Government- Road Ride
Distance: 17.4 miles
Difficulty: Moderate
Riding Surface: Dirt Road, Creeper Trail
Start/End: Damascus Town Park
Maps: USGS 7.5 minute quadrangle, Damascus VA
USGS 7.5 minute
quadrangle, Laurel Bloomery, TN
Mount Rogers National
Recreation Area Map
Access: Start at the Damascus Town Park, go west on US 58 toward Abingdon.
You’ll have to ride the first mile on this busy paved road to get to the Government
Road (VA 757). Government Road is on the left, less than one mile from the Damascus Town
Park.
Elevation change: This ride starts at the Damascus Town Park at an elevation of
1930 feet. By the time the paved road ends and FR 32 begins, you will have reached an
elevation of 2200 feet. The climbing isn’t over by any means as you climb then drop
along this dirt road.FR 32 reaches a maximum of 2400 feet at different points and then
drops for the final time to 2140 feet at the Sweet Hollow Road intersection. From here to
Alvarado you will drop another 350 feet on paved roads. As you begin your ride back to the
Damascus Town park on the Creeper Trail, you can rejoice, as you only have to climb about
130 feet over the next 6.7 miles. Total elevation gain is about 700 feet.
Configuration: Loop
Description: This ride winds along the Government Road outside of Damascus, into
Tennessee and the Cherokee National Forest, then winds back into Virginia at Alvarado.
This road is a hilly road through some beautiful national forest. There are great views of
the valleys and mountains off in the distance. You will cross many scenic, babbling brooks
and have several hill climbs that will get your heart pumping. Of course, all those climbs
mean several downhill screamers too, so hang on, relax and enjoy it while you can. Cross
the state line and enter the Cherokee National Forest section of the ride. The worst part
of this section of the ride is seeing the trash along the road as you enter Tennessee, and
the clear-cut area that was logged not so long ago. After you come back to the paved road
of civilization (?) you will pass some old log cabins and rustic houses that look like
they could have been the model that the Unabomber used for his design of his Montana
back-woods estate. These folks are anything but anti-technology however, as evidenced by
the number of digital satellite dishes on display in the yards. The old school (or church,
I’m not sure what it is) is very picturesque and makes me daydream about what life
must have been like back in the "old days".
You will soon arrive at Alvarado and can get on the Creeper Trail and cruise through
the bull lot, ride alongside the river and make your way back to Damascus. Celebrate the
ride by getting a pizza or burger at one of our local eating establishments.
 | 0.0 Starting from the Damascus Town Park, go west on US 58 toward Abingdon. |
| 0.7 Turn left onto Government Road (VA 757) |
| 1.0 Continue straight on the paved road |
| 2.0 The paved road ends here and the dirt road begins. You are entering
the Mt. Rogers National Recreation Area of the Jefferson National Forest and are on FR 32.
There is a sign that reads "State Line 5". |
| 2.2 Crest the first big hill on FR 32. |
| 2.6 Nice view off to the right side of the road |
| 3.2 Another great view. You can see Clinch Mountain off in the far west
distance. |
| 3.6 Descend down into a "holler". |
| 3.9 Private property off to the right. |
| 4.2 Green metal gates are on both sides of the road, blocking access to
the fire road that crosses at this point. Continue straight on the dirt road. |
| 4.8 Crest another hill. Another gate is off to the right. There is a
red #5 painted on the tree here. |
| 5.2 Pass another gate that is on the right. There is a pretty stream
crossing under the road from the left. |
| 5.7 Another gate on the right blocking access to a clearing. |
| 6.2 A trail on the left is blocked by a dirt "tank trap".
Continue straight. |
| 6.6 Cross into Tennessee and the Cherokee National Forest area. You
will see the sign for this at this point. |
| 7.1 There is a big nasty trash dump on the right. Disgusting! Why
doesn’t Tennessee clean this up? Don’t get me started. |
| 7.6 Enter a clear-cut area. |
| 8.2 Turn right onto the paved VA 710, Sweet Hollow Road. Check out the
old log cabin on the left at this intersection. It has had a newer portion built on to it. |
| 9.6 There is an old structure on the right that may have been a
one-room schoolhouse or a church. |
| 9.8 There is an old growth oak tree on the right |
| 10.3 Turn left onto VA 711, Alvarado Road. This road turn will take you
into down town Alvarado. |
| 10.7 The Creeper Trail is on the right at this point. Get on the trail
and reverse your direction and head back toward Damascus. If you go straight about ¼
mile, you will come into Alvarado. There is a small store there that sells snacks. It may
or may not be open. |
| 11.3 Look to the left across the river and you will notice a very
unique rock formation. |
| 11.8 Get on the Creeper Trail, which is on the right, and follow it
back to the Damascus Town Park. You are heading up stream. |
| 17.4 Arrive back at the Damascus Town Park in Damascus. |