Andy Layne Trail detour opens
- Andy Layne Trail hikers near Catawba are now using a temporary detour and new parking area after an early February closure on Roanoke Cement land. - The key fix is bigger than a stopgap: planners are building a relocated lower trail, a new Catawba Creek bridge, and a larger parking lot. - It matters because this Tinker Cliffs access route is beloved, but the current detour forces a risky roadside walk.
A trail detour sounds small. But on Andy Layne Trail, it changes how people reach one of the Roanoke region’s best-known hikes. The lower part of the trail closed in February after work crossed into a protected easement area earlier than planned, and hikers have been improvising ever since. Now there’s a formal detour, a temporary parking shift, and a clearer picture of the permanent fix. (wsls.com) ### What trail are we talking about? Andy Layne Trail is the blue-blazed side trail that takes hikers up toward Tinker Cliffs, part of Virginia’s Triple Crown and the Appalachian Trail corridor. It also works as a connector to the North Mountain Trail, so this is not some obscure spur — plenty of day hikers and backpackers use it. (wsls.com) ### Why did it close so suddenly? The closure was not supposed to happen when it did. The long-term relocation had already been in the works because Roanoke Cement Company is preparing to open a new quarry nearby, but subcontractors started clearing trees in an area they were not yet authorized to touch. That pushed officials into an early closure and a rushed temporary setup. (wsls.com) ### What changed for hikers? Since February 9, hikers have been using a temporary detour around the closed lower section. The Appalachian Trail Conservancy says the new access point is a field and gravel parking area about a half mile south of the old North Mountain trailhead on Catawba Road, and the detour itself runs about 0.4 miles through a field before reconnecting with Andy Layne Trail. (appalachiantrail.org) ### Why are people worried about the detour? The catch is the road walk. Backpackers doing the Triple Crown loop have to walk roughly 0.5 miles along Catawba Road between the temporary parking area and the Catawba Valley Trail connection, and that road has little to no shoulder. The ATC’s warning is blunt — be extremely careful, do not walk there at night, and make sure drivers can see you. (appalachiantrail.org) ### What’s happening with parking? Parking is part of the problem, not just a side detail. WSLS described hikers parking along the shoulder and said some vehicles were ticketed and towed after the emergency shift. Trail officials said the temporary lot went in fast during winter, then warm weekends brought more hikers than the setup could comfortably handle, so additional gravel parking had to be added. (wsls.com) ### What is the permanent fix? The long-term project is a full relocation of the lower portion of the trail. It also includes a new bridge over Catawba Creek and a larger parking lot meant to improve both traffic flow and pedestrian safety. Basically, the goal is to stop asking hikers and drivers to share an awkward roadside access pattern and replace it with something built for the volume this trail actually gets. (wsls.com) ### Why is this trail unusually complicated? A lot of the trail crosses private property owned by Roanoke Cement Company, which makes the arrangement more delicate than a typical public-trail setup. The Appalachian Trail Conservancy says the route has operated under a conse(wsls.com)tion has to absorb quarry expansion too. (wsls.com) ### What should hikers do now? For now, use the marked temporary parking area and follow the posted detour map. Don’t assume roadside parking is fine, and don’t treat the road walk like a casual connector — it’s the sketchiest part of the whole workaround. The bigger story is that the detour is temporary, but the safer alignment is still the thing everyone is waiting for. (appalachiantrail.org)
