Greenbrier River Trail

 

A Brief History of the Greenbrier River Trail

Paralleling the Greenbrier River, the 78-mile Greenbrier River Trail runs from Caldwell to Cass Scenic Railroad State Park in eastern West Virginia. Easily accessible from many locations, it is a favorite playground for cyclists, runners, hikers, and horseback riders.

The trail became West Virginia’s first rail trail when it opened in 1980 after the Chesapeake & Ohio Railway donated their railroad right-of-way to West Virginia. As vehicular traffic became more popular, fewer passengers rode trains and in 1958 C&O passenger cars stopped running. Twenty years later in 1978 the last freight train ran, ending an era of trains rumbling through the area.

 

The Last Trail Ride of Our Epic Road Trip

On the final day of our 21-day road trip we left Huntington, WV dressed in our cycling clothes so we could do one last ride before heading home. The weather was perfect when we arrived at the Greenbrier River Trail near the WV/VA border and we were very comfortable on the mostly shaded trail.

Running along the Greenbrier River, the trail offers mostly continuous water views as it winds its way through rural parts of eastern West Virginia. The trail cuts through two tunnels and crosses 35 bridges providing trail users with breathtaking views. As an out-and-back ride we only experienced 15 miles of the 78-mile long trail.

 

Ride Overview
  • • Ride Name:
  • • Ride with GPS: Link to turn-by-turn navigation cue sheet
  • • Location: Greenbrier River Trail
  • • Start/Finish: North Caldwell, West Virginia
  • • Course Type: out and back
  • • Course Surface: gravel
  • • Bike: Salsa Warbird
  • • Distance: 33.06 miles
  • • Time: 2:03:46
  • • Average Speed: 13.3 MPH
  • • Maximum Speed: 20.2 MPH
  • • Elevation Gain: 233 feet
  • • Elevation Range: 1,701 to 1,860 feet
  • • Weather: 66° and partly cloudy, climbing to 74°
  • • Date of ride: August 13, 2024
  • • Course Map:

 

Fun Pictures From Along the Way

We could tell as soon as we got on the beautiful trail in Caldwell that it would be a relaxing and enjoyable ride…

 

Having not started at the trailhead where there might have been a restroom and without a map to know where the next one might be, when I spied a porta potty at a campsite along the trail, I made a quick exit…

 

A division that united the valley…

 

According to this sign, it was through the efforts of Mark Ligon Hankins that the Greenbrier River Trail came to be. By the way, the C&O Railway was a predecessor to the CSX Corporation…

 

Great idea, but the mailbox was empty…

 

Ah, I should have waited just a tad longer…

 

Very informative sign…

 

QR codes are great, but only work when you have cell service…

 

Just enjoying the ride…

 

Staring at the river every chance I had…

 

Boom to bust to national treasure…

 

Endless miles of peace and solitude…

 

Just my honey and me…

 

What’s with the hump?

 

And here’s where things got interesting! Just around that bend and at our turn around place, my husband carefully placed his bike in the grass beside the trail to take a picture – bike, green trees, river flowing behind – the perfect shot. Unfortunately, he didn’t realize that he was setting it on a yellow jackets nest.

He got stung about 15 times on his lower legs, hands, and back. The way he was yelling and jumping around I thought he’d gotten bitten by a snake. Other than some serious itching, he was fine, but it was terrifying watching it happen when I didn’t know what was attacking him.

 

As he came riding toward me swatting at yellow jackets he told me to take off. Luckily, we quickly got away from them and I evaded getting stung. Unfortunately, he’d lost his sunglasses in the fight and we had to backtrack to find them. The sunglasses had fallen in the middle of the trail far enough from the still swarming wasps that we were able to retrieve them without bodily harm.

Smiling because a second crisis was averted…

 

After that ordeal we decided to chill a bit on our way back to the car and enjoy the beauty of the Greenbrier River…

 

Steps back up to the trail…

 

Garmin Stats

Post-ride Garmin…

 

Garmin map and elevation graph…

 

Final Thoughts on the Ride

The Greenbrier River Trail exceeded our expectations – it was most shaded, the gravel surface was in excellent condition, and at the time we were on it, we saw very few other people. The fantastic weather added to a wonderful ride. The yellow jackets? Not so much!

 

Questions:
  • • Have you been to West Virginia? ~ Many times, including while our son was a student at West Virginia University.
  • • Have you been stung by a yellow jacket or any other types of wasps or bees? ~ I got stung by a wasp at church when I was little and I got into a hornets’ nest while cutting the grass many years ago. Those suckers chased me across the cul-de-sac stinging my arms and face all the while.
  • • Do you stop and relax occasionally to fuel or take pictures, or barrel on through when on a long run or ride? ~ Pictures, always pictures, unless I’m racing!

 

Disclaimer:  This post contains affiliate links which means if you click on the blue product link and then make a purchase, I will receive a small commission for referring you. You will pay no more or less for the product; however, Amazon will show their gratitude for my referral by paying me.

 

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I’m linking up with Zenaida of The Running Teacher and Jenn from Runs with Pugs for Tuesday topics Link-Up. Be sure to check out not only the hosts’ posts, but those of the other great bloggers joining in on the fun!