We waded in and ducked our heads. The trail South Pedlar is the outside loop of a 25-mile trail system that the Forest Service opened to recreation in 1993, said Kathy Hall, a forester in the U.S. Forest Service's Glenwood and Pedlar Ranger Districts. It was developed with the help of the Shenandoah Off-Road Vehicle Association and is popular among ATV riders. But it's also open to mountain bikers. Hall said use of the 25-mile trail network is pretty evenly split between the two groups, with mountain bikers tending to make up the majority in the summer, ATV riders in the spring and fall.
Weekends are the busiest times.
In all, there are about 25 miles of fairly wide, well-groomed and trails to ride. In terms of difficulty, I'd rate it a 6.5 on a scale of 10, with 10 being the hardest. With a free map and signposts that mark each trail juncture, the Forest Service has made the system easy to navigate. Webb and I started at the Rattlesnake Branch ATV parking area off Virginia 130. We rode the outside loop in a counter-clockwise direction .