Explore the best rated trails in Blowing Rock, NC, whether you're looking for an easy walking trail or a bike trail like the Virginia Creeper National Recreation Trail and Railroad Grade Road . With more than 21 trails covering 128 miles you're bound to find a perfect trail for you. Click on any trail below to find trail descriptions, trail maps, photos, and reviews.
I would highly suggest unless you are an avid cyclist, to start on the Mendota side. From Mendota toward Bristol is about an 8 to 10 mile gradual climb. If you get the climb out of the way you can enjoy a very nice beautiful ride back into Mendota with a little effort. It’s a very scenic trail and shaded 90% of the time. I’ll ride a lot of rail trails, other than the steep climb, that which is a great workout, this trail is among the best.
We rode from Mendota to about mile marker 4 and back on July 4th. Thoroughly enjoyed the trail! Beautiful beginning from Mendota but the surface was rough for about the first mile. Better after that. Beautiful the whole way. I felt like I had stepped back in time. I wish I had worn my swimsuit to swim in the river. Nice swinging bridge at the beginning too. Highly recommend.
Red and green connect and make for a 6 mile ride round trip. Ride is mostly along the river with a few side connections. Don't let the confusing TrailLink description discourage you, you can't get lost. There is no reason that I could figure out why these trails are color coded.
Nice easy trail to ride, good for kids, but not very long for more serious riders. I missed the connection to the New River Greenway at the east end. The connection is really a road and looks like a road as far as I could see.
Repairs are being made to the creek and collapsing asphalt. So the Greenway doesn’t go all the way through.
The is a fun trail but you need to be careful going on and off the bridges. Not rode bike friendly. Well worth the Hall of Fame statue.
Rode from Hiltons Va on the Hiltons Highway to the Mendota Trail, very scenic Valley, rolling hills with limited traffic. Highly recommend.
I rode about 5 miles (out and back) on the Mendota Trail. The trail was way too bumpy for a Trek hybrid with no shocks. Would recommend the Trail but you definitely need a bike with shocks.
Beautiful scenery, great hangout spots along the river, mostly downhill.
Rode an out and back from Damascus to ABD Trailhead. Trail was in great shape except for a large oak tree blocking the entire trail at approx the 6.75 mile point from ABD. A challenging social path has formed on the river side of the trail. The smart move is to just turn around and ride back the way you came. We weren’t that wise today so we bushwhacked around the tree and did our out and back. The trail surface was in great shape and obvious trail maintenance is keeping the “Creeper Trail” at its “creepy” best. At least the stretch we rode today.
Really cool ride through downtown Hickory. You can ride from 1 bike shop to another but you have to cross a busy road to do it.
Wonderful trail that still isn’t super crowded yet like the Virginia Creeper trail is. Nice trailhead in Bristol with plenty of parking. The Mendota trailhead is an open field so parking is not a problem. We like to ride from Mendota to Bristol to get the climbing over first. It is a drive to Mendota from the interstate but it is a pretty drive. Well worth the trip. You won’t regret it
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