Dan Casey

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As America grew at a frantic pace in the late 19th century, the rugged inhabitants of West Virginia's Greenbrier River Valley realized they had a problem. All around them were virgin white pine and old-growth hardwoods. But there was no reliable way to get the timber to market.

For 30 years, this is what they did: Loggers felled trees near water in the fall and winter, then piled the logs high along the banks of the Greenbrier or the streams that fed it. In the spring, they'd cross their fingers and hope waters would rise high enough to carry the logs downstream to the nearest mills in Ronceverte.

Around the turn of the century, a more certain means of transportation arrived. The Chesapeake & Ohio Railroad built a line along the river. Small towns sprang up almost overnight, each with a cookie cutter train station, small wood frame houses and jobs a plenty.

Millions and millions of board feet of lumber was cut from eastern West Virginia's hollows and knobs over the next 20 years. In later decades -- especially around World War II -- the line was an important link on a passenger railroad connecting the East with the Midwest. The last passenger train traveled along the Greenbrier in 1958. The line was used for freight for 20 more years, until 1978.

Today, the tracks and many of the small towns are gone. But the line is still being used for transportation -- cycling, horseback and on foot. The Greenbrier River Trail stretches 77 miles north from its southern terminus near White Sulphur Springs. At the other end is the town of Cass. Between them, users get a mostly unspoiled glimpse of the Allegheny Mountains and the green river that twists and turns between.

My guides on a wintry January day were brothers Tracy and Terry Asbury, owners of the Allegheny Outdoors Center, White Sulphur Springs' premier outfitters. The good-natured Asbury brothers offer day and multi-day guided cycling, canoe/kayak and hiking trips and an unguided shuttle service. They'll also rent you any gear you need. The trail, of course, is free.

The ride

Caldwell is the southern trailhead where were we began. The Asburys and I rode 11 miles north to the small village of Anthony. There we turned around and rode back.

The trail is flat, wide and suitable for cyclists of all ages and levels of fitness. Although it gains 700 feet of elevation between Caldwell and Cass, the uphill is barely noticeable because it is spread over 77 miles. There are regular mile markers and large concrete posts -- old whistlestops -- that told railroad engineers when to blow their warnings.

Heading north, the truly green Greenbrier River flows below the trail on the right. On the left is a steep bank covered in brush and small trees, and, occasionally, icicle-encrusted rock. Here and there, streams gurgle down the hillside toward the river in a series of miniature waterfalls, surrounded by green groves of mountain laurel and rhododendron.

Elsewhere, pine boughs hang over the trail. On the day we were there, snow weighed them down, falling with a soft whoosh as the tops of our helmets grazed them. The trail is gravel and soft in some spots, so the bigger your tires, the better off you'll be. Here and there are obstacles. In one spot, the path was blocked by a huge slab of rock that had sliced off a rocky wall on our left.

Littered nearby were smaller rocks and brush that slid down with it. Easier to get around are the fallen saplings. These aren't dead wood blown down. The giveaway is the gnawed trunks. Beaver action! Heaven knows why they're so bent on splaying small trees across the trail, but they sure seem to be working hard. We didn't see any beaver, but the turkey and buzzards were hard to miss.

Features

One of most attractive features of the Greenbrier River Trail are the primitive campsites cut into the riverbank along the way. There are at least 10 of these between Caldwell and Cass. They make the trail an ideal place for a weekend bikepacking trip.

The primitive trailside campsites are free. But the Greenbrier Trail also sports some less primitive habitats. Fee camping and cabins (reservations are required) are available in Watoga State Park at Seebert, near milepost 45.8 There is a bed and breakfast near Beard, at milepost 38.5. Other lodging are available at Marlinton (milepost 56); Stony Bottom (mile post 74.5); and at Cass, the northern trailhead.

A couple of the things we didn't see are the trails' tunnels. There are two of them. One, the 402-foot-long Droop Mountain Tunnel, is north of Horrock at mile post 30.9. Farther north on the trail is the even longer Sharps Tunnel and Bridge, which were built in 1900. This tunnel is 500 feet long, and the bridge stretches for 229 feet.

The trail is also dotted with towns that survived the railroad's demise. Some of these have small groceries, such as Terrapin Station in Anthony. It is open only in warmer months.

Getting there

There are plenty of access points to the Greenbrier Trail. The one closest to Roanoke is at Caldwell. To get there, take Interstate 81 north to U.S. 220 north. At Clifton Forge, take Interstate 64 west into West Virginia, and get off at the first exit, Route 60 to White Sulphur Springs. Follow Route 60 a few miles past White Sulphur Springs to Caldwell. As soon as you cross the Greenbrier River, make a right on Stonehouse Road (County Route 38). It will lead you to a parking area at the southern trailhead. There, in the Greenbrier State Forest, there are cabins and camping. For more information, call (304) 536-1944.

More info

Allegheny Outdoor Center, and other such companies, offer shuttle service and guided bike and canoe day trips on the trail, and they'll also rent you any gear you need for a day or multi-day trip. A shuttle to Renick, about 22 miles north on the trail, cost $25 per person as of this writing. A shuttle to Cass, at the northern trailhead, is $35 per person. There are additional fees for guided trips and bicycle or canoe rentals. For more info, call the state's hotline at 1-888-PLAYWVA

You can also get more information on the trail from the folks at the Greenbrier State Forest: (304) 536-1944.