Find the top rated hike trails in Bedford, whether you're looking for an easy short hike trail or a long hike trail, you'll find what you're looking for. Click on a hike trail below to find trail descriptions, trail maps, photos, and reviews.
My wife and I rode the Jackson River Scenic Trail over two days in late summer, Intervale to Smith Bridge the first day and Smith Bridge to the end on the second. We thoroughly enjoyed this trail. The trail was shady, scenic and peaceful. It is one of the widest, flattest and smoothest rail-trails I've ever been on, perfect for kids or casual riders who don't like incessant bumps or grinding grades. The trail is well equipped with picnic areas and restrooms. (No interpretive signage however; it would be a nice upgrade to showcase the human and natural history of the area.) Two of the best sights are located just off the trail. A small sign will direct you to a suspension footbridge over the river. It's well worth the detour to bounce over the bridge. (A sign warns you not to bounce, but just walking across the thing sets it into motion!) Just below the Smith Bridge parking area is the decommissioned Smith Bridge, open to foot traffic only. It offers big views of the river. A couple of caveats: 1) While the trail traces the river for most of its length, there are no places to get wet directly on the trail. A public access area just off the trail at Smith Bridge has a shallow area perfect for getting wet. 2) The lower portion of the trail is located a few miles from a huge paper mill. Depending on weather conditions, you may smell it.
The High Bridge trail is a great trail with a truly amazing experience as you traverse the bridge. There are three pull offs on the bridge that allow you to stop and view the wonderful landscape. The trail mileage is based on distance from the bridge both East and West, so for example if you start in Farmville, VA you'll be at West 5 miles. The new visitor center on the East side in the State Park is almost complete and was built to look just like the train station in Farmville. I would image it will house historical items on the rail and Civil War. Also, the trail provides a bonus with a Civil War-era fort (Fort Paradise) with plaques explaining the historical significance. I rode my Trek Cyclocross with 700x32 tires and was fine. Definitely looking to go back in the Fall.
Paul and I are continuing our RV travels and crossing off bike trails from our bucket list along the way. Today we rode the VA Blue Ridge trail. Beautiful, natural trail with crushed stone path (I would have preferred asphalt), but it wasn't bad. I just had to be careful and watch for rocks and kept praying I didn't pop a tire. Off road or hybrid bikes do fine. I ride a Lectric Trike with wider tires and husband rides a hybrid type bike and did fine. It is nicely shaded about 95% of the way. No road noise. Two rivers parallel the path making nice scenery. Some ladies ahead of us spotted a beautiful black bear walking along the shore of the river and got a great video clip. We had a deer cross in front of us. Benches are scattered along the trail. The only thing I would change would be asphalt instead of crushed stone but otherwise a great trail to ride!
While this trail largely follows Garden City Blvd SE, there are some spots on it that are scenic and away from traffic. It mostly consists of a steady climb to the end of the trail, but the first three quarters of a mile is relatively flat with one climb at the quarter mile marker. The trail is plenty wide enough for passing and is paved in its entirety. There is a small park on the trail and park just off of the trail behind the elementary school. Because it is an off shoot from Roanoke River Greenway traffic is lighter than the main greenway. There is shade on about half of the trail. The biggest concern is on Wednesday’s it’s garbage day so there is usually garbage cans and other refuse waiting to be collected.
What can I say, pleasant ride, 5 stars, will be returning soon enough to ride again.
We have been on a lot of rail trails, scenic yes... but not for the average rider...
We rode this a 2nd time and it is so nice. Love the artwork. You ride right by Black Dog Salvage. Mostly level, not crowded. You can see the STAR from trail.
This is a great trail. It has many access points to the river which my dog loved. She began recognizing the access points because she loves the water. Not too busy on Celebrate Trails Day. Only passed a few people. Beautiful trail to enjoy water, flowers, quiet, and nature!
Great trail for our first RTC bike. Trail nicely maintained. Saw some wildlife and great views of the river.
This is a different type of trail that we normally ride. Normal to us is a wide paved or hard packed surface. Half of this is fairly wide hard packed or loose gravel. There are areas that are single or double lanes from a foot wide or more. For old folks like us it was challenging but not overwhelming The trail does travel next to a river, rock walls, forests, open fields and through cow pastures. Yep, cow pastures. The cows in the middle of the trail are easy to see and navigate around. They don’t seem to mind passersby’s. Their plops are more of a challenge, they are everywhere. Again, manageable. The biggest bother to me was opening the several gates along the way. You just can’t get a rhythm going. All that factored in the scenery, cows, deer, and eagles along the way was way cool. Even though it wasn’t the type of trail we normally ride, the difference was was both challenging and enjoyable. We rode the complete length. challenge challenge
We biked the Jackson River Scenic Trail in a day, out and back. Beautiful trail! We stayed at Rosewood Manor in Covington, which gave us easy access to trail head. We were so hungry biking and stumbled across “Restaurant” sign, near a gazebo. We biked a bit (1/2mike) crossing an old, but safe bridge and up a bit of a hill to discover the golf course bar/grill. Good bar food, friendly staff, cold beer. We were so happy to find food! Check it out! We highly recommend it!
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