New River Trail

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The New River Trail is a rail trail in the U.S. state of Virginia. The trail is located in New River Trail State Park, and has been designated a National Recreation Trail by the U.S. Department of the Interior.

The trail follows 39 miles of the New River in Virginia. It was created out of 57 miles of abandoned railroad right-of-way formerly owned by the Norfolk Southern Railroad. Norfolk Southern donated the land to the Commonwealth of Virginia in 1986 for purposes of creating a state park. Volunteers began making improvements and the park made its grand opening in May of 1987 with four miles of trail open for use. Since then, 57 miles have been made open for public recreational use.