The Barn Restaurant- Atkins, Va.

[GolfHiker]

I read that the Barn Restaurant closed in late Oct., reopened in December with new Management. I have been unable to reach them by phone, as the number given in the Guides &/or Guthook is no longer working. Does anyone have any updated info, or a new phone number? The goal is simply to park at the Barn for a few days for an upcoming section and I’d prefer to know all is good to go in advance.

thanks.

[tdoczi]

oh boy was that place a trip when i was there back in may. it'd be sort of sad to see it go but yet it also makes sense. no way what i saw was a sustainable business model. dont know how it lasted this long.

[Gambit McCrae]

If you cant get ahold of them, parking is available for 2-3 cars on the other side of i81 opposite side as the barn restaurant.

Here is the number that google provides for the barn. As well, Rohlands parking guide suggests having permission before parking here. When I parked here, I called for permission, and told them I would be a customer at the end of my hike, which I did and it was very good!

have a great hike!
The Barn Restaurant


Phone: (276) 686-6222





Hours: Open ⋅ Closes 8PM

Tuesday	7AM–8PM
Wednesday	7AM–8PM
Thursday	7AM–8PM
Friday	7AM–8PM
Saturday	7AM–8PM
Sunday	7AM–3PM
Monday	7AM–8PM

Unable to add this file. Please check that it is a valid photo.

[GolfHiker]

Thanks Gambit. Unfortunately, that number is the very one that is not working. It makes you wonder if they are even open for business, thus my request to the great WB family for some current information.

[Gambit McCrae]

Call skip and linda they shuttle in the atkins area and would know best what the deal is.

276-783-3604

[GolfHiker]

Call skip and linda they shuttle in the atkins area and would know best what the deal is. 276-783-3604

Its funny how one thing leads to another... I had already called Linda for a shuttle, and sadly Skip passed away in December (?). She was great to talk to, and is still doing some light shuttling. She told me she had to notify the guides to make the change in names...

As as for the Relax Inn, I actually stayed there on my hike in ‘16. Not friendly, not unfriendly. Just another cheap motel on the trail. A quick side note, I did this section in 2013. The Barn was closed, the Relax Inn said no to parking, and we ended up parking behind the gas station on the corner, with their permission.
The way things are looking here, it may be the gas station again.

[Gambit McCrae]

Its funny how one thing leads to another... I had already called Linda for a shuttle, and sadly Skip passed away in December (?). She was great to talk to, and is still doing some light shuttling. She told me she had to notify the guides to make the change in names...

As as for the Relax Inn, I actually stayed there on my hike in ‘16. Not friendly, not unfriendly. Just another cheap motel on the trail. A quick side note, I did this section in 2013. The Barn was closed, the Relax Inn said no to parking, and we ended up parking behind the gas station on the corner, with their permission.
The way things are looking here, it may be the gas station again.

I hate to hear Skip passed away I didnt know. He shuttled me many times thru SoVa. Entertained me with his old sherriffin stories during the rides he gave me.

[TNhiker]

parking is available for 2-3 cars on the other side of i81 opposite side as the barn restaurant

is that a safe space to park?

it's basically right off the exit and that makes me thing otherwise but ive never parked there....

wonder if the airport or that gas station right there would allow parking?

[Gambit McCrae]

is that a safe space to park?

it's basically right off the exit and that makes me thing otherwise but ive never parked there....

wonder if the airport or that gas station right there would allow parking?

I would personally park there for a weekend. I would probably try and find more suitable parking for longer then a weekend. Another option would be the Relax Inn but I wanna say they aren't very hiker friendly.

[tdoczi]

I would personally park there for a weekend. I would probably try and find more suitable parking for longer then a weekend. Another option would be the Relax Inn but I wanna say they aren't very hiker friendly.

i also stayed at the relax. i cant say it wasnt hiker friendly. it was sort of overpriced for what you got but what can ya do.

i dont think they get nearly enough business to be fussy about hikers coming in.

[Seatbelt]

i also stayed at the relax. i cant say it wasnt hiker friendly. it was sort of overpriced for what you got but what can ya do.

i dont think they get nearly enough business to be fussy about hikers coming in.

This has been my experience also, have stayed there twice. They were friendly enough I thought.

[TNhiker]

Another option would be the Relax Inn but I wanna say they aren't very hiker friendly.

thats sad as the trail is almost at their front door....

wonder if hikers pissed them off....

on a slightly different note----my grandfather is buried up somewhere up on the mountain on the opposite side of the barn/relax inn....

theres a series of roads that lead to dirt road that somewhere he is buried up there...

sadly, i will never know exact spot as the people who's land we used to bury him, are gone...

the last time/only time i was up there was in 1976 when we buried him and i was 6 years old....

i would have loved to figure out where he's at and see how close it is to the trail and potentially buy the land......

[Old_Man]

thats sad as the trail is almost at their front door....

wonder if hikers pissed them off....

on a slightly different note----my grandfather is buried up somewhere up on the mountain on the opposite side of the barn/relax inn....

theres a series of roads that lead to dirt road that somewhere he is buried up there...

sadly, i will never know exact spot as the people who's land we used to bury him, are gone...

the last time/only time i was up there was in 1976 when we buried him and i was 6 years old....

i would have loved to figure out where he's at and see how close it is to the trail and potentially buy the land......

Bumping this old thread because I just recently purchased a home in Atkins at the base of Glade Mtn, less than three miles from the trail. I have a USGS survey map of Glade Mountain and the surrounding area and it shows two cemeteries in the area you are referencing--one is Atkins Cemetery (which I believe is now affiliated with Cedar Bluff Baptist church and is not on a mountain), between I81 and the present day location of the Settlers Museum. The second is about a mile up Glade Mountain called Overbay Cemetery--I have been trying to find Overbay in my treks around my new neighborhood but it appears to be on private property. You can take forest road 86 all the way around Glade Mtn (also called Denzler Rd on some maps) and reconnect with Nick's Creek Rd in Atkins, making a nice little twelve mile loop to explore the area.

[TNhiker]

Bumping this old thread because I just recently purchased a home in Atkins at the base of Glade Mtn, less than three miles from the trail. I have a USGS survey map of Glade Mountain and the surrounding area and it shows two cemeteries in the area you are referencing--one is Atkins Cemetery (which I believe is now affiliated with Cedar Bluff Baptist church and is not on a mountain), between I81 and the present day location of the Settlers Museum. The second is about a mile up Glade Mountain called Overbay Cemetery--I have been trying to find Overbay in my treks around my new neighborhood but it appears to be on private property. You can take forest road 86 all the way around Glade Mtn (also called Denzler Rd on some maps) and reconnect with Nick's Creek Rd in Atkins, making a nice little twelve mile loop to explore the area.

thanks...

the way i remember it though, is that my grandfather was not buried in an established cemetery...

rather, we just went up and put him in the ground on some family owned private land then put
some concrete over top of it.......he was buried in an urn.......

i recall a block of concrete about a foot and a half by a foot and a half......

and remember my grandmother picking up a stick and writing his name
in the cement....

i was just down in that general area (wytheville) to drop off some my dad's genealogy research papers
to the wythe county genealogical society....

i go by the exit (54) where the land is off of all the time, just the other day as a matter of fact but
was distracted watching a plane land at the airport....

twenty some years of doing that route and that's the second plane i have seen landing there.......

but once i am done with cleaning out my dad's house and settling his estate, i plan on going up
that area and see what i can find......

i just know that it's somewhere on the west side of 81, and had to go up a dirt road off the main little
road right there, and through a bunch of cattle gates to get up to the top...

it might be off of gordon road which is about a mile or two from the interstate...

this would make sense as my grandmother's sister got married to a gordon and it was
part of their land......

[blazercoach]

Please,

Where do you recommend a person park safely for free in Atkins? I'm heading there tomorrow. Hopefully you see this in time! Or anyone who knows....

Thank you!

[Old_Man]

Hello,

Pretty sure the Virginia Settler's Museum will allow parking as they are closed right now and the trail runs adjacent to the Visitor's Center. Their address is 1322 Rocky Hollow Rd in Atkins. You can also go down Rocky Hollow to Kiawana, take a left, and drive up to Denzler Road, which turns into forest road 644. It's quite steep and rocky so a good vehicle is recommended. After about a mile you will come to a T section--the trail is to the left, about another mile on. There is a small pull off near where the trail crosses the road that you could park a vehicle at.

[swatsullivan]

I parked at the parking lot beside the trail where it crossed the next road after 81. It’s near a farm, and may be ok for a weekend. Didn’t get in the Barn, but I’m down that way fairly regularly. If I can remember, I’ll try to swing by the Barn Feb 15th when I’m there next.

[JPritch]

I had to pay for parking at The Barn on a section last year.

Skip....is he the tall skinny fellow, his wife really short?

[GolfHiker]

I had to pay for parking at The Barn on a section last year.
Skip....is he the tall skinny fellow, his wife really short?

All the guide books state a $5.00/day charge, so I expected that.
As for Skip being tall, skinny, I never met the man. I spoke to Linda, his wife on the phone. She did sound like she was really short!

[rmitchell]

I parked at the Relax Inn Sept. 2011 and again April 2012. They did charge to park. Once got a shuttle from one of the younger family members there.

Not sure if they still shuttle