Chessie Nature Trail

The Chessie Nature Trail runs seven miles along the Maury River between Lexington and Buena Vista, on the former Chesapeake and Ohio Railroad right of way. VMI owns much of the corridor and works with private landowners to facilitate access, and describes the trail as having a relatively flat grade with a gravel and dirt surface. It is a linear route rather than a loop. VMI lists four access points: the north end of the East Lexington bridge on U.S. Route 11 over the Maury, a spot near Mill Creek on Old Buena Vista Road (Route 631) about 0.6 miles east of Route 11, Stuartsburg Road (Route 608) where the South River flows into the Maury, and the eastern terminus where Route 608 meets U.S. Route 60. Pedestrians and bicycles are both welcome, dogs must be leashed at all times, and VMI asks that all litter be packed out. The Institute occasionally uses the trail for cadet marches and says it remains open to the public during those times.

A good deal of what you pass is left over from the corridor's working past. The canal company that built the North River navigation constructed four locks and dams along this stretch — Zimmerman's, Ben Salem, South River and Reid's — and VMI says the remains of all four can still be seen from the trail. Near the Lexington end, Jordan's Point holds a millrace dating to about 1810, built by John Jordan, and was the site of a mid-1800s saw mill, foundry and forge as well as the old canal basin. Farther along, the trail passes an old quarry site with drill holes left from the blasting that built the rail bed and canal works, and a series of concrete "BF" posts that once told train crews the distance in miles to Balcony Falls; VMI's trail log points out the BF 16, BF 14 and BF 13 markers. The river has cut its channel downward over millions of years and exposed large sections of cliff face, and the rock formations along the way run from the Edinburg through the Conococheague to the Elbrook. Toward the Buena Vista end, caves and solution cavities appear higher in the rock. VMI's wildlife notes mention river otters, beavers and muskrats where the view to the water is clear, downy woodpeckers, kingfishers and Northern cardinals year round, and a bald eagle nest that has been spotted from the trail near the Buena Vista end.

A few things are worth knowing before you go. VMI states there are currently no facilities on the trail — no restrooms and no drinking water — so carry what you need for the distance you plan to cover. The route crosses private land, including active cattle farms, and VMI asks users to exercise caution and respect, particularly when moving through gates in the pastureland sections. Ticks are fairly common in the area during warmer months, and where the river has undercut the cliffs VMI warns users to beware of falling rock and to refrain from standing too close to it; undercut banks can also produce small landslides and spots of erosion at the edge of the trail. This is a floodplain with a record to match. The August 1969 Hurricane Camille flood was the highest on record in the area, at a height VMI says would have covered the trail with 10 to 15 feet of water, and later floods washed out pedestrian bridges at South River and Jordan's Point. The South River trestle, lost to Hurricane Isabel in 2003, was replaced in 2021 with a Federal Highway Administration grant; the new bridge and a small parking lot opened that December. VMI's Physical Plant, at gordontp@vmi.edu or (540) 464-7358, is the contact for questions about the trail.