New River Trail State Park in southwest Virginia preserves a former railroad corridor as one of the state's major rail-trail conversions. Stretching 57.7 miles from Pulaski to Galax, with a 5.5-mile spur to Fries, it follows the New River for 39 miles and links small towns, industrial sites, and open countryside. Created in 1986 after Norfolk Southern Railway donated the abandoned right-of-way, it opened in 1987 and gradually expanded to its full length by the late 1990s. The trail retains notable railroad features, including two tunnels and major bridges, while also connecting visitors to nearby furnaces, dams, mills, and other historic sites in the New River valley.