Lynchburg Series: Kemper Station
On the second day of our Lynchburg vacation, we thought we’d check out one of the local trails. There are SO MANY to choose from. Since the weather looked like thunderstorms would come at any moment, we wanted to go on one of the shorter trails, so we picked the Kemper Station trail. The Kemper Station trail is about a one-mile walk that starts at the Blackwater Creek Trail and ends at the Kemper Street Train Station. The difficulty of the trail is rated easy and on a paved surface. Since it was a very shaded trail, this was a perfect choice for a really hot day.
We parked at the Kemper Street Train Station and started at the end of the trail. The train station is a beautiful brick building, matching much of the charm we saw downtown. It was pretty neat to walk alongside the train tracks during the first part of our hike. You can even see the blue ridge mountains in the distance.
The paved trail was mostly downhill on the way out. The windy path and trees all around made the hike enjoyable. I loved the design on the mile markers.
We ended our hike after reaching the pathway underneath the train tracks that had a river crossing under the tracks. We couldn’t believe how big the bridge was, very cool to see in person. There was some graffiti on the bridge, and we even saw a train go by (not pictured) during our hike. It was a pleasant trail, and with scattered thunderstorms ahead of us, we turned around so we could make it back to the car before any potential rain! Fortunately, the weather held off for the duration of our hike - but we were moving pretty quickly on the way back, with the clouds chasing our tails!
I’d definitely recommend this trail if you’re in Lynchburg and looking for a nice enjoyable leisurely, scenic walk. We walked about two miles total out and back. If it weren’t so hot and almost ready to rain, we would have trekked out a little further to see Hollin’s Tunnel, which was about a quarter mile further than we hiked to. Will be on our list for next time, among many of the other available trails nearby!
After our hike in the 100-degree weather, we found a brewery close by to cool off with a refreshing beer. Three Roads Brewery in Lynchburg was a really cool spot with a wide variety of beers on tap. I’m a big fan of sours, so naturally went for the sour beers to try out. Highly recommend checking out this place if you enjoy local craft beers.
Our second day in Lynchburg was a great time! A nice balance of activities, without wearing ourselves out too much before our big trip to Natural Bridge… stay tuned for more from the Lynchburg series!
