Deerfield Trail is just a few minutes north of downtown Blacksburg, Virginia; located on the corner of Toms Creek Road and Deerfield Drive. Parking is free but limited and can be found along the northern shoulder of Deerfield Drive. Primary activities include walking, birding, nordic walking, leashed dog walking, hiking with kids, and running but the trail is a little too short for adult cycling. The trail does not provide restrooms or water. Cell phone service is strong while on the trail.
Deerfield trail is 0.8 mile (one-way) paved trail that runs along side Toms Creek and hovers at around 2,000 feet in elevation.
The trail passes a small meadow but is mostly shaded with cover from forest canopy. It is a very tranquil walk that is buffered from car noise.
In addition, it crosses Tom’s Creek which provides an opportunity for kids to explore aquatic plant and animals species. Our three year old had a lot of fun exploring the creek and looking for woodpeckers that we could hear in the background.
During our walk, I inspected a pine tree that had needles in clusters of three. Eastern white pine has needles in clusters of five and virginia pine has needles in clusters of two. Do you know what kind of pine this is?
Based on my research, I believe it is a pitch pine because of its range and the needles were about three to six inches long. At first, I thought it was longleaf pine or loblolly pine because they also have needles in clusters of three but are typically only found in southeast Virginia.
The trail dead ends leaving you wishing for more but the 1.6 mile round trip is a fun distance for kids (with short attention spans).
In sum, Deerfield trail is a great place to enjoy a tranquil walk and is a destination for a repeated visits due to its close proximity to downtown Blacksburg. Other walking and hiking trails in the New River Valley include:
Two Knobby Tires 