Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
INTRODUCTION
Of the more than 1400 rail-trails across the US, 112 thread through the Mid-Atlantic
states of Delaware, Maryland, Virginia, and West Virginia. These routes relate a two-
part story: The first speaks to the early years of railroading, while the second show-
cases efforts by Rails-to-Trails Conservancy, other groups, and their supporters to re-
surrect these unused railroad corridors as public-use trails.
Rail-Trails: Mid-Atlantic
highlights 56 of the region's diverse trails, each serving
as a window into the communities the railroad once served. Some trails delve into the
particular history of an area, such as Virginia's Hanging Rock Battlefield Trail, which
tells of Civil War battles and the importance of the railroad to the troops. Other trails
tell a more docile tale, such as Maryland's Savage Mill Trail. At its trailhead stands a
renovated 1822 textile mill.
With the most trails of the region, West Virginia also boasts some of the most
rural and unique rail-trails. Not always the flat and even pathways you might expect
from rail-trails, West Virginia's trails offer a variety of backwoods treks such as the
Limerock and Otter Creek Wilderness trails of the Monongahela National Forest. To
compliment these rustic pathways are the well-groomed yet still wild and wonderful
Mountain State trails like the gorgeous and popular 77-mile Greenbrier River Trail,
or the paved, city trails of Morgantown.
Next door, Virginia is also a keeper of rail-trail gems. No guide to the area would
be complete without featuring the state's southern Virginia Creeper National Recre-
ation Trail or New River Trail. In the northern part of the state, right outside the bustle
of Washington, DC, the Washington and Old Dominion Railroad Regional Park takes
riders out of the city and into rolling farmland and horse country.
Washington, DC, itself is home to a portion of the Capital Crescent Trail, which
begins in suburban Maryland before heading to the historical and trendy Georgetown
neighborhood. And in the state best known for its crabs and waterways, Maryland's
Cross Island Trail is a coastal sojourn. The only closer you could get would be to
meander on Delaware's Junction and Breakwater Trail, which sits in the heart of the
state's recreational beach area.
No matter which route in
Rail-Trails: Mid-Atlantic
you decide to try, you'll be
touching on the heart of the community that helped build it and the history that first
brought the rails to the region.
What is a Rail-Trail?
Rail-trails are multiuse public paths built along former railroad corridors. Most
often flat or following a gentle grade, they are suited to walking, running, cycling,
