Biking the High Bridge Trail, Farmville, Virginia

• Date Biked: March 27, 2020
• Posted length: 31
• Total miles Tracked: 37 (out and back from Farmville to western end, then a short ride to see the bridge itself)
• Type of Trail: Rail trail, crushed limestone
• Conveniences: Farmville has bathrooms and a water fountain. There are picnic tables along the way, and multiple parking areas. Downtown Farmville had numerous restaurants and at least one bike shop very close to the trail. 
• Best Features: Flat, wide, and lightly trafficked, just a nice, satisfying ride.
• Worst Features: No water outside Farmville
• Wildlife spotted: Deer, snake, birds, bugs
• Vegetation: Red buds, flowering fruit trees, wildflowers, hardwood forests
• Associated Website: https://www.dcr.virginia.gov/state-parks/high-bridge-trail
• Primary Author: James

We've ridden the High Bridge Trail twice before. At 30 miles long from end to end, almost all unpaved, it's a bit long to tackle as a single ride. We can do 60 miles out and back on pavement, but pavement allows for a lot of coasting. Every uphill in one direction turns into downhill heading back. 

Most of the High Bridge trail is finely crushed limestone which absorbs momentum. There are long inclines, but they don't incline by much. Basically, heading out, you put in extra effort peddling up the inclines, then, coming back, you don't get to coast, because the incline isn't steep enough to counteract the crushed limestone slowing you to a halt if you stop peddling. For us, 30 miles on a surface like this feels like 40 or 50 miles paved. Also, you will have gravel in every nook and cranny of your biking gear by the end of the ride. 

Gravel filled shoe at the end of the ride. 

That said, there's nothing wrong with the High Bridge Trail's surface. It's actually a very well designed trail and Farmville definitely seems to view the trail as an important asset for their town. The town is pretty much dead center of the the trail and is the obvious starting point for any ride. Just be aware that the parking lot directly next to the trail isn't actually for the trail parking, but for local restaurants and other businesses. 

Farmville's trail head has very nice bathrooms and a water fountain. This is the only water you're going to find on the trail. There are pit toilets every five or six miles on most of the rest of the trail. The trail also has plenty of picnic tables along the way, though none are under shelters. 

On our previous two trips, we've headed for the main attraction of the trail, the actual High Bridge. This is a half-mile long former railroad bridge across the Appomattox River that has you biking above tree tops. It's a pretty awesome structure to ride across, and only about a 4 mile ride east of Farmville, but for this trip we wanted to see what was on the western end of the trail. It's sixteen miles to the trail's end near Pamplin, Virginia. What was there to see in that direction?

Not much, which is kind of glorious. Once you leave Farmville, you head into long miles of forests and farmlands. The closest thing to a town you'll encounter is Prospect, which is a cluster of maybe a dozen houses. (There's also a convenience store about a quarter mile from the trail on 460, which is good to know if you didn't bring enough water!) Past Prospect, the trail runs fairly close to 460 for the remaining seven miles or so, but except for occasional glimpses and bits of road noise now and then it won't invade on your tranquility and isolation. 

The remnants of the train station in Prospect. 

The trail is so flat and straight you can stop and see for a mile or more in front and behind you and, at least on our ride, these miles are likely to be free of other people. For our 34 mile round trip, we passed maybe a dozen people, fewer than we'd pass in a quarter mile on trails in Durham and Raleigh. It's the sort of isolation and emptiness that gives you time to leave civilization behind and reconnect with the natural world. Especially in spring, with so much blooming, it's a beautiful ride. 

Still, if you were only in Farmville for a single day, don't kid yourself. You really want to head west and reach the bridge. It's gorgeous, and you get a similar "middle of nowhere" experience if you ride on to the end on that side of the trail. In fact, the western end doesn't even have a trail head. I just sort of  dead ends. You can see where the old railway carried on, but it's way too overgrown to try to push on. 

Mile 0 is the middle of the bridge

The one big criticism we have of the High Bridge itself is the fencing. They've made it almost exactly as tall as Cheryl's eye level, so that Cheryl can really only see the surroundings through the chain link that lines the fence. Even at a foot taller, I have a tough time seeing over the edge. There are a few viewing platforms where the wooden top rail of the fence is lower, but it doesn't change the fact that what should feel like a flight above the forest kind of turns into a ride between two long, obscuring fences. 

Cheryl's description of the bridge: One long piece of wood

Virginia has so many nice bike trails that the High Bridge Trail is easy to overlook. It doesn't have the same allure as the Virginia Creeper Trail, nor is it a working bike highway between two tourist destinations like the Virginia Capital Trail. But, for just a good, long, peaceful ride without a lot of distractions, it's really a great choice. 

Old telegraph poles and wires can be found along almost the entire length of the trail. 

 

 

We saw other wildlife, but this was the only critter our camera captured.