Life Outside Spring 2019 - 8

QUICKSTRIDES

SU CLAUSON WICKER

BLACKSBURG EXPANDS TRAIL OFFERINGS
The Huckleberry now extends 10 miles

HUCKLEBERRY REACHES BRUSH MOUNTAIN
Montgomery County's longest trail, the
Huckleberry, is filling in the final gap in
its paved path between Brush Mountain
in northwest Blacksburg and Christiansburg. By May 1, cyclists and hikers will be
able to travel the trail's 10-mile entirety.
The new stretch of trail and boardwalk
links the existing trail from Prices Fork
Road fire station to Linwood Lane and
Heritage Park on Glade Road. Trail users
who want to stay within Blacksburg
can trek a 6.5-mile section between the
downtown library and Brush Mountain.
From the library, the Huckleberry also
runs 8 miles east to the Christiansburg

Recreation Center. The trail splits immediately after passing under U.S. 460 in
Blacksburg, with one section going right
toward Prices Fork Road. The extension
toward Heritage Park continues from that
near Hethwood Square Shopping Center.
The trail is also undergoing an extension in Christiansburg, where the
path is set to stretch on to Christiansburg High School. Christiansburg officials are also pushing for a new trail
that will begin where the Huckleberry
ends near the recreation center and
continue in a southeastern direction
toward Roanoke Street.

FIRST MOUNTAIN BIKE SKILLS PARK
A long-awaited Blacksburg mountain bike
skills park is slated for completion by midApril. The new Blacksburg Rotary Mountain
Bike Park is perched on four acres of Brush
Mountain off Meadowbrook Road. It is strategically located beside Gateway Park at the
south end of the Huckleberry Trail.
Called the first mountain bike skills park
in Southwest Virginia, the series of trails,
jumps, and obstacles will appeal to riders
with a range of skills. The park includes
3,560 feet of downhill trails designed to
give riders a controlled place to practice
their bike-handling skills. It will serve as the
primary spot in the New River Valley where
beginners can go to learn mountain biking

Spring 2019 \\ LifeOutside Magazine

skills and intermediate and experienced
riders can enhance their skills. The Lynchburg-based Native Landworks company did
the construction.
The Blacksburg Rotary Mountain Bike Park
is a community effort led by Blacksburg Parks
and Recreation with funding provided in part
by the Blacksburg Rotary Club and more than
150 individuals and area businesses.
The park sits along trails leading into the
national forest toward the Pandapas Pond
recreation area. This site is the most popular access point to the Jefferson National
Forest within Blacksburg town limits. For
more information on the park visit http://
blacksburgmtbpark.org.

THE HUCKLEBERRY
The new connection to Brush Mountain
takes the trail's reach well beyond its
former length of 6.5 miles.

NEW TRAILS ON BRUSH MTN.

Mountain bikers will have new trails to ride
along the eastern side of Brush Mountain in
Blacksburg and Montgomery County before too
long. The New River Land Trust has received a
grant to buy 553 acres on Brush Mountain for
preservation and outdoor recreation, making
possible several trail loops to connect with the
existing Poverty Creek trail system.
The addition comes thanks to the controversial Mountain Valley Pipeline. Payments made
by the company to offset detrimental forest
impact caused by the pipeline construction were
used to acquire land bordering Blacksburg's
Gateway Park. According to Mountain Valley's
compensation plan, the New River Land Trust
used the bulk of a $1.2 million grant to buy the
private land, then transferred it to Montgomery
County and Blacksburg to preserve as a forested
public park. The park will be a community wild
space, accessible by a system of multi-use trails
for recreation and nature-based educational
programs.
The Poverty Creek Trails Coalition, which
helped the New River Land Trust in applying
for the grant, will assist the town and county
in designing and building hiking, biking, and
equestrian trails.
The New River Land Trust has conserved or
helped to conserve more than 51,000 acres of
open and natural space since 2002.

-SU CLAUSON WICKER

http://http:// http://www.blacksburgmtbpark.org

Life Outside Spring 2019

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