This was such a pleasant ride! We started at the north end at the Xaloy Way parking lot. We rode south for 8-10 miles and loved the shady, well maintained path. We saw 2 does and a red fox along the way. The ride back was equally pleasant.

Always a great and beautiful ride! Streams, waterfalls, lots of trestles, shade - it’s great.

I rode a central portion this trail with my 17 year-old daughter on Saturday May 28, 2022 on a beautiful sunny day with temperatures in the low 80s. We started at MP 24 near Foster Falls and rode to MP 37 past the dam, then doubled back. We made SEVERAL stops to enjoy the scenery and read the signs. I had been meaning to do the trail for many years, and was finally able to combine it into a 4-day long-weekend with three separate rail trail adventures across Virginia. The New River Trail benefits greatly from its status as a Virginia State Park. There are multiple access points with parking, plentiful water and restrooms, and a wide variety of user groups. I had never seen so many horseback riders as I did on this day! The gravel trail is wide and in excellent condition given the many users. We had a wet spring in April and May, and the trail was wet in places with mud - but in no place was it washed out. For the 13 route miles that we saw there was near-constant tree coverage, which kept us generally shaded and cool. Trail users were friendly and courteous. I will definitely come back to this trail to see the remainder - and perhaps do some bikepacking.

Hiked alone on 5/21/22, very easy flat trail. My hike started at the SW trailhead to the descent where the railroad tressel was located, rested and returned to car. This area is very isolated, did not see another person on this nearly 3 hr hike. Several reviews complained about how poorly maintained the trail was, my experience was this trail is no worse maintained than most grass/dirt rail trails I have hiked.

I rode this trail today after riding the Rend Trail. Well, I rode the 1.2 miles closest to Southside Junction, at least. There are two basic options for starting on this side. The only way to avoid crossing the tracks is to park at the Rend Trailhead, ride that trail, and carry your bike down the Arbuckle Connector. It's mostly rock steps, not rideable, and thus it's carrying your bike down 300 feet of election over less than a mile. But it avoids the tracks, and is how I got there.

The other is starting either at the Rend Trailhead or Thurmond and crossing the tracks. Today, a CSX crew was welding the tracks on the Thurmond side, and all signals were red as a result, but most days there are likely trails rolling through. Realistically, I expect anyone starting at the north end and traversing the whole length will want to cross the tracks and explore Thurmond, and I didn't see a reason to expect it to be any more hazardous than crossing the tracks near my grandparents' house. Why hasn't the NPS put more emphasis on making an official crossing? That is a great segway into the trail itself.

Between the Arbuckle Connector and the tracks, the trail is wide enough, and directly parallels decades-abandoned track. It's scenic, and in one section there were flowers dropped from trees all along the ground. But it's also not exactly well maintained. I had to dismount and duck my bike under one tree, and lift it over three others (two of them grouped together). It's clear that active maintenance of this trail isn't a high priority, which is likely related to why an official crossing at the southern end hasn't been a high priority.

North of the Arbuckle Connector, the trail narrows into a singletrack, and I eventually hit a lengthy mud patch that I decided was not worth traversing.

You do get some views of the New River that you don't on the Rend Trail, but none that beat what you can get from the pedestrian observation points on the bridge into Thurmond. Overall, if you're starting from the south, the Rend Trail is the better bargain even with the trestle out, at least in the spring. Maybe in August there wouldn't be mud, and the Southside would be more traversable.

I'll also note that despite rating this trail 3/5, I'd still very much recommend a day exploring Thurmond, the Rend Trail, and if time permits the Southside Trail. But Thurmond should be the main draw, not the trails, and given their short lengths and rough terrain, it doesn't really make sense to haul bikes there if you don't already have them loaded onto your car for another destination.

I rode the southern part of the Rend Trail today, up to the second trestle, which unfortunately remains closed due to being "critically structurally deficient". I am not an engineer, but it appeared that the steel substructure under the second section of the deck (from the south end) has slipped from its intended position. Unfortunately, it's probably very expensive to fix something like that in such a remote area.

As for the rest of the trail? It's quite scenic. Beautiful forest and mountain views. Sheer drops off to the east that are steep enough I'd need a topo map to tell you how far they drop, and equally steep mountain on the west side. Coal baron Rend built the trail in 1901-1904 for $350,000, and it's no wonder it cost so much, it's a small wonder the trail exists at all. Many rail lines have small areas that are challenging, more so in West Virginia, but on this one pretty much the whole route would be challenging to build.

Thus, TrailLink is correct that this is, technically, a rail-trail. But the farther you get from the southern trailhead, the less it feels like one. It gets narrower, eventually becoming a singletrack through a short meadow before opening up a bit before the closed trestle. It's also about 240 feet of elevation gain from the base to the closed trestle, which is officially 1.27 miles. The plus side is that you could likely coast most of the way back, but it's definitely rougher than the nice, crushed-limestone covered rail trail you may be expecting if you've ridden the Greenbrier River Trail.

There's also a Church "Loop" trail that you can hike from the Rend Trail, which takes you to the Thurmond Baptist Church, which from the exterior appears to be in fairly good condition for being in the middle of the woods. I put the "Loop" in quotes since I couldn't figure out how to make a loop out of it. It is definitely not bike-accessible, and still has some trees down across the trail from the hurricane last fall.

In summary, this trail is best combined with exploring Thurmond, and perhaps some of the other short, nearby trails. Expect some work but also some nice scenery, and you'll likely ride away happy.

We spent three days May 10-12 riding the New River Trail. We stayed in Galax at the New River Trail Cabins, which were great.
Day 1 we rode from Galax-Byllseby Dam-Fries and back to Galax...~41 miles round trip.
Day 2 we drove to Foster Falls and rode from Foster Falls to Byllseby Dam and back, which was ~28 miles round trip.
Day 3 we drove to Draper and rode from Draper to Foster Falls and back which was ~38 miles round trip.
The trail is in excellent condition and the views of the river are amazing. There are significant rock formations along the cliffs of the trail. Some of the pictures of the rock formations do not capture the scale of these rock formations. Most of the trail is very remote so it is very peaceful and you only hear the sound of the water.
We came across a billy goat at Buck Dam, which was something new and was also saw an eagle flying at Foster Falls.

If you’re a strong male and have a weapon, it’s a cool trail to be on. If you’re a single woman who isn’t a martial arts expert, I would advise against it. The parking area has a lot of nefarious looking people loitering about. When I first pulled up there were two cop cars questioning shady looking people. Sad that a nice trail is in such a bad area

Spectacular scenery, especially the first 12 mi from Damascus to Whitetop. We rode hybrid ebikes, up and back, and the trail conditions were rougher than other rail trails we’ve ridden- but it might have been better with different tires or later in the season. A beautiful sunny day, but not many other riders on the trail this time of year.