The lack of cell service on parts of the trail-because of a quiet zone created for a nearby radio telescope-compounds the feeling of remoteness here in the midst of the Appalachian Mountains.

A dozen campsites are available along the river, and accommodations are also available off-route in the town of Marlinton and in Watoga State Park. Drinking water is available at the beginning and end of the trail, at trailside parks, and at mileposts 9.5, 28.5, 63.8, and 69.6. Check the trail associationвЂ™s website for information on bike rentals and shuttles. Thru-travelers will find few services along the route and are encouraged to carry their own food and water. Maintained by the state parks department and the nonprofit Greenbrier River Trail Association, the trail uses the former corridor of the Chesapeake and Ohio Railway (C&O), which hauled coal and lumber out of the mountains from the early 1900s until the 1970s. The longest rail-trail in the state, the crushed-stone route crosses 35 bridges and passes through two tunnels as it follows the meandering Greenbrier River downstream from the Cass Scenic Railroad State Park to Caldwell. The trailвЂ™s accolades include induction into the Rail-Trail Hall of Fame, as well as recognition as a National Recreation Trail and one of 52 Millennium Legacy Trails in the United States. The Greenbrier River Trail is arguably West VirginiaвЂ™s premier rail-trail, running for 78 miles past remote small towns and through lush forests along the banks of the longest undammed river in the eastern United States.

Greenbrier fire dogs