New TRACK Trail on the Blue Ridge Parkway in Virginia!

On Saturday, July 27, our 19th TRACK Trail location in Virginia opened at the James River Visitor Center (Blue Ridge Parkway MP 63.7). Here you can stretch your legs on the Trail of Trees (30-minute hike) or Canal Lock Trails (10-minute hike). Or you can make a day of your visit with the 3.5-mile Otter Creek Trail that connects Otter Creek Campground to the James River Visitor Center.
 

The trail's opening happened in conjunction with the annual James River Transportation Festival, a day that observes how transportation on and off the Parkway has evolved, as well as what role the James River has played in Virginia's history of transportation over the past few hundred years. Families came to view an array of different cars presented by the Antique Automobile Club of America. These cars represented different eras of automobile travel on the Parkway since its establishment in 1936.

The Virginia Canals and Navigation Society was also in attendance to share the history of the James River and Kanawha Canal dating back to George Washington. Lock 7, which is the most complete lock on the James River and Kanawha Canal system is located on the other side of the river from the visitor center. This restored lock can be explored by kids year-round in accompaniment with a new brochure made for Lock 7!
 

Check out the new TRACK Trail at James River Visitor Center and many more along the Blue Ridge Parkway in Virginia!