In early 2019, two large properties along the southeastern face of Brush Mountain were acquired by the New River Land Trust with funding from the Virginia Outdoor Foundation’s Forest CORE Fund.   These properties, which are slated to one day become part of the Town of Blacksburg’s park system, have opened up a unique opportunity to develop and manage a non-motorized trail and park system to benefit the residents of Blacksburg, the wider region, and visitors to the area.

In partnership with the Land Trust, the Town helped to convene a stakeholder team to assist in developing a Concept Plan for how the parcels could be developed to provide a range of new hiking, biking, horseback riding, and exploring options for residents and visitors alike.  The stakeholder team is comprised of representatives from diverse user groups including trail runners/hikers, mountain bikers, horseback riders, environmental education practitioners as well as organizational stakeholders including the Poverty Creek Trails Coalition and the U.S. Forest Service.

The documents below detail the process that the stakeholder group used to guide its work over the past year to develop a draft Concept Plan and set of proposed trail alignments for the properties.

• Vision, Mission, Values for Brush Mountain Properties Stakeholder Team (pdf)
• Community Presentation: Brush Mountain Properties Draft Concept Plan, Dec 2019 (pdf)
• Community Feedback on Draft Concept Plan, Dec 2019
• Final Concept Plan: Brush Mountain Properties, Aug 2020 (pdf)
• Map A: Existing Conditions, Both Properties (pdf)
• Map B: Proposed Trail Alignments, Brush Mountain Property 1 (pdf)
  
• Map C: Proposed Trail Alignments, Brush Mountain Property 2(pdf)
• Map D: Proposed Trail Alignments, Both Properties (pdf)

Brush Mountain Trails System Phase 1