Find the top rated bike trails in Bristol, whether you're looking for an easy short bike trail or a long bike trail, you'll find what you're looking for. Click on a bike trail below to find trail descriptions, trail maps, photos, and reviews.
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The Beaver Creek Dam Trail gets its name from the circa-1905 Beaver Dam Railroad, which it follows through the southwestern Virginia town of Damascus. A highlight of the route is the trail's...
The South Fork New River Greenway offers a winding, paved pathway through the town of Boone, nestled in the Blue Ridge Mountains of North Carolina. Brookshire Park is at the northern end of the trail...
The Powell River Trail is a 2.4-mile out-and-back trail in Appalachia, southwestern Virginia. The trail sits on the former Louisville & Nashville Railroad bed, which was used to haul coal from...
Opened in 2017, this asphalt trail follows the bends of the north fork of the Powell River from the River Bend Shopping Center in downtown Pennington Gap, to Leeman field. An arched bridge connects...
The Erwin Linear Trail (a.k.a. the Erwin Greenway) parallels I-26 along North Indian Creek and Nolichucky waterways for 4 miles. The trail is paved and mostly flat, coursing through the Cherokee...
Boone Greenway is a hidden gem in the town of Boone, and each step traveled takes to across different settings, with nature, history and culture all on display. The trail traverses the town, winding,...
The Bull Creek Pedestrian and Bike Trail, which will one day run 3 miles, lies in the coal-mining country of western Virginia. Following the route of a former Norfolk Southern coal train, the first...
The Laurel Creek Trail takes travelers into the Cherokee National Forest in Johnson County. There is no shortage of scenery in this wildlife rich-haven, where rushing waters slice through serene...
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The Wes Davis Greenway follows a portion of abandoned rail line that once ran from Bluff City, TN, to Mendota, VA. The greenway crosses Beaver Creek at two points. This linear park features the...
The Mendota Trail will one day stretch the entire length of the former Southern Railroad corridor between Mendota and Bristol, a total of 12.5 miles. At present there are two segments. The northern...
The Railroad Grade Road is a 10-mile road built on an old railroad grade that was once part of the Virginia-Carolina Railroad (Virginia Creeper). This part of the Virginia Creeper line was abandoned...
Nestled into the recreational playground of northeastern Tennessee, a homespun pathway connects two charming towns in the Appalachian foothills. The Tweetsie Trail links Johnson City, home to East...
The Guest River Gorge Trail meanders along 300-million-year-old sandstone cliffs that plunge 400 feet to the pristine waters below. The deep gorge was created as the Guest River, now designated as a...
The Benham Rail Trail—also known as the Benham Walking Trail and Coal Miners Walking Trail—runs east to west across the small town of Benham on a former railroad corridor. The line, which was...
The Kingsport Greenbelt runs 8 miles along the Holston River and Reedy Creek through the city of Kingsport. It is touted as both a historic and fitness trail, passing by Civil War sites, historic...
The Powell River Trail is a 2.4-mile out-and-back trail in Appalachia, southwestern Virginia. The trail sits on the former Louisville & Nashville Railroad bed, which was used to haul coal from...
The Laurel Creek Trail takes travelers into the Cherokee National Forest in Johnson County. There is no shortage of scenery in this wildlife rich-haven, where rushing waters slice through serene...
Opened in 2017, this asphalt trail follows the bends of the north fork of the Powell River from the River Bend Shopping Center in downtown Pennington Gap, to Leeman field. An arched bridge connects...
The Erwin Linear Trail (a.k.a. the Erwin Greenway) parallels I-26 along North Indian Creek and Nolichucky waterways for 4 miles. The trail is paved and mostly flat, coursing through the Cherokee...
The Beaver Creek Dam Trail gets its name from the circa-1905 Beaver Dam Railroad, which it follows through the southwestern Virginia town of Damascus. A highlight of the route is the trail's...
Nestled into the recreational playground of northeastern Tennessee, a homespun pathway connects two charming towns in the Appalachian foothills. The Tweetsie Trail links Johnson City, home to East...
The Kingsport Greenbelt runs 8 miles along the Holston River and Reedy Creek through the city of Kingsport. It is touted as both a historic and fitness trail, passing by Civil War sites, historic...
The South Fork New River Greenway offers a winding, paved pathway through the town of Boone, nestled in the Blue Ridge Mountains of North Carolina. Brookshire Park is at the northern end of the trail...
The Wes Davis Greenway follows a portion of abandoned rail line that once ran from Bluff City, TN, to Mendota, VA. The greenway crosses Beaver Creek at two points. This linear park features the...
The Railroad Grade Road is a 10-mile road built on an old railroad grade that was once part of the Virginia-Carolina Railroad (Virginia Creeper). This part of the Virginia Creeper line was abandoned...
The Guest River Gorge Trail meanders along 300-million-year-old sandstone cliffs that plunge 400 feet to the pristine waters below. The deep gorge was created as the Guest River, now designated as a...
Boone Greenway is a hidden gem in the town of Boone, and each step traveled takes to across different settings, with nature, history and culture all on display. The trail traverses the town, winding,...
The Bull Creek Pedestrian and Bike Trail, which will one day run 3 miles, lies in the coal-mining country of western Virginia. Following the route of a former Norfolk Southern coal train, the first...
The Benham Rail Trail—also known as the Benham Walking Trail and Coal Miners Walking Trail—runs east to west across the small town of Benham on a former railroad corridor. The line, which was...
The Mendota Trail will one day stretch the entire length of the former Southern Railroad corridor between Mendota and Bristol, a total of 12.5 miles. At present there are two segments. The northern...
The Mendota Trail will one day stretch the entire length of the former Southern Railroad corridor between Mendota and Bristol, a total of 12.5 miles. At present there are two segments. The northern...
The Bull Creek Pedestrian and Bike Trail, which will one day run 3 miles, lies in the coal-mining country of western Virginia. Following the route of a former Norfolk Southern coal train, the first...
The Erwin Linear Trail (a.k.a. the Erwin Greenway) parallels I-26 along North Indian Creek and Nolichucky waterways for 4 miles. The trail is paved and mostly flat, coursing through the Cherokee...
Opened in 2017, this asphalt trail follows the bends of the north fork of the Powell River from the River Bend Shopping Center in downtown Pennington Gap, to Leeman field. An arched bridge connects...
Boone Greenway is a hidden gem in the town of Boone, and each step traveled takes to across different settings, with nature, history and culture all on display. The trail traverses the town, winding,...
The Laurel Creek Trail takes travelers into the Cherokee National Forest in Johnson County. There is no shortage of scenery in this wildlife rich-haven, where rushing waters slice through serene...
The Railroad Grade Road is a 10-mile road built on an old railroad grade that was once part of the Virginia-Carolina Railroad (Virginia Creeper). This part of the Virginia Creeper line was abandoned...
The Kingsport Greenbelt runs 8 miles along the Holston River and Reedy Creek through the city of Kingsport. It is touted as both a historic and fitness trail, passing by Civil War sites, historic...
The Wes Davis Greenway follows a portion of abandoned rail line that once ran from Bluff City, TN, to Mendota, VA. The greenway crosses Beaver Creek at two points. This linear park features the...
Nestled into the recreational playground of northeastern Tennessee, a homespun pathway connects two charming towns in the Appalachian foothills. The Tweetsie Trail links Johnson City, home to East...
The Powell River Trail is a 2.4-mile out-and-back trail in Appalachia, southwestern Virginia. The trail sits on the former Louisville & Nashville Railroad bed, which was used to haul coal from...
The Guest River Gorge Trail meanders along 300-million-year-old sandstone cliffs that plunge 400 feet to the pristine waters below. The deep gorge was created as the Guest River, now designated as a...
The South Fork New River Greenway offers a winding, paved pathway through the town of Boone, nestled in the Blue Ridge Mountains of North Carolina. Brookshire Park is at the northern end of the trail...
The Benham Rail Trail—also known as the Benham Walking Trail and Coal Miners Walking Trail—runs east to west across the small town of Benham on a former railroad corridor. The line, which was...
The Beaver Creek Dam Trail gets its name from the circa-1905 Beaver Dam Railroad, which it follows through the southwestern Virginia town of Damascus. A highlight of the route is the trail's...
Note: this is a public road and not a 'rail trail' where cars are prohibited.
We started at the intersection of Hwy 21 and Railroad Grade Road on the Fleetwood side, mid-morning on a Tuesday. We parked off the side of the road as there was no designated parking area here. We should have driven on about 3/4 mile to a gravel lot across from the Fleetwood Post Office and parked there (assuming that is allowed). The first 3/4 mile from the intersection with Hwy 21 is very steep downhill, narrow, with blind curves... not the safest conditions for bicycles; also some traffic. It was quite an ascent at the end of our return trip. Next time we will avoid this section.
Railroad Grade Rd. branches off to the left about 1/4 mile past the Fleetwood Post Office. Here the road becomes 'unimproved', which means it is chip seal without any painted lines. I would call this the trail road. I saw at least one previous review that mentioned heavy traffic. We did not encounter heavy traffic on this section of the road during our ride... car or bicycle. The riverside scenery is beautiful. We were particularly impressed with a large Christmas tree farm. There is a gradual incline to Todd but hardly noticeable. We would definitely do this ride again.
The “Creeper” is a nationally recognized rail trail in southwest Virginia. People of all riding abilities can ride parts of this trail; it’s downhill from Whitetop to Damascus and you can get a shuttle to the top of the mountain! There are 46 bridges or trestles along this 34 mile pastoral ride between Whitetop and Abingdon, Virginia. Definitely worth a visit. We did a YouTube video of our ride that you can find on our channel, Bent on Bike Trails.
Whitetop down to Damascus was a downright scary ride for me. When I was 15, I fell off my bike and broke my jaw -- this ride brought back that memory almost the whole way down. The scenery, however, was gorgeous. Would MUCH prefer to have hiked this, even part of it vs what we did. We had ridden the Abingdon to Damascus leg a few months ago, and that was a really nice ride. Thia surprised us both!
Started at Johnson City entrance and rode to Sycamore Shoals near Elizabethton. Excellent surface and very wide. Next day, started in Elizabethton. Narrower trail with lots or barriers because trail crosses city streets.
The first 4-5 miles from Johnson City is some of the prettiest trail I've ridden on, the second half is nothing special. Slight up and down the whole time and very well maintained.
On October 6 2020, I pedaled round trip from Damascus, VA to Abingdon, VA on the Virginia Creeper Trail.
At Abingdon, I walked around town for an hour or so before making the return trip. Abingdon is a nice town with many historic buildings and markers that I enjoyed reading.
This part of the trail was uncrowded and has a lot of nice-to-beautiful scenery.
I had planned to ride a 2nd day on the trail, doing a round trip from Damascus to the end of the trail at Whitetop, but after seeing the crowds that were taking the shuttle to Whitetop, I changed my plans. I didn’t want to be pedaling uphill and having to avoid the crowds coming down. I was told by a couple of the shuttle drivers that I talked to that this is the most crowded time of year on the trail because people come to see the fall colors. Maybe I’ll return after the leaves have fallen to do the Damascus to Whitetop section.
Why 4 stars instead of 5? Partly because the Creeper Trail is over-hyped, so my expectations were sky high. It is a nice trail, but I much preferred the New River Trail (which I rode on October 9 and 10) because it is less crowded, has better scenery, and is better maintained than the Creeper.
I was so pleasantly surprised by this trail. It is paved and in great condition. There is a dog park, play ground, and restrooms. Also, very easy to access off of I-26. I will definitely return!!
Very nice trail for walking or biking.
The best section of this trail is from White Top mountain to Damascus Virginia, so just stay in Damascus and take a few rides from there. Get a shuttle to White Top stop for lunch, swimming or fishing in the creek. Later on, or even same day, you can ride from your vacation house to the Abingdon winery. My wife and I didn’t really want to ride back after a bottle of wine, but we did. It’s an easy ride. There’s also lots of other great , close by outdoors options from Damascus as well .
Great trail for all ages and riders. Will definitely be 5¿ when it's completed. Don't forget to stop by The Store @ Mendota.
Based on the previous reviews, I thought the traffic would be minimal. I couldn’t have been more wrong. I wanted to cut our run short due to the volume of traffic and little to no shoulder. There were tons of vehicles heading in and out of the drop points for the tubing on the river. People were whizzing by us despite the 35mph (which is still too fast for this road). The road is fairly exposed with no shade and there isn’t anything along the way like a store or gas station to replenish fluids. We started and Todd and hoped there was a convenience store or something in Fleetwood, but to our dismay there wasn’t. I would NOT recommend this route for running or biking.
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