Old Parkersburg!
Old Parkersburg is a gravel road connecting the town of Deerfield to the outskirts of the city of Staunton. It is a wonderful gravel climb with beautiful landscape, fun terrain, and many fun ways to ride to it.
The route we share for Old Parkersburg hits all of my favorite snack spots, features some pot-bellied pigs and cute cows, and never stops amazing with the valley and mountain views. This route should really be known as “Kelly’s snack ride” because that’s actually what it is, haha. :)
An 80 mile ride, with 5,200’ of elevation, the Old Parkersburg route rolls along nicely, and keeps ya smiling the whole way.
Key Route Points
Food / Snacks
Food/water/snacks/hangout spots… whatever you want to call these oases, can be found at 3 spots directly on the route. Two of these spots are local gas stations that are near and dear to my heart.
Snack stop #1: The Stokesville Market
The Stokesville Market is at mile 20 on this route. I usually stop to eat 2nd breakfast here - also known as THE BEST CINNAMON ROLL ever! I’ve also had delicious pop, pizza, chips, candy, and chocolates, but about 4 months ago, these locally made cinnamon rolls showed up, and since then I have bought one of these tasty treats every single time I pass through Stokesville. I highly suggest you give these a try. And if the Market only has the large family pack size out, feel free to politely ask for a single, one of the employees will cut a few up for you.
ALSO at the Stokesville Market, you may be lucky enough to observe the pot-belly pig family that lives at one of the houses behind the Market. THEY ARE SO CUTE, and roam freely around the store and neighboring field. If you don’t see them out front, take a peak behind the store and you’ll probably spot them.
Yes I did purchase TWO cinnamon rolls, and I do not care if you judge me. :)
Snack Stop #2: Mountain View Store / aka West Augusta Store
If you chose to skip the 2nd breakfast/snack options in Stokesville, OR you find yourself hungry sooner than you anticipated, at mile 28 you’ll ride past the Mountain View store at the intersection of rt250 and Deerfield Valley Rd.
This store is home to the MOUNTAIN DEW CAKE. Yep, you heard right: MOUNTAIN DEW CAKE.
Found in the pastry case directly to your left after walking in the store, a slice of mountain dew cake will be calling your name. Don’t knock it til you’ve tried it - it basically tastes like pound cake, but somehow is SO MUCH better. The Mountain View General store also has all of your basic ride needs, as well as some local products like maple syrup and jerky. This is the spot Chris usually grabs a snack - he’s partial to the mini pizzas they keep hot and ready. Lots of choices for whatever food mood you find yourself in.
Make sure to take a look at the ET-like figure set up in front of the store. Though I don’t know that it is supposed to be like ET because of the sign mentioning “Marg” beneath it, I like it’s quirky-ness and am amused by it.
THE mountain dew cake!
Snack Stop #3: Jake’s Convenience & Subway
Though I don’t have any pictures for you of this convenience store, it’s worth mentioning because it’s right around mile 55, it’s after you’ve climbed Old Parkersburg, and there’s still 25 miles to go before you get back home.
I like to hit up the ice cream and Red Bull coolers here - the chocolate chip ice cream sandwiches and Cranberry flavored Red Bull are some favorites.
This convenience store also just happens to be conveniently located directly across from the road you will continue your ride on to head home.
Special / noteworthy spots
Stokesville (not just for snacks)
Stokesville used to be a booming railway town in the early 1900s, and the mountains were almost bare from the logging by the time the town was in decline. Not much history can be found on Stokesville, but Dr. Clarence R. Geir has put together a wonderful presentation on what is known of the town that can be found on the Friends of Shenandoah Mountain webpage.
Two of the easily seen remnants of the railways that used to exist here can be found at the entrance to the Stokesville Campgound - a depot house and caboose sit on the road right after passing the bridge over the north river, welcoming campers and cyclists to a glorious time spent outdoors.
Stover Shop Rd
The first gravel road of this route, Stover Shop feels almost like ‘little West Virginia’. You ride between mountain ridges with smaller pastures on their sides. There are some beautiful homes placed along this road, and no shortage of wildlife and silly cows.
Old Parkerburg
And now we get to it - the namesake of this ride: Old Parkersburg Rd.
Riding this road is relatively new to me. I only started venturing to it in the last 6 months. Rocktown’s owner, Ken, LOVES this road, and after hearing from him about it for years, I finally decided to check it out, and wished I had listened to him much earlier.
You’ll turn onto Old Parkersburg right around 36 miles into the ride. It will meander a bit as pavement and then turns to gravel just before you start to climb. The climb is 1.5 miles long. It’s not a harsh climb, and the gravel gets only slightly loose in a few spots. You start out under a tree canopy and then as you ascend, mountain ridge views start to poke through on your right. If you were to mountain bike on that ridge it would take you to a super cool spot called Elliot’s Knob (more on that some other time). On your left as you climb, keep your eyes open for some pretty flowers, small caves, and jumping chipmunks!
The descent down Old Parkersburg to Buffalo Gap is a lot of fun, and has a pretty stream running next to it. Keep in mind to watch out for automobile traffic - though there are fewer cars/people out here, it doesn’t mean they no longer exist.
Crossing over the West Dry Branch at the beginning of Old Parkersburg Rd
Extras
The Ride Home : After Old Parkersburg, you’ll hit one of my favorite roads - Middle River. Aptly named, you’ll ride next to the Middle River for a few miles - it’s beautiful.
Add-on into Staunton: Feel free to visit Staunton, or extend your ride, by heading East on rt254 instead of crossing over it (Mile 51-ish). There are some great restaurants and coffee shops to stop at (Reunion Bakery is a favorite spot). Connect back to Middle River Rd by way of riding through Gypsy Hill Park to Shutterlee Mill, left on Luckstone Rd, right on Union Church Rd, and then right onto Middle River.
Caution on rt 250 between Stover Shop and Deerfield Valley: I highly recommend having a bright taillight on for this section of road (I always have mine going). It’s the one road on this route that has some faster automobile traffic.
Flower Power: Virginia has some gorgeous wildflowers that are especially wonderful to see in mid-to-late Spring. This route has no shortage of flowers, so I definitely recommend stopping to smell the “roses” / taking some pictures :)
Photo Credit: the amazing Jess Daddio <3