Southwest Virginia farm; image by Tom Adkinson.

DAMASCUS, Va. – Autumn may be winding down, but travel on the backroads of Southwest Virginia continues to deliver beautiful scenes such as this barn, pasture, horses and ridgeline outside of Damascus. Damascus, known as Trail Town because of its popularity with Appalachian Trail hikers and with the bicyclists who roll in on the Virginia Creeper Trail, is one hub for exploring the countryside. Another is Abingdon, home of the Barter Theatre and Heartwood, a facility that showcases the arts, crafts, music and culture of this mountainous corner of Virginia. Just east of Damascus and Abingdon are the 200,000 acres of the Mount Rogers National Recreation Area, which has four congressionally designated wilderness areas. Mount Rogers itself is the highest point in Virginia (5,729 feet above sea level).

Trip-planning resources: VisitDamascus.org, VisitAbingdonVirginia.com and Virginia.org