Hiking at Crystal Springs Recreation Area, Part of Wytheville,VA Parks

October 8, 2023

On September 24 (Sunday), we attempted to go the the Flying Flowers Butterfly House. We followed Google maps directions and found ourselves riding down a gravel road full of potholes. We came to a fence with an open gate with the road continuing past. There were signs saying private road, only authorized vehicles allowed. We discussed what to do instead, as we were not heading down that road.

I mentioned we could go see Crystal Springs Park, since it was close. I even mentioned that we rode past it.

We headed back the way we came and then turned off to the road leading to Crystal Springs Recreation Area.

We pulled into the overflow parking first, as Bruce was confused by the sign that said private property, no trespassing. The gravel and hill almost caused the bike to go down. Bruce caught it, turned the front wheel and prevented it from falling all the way down. I wound up with a bruise on my leg and jammed my wrist a bit. I am not sure how that happened. (This is first time we’ve had such an incident and it scared me a bit.)

The private property is a house and a yard next to the entrance to the park. I am guessing they got tired of people turning into their driveway by mistake.

After we got off the motorcycle, Bruce was able to pick it the rest of the way up. I helped by pushing down the kickstand.

We looked around a bit and we could see the normal parking lot. Bruce decided to park the motorcycle in the normal parking lot. He asked if I wanted to ride and I said “no, I’ll walk.”

He rode the motorcycle the 50 to 70 feet to the parking lot. I finished pulling off my gear and walked to the motorcycle.

We started out by reading the signs at the entrance. The park asks that you sign in and out of their log book. While Bruce was signing in for us, I was taking pictures.

Dogs are welcome in the park and we might go back with Nox.

As we started looking for the trails, a couple sitting on a park bench called out. The man asked if we had been to the park before and we said no. He was kind enough to explain about the trails and provide a recommendation. He wanted to know why I took a picture of the bicycle repair station. I explained I had a blog and I liked to post pictures of the amenities in parks we visit.

He then explained that his sister donated the money for the bicycle repair station in remembrance of her son, who loved mountain biking. He said she provided the money and the city built it and they used good quality tools. We talked until his sister arrived on her mountain bike. We spoke with her as well. They were fascinated by the idea of us being fulltime RVers.

They needed to get going, we said our goodbyes and we started our hike.

It is a beautiful mountain area. We walked by the Crystal Spring at first.

We then followed a trail uphill to the mountain bike obstacle course.

We were impressed with the maps placed alongside the trails.

We used the map to determine how to loop back to the parking lot from the mountain bike obstacle course.

By the time we were back at the motorcycle, my wrist was fine. Back at the motorcycle, we geared up and rode home.

The main roads and even the secondary roads are in excellent shape here. We enjoyed the winding roads and the stunning scenery. This is a great area for motorcycles.