Damascus VA drone photo of Blue Ridge Mountains ridgeline

Media

Drone image of downtown Damascus, Virginia
Cyclists standing under the Virginia Creeper Trail arch next to the Town Park Caboose

Damascus, Virginia Media Room

Welcome to the Damascus media room – showcasing the best of Trail Town USA!

2026 Damascus Area Trail Updates

View our Damascus Area Trail Updates for the most current trail conditions and more information on the restoration of the upper half of the Virginia Creeper Trail:

  • The Virginia Creeper Trail remains open from the Start to the Heart, Abingdon to Damascus, about 17 miles. The upper half of the trail is being rebuilt and is set to reopen on March 31, 2027.
  • The Appalachian Trail has a temporary detour just north of Damascus during the rebuilding of the Virginia Creeper Trail. The trail follows the historic Iron Mountain Trail to the Mount Rogers High Country.
Damascus Area Trail Updates
Media Kit - Damascus Trout Days
Scout troop biking the Virginia Creeper Trail in Damascus, Virginia

Welcome to Damascus VA, Trail Town USA!

One of America’s Best Trail Towns

​​A small town in Southwest Virginia with a big claim to fame, Damascus is home to several major trails that intersect right in downtown, creating “Trail Town USA”.

Originally a railroad town in the lumber boom of the early 20th century, this small-town economy reinvented itself through outdoor recreation and tourism in the 1990s and has been thriving ever since. Tourism is one of the largest economic drivers in Washington County, VA, second only to agriculture.

Many Trails Pass Through Downtown

  • At the heart of downtown is the 34-mile world-famous Rail-Trail Hall-of-Famer, the Virginia Creeper Trail, which stretches across the middle of town. The TransVirginia Bike Route and Grayson Gravel Traverse also follow the path of the Virginia Creeper.
  • The Appalachian Trail enters the state of Virginia just a few miles south of Damascus, then runs through the Town Park and down the sidewalk of Laurel Avenue, our Main Street. The AT passes right by the Damascus Trail Center.
  • Laurel Avenue is a waypoint on several long-distance routes, including the TransAmerica Bicycle Trail / Route 76, the Mount Rogers Scenic Byway, the Virginia Bird and Wildlife Trail, and The Crooked Road.
  • The Iron Mountain Trail heads up into the forest from Douglas Drive, offering classic ridgeline singletrack for mountain biking and trail running.
  • This tiny town is the hub where the Mid-Atlantic & South East Backcountry Discovery Routes (BDR) meet. These two dual-sport routes, when combined with the North East BDR, stretch all the way from Florida to Canada.
Virginia Creeper Trail
Appalachian Trail
Mount Rogers Area

Where Your Front Porch is the Trailhead

Nearby are Mount Rogers National Recreation Area, Grayson Highlands State Park, and Cherokee National Forest. Damascus is a gateway community to the five highest peaks in the state and popular hiking destinations, including Mount Rogers (5,729ft), Whitetop Mountain (5,525ft), Pine Mountain/Wilburn Ridge (5,525ft), Buzzard Rock (5,095ft), and Haw Orchard Mountain (5,007ft). Just outside of town, we have Backbone Rock Recreation Area, also known as the “World’s Shortest Highway Tunnel,” and Beartree Lake Recreation Area.

Best-Kept Secret? Trout Streams

One of our best-kept secrets? Several trout streams converge right here. Whitetop Laurel, Beaverdam Creek, and Tennessee Laurel come together in downtown to form Laurel Creek for a short distance and join the South Fork of the Holston River just downstream. Each is a fishing destination in its own right. Whitetop Laurel is renowned as one of Virginia’s greatest wild trout streams and forms in the shadow of Whitetop Mountain, Virginia’s second highest peak. The river flows into nearby South Holston Lake, a popular spot along the Virginia/Tennessee state line for motorized boating, flatwater paddling, swimming, and bass fishing. And the famed South Holston tailwater in Tennessee is just a quick trip away!

Appalachian Trail Days Festival

The biggest event of the year in Damascus is the Appalachian Trail Days Festival, also known locally as ‘Trail Days’. Each year in May, the town swells from 700 residents to an estimated 25,000 people for the weekend. Trail Days is the world’s largest hiking festival – a grand celebration of the Appalachian Trail and thru-hiker culture and a massive reunion of thru-hikers past and present.​

Visit Damascus Press Kits

Virginia Creeper Trail to Fully Reopen on March 31, 2027

The Town of Damascus is thrilled to share the announcement of the reopening date for the upper half of the Virginia Creeper Trail, set for March 31, 2027. The Virginia Creeper Trail is a backbone of the local outdoor economy, bringing thousands of riders, families and visitors to Damascus, Abingdon and communities throughout Southwest Virginia each year. This announcement gives residents, outfitters and nearby businesses a clear timeline so they can plan ahead for next year’s tourism season. (posted July 2026)

Virginia Creeper Trail to Reopen March 31

New Exhibit at the Damascus Trail Center

Chain Reaction: How Bikes Led to a Trail-Town Revolution, invites visitors to explore the rich trail history and cultural significance of Southwest Virginia as part of America’s 250th anniversary. The exhibit is a reflection on the American spirit: one of resilience, reinvention, and the simple joy of the journey. The year 2026 marks the 250th anniversary of the American Declaration of Independence and the 50th anniversary of the Bikecentennial. The exhibit is free to the public and on display now through National Public Lands Day, September 26, 2026. (posted June 2026)

Appalachian Trail Days Festival, May 2026
How Bikes Led to a Trail-Town Revolution, June 2026
View Damascus-Related Hurricane Helene Updates

More About Damascus

Appalachian Trail Days Festival

Appalachian Trail Days Festival

  • Appalachian Trail Days was first held in Damascus in 1987 and is known simply as “Trail Days” by locals and hikers.
  • Trail Days is the biggest event of the year in Damascus and the world’s largest hiking festival. The town swells from 700 residents to an estimated 25,000 people for the festival.
  • Many NOBO thru-hikers plan their entire season around reaching Damascus in time for the Appalachian Trail Days Festival. Hikers who end up ahead or behind on the trail will often catch a shuttle so they can still make it to town in time.
  • This festival has received numerous awards and accolades, including: #3 Best Quirky Festival from readers of Blue Ridge Country magazine (Summer 2023), Best Family Friendly Festival from readers of Blue Ridge Outdoors magazine (Spring 2023).
The Appalachian Trail and Damascus

The Appalachian Trail and Damascus

  • The Appalachian National Scenic Trail is a continuous 2,200-mile footpath from Springer Mountain, Georgia to Mount Katahdin, Maine. The trail passes through 14 states.
  • Each year, a few thousand people attempt what is known as a “thru-hike” of the Appalachian Trail, where they hike the entire length of the trail at once. It takes about six months for the average person to complete a thru-hike. Annual hiker registration data can be found at ATCamp.org.
  • The Damascus Trail Center is a partnership between the Town of Damascus and Appalachian Trail Conservancy, one of three visitor centers along the entire 2,200-mile length of the AT.
  • There are just three downtowns that the AT passes through: Damascus, Virginia, plus Hot Springs, North Carolina and Hanover, New Hampshire.
  • A designated Appalachian Trail Community, Damascus was inducted by the Appalachian Trail Conservancy in 2011.
  • Damascus is the gateway to Virginia on the Appalachian Trail. The estimated 75% of thru-hikers that hike northbound from Georgia to Maine are known as NOBOs and Damascus is their first stop in the state. A total of 544 miles of the Appalachian Trail are located in Virginia, which is nearly a quarter of the trail’s entire length and more than any other state.
Virginia Creeper Trail and Damascus

Virginia Creeper Trail and Damascus

  • The world-famous Virginia Creeper Trail is a 34.3-mile multi-use rail-trail open to hiking, biking, and equestrian trail traffic. The eastern terminus is at Whitetop Station, western terminus at Abingdon, and center point in Damascus, Virginia.
  • The name “Virginia Creeper” is two-fold, and it comes from both the native Virginia Creeper vine and the slow-moving trains as they made their way up and down the mountain on the historic railroad.
  • Dedicated as a National Recreation Trail in 1987 by an act of Congress, the Virginia Creeper Trail opened for public use exactly ten years after the last train ran in 1977.
  • Inducted in 2014, the Virginia Creeper Trail is a member of the Rail-Trail Hall of Fame.
  • The trail is jointly owned and managed by the US Forest Service, Town of Abingdon, and Town of Damascus.
  • An economic engine for Southwest Virginia, the Virginia Creeper Trail welcomes an estimated 250,000 visitors per year.
Halloween trick or treating in front of Discover Damascus
Damascus Outfitters on the Appalachian Trail in downtown Damascus

Business & Quality of Life

​Welcome to the Friendliest Town on the Trail! Damascus, Virginia has a longstanding tourism and outdoor recreation economy. Several trails intersect within town limits, bringing along people, stories, and culture from all walks of life. Thanks to the efforts of our community, from local government and dedicated staff, to scores of volunteers and residents, we’ve found ways to turn these trails and our other outdoor recreation resources into a source of local pride and community revitalization.

Damascus Business Recruitment Tools
Livability Magazine, Washington County
Media Kit - Appalachian Trail Days Festival
Media Kit - Damascus Adventure Moto DAM 200

​​Damascus, Virginia is widely known as

  • Trail Town USA
  • The Friendliest Town on the Appalachian Trail
  • The Heart of the Virginia Creeper Trail
  • ​Gateway to the Mount Rogers High Country

Media Awards & Accolades

Damascus, Virginia has built quite a reputation as a trail town and outdoor recreation destination, and as a result, is regularly highlighted in media features and best-of lists:

Media Kit - A Trail Town Christmas
Media Kit - Damascus Trout Days

Recent Damascus Media Features

Find Damascus On Social Media

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For Damascus Media Inquiries

For Damascus media inquiries, please contact Julie Kroll, Recreation Program Director.
recreation.director (at) damascus.org