New River Trail - Day 2: Ivanhoe to Hiwassee

Please read New River Trail - Day 1 for an overview of our trip to bicycle the 57 mile New River Trail.  This is an excellent bike trail that I highly recommend.  Day 2 of our September 2014 trip started with paying for parking for both vehicles and leaving a vehicle at Hiwassee before driving back to Ivanhoe to begin our ride.

Ivanhoe to Hiwassee Mileage Chart

Trail Segment	Segment Mileage	Total Mileage
Ivanhoe to Austinville	2.8	2.8
Austinville to Shot Tower	3.6	6.4
Shot Tower to Foster Falls	1.2	7.6
Foster Falls to Lone Ash	5.0	12.6
Lone Ash to Allisonia	6.4	19.0
Allisonia to Hiwassee	2.4	21.4

As noted in the previous post, Ivanhoe was the site of a blast furnace that produced pig iron.  Ivanhoe straddles the border of Wythe and Carroll Countines and has about 550 residents.  Upon leaving the parking area, we walked up the gravel path to the trestle that crosses the end of the parking area.  Once across the trestle, there is another parking area and picnic shelter before the trail crosses to the east side of the New River on a 670 foot bridge.  The trail quickly reaches the small community of Austinville, the birthplace and named for the family of Stephen F. Austin.  Just past Austinville, the trail passes through the second and final tunnel on its route.

Ivanhoe Trestle over an unnamed creek

Bridge over the New River

Another view of the bridge

Looking downstream from the New River bridge

Looking upstream from the New River bridge

Austinville picnic shelter

Second tunnel on the route

After passing under Interstate 77, the trail passes the Jackson Ferry Shot Tower.  The shot tower took over five years to build and was completed in 1807.  It was the first factory to mass-produce round lead shot in the United States.  Production ceased in 1839.  The site is now the Shot Tower Historical State Park.  Immediately after passing the Shot Tower, the trail crosses over US 52 near the location of the Jackson Ferry.

Interstate 77 bridge over the trail and the New River

Jackson Ferry Shot Tower

Trestle over US 52 and Shorts Creek

US 52 bridge over the New River from the trestle

Shorts Creek from the trestle

Space for the railroad was blasted out of the cliffs

This pier is all that remains of a bridge to a hematite mine

The trail is a crushed gravel surface

Foster Falls on the river is a series of bedrock steps across the entire river that create a section of Class 3 whitewater.  Several of the buildings of the community of Foster Falls have been listed as a Historic District in the National Register of Historic Places.  The Foster Falls Hotel is one of the buildings in the Historic District.  The Foster Falls station houses the headquarters of the New River Trail park.

Foster Falls picnic shelter

Foster Falls

The New River at Foster Falls

Semaphore signal at Foster Falls depot

Foster Falls Hotel

Restored N&W caboose at Foster Falls

Park headquarters

Additional rapids downstream of Foster Falls

The trail passes through a virtual tree tunnel

Another fall in the riverbed

One hundred foot deep Bertha Cave houses a bat colony

Virginia Highway 100 bridge over the trail and New River at Barren Springs

Common barrier to prevent vehicle access to the trail

Bridge over Big Reed Island Creek

Looking upstream at the confluence of Big Reed Island Creek and Little Reed Island Creek

Confluence of Big Reed Island Creek and New River at the upper reaches of Claytor Lake

In Allisonia, the trail passes through some of the front and back yards of the 120 residents.  Hiwassee is a community of about 260 people located on the ridge above the river.  The bridge over the river was given the same name.  The trail location called Hiwassee is just a gravel parking area along Julia Simpkins Road just south of where the trail crosses the road and heads toward the 1931 bridge over the river.

Hiwassee parking area, fee deposit, and picnic shelter

A daily fee of $4 per vehicle ($5 on weekends and holidays) is collected via self-registration at parking areas along the trail.  Other payment options include the $40 Naturally Yours Passport which covers parking and admission to one Virginia state park for one year or the $66 Naturally Yours Passport Plus pass which covers parking and admission to all Virginia state parks for one year.

The park website is http://www.dcr.virginia.gov/state-parks/new-river-trail.shtml.