Trending
DAMASCUS, Va. (AP) -- After 15 years, the Damascus Trail Center has finally opened its doors to all trail hikers, bird watchers, nature enthusiasts, and tourists.
In her opening remarks during the Damascus Trail Center opening ceremony, Sandra Marra, the president and CEO of the Appalachian Nature Conservancy, explained the Damascus Trail Center will serve as a hub for conservation and education.
"The Damascus Trail Center is a place of welcoming. It will serve as the hub of education and conservation throughout Southwest Virginia and its surrounding areas," Marra said. "The future of the Appalachian Trail, quite frankly all of our natural world, and our hope is that everyone who steps into the Damascus Trail Center feels a part of that with us, that they walk in feeling like they're nature lovers, hikers, artists just somebody driving through town and they leave feeling like, 'wow I am all those things, but I am also part of something.'"
Visitors to the Damascus Trail Center, located at 209 W Laurel Ave in downtown Damascus, will be able to learn through a series of exhibits covering not only the history of the Appalachian Trail dating back to 1921, but also about the seven other trails that cross through Trail Town USA, including the Virginia Creeper Trail, and the Overmountain Victory Trail.
Mike Reynolds, the deputy director for congressional and external relations for the National Park Service, emphasized the importance of trails and the communities that conserve them across the country.
"Our national trail system tells a story of community in partnership across the United States, and many of us in the service think of things like the 18 like Damascus as golden threads in the tapestry of America because it's the users that help to weave these things together, but it also helps to build community over time," Reynolds said. "What you have in Damascus and this center is really special when I think about the Virginia Creeper, the Over Mountain Victory, the Appalachian Trail, three kinds of national trails, scenic, historic, recreational, all in one place, here."
U.S. Senator Tim Kaine stopped by the ceremony and recounted his 42-day hike of the Appalachian Trail, including how he earned the nickname "Dog Bowl" because of his repetitive use of a collapsible dog bowl for personal hygiene and drinking water. He said he and his friend came to the realization the trail was more than a trail, it was a community.
"I really believe there's maybe never been a project, the volunteers, the hikers, the journalists, the writers, the organizations, the trail clubs, the shuttle drivers, the outfitters, there may never have been a project that stitched together a community in such a powerful way as the Appalachian Trail," Kaine said. "To all that have been part of the trail and who have been part of bringing us to this important day, I just want to say thanks."