Find the top rated cross country skiing trails in Elizabethton, whether you're looking for an easy short cross country skiing trail or a long cross country skiing trail, you'll find what you're looking for. Click on a cross country skiing trail below to find trail descriptions, trail maps, photos, and reviews.
Yesterday we took our first official ride on our newly purchased Velotric bikes! We rode a total of 32 miles from Abingdon, Va to Damascus, Va and back! The trail was very well maintained! We felt at ease the entire way with the trail conditions. There are many beautiful sites on this trail as you experience farmland, alpacas, cattle, river and streams, and mountain views! Such a beautiful ride! We met some awesome people along the way also! We discussed our bikes, the trail, other trails, etc! We also enjoyed some fabulous food and service! In Damascus, I highly recommend The Cottage Cafe! This is a quaint Irish Pub! The owners, staff, food and beverage are AWESOME! Same goes for 128 Pecan in Abingdon, where we enjoyed a WONDERFUL dinner!
Rented bikes locally in Damascus from Blue Blaze. The ride was beyond our expectations. Rolling countryside through farms was breathtaking. Will return once other half of trail has had repairs completed. Highly recommend!
My son and I rode this on a drizzly Monday, so pretty much had the entire trail to ourselves. We left a car in Bristol, drove to Mendota and rode one way. If you do that, know the drive will take a while on some narrow backroads. Also be aware that the trail from N to S is a steady climb; even a 3% grade can wear you down after 10 miles. The trail is almost all gravel, and the road crossings are mostly across dirt roads. There’s a stop with water at mile 5.5 heading north, mile 7 heading south.
The first section out of Bristol is nice pavement. Then you hit about half mile of chunky rock. After that trail is great. Nice gravel. Lots of trees.
Absolutely beautiful ride! Loved all the long wooden trestle bridges and the gorgeous views. Trail was in excellent condition. I’ve ridden many trails throughout the USA and this one is definitely top 10. The only bummer was that the other 20 miles of the trail are still closed due to damage from Hurricane Helene. As soon as that section is repaired I’m definitely coming back to ride from White Mountain to Damascus.
The trail from the Johnson City isn't bad albeit mainly downhill until you get to G Street in Elizabethton... Once in Elizabethton the ride sucks due to numerous road crossing, dis-courteous drivers who park in the cross hatches.
The Creeper Trail is still one of my favorite trails. I love riding it from the Abington end and from the Damascus trailhead. Both are absolutely beautiful and well worth the trip.
I am also a local. To the tourist that think this is meant to be a trail—it’s a ROAD. people live here and are driving to and from work. we are constantly made late by people riding bikes and leisurely walking while refusing to let cars by and being hateful because they are out of towners who believe this to be a biking trail. i’m sorry but it’s just not, this road is dangerous enough as a vehicle coming up on another vehicle. that becomes disaster when there’s people standing in blind curves taking pictures and gawking when people are trying to go make a living and not be made late by out of touch tourists.
My friends and I meet at Lions Field in Elizabethton and take a vehicle to the trailhead in Johnson City where we start our 4 miler. The trail is wide enough for runners, bikers and walkers to navigate past each other safely and easily. The trail is chat/gravel and from the JC trailhead, mostly a gentle downgrade. This portion of the trail is scenic; woods, countryside, stream. The last 6 miles of the trail traverse Elizabethton and are mostly urban. The trail is heavily used, especially on weekends, from dawn to dusk. We do this run weekly and it’s one of my favorite trails.
Started at Johnson City trailhead. Trail descends toward Elizabethton resulting a climb back to Johnson City. The trail surface is crushed stone which is not smooth like hard-packed stone dust, so is a rough ride for road bikes.
We rode from Damascus to the end of the trail in Abingdon. The weather was sunny and mild, temps were in the high 60’s. Trail conditions were excellent. Traffic on the Creeper was brisk, even on Friday during the school year. This ride completed our previous ride from Damascus to White Top back in 2022. Maybe someday we will be able to ride the east end, a lot of work needs to be done to put the trail back together following Hurricane Helene. Be sure to visit the local stores in Damascus: Damascus Outfitters, Damascus Brewery, Appalachian Heritage Distillery, the Damascus Diner, Damascus Pizza, etc.
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