Thirty one miles (one way) of straight! Need I say more?
The High Bridge Trail is basically wide, flat and boring! At least once you get past the bridge - which in and of itself is amazing! I parked in the lot on River Road, (about 3 miles from Farmville and a mile from the bridge). Parking was easy on a weekday morning in May, but on weekends this area can get pretty crowded. ( A short easy walk, with access to the town of Farmville for lunch, the bridge itself is a popular tourist attraction.)
The High Bridge is exactly that - high! In fact, it's 125 feet above the Appomattox River and spans nearly 1/2 mile. In and of itself, it's well worth the hour drive from Richmond, VA.
The town of Farmville is also a fun place to visit with several options of lunch. In fact, I'd guess that tourism generates a fair amount of their revenue. The sign pictured below, for example, is sitting in a lovely park like downtown area just off the trail.
Beyond the bridge, however... the trail simply continues through an open, unchanging view for 30+ miles. It's a flat, straight, well-maintained trail with a pea-gravel surface. There are a few porta-poties scattered about, but no water stations outside of Farmville.
Safety wise, there are typically quite a few people including large family groups - both walking and biking around the bridge itself and the town of Farmville. However once you leave that 3.5 mile section, you're likely to pass only a few other runners or cyclist. I rode with a friend and wasn't concerned. Being a pretty open area, we also had no trouble with bugs at any point along the route.
Though I have been to the bridge several times, I've only finished the trail in its entirety once - and trust me once was enough. Determined to see the end of the line, I endured the heat and sun, only to be rewarded with this... LOL! Not even a porta-potty.
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