Dan Casey

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The dedication of the Star Trail on Roanoke's Mill Mountain back in 1999 left some area bicyclists really steamed.

Finally, the city had a cool, 2-mile trail in a densely wooded, huge park close to downtown that seemed like the answer to many mountain bikers' prayers. But as soon as city officials opened the trail, they banned mountain bikes from it. The only cycling on the Star Trail since then has been the nose-thumbing, not-exactly-legal kind.

More recently, however, a handful of volunteers corrected that problem. Working very quietly over the past several months, and with the permission of the city, they restored another old trail down the mountain and built new sections where they were needed . The intention is for it to be open to hikers and bikers. And I can tell you firsthand that it's a real gem.

It's not officially open yet and it has no formal name. But that doesn't mean you can't ride on it. Besides, if we had to wait for the city's stamp of approval -- well, that could take years.

Remember how long it took to get an official endorsement of biking out at the cove?

Many rumors

Rumors of the trail have been out on the local biking grapevine for months. The volunteers were organized with the help of Bill Gordge and are known informally as the midweek work group. They worked long and hard to clear the old trail, and were assisted by some area cyclists. They've been waiting for an official opening date by the city, and meanwhile, have been keeping their work hush-hush.

Happily, mountain bikers discovered it and already are riding it. Because it seems the cat is already out of the bag, my biking pal Erin Garvin and I decided to check it out on a recent Saturday.

As we rode, words like "cool!," "gorgeous!," and "neat!" (perhaps we should expand our during-the-ride vocabulary) echoed through the woods..

The trail runs from a gravel alley just off Sylvan Road ("The Old Road" up Mill Mountain) to the grassy knoll along Fishburn Parkway at the right turn to Mill Mountain Zoo. There, right at the trailhead, stands a small stone monument to Junius Fishburn, who donated Mill Mountain to the city as a park. For that reason I call this trail Monument Trail. Others call it Terra Alta trail, after the mansion near the other end on Sylvan Road.

Erin and I charted a loop of Mill Mountain, riding Monument in both directions and tying it together with some older walking trails that also are suitable for biking. Just for the heck of it, we threw in another nice trail from Mill Mountain to Yellow Mountain Road.

The highlight of the loop was Monument, which is without a doubt one of the sweetest trails around Roanoke.

First, it's incredibly well-groomed. Even the narrowest, most rocky sections aren't so rough that they'd discourage most novices. Second, the grade isn't at all intimidating in either direction -- a rarity for trails that climb mountains. Wes Best, who manages East Coasters Cycling & Fitness, notes that for experienced bikers, "it's one of the few trails around that's safe to take real fast."

The trail isn't entirely clear. In a few places, trees still cross the path. You'll need to watch for these, stop and hoist your bike over your shoulder. But the line of sight to the fallen trees is good. Don't worry about being surprised while you're tearing around a blind curve.

He cautions that cyclists heading downhill ought to beware that walkers or other bikers may be coming up. In most places Monument is pretty narrow.

The route

Erin and I started the ride by taking Sylvan/Prospect Road ("The Old Road" up Mill Mountain) to the third switchback. There's a trail right next to the guardrail that ducks under a partially-fallen tree. I call this trail Junk Car because a short way down on the right is an ancient wreck left deep in the woods decades ago. Junk Car starts out as challenging singletrack but soon widens into an old jeep road that's very easy to ride.

Dan Casey | The Roanoke Times

Erin Garvin exits the woods after decending the Monument trail on Mill Mountain.

Related

Map

• Map of Mill Mountain

A short distance past the car, the jeep road takes a sharp right bend. At the bend a narrower trail veers up to the left (there's a red blaze mark on a tree at the beginning of the side trail). After a hard left turn that you'll probably have to walk, it heads straight up the mountain -- a difficult though not impossible grade. Erin rode it. I couldn't get enough momentum to start uphill on it. But that's not a big deal, because it's a fairly short walk to the top. The trail brings you out at the grassy knoll on Mill Mountain at the turnoff to the zoo. Cross the street, pass the Junius Fishburn monument and you'll be on Monument Trail.

At first, Monument heads gently uphill, parallel to the road that leads drivers up to the Mill Mountain Star. But then it heads down, crosses the Star Trail, and takes you all the way down to the gravel alley/driveway off Sylvan Road at the second switchback. This is where you'd get on the trail if you want to climb the mountain on it.

To add to our ride, we went back up the mountain on Monument and crossed the road to the trail we had ridden earlier. As soon as we entered the woods, we took a left on another trail that runs over to Yellow Mountain Road and the Chestnut Loop Trail.

Big plans

Monument Trail is part of a far larger network that trail advocates have pushed for since 2001. Their ultimate aim is called the "Big Loop," an 18-mile, off-road route of trails and greenways that could take walkers, runners and bikers from Roanoke to Explore Park and back. Something like that could really put Roanoke on the mountain-biking map.