New River Trail - Galax-to-Pulaski, VA

[Cookerhiker]

Haven't seen a thread on this one. The New River trail (http://www.dcr.virginia.gov/state_parks/new.shtml) is run by Virginia as a State Park and is a converted rail-trail open for all non-motorized travel - foot, bicycling, horses. It's about 50 miles between the communities of Galax and Pulaski. The website refers to a 57 mile trail; that includes an out-and-back spur.

I am hoping to cycle this trail after The Gathering and am seeking a shuttle. Ideally, I'd leave my car at Pulaski (the downstream end) and obtain the ride south to Galax to start the ride but since I have bike racks on my car, it might be more realistic to meet in Galax where I'd deposit the bikes, drive both cars to Pulaski, and get a ride back to Galax. I'd like the ride either late Sunday afternoon the 17th or early Monday morning the 18th. There are 2 of us.

There's one outfitter at about the halfway point but they've been cold-to-nonresponsive to my requests. So....

1. Can anyone on WB - perhaps a Gathering attendee - offer me a shuttle, or
2. Does anyone know of shuttlers in the general vicinity?

Thanks. And BTW, this trail is not affiliated with the New River Gorge National River (http://www.nps.gov/neri/) in West Virginia. Same river but different management, miles apart, different state.

[Ankle Bone]

I spoke to Blue Cat Outfitters recently about the same idea. The guy seemed very nice, and they have locations on both ends of the trail to pick from. They will shuttle and they have primitive camp sites. Shuttle cost is $50 for 1 or 2 bikers. He also said they are open just about year round.

Draper 276-766-3729
Galax 276-744-2027

[Cookerhiker]

I spoke to Blue Cat Outfitters recently about the same idea. The guy seemed very nice, and they have locations on both ends of the trail to pick from. They will shuttle and they have primitive camp sites. Shuttle cost is $50 for 1 or 2 bikers. He also said they are open just about year round.

Draper 276-766-3729
Galax 276-744-2027

As of now, I have an offer from someone but thanks for the lead - they sound like a real good possibility.

I'm looking forward to this trip with eager anticipation. The weather is still supposed to be good last I checked.

[Ankle Bone]

Sounds good. Enjoy!

[Cookerhiker]

Just returned last evening from our 2-day cycle of the New River Trail. We started on the upstream end at Galax and cycled 39 miles on Monday and the remaining 23 miles yesterday. We chose to cover the trail in 2 days since we hadn't cycled in over 3 months. Yesterday afternoon produced some sore butts!

The first (southernmost) 12 miles from Galax follow Chestnut Creek, a tributary of the New River. Despite the dry Fall, the creek was flowing nicely and included a few rapids in places. A spur trail awaits you at the confluence of Chestnut Creek and the New River, a site called Fries Junction. We followed the spur upstream to the town of Fries, ate lunch at the little restaurant, and cycled back downstream. The one-way spur distance is 5.5 miles so the State's reference to a 57 mile trail includes the spur one way. Of course if you cycle up to Fries, you cycle back; thus the total length of cycling the entire trail is 62 miles.

At about 30 miles from Galax is Millrace state park campground, part of the Foster Falls village where you can also rent horses and canoes. We camped at a site right by the river. The CG features picnic tables, drinking water, pit toilets, and a gift shop. The campsites are not drive-in so you don't share them with RV monsters. No one shared the CG with us Monday night. You're supposed to make site-specific reservations for camping but off-season, our experience showed that availabilty is not a problem.

There's another campground 1-2 miles from Galax, giving you the option of staying there at the beginning of your trip. Re. stealth camping along the trail, there are very few spots with "No Camping" signs but the state park flyer says camping is restricted to the designated campgrounds.

The trail follows the New River closely in a largely forested and pastoral setting i.e. no subdivisions or industry most of its length. The river is never out of sight for more than a minute. Wildlife sightings included deer, turkey, turtles, great blue herons, red-bellied woodpecker, white-breasted nuthatche, white-throated sparrow, other birds, and small mammals. The terrain is gently almost unnoticable downhill until the final bridge crossing 8 miles from Pulaski. From that point, it's a 4 mile gradual-but-noticable ascent to the hamlet of Draper before a descent to Pulaski.

While officially multi-use (non-motorized), the trail is more for cycling and horse-riding rather than backpacking unless you enjoy walking on hard flat surface most of the way. Also, drinking water is rather infrequent unless you want to chance the river itself. Keep in mind that steep banks render access very limited and inconvenient. Re. horses, we only met one party and saw no evidence of damage from horses so I guess we co-exist pretty well. Finally, given Galax's elevation of 2,500' and Pulaski at nearly 2,000', I would think this trail would be excellent for X-Country skiing.

We chose to stay in a Galax motel Sunday night and begin riding early in the morning. Our downtown motel was 2/10 of a mile from the trailhead and I understand there's a hostel in Galax as well. Downtown features 2 cool coffeehouses and 2 restaurants.

This trail was really fun! I highly recommend it!

[Hikerhead]

Was the treadway a little soft the first 10 miles or so? That was my only complaint when I did this. I forgot to tell you to check out the cave a little south of Foster Falls. The gate was left unlocked and we ventured in just a little ways.

[Cookerhiker]

Was the treadway a little soft the first 10 miles or so? That was my only complaint when I did this. I forgot to tell you to check out the cave a little south of Foster Falls. The gate was left unlocked and we ventured in just a little ways.

Didn't see the cave but by the time we approached Foster Falls, we were ready for a break. Re. the treadway, it was fine but I'm thinking that the dry conditions this Fall may be the reason. It looked to me like more typical Spring rains would probably leave parts of it soft. Also, any horses following rain would probably lead to ruts and gouges but no problems on our ride. When I think of how dry it's been, I'm amazed that Chestnut Creek flowed so much.

[Dogwood]

Thanks for the trail beta Y'all!

[Ankle Bone]

Thanks for the great report. Got it on my list for nest visit.

[SawnieRobertson]

Thanks for this information, CH.--Kinnickinic