Catawba Virginia

[steady123]

Starting to plan a section hike from Pearisburg to Daleville, Virginia. I'd like to stop at Catawba along the way for a zero. There does not appear to be much there other than a restaurant. Anyone have any experience getting off trail at Catawba and getting to a motel or hostel?

[Furlough]

Google Four Pines Hostel. Not sure of their status, if still in operation they are off the AT in Catawba and not too far from the grocery store. Phone # for them from a 2018 Trail Guide Book was - 540-309-8615

[Slo-go'en]

Four Pines is the only option, but gets mixed reviews.

Just after Dragons tooth at VA624, the Catawba Grocery is 0.3 miles away and will let you camp behind the store (at least they used to) and is a good pit stop. Maybe not for a zero but at that point your only 3 days from Daleville.

[Captain Panda]

Catawba Grocery is really just a small convenience store where you can get a pizza, and some short term resupply. I don't think that they allow camping any longer. However, about 0.3 mi down the road is a trailhead for Dragons Tooth, and just down that trail are some great campsites along the creek. As far as the hostel goes; it depends how much you value cleanliness. I'll leave it at that! Since you want to zero; you might want to consider a shuttle to Salem VA (outside of Roanoke) which is less than 10 mi. There will be many options for lodging, resupply, etc.

[steady123]

The guys I will be hiking with only want to hike between 10:00 AM and 4:00 PM. This will make a long trip and a heavy pack. Thanks for the replies. Salem is 6 miles down the road. It claims to have Uber but not sure if Uber can figure out how to pickup at a cross roads. Not sure if a phone works. Well I have a number of months to figure it out. A shuttle may be just the ticket.

Thanks all

[Hikingjim]

I stayed at a motel just south of the 81 which was under 10 min from the Mcafee 311 trailhead.
There were a few hotels and restaurants there. I had a ride from another hiker, but I'm sure there are shuttles or cheap cabs

[Slow Trek]

Uber picked us up several times from trailheads,I believe they use GPS,and it was no issue for them at all. That,of course,was my experience. Yours may be different.

[Toolumpy]

Gas station store has great to go food (burgers, pizza ect) and enough food options to get you to Daleville. Hostel can be busy but they usually will make store trips as it is a walk on asphalt.

[George]

1 of the road crossings near catawba gets you about 10 mi from roanoak

[Crushed Grapes]

For a shuttle I recommend Homer & Therese Witcher - 540-266-4849. They are fantastic

[fastfoxengineering]

I would not want to zero at Four Pines unless you are broke and can only donate what you are able. It's a mixed bag of awesomeness and horrendous at the same time. It is not an establishment with clean amenities. But hey, a shower and a bunk for whatever you can give. It's there if you need it.

[stephanD]

I would not want to zero at Four Pines unless you are broke and can only donate what you are able. It's a mixed bag of awesomeness and horrendous at the same time. It is not an establishment with clean amenities. But hey, a shower and a bunk for whatever you can give. It's there if you need it.
I stayed there in 2018, and it wasn't dirtier than your average hostel. It is, as correctly said, a donation based hostel, so you are expected to clean after yourself (shower, bathroom kitchen, etc.). I don't get the "horrendous" part, unless you have a phobia of chickens.

[fastfoxengineering]

I stayed there in 2018, and it wasn't dirtier then your average hostel. It is, as correctly said, a donation based hostel, so you are expected to clean after yourself (shower, bathroom kitchen, etc.). I don't get the "horrendous" part, unless you have a phobia of chickens.

I stayed there in 2018 and the place was disgusting. Another thru hiker came in late and described it looking like a "meth den" lol.. EVERY bunk was covered in dirt, grime, and grossness. The shower and bathroom was so gross I decided it best to shower in the next town. There was food left everywhere. A girl slept on the couch and awoke to a deer tick embedded in her. I've stayed in some grimy places and I remember four pines as top 5. Maybe I just showed up at a bad time. I understand its donation based and noone is working there but it was pretty bad. I asked joe if I could sleep in my tent as I "snore" and he didn't mind at all. No way was I sleeping on one of those bunks. The chickens? They were helping clean up the place. I just accepted it for what it was and moved on the next day. However, about 6 other hikers i knew staying there had the same thing to say. Looking back on it. I think it was the dirtiest hostel on the entire AT for me. I left a few bucks in the donation bin.