New River Trail - Day 3 Bonus: Fries to Fries Junction

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 continued with a drive from Pulaski back to Hiwassee to pick up a vehicle and then on to Fries. Since the daily parking fee had already been paid at Hiwassee, it wasn't required again.

Starting at Fries (pronounced "freeze"), the trail follows the New River downstream to Fries Junction. From Fries Junction, I returned upstream to Fries. This was the only segment of the trail with a significant number of pedestrians, but most turn around before reaching the junction.  Please note that they have the right of way to bicyclists.

Just upstream from the trailhead is Fries Mill Dam. Construction of the 40 foot high dam began in 1901 and the mill it powered began operation in 1903. The Town of Fries quickly grew with mill employment.  Although the mill ceased operation in 1989, the town has moved on to outdoor adventure and music as sources of pride and income. Although Fries has a population of less than 500, it hosts a weekly music jam session, an annual spring festival honoring musician Henry Whitter, and a fall harvest festival.  The festivals are held at the Town Park along the riverside.

The trail begins near the park and skirts the edge of a neighborhood before passing the water treatment plant. After passing through another residential area, it parallels East Main Street (Road 606) along the edge of several fields. The trail crosses the highway at 1.6 miles from the Fries parking area. Trail users have very limited visibility of vehicles leaving Fries due to a guard rail, a small hill on the highway and the road curving to cross the trail. Please exercise extreme caution at this crossing. The remainder of the trail to Fries Junction is in the woods near the river.

Fries to Fries Junction Mileage Chart

Trail Segment	Segment Mileage	Total Mileage
Fries to Road 606	1.6	1.6
Road 606 to Fries Junction	3.9	5.5
Fries Junction to Road 606	3.9	9.4
Road 606 to Fries	1.6	11.0

Fries parking area

Fries Mill Dam

View downstream from Fries riverside

View upstream from Fries riverside

Caboose near parking area

Beginning of the trail

Looking back at the Road 606 (Fries Road) bridge

View from the trail

Life is tenacious

The river remains a constant companion along this part of the trail

Another view of the river

Fishermen downstream of a small waterfall

The trail bridge to Galax comes into view

An unnamed island splits the river just upstream of the junction

One of the tent camping sites at Double Shoals campground near the junction

View of the island and northern portion of the Fries Junction bridge

Looking upstream from Double Shoals campground

The Fries Junction 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.

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.

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.