The Huckleberry Trail is one of the best kept secrets in Blacksburg, in my opinion. Honestly. Laid over top of the route of an old railroad line, it’s so easy to hop on a bicycle and ride the trail from the entrance at the Blacksburg Library and take it all the way to the New River Mall, or use it as a stop to points between. And it’s well used – I know a woman in her 80’s who walks 5 miles on the trail every day. I have a former client who rides it to work. And daily you’ll see walkers/joggers/speed demons out logging miles. Now, it’s getting even better.
The Collegiate Times is reporting (odd that it’s not on the Friends of the Huckleberry site) that the nearly six-mile trail is being extended by four miles, as early as this spring. According to Bill Ellenbogen:
“Bill Ellenbogen, the president of Friends of the Huckleberry Trail, a non-profit corporation that seeks to promote and develop the trail, said the trail will run from the Christiansburg Recreation Center to the Blacksburg Jefferson National Park.
But that isn’t all that’s in store for the trail in the coming months.
“We also plan on widening the first mile and paving the trail, which has aged and is in need of repairing,” Ellenbogen said. “It will be bid this spring, constructed this summer and ready by the fall.”
The trail will add another nearly four miles to the existing footprint, with a spur heading off towards Hethwood, Glade Road and Blacksburg’s Heritage Park, and ultimately a little outdoor playground called Jefferson National Forest. This is good news for people in both Blacksburg and Christiansburg. Imagine living off of Glade Road in Blacksburg and having the Huckleberry in your backyard, or a block away, with a direct commute – off of surface streets – straight to campus. Or, imagine living in Christiansburg, and having the ability to hop on your bike at the mall and riding it all the way into the Jefferson National Forest. I know that there are some folks excited about that.
And when the bridge over Peppers Ferry Road gets built? I’m gonna need some new bike tires after all this riding.
Increasingly, more and more of my buyer clients are asking about the walkability of a community. Having access to trail spurs like this one invariably improves the quality of life factor. Is there a quantitative benefit? I don’t know, but certainly there’s a qualitative value. But the availability of trails that actually GO somewhere means something, as evidenced by how popular Blacksburg’s Hethwood community – including Stroubles Mill, Oak Manor, Haymarket Square, and more – has been over the years. At the end of the day, people are going to pay more attention to HOW where they live makes them feel.
I’m going to need some new bike tires soon.