Explore the best rated trails in Roanoke Rapids, NC. Whether you're looking for an easy walking trail or a bike trail like the Tobacco Heritage Trail and Louisburg Bike Trail . With more than 6 trails covering 39 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.
The Tar River Trail parallels the Tar River, where Tuscarora Indians traveled before colonists settled here. Along the trail you will find evidence of early colonial history, the industrial...
The Tobacco Heritage Trail currently runs in a continuous, off-road 17-mile stretch between the southern Virginia communities of Lawrenceville, Brodnax and La Crosse. Along the way, trail-goers can...
Victoria Railroad Park is a 21-acre open space located in the central business district of an old railroad town in south-central Virginia. Victoria was the halfway point of a Virginian Railway...
The 2.2-mile, paved Louisburg Bike Trail runs from S. Main Street to Vance-Granville Community College (VGCC). At the Main St. end, you'll find the trail at Depot Street Hill, just south of the Tar...
The Tar River Trail parallels the Tar River, where Tuscarora Indians traveled before colonists settled here. Along the trail you will find evidence of early colonial history, the industrial...
The Tobacco Heritage Trail currently runs in a continuous, off-road 17-mile stretch between the southern Virginia communities of Lawrenceville, Brodnax and La Crosse. Along the way, trail-goers can...
The Roanoke Canal Trail is a beautiful recreational biking route from the town of Roanoke Rapids to Weldon. The trail follows one of the country's most impressive and best-preserved early 19-century...
In 1865, at the end of the Civil War, freed slaves were drawn to an encampment of Union troops along the Tar River in eastern North Carolina. When the troops left, the settlers stayed, calling the...
The 2.2-mile, paved Louisburg Bike Trail runs from S. Main Street to Vance-Granville Community College (VGCC). At the Main St. end, you'll find the trail at Depot Street Hill, just south of the Tar...
Victoria Railroad Park is a 21-acre open space located in the central business district of an old railroad town in south-central Virginia. Victoria was the halfway point of a Virginian Railway...
The Roanoke Canal Trail is a beautiful recreational biking route from the town of Roanoke Rapids to Weldon. The trail follows one of the country's most impressive and best-preserved early 19-century...
The Tobacco Heritage Trail currently runs in a continuous, off-road 17-mile stretch between the southern Virginia communities of Lawrenceville, Brodnax and La Crosse. Along the way, trail-goers can...
The 2.2-mile, paved Louisburg Bike Trail runs from S. Main Street to Vance-Granville Community College (VGCC). At the Main St. end, you'll find the trail at Depot Street Hill, just south of the Tar...
In 1865, at the end of the Civil War, freed slaves were drawn to an encampment of Union troops along the Tar River in eastern North Carolina. When the troops left, the settlers stayed, calling the...
Victoria Railroad Park is a 21-acre open space located in the central business district of an old railroad town in south-central Virginia. Victoria was the halfway point of a Virginian Railway...
The Tar River Trail parallels the Tar River, where Tuscarora Indians traveled before colonists settled here. Along the trail you will find evidence of early colonial history, the industrial...
Wife and I rode Lawrenceville to La Crosse and returned the following day, staying at the Fairfield Marriott right off the trail. The trail is pretty flat, but more uphill on the way to La Crosse. The trail is in pretty good shape except for a fallen tree from the recent storms. The grass on the trail was recently cut so there was a lot of room to the sides and the center grass was low. The facilities along this trail are excellent—several bathrooms, garbage cans, and benches. The last four miles to La Crosse are paved which made for easy riding. We saw quite a few deer, a snake or two, and a couple of turtles on the journey. I keep telling the snakes to stay away because my wife is afraid of them; but they don’t listen to me.
There really isn’t that much along the trail so take food and water with you. La Crosse and South Hill have all kinds of places to eat, so once you get there you have plenty of choices.
My only complaints are the lack of use of the trail and the need for crushed limestone. The trail is really nice and we really did not see any use. With all that infrastructure people should take advantage of it being there and the towns and the county should try to highlight it more. The trail cover is more of a sandy material, not like the typical crushed limestone. When it is dry you can lose traction pretty easily and you will slide. Be careful with that. There is also an issue with the mile markers. It seems like you go from mile 1 to mile 4 with no 2 or 3.
Beautiful shady trail with a few sunny sections riding on freshly mowed grass. Nice flora and historical signage. We began at Roanoke Lake day use Park, rode to River Falls Park in Weldon and back. Fairly well maintained, but it could use better signage for getting on the trail at each end.
Rode from Evans Creek trailhead to LaCrosse and back. It was after heavy rain, so Trail was smooth, if a little heavy to pedal through. We were the ONLY people on the trail. I’m also a horsewoman, and it looks like a great trail to ride on too! The birding was fantastic. We aren’t fussy, just like a nice ride. Highly recommend. PS: if we cyclists want more rail trails, we need to use trails like this one, and visit local businesses. It might not be perfect for some, but if we want more, we need to show the economic advantages to having these trails!
I ride this trail pretty often. It's a awesome trail to ride. If you haven't checked it out you need to. It has some gourgous views of the Roanoke River and the trail is a good workout.
I mountain biked the entire section from Lacrosse to Lawrencville. Great adventure. You have to go west a mile then back to get that little piece out of the way, then go east!
20 miles for the entire section. Great ride, nothing too bad at all. I am new to biking and did it easily with breaks. First 5 or so miles are paved.... almost a blacktop type surface, then it switches to a hard pressed small gravel.
I did see evidence of horses but no damage to trail. Trail was marked well, but there was a time warp near the end when it said I had 5 miles left, then a mile later I was done. Trail ends in Lawrencville with no pomp and circumstance... it just ends.
Many bridges and creeks and you also go over the Meherrin River.
Only bad comment was the litter and trash the last 1 mile or so. They need to get a team in there and clean it up. It ruins the trip to have that be the last thing you see.
Had seen the photo of the vines growing over the trail and had to make a trip down from Richmond again. High for today was 84 degree and extremely muggy by noon. Probably not the best biking weather but I managed.
The trail condition was good other than being covered with leaves and of course the over-grown grass on the trail. The grass was mowed down but the crushed stone really needs to be dragged and repacked again to really clean it up again. The section with the foreign vine growth was cleaned up when I went through that area (posted photo).
Didn't see one other biker the whole trip and I only saw 6 walkers.
I did an extra 10 miles because 5 miles into the trail I realized I forgot my cellphone/camera so I had to turn around and pedal back to my vehicle.
My rating of the trail this trip is a 4 star. What would make it a 5? If they'd clean up the actual trail and get the grass out of it. And smooth and pack the crushed stone areas. If they added a few water supply areas, it would definitely be a 6 stars! Nice bathrooms but lacking water supplies along the way.
Overall I love this trail and it's worth my time to drive from Richmond to pedal it. I will continue to visit this trial in the future and look forward to more improvements to it.
Rode the trail today from Lawrenceville to Lacrosse and back. The riding surface was fine for me, riding an old road bike with 25mm tires. Could see where some sections could get churned by horse hooves, but even after yesterdays rain, wasn't an issue. Looking forward to when I can ride all the way to Clarksville!
The first 9 miles were awesome. Trail was well maintained an very clean. after mile post 9.5 a few spots on the trail had become overgrown. Between mile post 12 to around 14 the hoof prints were so bad it was like riding on railroad tracks. Great scenery. Parked at Evans creek trail head, very clean & well maintained.
This review applies to the section from LaCrosse eastward. The unpaved section that starts approximately 5 miles east of LaCrosse appears to be heavily used by horses. The hoof prints make this very bumpy and is NOT recommended for biking. I ride on some trails that have not so great conditions but after a mile on the unpaved section I turned around. It was too bone jarring.
I hiked from the trailhead in Lawrenceville to my pickup location in South Hill (~18 miles). The trail technically ends in Lacrosse, but its a short walk down the road to a main commercial hub in South Hill. Like others who have reviewed this hike, I didnt park at the trailhead in Lawrenceville because it was pretty secluded. I felt better parking at the Sunoco gas station around the corner. The trail is well marked and well-maintained. I only ran into 3 other people on the entire trip (I hiked on a Wednesday). There are a few restrooms along the way, but NO WATER STOPS. Remember to bring plenty of water with you. The trail goes behind a gas station in Brodnax where you can refill. I hiked in late June and there were a few areas of the trail that went through low, wet and cool areas that were pretty "buggy". Remember to bring your bug spray as the mosquitoes and Mayflies were pretty bad. The trail is paved from Brodnax to LaCrosse (great for bikes, but hard on your feet if wearing hiking boots). There are signs along the way with historical information that I found to be very interesting. There isn't much in the way of scenic views, but the trail does offer peace and quiet.
Short trail, but came from the Centennial Sportsplex so that added some mileage. I road a hybrid without a cyclometer. Great trail if your kids are tied up at the park. You can loop around to beef it out if you'd like. Trail connects up a lot of neighbor parks. I recommend. Kiosks all over that show trail map. Could still have been better marked.
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