Biking the Jackson River Scenic Trail, Covington, VA

 

• Date Biked:  June 13, 2021 
• Posted Mileage  14.3
• Total miles Tracked: 29 miles
• Type of Trail: Rail trail, gravel
• Conveniences:  Excellent trailhead just outside Covington with plenty of parking, bathrooms, and water. No water fountains on the rest of the trail, alas. 
• Best Features:   Amazing scenery, excellent trail grade, innovative mile markers.
• Worst Features: None, really.
• Wildlife spotted:  I think a turtle was pretty much it. Several bikers reported seeing a bear that day!
• Vegetation: Hardwoods, wildflowers
• Associated Website:  Home - Jackson River Scenic Trail (jacksonrivertrail.com)
• Primary Author: James

On this adventure, we were joined by our friends Danny and Hope Lineberry!

We're getting more and more of a lag between our travels and our writing about them. It's not because we stopped going places to bike, but because I kind of went a little crazy and biked over 800 miles in August! September and October had great weather, so I kept pushing myself to get out a little more before the weather finally turned cold. Now, at last, December is giving me a little bit of a break! 

Look, I can blog, or I can be out riding past waterfalls. Which would you choose?

Okay, enough excuses. Today's trail is one we've been telling people about every chance we get. It's the Jackson River Scenic Trail just north of Covington, Virginia. This is a 14.3 mile rail trail on crushed gravel that winds through the Blue Ridge mountains next to the eponymous river. 

Stretching station at Covington Trailhead

Mile 0.0. I'm going to be writing a lot about mile markers in a few paragraphs!

This is a beautiful trail through really interesting terrain. The rocks here are like a geology text book, full of folded layers exposed in towering cliffs where they cut the railway through. Despite the mountainous terrain, this trail is really flat. There's a slight uphill grade all the way out of Covington, but nothing that's going to require any real effort. Alas, this means it's not steep enough to coast all the way back once you hit the end, but it's enough of a downhill you'll be getting some fast miles in. 

Cliffs are kind of weirdly hard to photograph when you're right next to them!

The angle makes this look uphill, but judging from the speed blur I'd say we're heading downhill here.

Don't miss the posing rock!

One innovative feature of this trail is that there are markers starting from the Covington trailhead that mark both miles and standard run distances, with turnaround marks. So, if you want to run 5k, there's a sign for the turnaround at the 2.5k mark. 10k is also marked, as well as half marathon and marathon. There may be other runs/rides marked, but these are what I remember. We often encounter trails with hard to spot markers or markers that feel randomly placed, so seeing a trail were someone had put some real thought into the mile marker design was a pleasant surprise. It was also smart design to have the markers be metal cut outs. Fading paint or rotting wood won't be an issue. 

Marker with turnaround for a full marathon. 

The most photogenic spot on the trail isn't exactly on the trail. The Smith Bridge Trail Head is more or less near the middle of the trail. If you head down a gravel road to the river, you'll find an old bridge, plus a kayak launch. The river here is gorgeous and crystal clear. We waded around in the river a bit. If we return to this trail next year, you might see us with pool noodles strapped to our bikes. This would be an excellent place to splash around on a hot summer day. 

The bridge is closed to vehicle traffic. Didn't see any signs saying you couldn't bike across it. 

We could bring an extra inner tube, lash our bikes to it, and float back to Covington. 

Dive in! Actually, don't dive. The water is, like, a foot deep. 

This trail is pretty much the perfect length for a day trip. It's just long enough that it feels like you've accomplished something by biking it, but not so long you can't tackle it all in a single day. There's also a brewery in Covington, though I don't think it was open when we were there. It's a bonus reason to return when the weather warms back up!