Friends of the Huckleberry Inc

During the pandemic, people engaged in outdoor recreation in record numbers, and communities realized the public health and quality of life benefits of multipurpose trails. Friends of the Huckleberry is busy working with small businesses and other regional non-profits to create new opportunities to explore the Huckleberry Trail and the expanded trail network. Your donation will help fund upcoming projects like the ones below in addition to our on-going efforts to expand the trail network to connect with communities to the north and south. And see the "Learn More" tab for more information. 

Funding Priorities for 2022

Huckleberry Plantings

Most people know the story of how the Huckleberry Trail got its name. In the early twentieth century, a passenger train ran between Christiansburg and Blacksburg. The steam engine was notorious for stalling, or running so slow, that passengers had time to hop off the train and pick huckleberries. The train became known as the Huckleberry Train, and the Blacksburg Train Station was nicknamed "Huckleberry Station."

You can’t find many huckleberries in the corridor these days, but we plan to change that. We’re working with the localities and master naturalists to select and to identify locations within the trail corridor to re-establish huckleberry plantings. We will also use this as an opportunity to remove invasive species in the corridor, too.  

Field Explorer Packs

Friends of the Huckleberry is partnering with the Wonder Universe: A Children's Museum to develop and provide Field Explorer Packs for children to explore the Huckleberry Trail. The geographic nexus of the trail and the museum offers visitors an opportunity to extend their experience from the indoors to the outdoors.  Families will be able to check out the explorer packs at the museum and head out to the trail to explore the natural landscapes with activity guides and tools for field observations. 

Interactive Maps

In 2021, we partnered with Pisgah Map Co. to produce brand new paper and digital maps of the Huckleberry Trail and the extended network of paved and natural surface trails in the area. The map is available through a dozen small businesses in Blacksburg and Christiansburg and through Avenza Maps.  The maps have been wildly popular. 

Our goal is to continue to provide trail users with better resources for exploring the trail, and to do that, we need access to better tools. We want to take advantage of the suite of ESRI products, including StoryMaps to provide richer detail of the natural, historical and cultural assets adjacent to the Huckleberry Trail. We're seeking funding for a two-year subscription to ESRI. 

Huckleberry Trail Plan

In October 2021, we kicked off an effort to develop the first ever master plan for the Huckleberry Trail. The New River Valley Metropolitan Planning Organization and NRV Regional Commission provided funding and staff resources to facilitate the planning process. The key stakeholders are Friends of the Huckleberry, local governments, Virginia Tech -- and the trail user community. The master plan will create a unified vision for the trail in the way of design, construction, signage, amenities, public art, events and so on. The goal is to finalize a master plan in late spring 2022.  As in the past, Friends of the Huckleberry will be a key funding partner for the future amenities.