Allegheny Mountains Loop Bicycle Route

The Adventure Cycling Association Allegheny Mountains Loop Bicycle Route is a 396 mile (638 km) loop that explores the Allegheny Mountains of West Virginia and Virginia. The Allegheny Mountains Loop offers a wide variety of riding types – from pavement to gravel, from gentle grades along river valleys to steep climbs and fast descents over ridges, and from busy U.S. highways to lightly trafficked county roads and rail trails where no cars are allowed. Besides the main route there are 4 options which give the cyclist alternatives in how much mileage they choose. One option is a gravel alternate along a ridge top in the Monongahela National Forest. The other three options are cut-offs to shorten the main loop. The route begins and ends in Blacksburg, Virginia and crosses back and forth between Virginia and West Virginia several times.

Allegheny Mountains Loop Bicycle Route

Blacksburg, VA, which is located in the southwest corner of Virginia, is near the TransAmerica Trail Bicycle Route. The largest city nearby, Roanoke, is 40 miles away. The route begins (and ends) with hills along the New River before heading into the first of many remote valleys cyclists will encounter in Virginia. Cyclists also have to ride a three-mile stretch of U.S. 460, a busy divided highway with no shoulders. The meandering route avoids this highway as much as possible between Blacksburg and Pembroke. Just past Waiteville, riders will make a choice to follow the remainder of the route in a clockwise or counter-clockwise direction. This description is written in the counter-clockwise direction.

The route heads northeast through quiet valleys and over smaller ridges on very lightly trafficked county roads. Portions of these roads are gravel. Along this section of the route is the Humpback Bridge, a single span 100-foot arched covered bridge which is possibly the only arched covered bridge left in America. There is heavier traffic, especially on weekends, in the Lake Moomaw and Bolar Mountain Recreation Areas.

North of Mountain Grove cyclists will have the first choice of two options. The 23.5-mile Dunmore Cut-Off heads west on a state highway, goes up and over a major ridge into West Virginia, and ends in Cass, WV. The 23.5-mile Ridge Alternate also uses the highway to climb to the top of the ridge, then continues southward through the forest. Going south is downhill, though it includes many short ups-and-downs along the ridge.

The main route continues northeast to U.S. 250, where it heads west up and over another ridge top into West Virginia. All the highways on this route have minimal to no shoulders, and most are winding with short sight lines, especially when climbing or descending the ridges. To get from one valley to the next they are the only roads available.

Another shortcut is the westward 6-mile Bartow Cut-Off that ends just north of Durbin, WV. The next 46.5 miles of the main route uses gravel US Forest Service roads in the Monongahela National Forest and the crushed limestone-surfaced West Fork Trail rail trail. This is the most remote area along the route, and traffic is minimal.

South of Durbin, WV is Cass, WV, the home of Cass Scenic Railroad State Park, and the start of the 78-mile Greenbrier River Trail, the state’s longest rail trail. The Park runs a steam logging locomotive train for visitors that terminates just below Bald Knob, elevation 4,832 feet, which is one of the highest summits in West Virginia.

The route follows the entire length of the Greenbrier River Trail. The majority of the Trail is packed gravel, though about 5 miles have been paved near Marlinton, WV. There is access to several towns for services along the trail. Primitive campsites, drinking water and restrooms are available on the Trail. Free trail maps showing exact locations of amenities are available from West Virginia State Parks.

After the Trail ends the route uses a short stretch of U.S. 60 before heading south on remote county roads that wind over several smaller ridges and through woods, fields, and farmland. Riders will close the loop near Waiteville, and return south back the way they began. There is one more decision to be made six miles south of Waiteville – instead of returning the way cyclists came, they can choose the 19.5-mile Mountain Lake Cut-Off. It’s gravel up to the ridge top and down to Mountain Lake, then paved the remainder of the Cut-Off until rejoining the main route. It passes the Mountain Lake Hotel, where the movie “Dirty Dancing” was filmed.

Services are available in the larger towns near to the route, but groceries will be limited to mostly convenience stores on route. There are a few stretches with no services.

ee also

*Bicycle touring
*Adventure Cycling Association