New River Trail - Day 3: Hiwassee to Pulaski

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 3 of our September 2014 trip started with paying for parking for both vehicles and leaving a vehicle at Dora Junction near Pulaski before driving back to Hiwassee to begin our short bike ride.

Hiwassee to Dora Junction Mileage Chart

Trail Segment	Segment Mileage	Total Mileage
Hiwassee to Bridge 1506	2.5	2.5
Bridge 1506 to Draper	1.5	4.0
Draper to Dora Junction	4.2	8.2

The trail immediately crosses the New River on a 951 foot long bridge built in 1931. The river at this point is part of Claytor Lake created by the construction of Claytor Dam in 1939. The dam is named for W. Graham Claytor, Sr, a vice president of Appalachian Power and construction supervisor. One of his three sons, W. Graham Claytor, Jr, was president of Southern Railway, Secretary of the Navy, and later led Amtrak. Another son, Robert B. Claytor, was president of the Norfolk & Western Railway and first chairman of Norfolk Southern. Robert Claytor was chairman of Norfolk Southern when the it donated the land for the park. After crossing the bridge, the trail follows the western shore of the river and begins a gradual climb out of the valley. The last views of the New River are from Bridge 1506. The trail climbs about 200 feet from the Hiwassee bridge to the summit six miles away. While the average grade is 1%, portions of the route approach a 2% grade. From the summit near Interstate 81, the trail descends quickly to Dora Junction. While not a converted railroad, the 2.5 mile city Dora Trail provides bicycle access to downtown Pulaski. Pulaski is the largest city along the route with a population of over 9,000.

Approaching the Hiwassee bridge over the New River

Riding through the bridge

Looking upstream at Claytor Lake

Looking downstream at Claytor Lake

The railroad used latticework to save weight while maintaining strength

Bridge 1506 above Claytor Lake

View from Bridge 1506

Looking upstream from Bridge 1506

The view below Bridge 1506 of an unnamed creek and Delton Road

Sloan Branch

Draper picnic shelter

Draper has a population of over 300

View from the high bridge above Old Route 100

Peak Knob on Draper Mountain, elevation 3360'

Another high trestle on the way to Dora Junction

Peak Creek from the last trestle

Approaching Dora Junction on the Peak Creek Trestle

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.