Natural Tunnel State Park Virginia

We stayed a day longer in Natural Tunnel State Park than we wanted to because we wanted to see the tunnel and could not safely do so with the constant rain.

On Saturday we awoke hopeful with the weather report saying it was to be a warmer day with less chance of rain. It was warmer, if by less chance they meant 99% chance with downpours frequent at times then yes, that was correct. We took some comfort in the fact we were better off than the school group that was in the park – the only other campers there – who were hunkered down under tarps and tents.

No matter where you are, rain is seldom a welcome sight unless you are a farmer in the midst of a drought. So we passed the day by riding around, rearranging things in the camper and eating. Clinchport is a small town in Scott county Virginia and was once a coal town. The rock in this area is a drab, depressing dark color, something of a shale, lignite, hard limestone. Although I have been to many financially depressed areas, this one is one of those were I suppose the people are so poor they cannot pick up the trash from their own yards. I'd estimate a third of the property we saw had trash strewn about without any care. It costs nothing to be tidy. Even the roadside we stopped by to watch the trains had trash strewn about although two trash cans were right beside the trash.

The wayside overlooked a two train trestles, the upper being 167 feet, the sign did not state the lower trestle height – 18 to 24 coal trains pass these tracks daily. Norfolk Southern has almost 100% of the business but CSX owns the rails. Not sure exactly how that works, I saw one Norfolk Southern engine and 3 CSX engines. I wanted to see a train on each of the bridges but I did not. So, here is a cheater of a picture I took from the sign and then a picture of what I saw. I have many pictures of the coal cars going across the the bridge but what surprised us both was how quiet the train was. The bridge is located on Virginia highway 23 and road noise could be the reason it seems so quiet but I have never had a train sneak up on me.

The nearest real town is Kingsport, TN. Coming into town, it seems like any other old small town.

And then we saw the more modern place to eat. It made us grin and on a cold rainy day that amounts to a lot.

Sunday we awoke to a spectacularly beautiful day. We had decided to grill steaks over an open wood fire – sounds like a fantastic idea. Don't do this if camping. We both hate smoke. The fire ring is always close to the camper (or tent) so that everything in your sleeping area will smell like smoke and all that you have on will need to be washed. We did this. We put the fire out after we realized our mistake and got the little gas fired grill out, grilled our steaks, had green beans mixed with brown beans and small potatoes along with a nice salad. We left the firewood at the campsite. It does seem like a good idea but in practice, it is not.

The morning was spent out by the wayside looking at coal trains crossing the trestle while waiting for the trail to the natural tunnel to dry out.

After seeing a couple trains and waiting about an hour, we decided it was probably best to return to the camper to see about finding the trail to the tunnel. I found conflicting information about the tunnel and it has been used different ways through the years. I thought it was possible to walk through the tunnel but it is not. CSX owns the tunnel and of course does not allow anyone to walk through it. One can walk down – or in summer ride down by ski lift – and see the tunnel but not go through it. At one time it was a visitors passage where it was locked and admission was charged to go through. At one time it was allowable to go through and was even lighted – but not any more. Apparently there was once plenty of clearance for the train and a foot path but as loads became larger, the risk was too great for foot travel. The tunnel is open for foot travel once a year in July and it is even lit with large flood lamps. There is a wonderful visitors center at the trail head, the trail is so steep that a chairlift is operated during the summer. I cannot honestly say it was that steep, it seemed no steeper than Blackwater Falls in WV but it was shaped differently. The tunnel was shaped and formed by the river running through it that eroded the stone. It was such a good passage through the mountain that the railroad uses it now as a natural pass for the train – saved them from blowing up mountain space for a tunnel. There is a very small place through the mountain that is manmade for the train – had the train tried to make that sharp of a turn coming out of the natural tunnel, it would have been problematic so they just blew a hole through the rest, between the longer natural part and the very short man made part is a platform where tourists can stand and hope for a train to pass – we saw one and were told we were very lucky as they are infrequent since the mines are now mostly closed and the trains run mostly at night.

I'll leave you with some images of the chairlift down the chasm, the platform, the train going through the tunnel and then an old train model that used to reside in Norton VA and is now on display here for kids to climb on. Was it worth the trip? Yes. Would I do it again? Only if I can walk through the tunnel otherwise no. We had a good time but it is onward to other places. We leave for Land Between the Lakes National Recreation Area – it is on the border of TN and KY. It is at least 6 hours from here. Please enjoy the pictures of Natural Tunnel State Park, there is no admission charge to see the tunnel.

Here is something that brightened our walk down and back up, always a welcome sight – flowers.

Here are a couple for our kids, Buddy on the bridge over Copper Creek, and one of us sitting on a bench just resting.

Late in the evening, we saw a couple big crows.

There is no wifi here. I write this offline and then upload when I can bounce a signal from Buddys phone – so kids if you don't see a daily blog it is because life really does exist without wifi or good cell service. I like it better with it by the way. We enjoyed our time here even without the internet:)