Great Dismal Swamp National Wildlife Refuge offers great trails for cycling. The Great Dismal Swamp National Wildlife Refuge covers 113,000 acres in Virgina and North Carolina. Gravel roads beside ditches crisscross the Refuge. Some of the roads are open for cycling beneath the canopy of pine, oak, and hickory trees. Despite its name, and because of the ditches, a good portion of Great Dismal Swamp is dry.
Roads beside the ditches serve as access for cycling, hiking, and wildlife viewing, as well as for Refuge management. On my first trip to Great Dismal Swamp National Wildlife Refuge, I entered on Railroad Ditch Road, on the west side of the Refuge, about 800 feet south of the Visitor’s Center and four and a half miles north of the Virginia/North Carolina boundary. I covered twenty-five miles of trails in that area.
On this trip to the Great Dismal Swamp, I parked at the Visitor’s Center and pedaled my Surly bicycle north along paved roads about three miles to the Washington Ditch Trail entrance. The trail is named after George Washington. The gravel begins there.
From the Washington Ditch Trail entrance, I pedaled a mile to the southeast to a parking area, the end of the road for vehicles, and the site of the former Dismal Town, the headquarters of the Dismal Swamp Company.
George Washington helped found the Dismal Swamp Company. According to “Dismal Swamp Company,” an article by Michael A. Blaakman of
Yale University, published on mountvernon.org, “The Dismal Swamp Company’s most famous shareholder was George Washington, who helped to conceive and found the company and also played a significant role in its early management. Like many other land-speculation endeavors of the late eighteenth century, the Dismal Swamp Company aimed to amass land, wait for its value to rise, and resell it for a significant profit.”
From here, the former site of Dismal Town, Washington Ditch Trail runs about four and a half miles to Lake Drummond, the center of the Great Dismal Swamp.
The trail follows Washington Ditch. Dismal Swamp Company built the shallow ditch with its tea-colored water from the peat deposit beneath it. The water appears calm, yet it flows. Yellow-bellied Sliders sun themselves on rotten tree trunks in the water. The trail has a gravel base with grasses covering the surface, except where tire tracks have cut ruts. Most of the trail is shaded by tall pines, oaks, and cypress trees. The air smells of decomposing vegetation, like the peat beneath the surface. Riding is easy, but the grass puts a drag on the bicycle wheels. The trail ends at a viewing platform on the shore of Lake Drummond, the center of Great Dismal Swamp.
From Lake Drummond, I pedaled back along the same trail for just over three miles to the intersection of Lynn Trail, which runs north five and a quarter mile to the Jericho-Hudnell Ditch Trailhead. I turned onto the trail and after a half mile of mostly mud and water, I turned back to Washington Ditch Trail.
From there, I pedaled another two miles to White Marsh Road and rode north along its smooth asphalt for four and a half miles to the Jericho Lane access to the Great Dismal Swamp National Wildlife Refuge.
The gravel started there, and I pedaled two miles east to the parking area at the Jerico-Hudnell Ditch Trailhead. I rode a mile or so on each of two trails: Hudnell Ditch Trail, and Jericho Ditch Trail. The grass grew hub high on the trails. I saw no wildlife except a few White-tailed Deer and Wild Turkeys. The sun was directly overhead, so I started to ride back to the Visitor’s Center.
About a half mile from the Jerico-Hudnell Ditch Trailhead, I spotted an American Black Bear in the road. I stopped to get a picture. I got one poor shot before it disappeared into the woods.
I returned to the Visitor’s Center, a five-mile ride on asphalt from the intersection of Jericho Lane and White Marsh Road. I logged almost 38 miles on the ride.
On the next trip, I’ll return to the Jericho-Hudnell Ditch Trailhead to spend time on all of the trails there. Great Dismal Swamp National Wildlife Refuge is a great place to be on a bicycle.
