Parking for New River Trail in Virginia
 

I'll be heading up to ride this trail next week. From the info I've seen on line it appears that all of the access points charge a daily parking fee. Since the trail is considered a Va State Park, does anyone know if paying for a daily parking pass at one access point also allows you to park at other access points. I'm asking because, although I am riding the whole trail, my wife will be meeting me at a few locations along the way and plans to ride with me for short distances before returning to the car. We may do this at 2-3 stops per day.

First hand knowledge is much appreciated.

I'm not sure what the actual proof of parking pass may be if you were to buy the annual pass online but to show up and pay to park at the actual access point entails putting $5 cash into a lock box. This means that you get no paper proof in return to place in your vehicle to prove that you have paid. I'm not sure if this works on an honor system or a park ranger checks the box often and counts vehicles (I've never seen a ranger at the trail), as that would not be solid proof. I live at the Pulaski trailhead and I have certainly shown up before and discovered that I didn't have cash in hand to place in the box. I may or may not have went for a run regardless, and I am not condoning skipping the parking fees, but I can't imagine paying $5 every time your wife parks in an access lot for 30 minutes several times a day either. That fee should cover a full days worth of parking and that may mean multiple access points as well, you could always contact with questions.
New River Trail State Park
Phone: 276-699-6778
Email: NewRiverTrail@dcr.virginia.gov

Thanks @str8jakett , I'll contact them. I'm glad to pay the parking fees since they contribute to the trail.

How's cell coverage on the trail. Any areas of low signal (other than the tunnels)? I have Verizon and their coverage map shows that it is iffy on the southern third of the trail.

Verizon is very spotty in areas around here but recovers pretty well almost within several yards in most cases. I have US Cellular based on that very problem where I can't get Verizon sitting at my desk in my office but if I walk 10 feet away it picks up perfectly. I haven't been around the southern third or had Verizon to give a good report on it. Good luck with your ride and enjoy the trail!

Thanks. I'm looking forward to the ride. Looks to be great fall weather.

Hoopdriver, did you make your trip down the NRT?

Yes, sure did. It was a great ride - I think I was smiling the whole way. I did it over two days. It would have been a good one day ride, but since the drive up got us to Galax about lunch, it would have been rushed to do the whole trail in one day. I think I was stopping to take photographs every mile or two.

The plan was for my wife, who was driving, to meet me at selected way points. She found this to be a challenging adventure since cell signals were spotty and so was GPS, which occasionally directed her along what she described as mule paths. I wished I had mapped it out a bit better for her before the trip. We nevertheless were able to figure things out. I had a few mechanical issues: two flats and a problem with chain drops that started with just a few miles to go (turned out to be some debris jammed into the RD pulleys). The layer of fallen leaves on the trail hid a lot of things that I would have otherwise avoided.

Also, there was a bit of motor vehicle traffic for a mile or two on the southern part. There was a road out for some reason and they were allowing the use of the NRT as a detour. The vehicles were very courteous.

We'll be certainly riding the NRT again in the spring.