[1] The six-mile (9.7 km) trail follows the roadbed of a former Chesapeake and Ohio Railway (C&O) branch line which extended from Glasgow, Virginia, to Lexington, primarily following the Maury River.
In 1969, a devastating flood in western Virginia from the remnants of Hurricane Camille destroyed much of this rail line.
The C&O and competitor Norfolk and Western Railway (N&W) agreed to jointly rebuild only the N&W line which also paralleled the river between Buena Vista and Glasgow, with C&O being granted trackage rights from Glasgow to Loch Laird, a location on the west side Buena Vista.
[4] The trail is a path at water level across fields, pastures, and woods along the Maury River.
The trail can be reached in Lexington from US 11 to Route 631, east on Old Buena Vista Road one-half mile (0.8 km) to the parking lot.