Working with local governments, community organizations and businesses, we help create and maintain:

• Hiking and biking trails, river walks and greenways  
• Safe and attractive locations for healthful exercise, and
• Opportunities for children and adults to learn about animals and plants that live and grow here.

Rail Trail, Martinsville and Henry County, Virginia
A proposed rail trail will follow Norfolk Southern’s abandoned Danville and Western rail bed through Martinsville and into Henry County. The multiuse trail will be open for walking and biking and will feature all the necessary amenities. An old rail spur has been converted into a tail by the City of Martinsville. This spur will lead trail users into uptown Martinsville.

Smith River Fieldale Trail , Henry County, Virginia
The Fieldale Tail is a short greenway designed for biking and walking along the Smith River. The trail runs from the Upper Smith River Water and Sewer Lift Station and meanders along the Smith River for approximately one mile, ending at the entryway to Fieldcrest Lodge. River access is available at the trail head. Partial funding for the greenway was provided by the Dominion Foundation, the Virginia Department of Forestry, Urban and Community Forestry Program. 

Check out the Martinsville-Henry County Rivers and Trails Group brochure for information on these projects.

Smith River Greenway, Eden, NC 

The first leg of the City of Eden’s greenway system is now open!  A new trailhead for the Smith River Greenway is located on the east side of the Smith River, just downstream of the Spray traffic circle and Island Ford Bridge (now under construction).

The trail is level and smooth and extends for approximately 1.7 miles to the Eden Family YMCA on Kennedy Street. Interesting plants and wildlife are to be found along the trail  as it winds through woods and open fields.

From the circle, the Greenway can be accessed by crossing the Smith River on Meadow Road and turning right. Parking, picnic shelter and rest room facilities are available at the trailhead. Benches are located along the trail.

The Eden greenway along the Smith River was a project of one of DRBA’s founders, Mike Covey. Mike met with all of the landowners to gain their approval, and he worked tirelessly to make this beautiful trail possible.

The next phase of the planned city-wide system will extend the greenway up river beyond the bridge toward the Spray dam.   

DRBA thanks City of Eden Mayor John Grogan, members of the Eden City Council, planning director Kelly Stultz, Sam W. Smith, Inc., and the Annie Penn Community Trust for making the greenway a reality.

Chinqua-Penn Trail,
Rockingham County, North Carolina
In Rockingham County, DRBA received funding from the Annie Penn Foundation to improve the Chinqua Penn trail to make it safer for seniors to traverse the 1.7 mile scenic loop through the NC State Research station.  

Caswell County, NC Trail
Master Plan
DRBA volunteers and staff have been working to build a partnership of stakeholders to draft a trail master plan for Caswell County, NC. The plan will look at linkages along waterways and to local neighborhoods. A pilot trail project is being developed to connect county and town parks with a senior center, day care center and elementary school.

• City of Danville, VA
• Rockingham County, NC
• Stokes County, NC

(Pittslyvania County, VA info under development)

• Dan River Basin Association Brochure (pdf file)
• Adventures in the Dan River Basin by Forrest Altman (58-page pdf file)
• Paddling Eastern North Carolina, a guide by Paul Ferguson
• Rockingham County, NC Rivers Guide (pdf file)
• The Dan River Atlas, email William E. Trout, III
• A Brief History of Rockingham County by Lindley S. Butler

Henry County
Administration Building
PO Box 7
Collinsville, VA 24078
Phone: 276-634-2545
drba.va@danriver.org

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