View Full Version : Road/Parking access between Ceres and Bland, Virginia
Hello:
I'm trying to find information on the VA 623 trailhead in between Ceres and Bland, Virginia. In my 2010 data book it is the only stop in between towns that I can find, and my section hike would ideally end somewhere inbetween those two towns.
My questions:
Is this still a trailhead of the AT, has the trail been altered recently in southwest Virginia?
Is there a parking lot to keep a car here for multiple days?
If so, is it considered a "safe"(relatively speaking) place to park?
Thanks for your help.
Rain Man
02-16-2011, 10:01
I'm trying to find information on the VA 623 trailhead in between Ceres and Bland, Virginia.
I hiked through there last fall and stopped there for a snack break. It's a gravel road and has traffic on it. A couple of vehicles went by as we sat there. There are places and room there to park vehicles, yes. I can't comment on the safety, but the local trail club could. It's only a guess, but I would think with Burke's Garden on one end, that most folks would be driving through with a bona fide purpose, and not the common ne'er-do-wells.
I would leave my old truck there if I needed to, but only after checking with the local trail club.
Rain:sunMan
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rambunny
02-16-2011, 12:23
check out this website-http://appalachianTrail.rohland.org parking access and pictures.
If Ceres is where I am thinking it is, that's a pretty bad road. Definitely passable, just remote and curvy and full of potholes. It was so far away from everything I doubt that there would be a lot of joyriders messing with your truck. I was there last spring and a group of trail maintainers were headed up the hill from the little parking area.
Berserker
03-08-2011, 16:57
Can anyone that has been on VA 623 comment on the condition of the road if taking it from 42? Is this a gravel road passable by car, or is 4WD required?
It was passable in a car without 4-wheel drive. Just go slowly. Some of the hills are so steep you can't see over the hood. My wife was pretty nervous about driving out after she dropped me off but she made it fine.
Berserker
03-14-2011, 10:50
It was passable in a car without 4-wheel drive. Just go slowly. Some of the hills are so steep you can't see over the hood. My wife was pretty nervous about driving out after she dropped me off but she made it fine.
Thanks for the info. This road is indeed passable by a car as I went up it this past weekend in my car. In general it is a nicely graded dirt road with some scattered rough spots. Most of the rough spots were in the hair pin turns where there were deep gouges cut out from rain water runoff. It appears this road is well maintained, so I presume some of these rough spots may get fixed in the spring.