

RECONSTRUCTION AND RECOVERY
OF THE VIRGINIA CREEPER TRAIL
On September 27 2024 Hurricane Helene,
in addition to wrecking multiple communities throughout the Southeast,
destroyed 19 trestles, damaged several more and tore up miles of surface on Virginia's famous and beloved Creeper Trail.
This website provides a local perspective of the Damascus-Whitetop corridor and the significance of the trail to our area.
Photos show a work in progress. This is not the final version. Completion date is early 2027.
NEW ACTIVITY





Construction Progress Update (as of April 8, 2026) - Initial access efforts at Slope Failures 4 and 5 have been completed, with additional work currently underway. Work on an existing slope failure along Creek Junction Road is complete, allowing initial access activities to continue. Permanent bridge fabrication has begun at Contech in Abingdon.


Local Lodging - Lodging for Contractors
NEW! Restoration details: Access to Forest Service documents
NEW! Progress a year later: Adventure Time with Bane
Forest Service - Virginia Creeper Trail Recovery
Virginia Creeper Trail Conservancy Recovery Website
Facebook - Fans of the Virginia Creeper Trail
Destruction video by James Mills
used as a resource by the National Forest Service
Wild Orchid Video - Virginia Creeper Trail
A video focused on Helene's impact on Damascus by a Georgia visitor.
Historical Society of Washington County, Virginia
Working with this website to create a permanent record of the 2024 destruction caused by Hurricane Helene.