Region
Highland balds, wild ponies, spruce-fir forest, and the Virginia Creeper Trail.
Southwest Virginia holds the state's highest ground. Mount Rogers and Grayson Highlands feel subalpine — open balds, rock outcrops, and free-roaming ponies at 5,000 feet. Below them, the Virginia Creeper Trail delivers one of the most accessible long descents in the eastern United States.
Hiking
Mouth of Wilson · Southwest Virginia
Open balds, rock outcrops, and free-roaming ponies below Virginia's highest peak.
Surface: Rocky, Dirt
Running
Damascus · Southwest Virginia
A 34-mile rail-trail from Whitetop to Abingdon, famous for its long gentle downhill and trestles.
Surface: Crushed stone, Gravel
Running
Pulaski to Galax · Southwest Virginia
A 57-mile linear state park along the New River with tunnels, trestles, and near-zero grade.
Surface: Crushed stone, Gravel