I love this trail! Rode it on 3/14/24 when weather was 62 degrees. This trail is short but can be expanded if you cross the metal bridge by the brewery and take the road to the left leading to the Fish Research Hatchery on the opposite side of the canal. If you meander through the little neighborhood on that side as well you can extend it further and get another view of the old mill complexes. I get 20 miles out of the ride. Bring a lunch there are picnic tables on both sides!
Wonderful trail that still isn’t super crowded yet like the Virginia Creeper trail is. Nice trailhead in Bristol with plenty of parking. The Mendota trailhead is an open field so parking is not a problem. We like to ride from Mendota to Bristol to get the climbing over first. It is a drive to Mendota from the interstate but it is a pretty drive. Well worth the trip. You won’t regret it
We were in Bridgeport today and decided to check out the trail starting from the east end. There is no parking right at the trailhead but there is parking across North Virginia Ave at a small park area. After crossing N Virginia and Water St there is a nice metal footbridge across Simpson Creek and after a short walk on Railroad St you are at the trail. The entire trail is nicely paved and just an overall pleasant experience. We were there in mid-March and the area was covered with the green leaves and yellow flowers of lesser celandine which were very pretty. There were a few people on the trail and it was relatively quiet. The trail goes up and down some and is near an active railroad which appears not to get a lot of use. After about 3/4 mile you reach the Bridgeport City Park which looks very nice and has a trail around it also. Of course you could park at this end and start also. No where along the trail is it named and some places have it listed as the Bridgeport City Park Trail. Only four stars because it's so short. If you're in the area and want a quick little walk, give this a try.
I am training for the Virginia Creeper Marathon https://www.creepermarathon.org/ on 4/7/24 and love this section of the trail. It is through woods and farmland, along a river, and over more than a dozen trestles. There are good parking and restroom facilities along this route. Looking forward to the marathon!
Rode this trail by bike and by car. Overgrown with Mangoes and underbrush. Very boring cannot see a darn thing Rode up to Sebastian state park and going over bridge ( over the inlet) is unprotected and windy and dangerous park ranger Whois a local resident advised not go over bridge. She also only gave us a 30 minutes pass to ride thru the state park.
Really enjoyed riding here. Wish the one big road crossing wasn't as daunting but overall a great trail with several parks to visit! Will def come back
It is too bad the asphalt has cracked. A great effort was made to have a nice trail but the cracks were enough to make it rough riding. That is the reason such a low rating. I also question why most of the trees have been cut down.
We really enjoyed this ride. Since we rode in March there was not any foliage on trees or landscape. But the trail condition was smooth sailing all the way.
Be sure to plan around wildfire smoke in the late summer.
Beautiful, no homeless, gang tags, excessive graffiti or garbage. Pure nature at its best!
Beautiful, no homeless, gang tags, excessive graffiti or garbage. Pure nature at its best!
Very nice ride. We parked at Green Lane and rode to Swenksville. Stopped at Perikomen Bicycle Shop along the trail, friendly staff. There is an ice cream shop along the trail too.
The bike path is really a sidewalk down the peninsula. As you ride there are rows of houses to the left obscuring any water view and 3 rows of houses to the right obscuring any ocean view. Every 50 to 100 feet there is a crossroad with a bike stop sign so don’t expect to get any long pedaling in. If you like stop and wait and go crossroads this is for you! The homes you see are typical beach houses, all new builds, nothing spectacular. The business sections look a little run down. It is hardly worth taking the bikes off the car let alone driving all the way there. If you don’t mind leaving your bike and walking thru a beach access, the ocean view is pretty. But this trail can be scratched from your list. Sorry. We wanted to like it.
I started at the Trailhead sign in Russellville and headed north. There is an a gravel section suitable for parking near the Trailhead sign. I will point that there were "No Parking" signs here. I believe it meant "No Parking" on the grass area, but it was ambiguous. I went ahead and parked there anyways without issue.
I ran north all the way to the Trailhead sign in Nallen. The path is mostly flat, well maintained, and very suitable for running. I ran a faster "tempo" run without issue.
I love that this trail is here and I ride it often, but the section between Manning and Buxton is becoming unpleasant to ride because of neglected upkeep. As has been noted in other reviews, the bridge transitions are dangerous if you are unaware and hit them at speed (which is likely on the steep downhill run below Buxton). Also in that area, tree roots have pushed the asphalt into ridges big enough to unseat you or to bounce your chain off. Many of these are hard to see in shady areas. There’s a section just above the Manning trailhead where the asphalt has been torn up and heavily grooved for years. I recently met a rider in that area pushing his bike back to the Manning car park with a shredded road tire. I am sure money is tight. Although I want to see new trails built, I would not want it to result in neglecting to maintain this regional gem of a trail, particularly the heavily used lower half of it.