The Blue Ridge Trail....... a work in progress

[error cooled]

The Blue Ridge Trail

(COMPLETED in mid 2011 - Ready for Release - PM your email address and I will send you the files. See update at the bottom of this post)



Background and Goal:

Create a route that transects western Virginia from North to South on dirt roads, gravel roads, National Forest Roads, Jeep Trails and when necessary lightly trafficked secondary state and county roads. The route will allow the rider to return to his origin via the scenic, paved and easy going Blue Ridge Parkway and Skyline Drive at a leisurely pace.

The route is to be constructed so that it exclusively uses publicly accessible roads and trails so that the rider can travel without worry of gated roads or private property.

Emphasis in route construction will be placed on scenic quality as well as historical and interesting landmarks.

The route will be designed to accommodate dual sport motorcyclists with a moderate level of skill. Ideal motorcycles will be dual sport models in the 250cc - 800cc range. The route will also be of interest to those with high clearance 4x4 vehicles. You will need a street legal vehicle to ride this route.

The northern terminus will be within the vicinity of Front Royal, VA while the southern terminus will be in the vicinity of Damascus, VA.

Total mileage will be around 300 Miles +/- 50.

Construction:

I am constructing the route over the winter of 2010/2011 during my free time. I will be using many resources for the route including personal experience, knowledge from locals, printed maps, Government agencies and GIS data.

Map Data for construction:

- ARC GIS Data provided by the George Washington and Jefferson National Forests.
- ARC GIS Data provided by the Virginia Department of Transportation.
- Hard copy county maps from the VDOT.
- GWNF / JNF Motorized Vehicle Use Maps.
- USGS Topo Quad 24K Maps
- National Geographic Trails Illustrated Maps: 773, 786, 787, 788, 789, 791, 792, 792 793
- Delorme Virginia Gazetteer

Other sources for data:

- Historical notes from various published sources
- Geo-Tagged Photographs
- Internet Forums / Ride and Trail Reports
- Input from local Jeep and Trail Riding Clubs

Route Validation:

I hope to validate the route during the Spring and Summer of 2011. I intend to travel the route myself with friends and other locals to make sure the digital data reflects the conditions on the ground. I will also be looking for enthusiastic and trustworthy folks to also test the route and report back findings.

Distribution of route:

This is going to be a labor of love. Once validated on the ground I will be distributing the route in a GPX file with multiple tracks of less than 500 points [EDIT with the new crop of Garmin Mapping GPS on the market I will not reducing track points down to 500]. You will need a Garmin mapping unit capable of reading tracks to use the route such as a 60CX, 276C etc [62/78 Series are my recommendation now]. My hope is that people can use the route wisely, tread lightly and link it up with other noteworthy routes such as the TWVT and TAT. I do not intend to charge anything for the data but may set up something for donations to organizations that keep our trails open such as the Blue Ribbon Coalition and the Northern Virginia Trail Riders.

In closing...

So wish me luck. If any one wants to contribute anything to this shoot me a PM. I would love to hear from people that want to make sure a "can't miss" road or landmark get included. Any questions, comments or concerns feel free to post them here. This will be a work in progress.

The Laboratory:



Spring 2012 Update

The route has been distributed to over 100 folks and many have had a chance to go out and enjoy the road less traveled in Virginia. I had a chance to cover just about every mile in June of 2011 and have been making updates as necessary.

Total Mileage Breakdown is as follows:

Red: County/ State 2 Lane (20% gravel/dirt) - 353 Miles Total
Orange: Forest Service (80% Two Track, Gravel Dirt, 10% Rougher Jeep Roads, 5% Single Track, 5% paved) - 363 Miles Total
Green: Connectors to the Blue Ridge Parkway and Skyline Drive - 110 Miles Total
Blue: BRP and Skyline Drive (100% Paved and scenic) - 311 Miles Total
Yellow: Scenic Detour / Bypass (50% Gravel / 50% Paved - State Roads) - 157 Miles Total

There are also 20+ public campgrounds included in the file and gas way points for every 50 miles or so.





Here are a collection of photos from myself and others of the route. I encourage people to post up their experiences and photos here in this thread.

























BlueThunder's Photos:







Slip210's Photos:





RuralGold's Photos:








Damon Fever's Photos:







ClutchCargo55:




Big Todd's Photos:









Here is an interactive preview of the route:

[HBN]

badass monitor setup

Holler if you would like any mapping help. I am a cartographer

[advridgerunner]

looking forward to this!! thanks for the effort

[woods wizard]

This will make me want to get my 450x plated even more.

[rctr]

great idea!

[niceviewbehindbars]

[Platypus-3in1]

Very Nice ...



Gotta Question For Ya Via ... PM

[rob feature]

Got the file - can't wait to give it a go.

Thanks!!!

[DrLax]

Got the file. Thanks! I'm gonna have some fun this June.

[ADV_ Frog]

Thanks a lot, can't wait to ride it.

[nuggets]

Originally Posted by DrLax

Got the file. Thanks! I'm gonna have some fun this June.

When are people going? I'll be there in June too. Looking forward to seeing some of you FFs out there.

[DustyS]

Received the file, many thanks for your effort!

[b3h]

Pm on the way with email this time

[Arlie]

Wow, I just found this. I live in NC and have done several trips South on Parkway. A buddy and I decided next trip was north on parkway and just start looking for good roads. Here they are, huh? So nice for someone to have all the work done for you. My hat is off and in hand to error cooled and others who have so generously prepared this.

[qwinn]

got it

Thx for all the work

I plan on riding southern part in july