For visitors to Dickenson County who are bold enough to seek out the unusual, there remains yet another extraordinary experience: the Cumberland Mountain View Drive. For some it is "the road not taken," or another way
back home; for others it is an opportunity
to see a bit of authentic rural Dickenson County. This drive
along an unpretentious back road offers both the sweeping beauty
of "the singing hills" and a glimpse into the realities
of rural mountain life -- past and present.
The 19-mile excursion begins five miles south of the Breaks Interstate Park at the Cumberland Mountain View Drive sign on Virginia Route 611. The drive links the Breaks Park with Clintwood, the seat of Virginia's youngest county, and from there provides ready access to U.S. 23 north or west toward Pikeville or Knoxville or to U.S. 63 south or east toward the Tri-Cities or Roanoke. Or the circuit may be continued to the Breaks via Rt. 83. (Click here to see a map of the route.) But before returning to the rumble and roar of the superhighways you may find the winding adventure of this mountain byway to be a refreshing respite (including a three-mile unpaved stretch retained as a reminiscence of the roads of yesteryear). The way is safe and well-maintained, but expect a few shrieks from the fainthearted at some of the sharp turns and sheer heights. Allowing for stops to look and listen and explore along the way, the Cumberland Mountain View Drive deserves a full morning or afternoon, time for a memorable retreat into a beautiful and less hurried world.
Along the way sharp eyes may discover a red fox or a doe, a ruffed grouse or a wild turkey among the hardwoods and rhododendron of the Jefferson National Forest. Or a more intensive study of the flora and fauna may be pursued at Branham Farm Wildlife Area. Depending on the season, you may encounter high on the ridge that leads to the Kentucky border, riders enroute to the Mountain Trail Ride; or as you descend toward the impressive Flannagan Reservoir you may discover rafters preparing to challenge the white waters of the Russell Fork River.
Reflective (or hungry) types may prefer a picnic at one of the many quiet fishing coves or at a roadside overlook where the wild geraniums and trillium bloom freely. Some will want to stop at a mountain farm so the children may see the new lambs or calves at play, or an old red rooster strutting in yesterday's barnyard. Reminders of the past prevail in the remnants of a pioneer dwelling at the site of the Old Ranger's Cabin, in the swinging bridges across the mountain streams, or in old log barns weathering like gray ghosts in the mist. On a Sunday afternoon you may find music makers on a front porch carrying on the traditions of mountain folk song and bluegrass...or more recent country rock!
You also will be aware that industry has long been a part of this region of America, too: when you cross the historic Splashdam Bridge with its ingenious early river lock system you may imagine echoes of another time when giant yellow popular logs boomed their way downstream; and you will likely meet up with a modern coal train ferrying "black gold" toward the world's markets.
The Cumberland Mountain View Drive is an experience in beauty, a journey into mountain history, and a venture into the realities of contemporary Appalachia.