandoah Valley Travel Association. 540-740-3132, visitshenandoah.org
- Virginia skiing. 800-THE-SNOW
- Virginia’s Birding and Wildlife Trails/Virginia Dept. of Game and Inland Fisheries. 804-367-1000, dgif.virginia.gov
- Mountain weather. 540-552-0497
