The Coal Canyon trail system in Buchanan County offers two ATV riding areas. Nature viewing and motorized trail activities sit side by side here—a distinctive range of options to consider when planning your interests.
Breaks Park Southern Gap is located at the trailhead for Spearhead Trails’ Coal Canyon ATV/OHV/mountain bike trail. More than 200 miles of ATV and dirt bike trails across 7,900 acres are connected to Breaks Park Southern Gap. This makes for a broad range of motorized trails, from the named trailhead to an extensive network.
Southern Gap: Camping and Getting Oriented
Breaks Park Southern Gap offers an ATV-friendly campground with cabins, RV sites with full hookups, and tent sites. If you plan to stay here, check current availability in advance.
Southern Gap’s 7,500-square-foot visitor center features wildlife exhibits, a scenic overlook with panoramic views, and a gift shop selling regional crafts. Public wildlife-viewing blinds near the visitor center at the Coal Canyon ATV trailhead are accessible by car.
Elk and Birdlife
A 2,600-acre focus area for the restoration of Virginia elk was identified in Buchanan County between 2012 and 2014. The area sits at an average elevation of 2,000 feet and was previously shaped by extensive coal mining. Historic traces in the landscape meet a current wildlife story here: More than 200 elk live in the county, and their range covers at least 30 square miles.
Elk regularly use the entire corridor from Breaks through Southern Gap toward Grundy. Rare species such as the Dickcissel and Northern Bobwhite Quail, also known as the bobwhite, are found at Poplar Gap. Poplar Gap/Sunset Hollow are sites in Buchanan County along the Lonesome Pine Loop of the Virginia Birding and Wildlife Trail.
Poplar Gap Park is a multipurpose park with scenic views, picnic areas, restrooms, playgrounds, and sports fields. The public wildlife-viewing blinds at Southern Gap offer another specific option if you’re interested in wildlife.
On Foot, by Bike and on the Water
The Michael D. Young Hiking/Biking Trail is a 2.8-mile nature trail with moderately steep terrain changes, springs, historic coal-mining benches, and abandoned coal carts. It is open to pedestrians and mountain bikes only. Its eastern trailhead is on Highway 83, also known as Edgewater Drive, in Grundy; there is a large gravel parking area, a bridge to the trail, and signage.
The nearby Flatwoods Multiuse Trail System offers a different range of trail lengths, with hiking and biking routes from 1 to 5 miles. The information distinguishes a single named route from a range of different trail lengths. You can fish for smallmouth bass from the banks of the Levisa River; rainbow trout are stocked in Dismal Creek for fishing.
Coal Mining and Historical Perspective
Buchanan County Courthouse in Grundyalso tells the story of mining history and reflects the importance placed on law and order during Buchanan County’s early coal-mining boom. Together with the historic coal-mining benches and abandoned coal carts along the Michael D. Young Trail, the courthouse reveals two distinct traces of this era.
Discover more destinations: Alexandria, Pittsylvania County, King George, Clarke County, Caroline County, Fauquier County, Danville.
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