Huckleberry Trail
Christiansburg, VA to Blacksburg, VA
6.2 Miles (12.4 Miles Round Trip).
High and low elevation difference: About 190 feet.
Has Rolling Hills, not flat railroad grades.
Worst Grade: About 10 Percent (Several Granny Gear Hills).
Number of intersections: About a dozen.
Number of people passed on the trail: 92 (Most joggers/walkers).
Pros: Great city to city connectivity. Trail goes from the Christiansburg Mall to the downtown Blacksburg Library. Though the Rails-Trails guide book says it is a 6.2 mile trail, there are branching feeder trails. I ended up doing an extra 8 miles (20 overall) and there were still other trail branches left to ride. Grassy shoulder was kept well mowed. Scenery varies from a city trail next to the Virginia Tech campus to open farmlands to trails to going through a massive college or apartment complex. For even more diversity, there is an unpaved mile long historic Miner's Loop single track trail winding through the mountains - a real challenging ride on the bicycle.
Cons: Couple of dangerous turns and car barrier posts to get around at the bottom of steep hills. A few pot hole repairs and asphalt dips to avoid. Couple of narrow tunnels near the apartments not wide enough to accommodate 2-way traffic. If taking the Miner Loop Trail some hills are steep at over 15 percent. Vehicle noise was loud when riding next to Hwy 460 which lasted for about 1.5 miles.
Hindsight: Did not allocate enough time to adequately explore the Huckleberry Trail and its feeder trails. Despite the connection to two cities, once on the trail you forget you're near either City. Despite not seeing any wildlife, this was one trail ride that I was sad to see come to an end.
Ratings: (1-5 scale, 5 being best)
Trail: 5 (Smooth Asphalt and no root bumps.)
Critters: 1 (Saw no wildlife.)
Scenery: 4 (Wide variety of scenery.)