Virginia Coal Heritage Trail
Virginia Coal Heritage Trail is a State Scenic Byway in Virginia. Within Virginia it covers roughly 300 miles. The map below shows its route. Use “Plan a drive” to open it in the Road Sorties route planner — already routing along Virginia Coal Heritage Trail with scenic roads turned on, ready to add your own stops.
The Virginia Coal Heritage Trail runs 325 miles through southwestern Virginia, starting at the Pocahontas Exhibition Mine, in the state's first coal boom town. The trail crosses seven counties: Buchanan, Dickenson, Lee, Russell, Scott, and Wise Counties and the city of Norton, and Virginia designated it a state byway in 2007. Because a single trip can't easily cover all 325 miles, the route is split into three sections, each designed to begin and end near gas, food, and lodging. Stops along the way include the Breaks Interstate Park Visitor's Center, packed with coal-mining history and geology, and the Dickenson County Coal Miners Memorial near Clinchco, which lists the names of 309 miners killed in mine-related accidents. Working mines, small coal-town museums, and mountain music halls round out a drive built to interpret and preserve the working culture of Virginia's coalfields rather than to showcase conventional scenery.
- Pocahontas Exhibition Mine
- Dickenson County Coal Miners Memorial
- 325 miles
- Breaks Interstate Park
- 2007 designation
- seven Virginia counties
- coalfields heritage
Plan a drive on Virginia Coal Heritage Trail →
What is a State Scenic Byway?
State Scenic Byways are roads a state has formally recognized for their scenic, natural, historic or cultural value — each state's own curated collection of drives worth taking slowly.
Where to Stay along Virginia Coal Heritage Trail
11 campgrounds and RV parks sit within about 5 miles of Virginia Coal Heritage Trail.
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