It’s Your Move!

A Good Starting Place – for beginners, families or those looking for a something a little less challenging.

Ready for a little push? – if you are ready to take on a few hills and longer rides, runs or hikes - here’s the place to look!

I need a challenge! – been doing this awhile? Here are a few of our more challenging trails!

This route is best for biking, especially if you want to find all 16 locations but can also break it up into smaller sections. Ex. ‘Downtown Frogs’ could be a walking tour.

Route Info: start and stop at any location, the map starts at the Huckleberry Trailhead at Miller St. (near the Blacksburg Library parking lot) and ends at the Market Square Farmers Market

Ride Category:

• Speed – choose your own pace
• Distance – depends on how many frogs you’d like to find – this route (see map) is all 16 frog locations and 7.8 miles
• Terrain: flat to rolling hills, paved trail, and road use (bike lane not always available)

Frog Bios (below is the order of frogs found, not all frogs are physically there): 

1. Bogen - named after Bill Ellenbogen, who worked to extend the Huckleberry Trail.
2. E.D. Frog – named after the Eastern Divide, a curving boundary that stretches from New York to Florida.
3. A.G. - named after Archibald Gray Smith, II, the last person to live in the Five Chimneys house.
4. Mary Louise - named after Mary Louise Black, the daughter of the couple who owned the Black House.
5. Harvey - named after Harvey Black, who co-founded the college that became Virginia Tech.
6. Harriet - named after Harriet Dorsey, the first female lawyer in Montgomery County and the first female judge in the district.
7. Phillip - named after Phillip Price, one of the first African American students to attend Blacksburg High School.
8. Virginia - named after Virginia Hummel, an English teacher who helped preserve the iris garden at the Price House.
9. Lindsay - named after Lindsay West, the first woman elected to the Montgomery Board of Supervisors.
10. Keister - named after the Keister family, their farm in the 1800s was sold to make several neighborhoods east of Main Street.
11. Gilbert Vaughn - named in honor of the first black landowner in this neighborhoo
12. Crawford - named after the Crawford family, who ran a general store in the mid-1900s.
13. Lyle - named after John Lyle, Sr. & John Lyle, Jr., father and son who owned a school on this hill in the 1800s
14. Nannie Bell - named after Nannie Bell Snell, who owned a beauty salon next door for 14 years.
15. Nick - named after Nick Kappas, a Greek immigrant who opened the restaurant now called the Cellar.
16. Millie - named after the building across the street, which used to be a mill.

This route is best for walking but can be biked leisurely (family bike friendly) as well.

Route Info: start and stop at any location, the map starts at the Huckleberry Trailhead at Miller St. (near the Blacksburg Library parking lot) and ends at the Market Square Farmers Market

Ride Category:

• Speed – choose your own pace
• Distance – depends on how many murals you’d like to find – this route (see map) features at least 5 of the murals and is about 1.5 miles
• Terrain: flat and road or sidewalk use (depending on mode choice)

Storm Drain Bio:

The Town of Blacksburg partnered with local artists to install original murals on selected storm drains in the downtown area to raise awareness about the water quality impacts of pollution entering our waterways via storm drains.

They started out with four murals in 2018 and added four more in 2019. Locations can be found here. More information about the artists and their artwork can be found here.

This route is part biking and part walking, exploring some of the nature and outdoor spaces around VT campus including Hahn Horticulture Garden and the Duck Pond.

Route Info: start and stop at any location, the map starts and ends at the Huckleberry Trailhead at Miller St. (near the Blacksburg Library parking lot)

Ride Category:

• Speed – choose your own pace
• Distance – less than 5 miles long
• Terrain: flat to rolling hills (about three mild to moderate climbs), paved trail and road use (bike lane not always available) or sidewalks

Hahn Horticulture Garden Bio: walking part

Peggy Lee Hahn Garden Pavilion and Horticulture Garden is 5.75 acres with 5.5 currently being developed that is used as a learning resource for plant material, landscaping concepts, and environmental awareness.

Duck Pond Bio:

Created in 1937 as a stormwater retention pond for the town of Blacksburg and VT Camps.

This route can be for walking or biking, exploring a few historical landmarks around Blacksburg and VT Campus.

Route Info: start and stop at any location, the map starts and ends at the Huckleberry Trailhead at Miller St. (near the Blacksburg Library parking lot)

Ride Category:

• Speed – choose your own pace
• Distance – this tour is 3 miles long
• Terrain: flat, paved trail and road use (bike lane not always available) or sidewalks

This Tour includes:

1. The Lyric Theater (College St.)
2. The Alexander Black House (Draper Rd.)
3. Torgersen Bridge (Alumni Mall at Drillfield Dr.)
4. The War Memorial Court and Chapel (Drillfield Dr.)
5. The April 16 Memorial (Drillfield Dr.)