NOTICE ON HURRICANE HELENE IMPACTS:
Please be patient and kind as recovery efforts in Damascus continue.
We are resilient. We are rebuilding. We are OPEN.
Damascus, Virginia is facing a long road to recovery from the devastating impacts of Hurricane Helene. Downtown and low-lying areas experienced significant flooding. The Town of Damascus has set up the 'Damascus Strong' Direct Fund, which will allow donations to go where they are needed most. Please specify designated giving to Direct Fund, Virginia Creeper Trail, Downtown, or Emergency Services. For employer matching funds, the Town of Damascus EIN is 54-6001242. Donate online by using the link above or in person at any Bank of Marion branch (including Bank of Damascus).
The Virginia Creeper Trail is now OPEN from Abingdon to Damascus. The upper half of the Virginia Creeper Trail from Whitetop Station to Damascus remains CLOSED.
The Appalachian Trail remains CLOSED around Damascus from the TN/VA state line to Elk Garden. The AT north of Elk Garden, including Grayson Highlands State Park, is now OPEN.
Please be patient and kind as recovery efforts in Damascus continue.
We are resilient. We are rebuilding. We are OPEN.
Damascus, Virginia is facing a long road to recovery from the devastating impacts of Hurricane Helene. Downtown and low-lying areas experienced significant flooding. The Town of Damascus has set up the 'Damascus Strong' Direct Fund, which will allow donations to go where they are needed most. Please specify designated giving to Direct Fund, Virginia Creeper Trail, Downtown, or Emergency Services. For employer matching funds, the Town of Damascus EIN is 54-6001242. Donate online by using the link above or in person at any Bank of Marion branch (including Bank of Damascus).
The Virginia Creeper Trail is now OPEN from Abingdon to Damascus. The upper half of the Virginia Creeper Trail from Whitetop Station to Damascus remains CLOSED.
The Appalachian Trail remains CLOSED around Damascus from the TN/VA state line to Elk Garden. The AT north of Elk Garden, including Grayson Highlands State Park, is now OPEN.
Media Room
Welcome to Damascus VA, Trail Town USA!
|
Damascus, VA is a small town in Southwest Virginia with a big claim to fame: Seven nationally known trails intersect within town limits, making us "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.
|
The Appalachian Trail enters the state of Virginia just a few miles south of town, 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, one of three visitor centers operated by the Appalachian Trail Conservancy along the 2,200 mile trail. We are at the heart of the Virginia Creeper Trail, which stretches across the middle of town two blocks to the south. In the busy summer season, wheeled tourists pass through town on the TransAmerican and TransVirginia bike routes, as well as the Virginia Bird and Wildlife Trail, The Crooked Road, and the Mid-Atlantic Backcountry Discovery Route (MABDR) motor routes. Nearby are the Mount Rogers Scenic Byway, The Snake 421, and the Overmountain Victory Trail. The Iron Mountain Trail offers classic ridgeline singletrack for mountain biking. Damascus is a gateway town to the five highest peaks in the state: Mount Rogers (5,729ft), Whitetop Mountain (5,525ft), Pine Mountain/Wilburn Ridge (5,525ft), Buzzard Rock (5,095ft), and Haw Orchard Mountain (5,007ft). Nearby are Mount Rogers National Recreation Area, Grayson Highlands State Park, and Cherokee National Forest, all popular destinations for outdoor recreation with hiking, backpacking, bouldering, horseback riding, biking, paddling, fishing, and more. Just south of town is Backbone Rock Recreation Area, also known as the "World's Shortest Highway Tunnel".
One of our best-kept secrets? Several trout streams and whitewater runs converge in Damascus. 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 a fishing destination in their 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 short drive away!
The biggest event of the year in Damascus is the Appalachian Trail Days Festival, known locally as 'Trail Days'. Each year in May, the town swells from 650 residents to an estimated 25,000 people for the weekend. Trail Days is a celebration of the Appalachian Trail and thru-hiker culture and a massive reunion of thru-hikers past and present.
One of our best-kept secrets? Several trout streams and whitewater runs converge in Damascus. 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 a fishing destination in their 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 short drive away!
The biggest event of the year in Damascus is the Appalachian Trail Days Festival, known locally as 'Trail Days'. Each year in May, the town swells from 650 residents to an estimated 25,000 people for the weekend. Trail Days is a celebration of the Appalachian Trail and thru-hiker culture and a massive reunion of thru-hikers past and present.
|
|
|
|
Damascus is widely known as:
Trail Town USA
The Friendliest Town on the Appalachian Trail
The Heart of the Virginia Creeper Trail
A Gateway to Mount Rogers
Awards and Accolades:
USA Today 10Best: Best River for Fly Fishing, Fourth Place (2024)
Voted Favorite Section of the Appalachian Trail, Appalachian Trail Conservancy (March Madness 2024)
Best of the Blue Ridge - Best Biking Trail, Environmental Organization (Spring 2024)
Best of the Mountains - Best Biking Trail, Best Rail-to-Trail System, #3 Best Quirky Festival (Summer 2023)
Best of the Blue Ridge - Best Family Friendly Festival, Biking Trail, Environmental Org., Bike Shop (Spring 2023)
AT Community, Appalachian Trail Conservancy (since 2011)
Rail-Trail Hall of Fame, Rails-to-Trails Conservancy (Virginia Creeper Trail, since 2014)
Top Tiny Adventure Town, Blue Ridge Outdoors (Winner Fall 2022 and Fall 2021; Finalist Fall 2023)
Hikers' Favorite Section of the Appalachian Trail - Southwest Virginia, The Trek (2021 Season, 2023 Season)
USA Today 10Best: Best Recreational Trail, Sixth Place (2024), Third Place (2022)
Best of Virginia: Hiking or Biking Trail, Virginia Living Magazine (Spring 2022)
Recent Features:
Best Mountain Towns in the Southeast - Outside Magazine
A Trail of Art: Trail town now boasts pathway lined with artwork - Bristol Herald Courier
8 Best Bike Trails in the South to Explore this Summer and Beyond - Southern Living Magazine
10 Best Mountain Towns in Virginia, According to Locals - Travel + Leisure
8 Most Scenic Towns Along The Appalachian Trail - The Travel
The 15 Best Rail Trails in the U.S. - Travel + Leisure
Small Towns, Big Achievements - Virginia Town & City
The 25 Best Rail Trails in the U.S. - Outside Magazine
Find Us On:
Facebook at Visit Damascus, Virginia and Appalachian Trail Days Festival
Instagram at @damascusvirginia and @appalachiantraildaysfestival
Youtube at Visit Damascus, Virginia
For Media Inquiries:
Julie Kroll, Recreation Program Director
recreation.director (at) damascus.org
