$317K grant improves Devil’s Bathtub trail access

SCOTT COUNTY, Va. (WJHL) — The Scott County Economic Development Authority received a $317,000 grant to improve the access trail to the Devil’s Bathtub.

The grant from the Virginia Department of Energy’s Abandoned Mine Land Economic Revitalization (AMLER) helped cover the cost of improvements to the Devil’s Fork Loop trail that leads to the Devil’s Bathtub.

The Scott County EDA, U.S. Forest Service and the Appalachian Conservation Corps made several safety improvements to the two-mile trail, a news release stated.

Three new trail segments were implemented, eliminating five stream crossings. Blazes are now clearly marked for the trail and the trailhead parking lot was improved.

“One of the biggest things that we had was we were having a lot of people that [were] getting lost along the trail and improved signage,” Scott County EDA Chairman Roger Fraysier said. “And then there [were] also some places where there was just like a rope over a ledge, and we kind of rerouted some of that and made more safety features.”

Construction of the project created 15 jobs and an additional 38 jobs will be supported long-term due to the improvements, according to the release.

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