Life Outside Spring 2019 - 36

INDUSTRY VS. PRESERVATION
Understanding the importance of natural resource
extraction in this region is key to understanding how
Breaks Interstate Park even came to exist. With a
modern-day pedigree dating back to Daniel Boone's
1767 "discovery" while searching for a more direct
passage between Kentucky and the Ohio River Valley,
the Breaks is framed by a rugged, impenetrable

Around the same time as the Battle of the
Breaks, the first public campaign to preserve
the region as wilderness was penned by John
Fox, Jr., a famous novelist and journalist, in
Scribner's Magazine. Fox's articles gained national attention and led to a concerted effort by
state politicians and advocates in both states to
preserve the region as a national park. The conservation effort did not gain traction, however,
until 1949 when Earle Clements, then Governor
of Kentucky, toured the Breaks. After his tour,
and a snafu on the poor, muddy roads that led
to the area, the Virginia Highway Commission
approved funding for a paved Route 80 and, in
1954, Virginia and Kentucky agreed to a bi-state
compact to open Breaks Interstate Park.

A PARK FOR THE PEOPLE

THE ZIP LINE
It was installed in 2017, and
rides you 2,000 feet above the
canyon.

canyon wedged between the Russell Fork River
and Pine Mountain. While the canyon deterred
initial rail passages between Virginia and Kentucky,
enterprising companies devised unique and efficient
ways to harvest the old growth forest of its poplar
trees and float them downstream to rail towns.
As part of this innovation, upstream of the park, in
1909, the world's first concrete splash dam was built
in the river in order to facilitate the movement
of logs downstream. Around the same time,
the infamous Battle of the Breaks was
waged between the C&O Railway and
the Clinchfield Railroad to determine
who would have the first access to survey
and build a railway through the Breaks.
In the end, the Clinchfield Railroad was
successful, and by 1915, coal and timber
could efficiently be moved between Virginia and the Ohio River Valley.
During this period, the area that now
comprises the park was relatively untouched
by industry. While forestry activities certainly occurred inside the modern-day boundaries of the
park, no coal was ever mined. Unlike the rest of
southwest Virginia, Pine Mountain's coal seam is
vertical, not horizontal, rendering it almost impossible to economically mine. Because of this, the area
naturally served as a place for loggers, miners, railway
employees and their families to picnic and recreate.

From the beginning, Breaks Interstate Park was
designed with both tourists and the local community
in mind. Throughout the rise and the fall of the
coalfields region, Breaks has stood the test of time,
offering a place for everyone, regardless of income
or social status, to relax and play.
Everything within the park is accessible to
visitors of all ages and abilities. Well-maintained
roads snake through the park's boundaries, offering
easy access to the seven scenic overlooks that line
the canyon. While a lodge provides simple hotel
rooms for those wanting more creature comforts
than an RV or tent campsite allows, the campsites
themselves are large and private, well shaded and
within easy walking distance of a restroom and
showers. Although I chose to tent camp on an
arguably frigid night replete with snow flurries,
the site itself was one of the best I've

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Spring 2019 \\ LifeOutside Magazine

ever camped in Virginia-flat and outfitted with
two fire pits and, importantly, nary a rumbling
generator in earshot.
Most of the 25 miles of trails could be considered
easy by anyone's standards. All are relatively short,
with many clocking in at less than a quarter of a
mile, with minimal grade. The park, after all, is
perched on top of Pine Mountain, overlooking the
canyon. Other amenities like the park's large leisure

Life Outside Spring 2019

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Life Outside Spring 2019