Life Outside Fall 2018 - 37

COURTESY GILES COUNTY TOURISM

Rd. near New River Mall. The park's three miles of
roller-coaster trails through the woods share real
estate with the Golden Hill Disc Golf Course. The
adjacent Frog Pond swimming pool takes the edge
off the summer sun.
The paved Huckleberry Trail, located behind
New River Mall, provides a sweet 8-mile jaunt for
cyclists, runners and hikers, passing a coal heritage park and playing leapfrog over Lick Run. The
trail passes over an active railroad
line, through the remnants of a
mining village, and along Virginia
Tech agricultural fields. The path
MOONLIGHT HIKE
from the mall to the Blacksburg
The Appalachian Trail
library also makes a good bike trek.
runs along Sugar
The Roam bike share program has
Run Mountain, at the
stationed a fleet of orange rental
horizon. Shot is from
bikes at the Blacksburg terminus
Blankenship Mountain.
for day use. If hunger pains hit at
mid-point, make a quarter-mile
detour to Warm Hearth RetireHIKER HAVEN
ment Village's Huckleberry Café
About 3,000 hikers trudge Giles
for scones.
County's 50 miles of Appalachian Trail each year.
Blacksburg's Gateway Trail (on Meadowbrook
Montgomery County can also claim three miles of Road) climbs a steep 1.5 miles up Brush Mountain
2,181-mile footpath. The Great Eastern Trail, the to connect with the Poverty Creek trail system.
nation's newest long distance path, stretches along From the top, hikers and intrepid mountain bikers
the western New River to join the AT near Narrows. can descend on Snakeroot, Jacob's Ladder or Horse
From the Glen Lyn bridge, hikers can trek a section Nettle trail to Poverty Creek Trail and loop back
of the riverside trail, called the Mary Ingles Trail, for a total of 6 to 7.5 miles. No dramatic overlooks
up to Shumate Falls rapids and into West Virginia. here, but it's a fantastic workout.
But the first trails a visitor arriving from the east
Pandapas Pond is a woodland pond circled by
is likely to experience are shorter, flatter paths close a one-mile wheelchair-accessible trail. A wooden
to the amenities of civilization. Mid-County Park boardwalk separates the pond from a small wetland
is located just west of Christiansburg on Cinnabar teeming with dragonflies, turtles and waterfowl.

KAYAK THE NEW
The river runs through Giles
County for 37 scenic miles.

LifeOutsideMag.com // Fall 2018

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Life Outside Fall 2018

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Life Outside Fall 2018