We are open.
That’s what leaders in Damascus want the community to know, nearly one year after Hurricane Helene’s damaging floodwaters swept through the Southwest Virginia trail town, wreaking havoc on homes, businesses and infrastructure.
The storm couldn’t have come at a worse time, arriving right before peak fall leaf season, a major tourism and economic event for Damascus, primarily because of its location on the scenic Virginia Creeper Trail. The trail attracts more than 180,000 visitors each year from across the United States and around the world who come to enjoy the scenery, according to the trail’s website.
The storm destroyed the upper 17 miles of the trail, washing out portions of U.S. 58 and Virginia 91 and closing over 400 miles of the Appalachian Trail between Georgia and Virginia. The upper trail remains closed, with trail restoration set to begin in October by the U.S. Forest Service.
According to a press release from the town, approximately 140 structures in Damascus were damaged or destroyed, with estimated loss of $10 million to $12 million to homes, businesses and public infrastructure.
Pathway to recovery
The good news is that the town is on an ambitious pathway to recovery.
In observance of the one-year anniversary of the storm, the town will celebrate Saturday with a community event, Hope Floats Day, starting at 3 p.m. at the Town Park. The event will feature an ice cream social, live music by the Yates Family Band, and games. Community resources will be on site. A rubber ducky race will take place at 4:30 p.m. on Beaverdam Creek.
“It’s a way for the town to give back and acknowledge all the agencies that helped with the recovery effort,” said Town Manager Chris Bell. “It’s a free event to say ‘thank you’ and a way to reflect on the progress made through the year but also to acknowledge we have much more recovery to go.”
The name of the event didn’t happen by accident.
Bell writes on the Facebook page for “Visit Damascus, Virginia” that two or three days after the storm, he sent a group of volunteers to help clean and sort debris in the dog park adjacent to Trestle 17 in town.
He writes, “While working, one of the volunteers discovered an old VHS tape from the 90s movie, ‘Hope Floats.’
“Now, I don’t believe it’s Sandra Bullock’s best performance and Rotten Tomatoes only gives it a 27 percent rating, but I found irony in the name and believe it captures the spirit of our little town,” writes Bell in the post.
On Sept. 16, the town hosted a press conference where town officials and regional partners provided updates on tourism growth, recovery efforts and key milestones marking the one-year anniversary of Hurricane Helene.
The event concluded with an unveiling and ribbon-cutting of the new Virginia Creeper Trailhead, featuring a mural, a welcome arch, an updated six-panel interpretive kiosk and the Creeper Trail Welcome Center, located in the Damascus Caboose.
Through a partnership with the Virginia Creeper Trail Conservancy, the town will operate the welcome center, opening 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. Friday to Sunday.
Remarkable things
Hurricane Helene caused catastrophic flooding and widespread destruction in Damascus in September 2024, washing out roads, carrying away automobiles, destroying buildings, damaging homes and businesses, and leaving the town in chaotic scenes of mud and debris.
Fast forward one year later, and the town is on its way to revitalization, strengthened by a vision to be better.
The town is a unique place, said Mayor Katie Lamb, led by people who care about fostering a greater sense of community.
“As we approach the anniversary of Helene, we reflect on perseverance, hope, faith, spirit and resilience,” Lamb said. “Helene came in with a vengeance, and she may have damaged and destroyed our structures, but she did not shatter our mountain virtues, or our love for our town, and the appreciation we have for our visitors. Our hearts are forever grateful to the many, many volunteers, police, fire and rescue agencies that came from all over to help us recover and rebuild.”
Julie Kroll, the town’s recreation director, added: “We’ve been doing what we can to find beauty in the storm. We could either sit around and be sad, or we could do something about it, and so we decided to do everything we could to bring Damascus back.”
‘A blessing in disguise’
While the devastation posed immediate challenges and hardships, the turbulent weather event led to some unexpected positive outcomes, said Bell.
“This has been a blessing in disguise,” he said. “It’s an opportunity for the town to redefine and rediversify itself. It’s forced everyone to think about all the wonderful natural assets that Damascus holds. We need to do a better job of sharing those and embracing not just the hiking and biking enthusiasts, but other outdoor recreation enthusiasts.
“And not just putting all the eggs in that Creeper Trail basket.”
Traditionally, the bike shuttle services in town have relied heavily on Creeper Trail tourism. Most of the five shuttle services in town are experiencing a decrease of 60% to 70% compared to years past, according to Bell.
The adoption of an electric bike policy between the towns of Damascus and Abingdon may give the bike shuttle companies a much needed boost, allowing them to rent — and in some cases, sell — e-bikes.
After the storm, a decision was made to allow the e-bikes on the 17-mile section of the Creeper Trail that connects the two towns. Organizers developed the tagline “The Start to the Heart,” referring to the town of Abingdon as a starting point and Damascus as “the Heart.”
“This will allow more visitors and residents access to the trail if they have pedal assistance from the e-bikes,” said Bell. “Now, shuttles are picking up and dropping off people in Abingdon and Alvarado.”
Michael Wright, who owns Adventure Damascus Bicycles, believes fewer people are coming to the area to ride the trail, regardless of what bike they have. “They miss getting to do the downhill ride from Whitetop,” he said.
“People are coming to ride but it’s not in the quantity that we’re used to,” he said. “However, we’re far from zero where we were last October.”
Restaurants in town also took a toll during the storm.
Damascus Diner on Shady Avenue was extensively damaged by floodwaters, but it has since been rebuilt and reopened in April. Owner Ralph Wilson credits community support for helping him resume operations.
“What we’ve seen from a tax revenue perspective is that we’ve had about the same amount of revenue from restaurants from the previous year,” said Bell, the town manager. “We attribute a lot of that to the increased number of contractors who visit Damascus to survey and repair damages.”
According to Bell, as many as eight lodging establishments were either destroyed or the owners have chosen not to reopen.
Damascus’ lodging industry has long been supported by visitors to the Creeper Trail, with many of the trail fans naturally migrating to town. Lodging owners received repeat business year after year and often didn’t have to work as hard for the business, Bell said.
“This year is different. They had to market themselves and get the word out that we’re back,” he said.
Wheeler’s Inn, formerly Dancing Bear Inn, was heavily damaged by the catastrophic floodwaters that washed away the Mama Bear, Papa Bear, Brother and Sister Bear rental rooms, along with a garage containing bikes and equipment.
Pat McCartin, who owns the rental property along with his wife, Elizabeth, reported losing two buildings that measured 4,000 square feet of rooms. “They were a total loss, a total devastation,” he said. “We lost half of our rental rooms but three-quarters of our business.”
The couple was able to maintain the primary building on the property, which also serves as their home. Once utilities were reestablished, they were able to reopen the main building’s four rental rooms in mid-November.
With the loss of the rental rooms that carried the names of bears, the couple decided a new name was more fitting.
The couple chose Wheeler’s Inn to honor the many bicyclists who travel the trails that converge in Damascus. “There’s always something with wheels going on. It sounds like a family name, but it’s a subliminal hint that we like wheels,” McCartin said.
He said it’s going to be a slow rebuild before he and his wife are fully satisfied with the restored property. They have a long-term plan to eventually replace the buildings that were destroyed.
A new Airbnb experience is coming to Damascus.
After losing their Damascus rental property during the hurricane, Jennifer and Doak Walker have purchased two historic cabooses that they plan to transform into rentals just steps from the Creeper Trail.
Once restored, the cabooses will have new floors, granite countertops, heated bathroom floors and all leather furniture. “It’s so elegant that it reminds me of the Biltmore,” said Jennifer Walker. Currently, the cabooses are being sanded, sealed and painted by professionals.
The rental properties are expected to open in January.
New events in town
New events are helping to stimulate the local economy and reestablish some of the tourism the town has lost since the storm.
Damascus Trout Days is a new trout fishing tournament that encourages visitors to return to the town and participate in outdoor activities. The two days of catch-and-release fishing attracted as many as 100 anglers in April. The event took place again on Sept. 12-14.
People came from as far away as Northern Virginia to fish in the trout-abundant waters, such as Laurel Creek and Beaverdam Creek.
“We hope to widen that net and attract more anglers in the future,” said Bell.
The inaugural Damascus Adventure Moto DAM 200 was held in June, attracting 120 participants from as far away as Indiana. The event celebrated the convergence of two national trails, the Mid-Atlantic and South East Backcountry Discovery Routes, which meet in downtown Damascus.
The new dual-sport adventure motorcycle ride took participants into the mountains surrounding Damascus, following a 200-kilometer route along the back roads around Southwest Virginia and East Tennessee.
The self-guided route was a mixture of paved and gravel surfaces. Participants could ride at their own pace.
“Now folks can travel from Florida to Damascus and continue on to New York following these two trails,” said Bell. “The whole point of the trails is to ride by small towns and rural areas, offering support by purchasing gas or food.”
The town has hired K.T. Martin as an events and economic engagement coordinator to spearhead more events.
“My focus is growing our events and providing new opportunities for people to come to, collaborating closely with our businesses here in Damascus and finding out what their needs are and supporting them,” said Martin.
“We love our Creeper Trail, but Damascus does have so much more to offer. I’ll be focusing on the diversity of adventure options with our incredible business owners,” she added.
Since the flood, new businesses have opened, including Bad Bagel’s Pet Emporium, Green Cove Collective, Stone Fly Co. and Cardinal Furniture and Cabinetry.
The Brinker family has reintroduced its boutique hotel, formerly Brinkwaters, as The Speckled Trout Outpost, located on West Laurel Avenue.
The Tipsy Bear opened in the fall on Douglas Drive and specializes in food from pizza to tenders and burgers, plus a full bar on the patio.
Damascus Pizza — a sister location to Pizza Land in Abingdon — opened in July on North Beaver Dam Avenue across from Food City.
The new Fig Tree Flower Farm will offer seasonal cut flowers and glamping starting in spring 2026.
The town added free WiFi along the downtown corridor for the convenience of visitors.
“It’s ultimately a good thing for the town to pivot but not lose our roots,” Bell said. “We don’t want to diminish the importance of the Creeper Trail, but we recognize it can’t be everything to our economy.
“We will grow from this and be smarter from this and more resilient,” he said.
Outside support
Damascus reported $853,000 in damage to town-owned buildings and infrastructure that qualifies for assistance from the Federal Emergency Management Agency, according to the news release. About 17% of that amount has been paid out or earmarked so far, Bell said.
Renovations have been made to the town hall and fire station, along with road paving, brick sidewalk restoration and stormwater infrastructure repairs.
Restoration work, which includes repairs to the town-owned portion of the Virginia Creeper Trail and park restoration, is expected to continue through at least 2028. Grant-funded projects amounting to an estimated $3.5 million will include stream bank stabilization, parks restoration and stormwater infrastructure.
Washington County residents received a total of $2.4 million from FEMA individual assistance; of that, $2.1 million went to Damascus addresses, according to the press release.
Volunteer efforts have been crucial in the recovery of the town. People have helped to rebuild homes, clear debris and reopen businesses.
In just the first month post-Helene, the town estimated that at least 20,000 volunteer hours contributed to the restoration process. Volunteers helped with search and rescue, debris removal and muck-out, repairs and more.
According to Olivia Bailey, spokesperson for Trails to Recovery, a nonprofit serving disaster recovery needs in Washington County, 98 homes were identified as damaged or destroyed. Of those, 90 sustained minor to moderate damage. Eight homes were completely rebuilt, she said.
“As of right now, every home that we were requested to assist with and that met the qualifications has been completed or we are currently working on,” said Bailey.
The organization worked alongside Mennonite Disaster Service and Storm Aid and the Baptist General Assembly of Virginia/Impact Missions on those homes.
According to Kim Davis, executive director of Friends of Southwest Virginia, the nonprofit organization began assisting the region, including Damascus, immediately after the storm last year, communicating with travelers to help plan their trips to Southwest Virginia.
“We assisted the Creeper Trail Conservancy with messaging to visitors who were planning trips to the region,” Davis said. “Clear communication was critical at that moment, both to let people know which areas were affected and to reassure them about what was still open and safe to enjoy.”
Most recently, Friends of Southwest Virginia launched a Southwest Virginia Mural Initiative to celebrate and invest in communities through public art.
Immediately after the storm, Virginia Tourism Corporation worked with Damascus and other communities impacted by the storm to determine the best way to communicate with visitors who had planned trips to the region.
In February, they held two strategic planning sessions with community stakeholders and business leaders about their vision for the town of Damascus in the next three to five years.
As a result, in August, the town council approved its first-ever tourism action plan, which was facilitated, developed and drafted by the Virginia Tourism team.
“We have been working hands-on with Washington County and the town of Damascus to secure funding for a potential market and feasibility study,” said Kalen Hunter, senior destination development manager who covers the Southwest Virginia and Blue Ridge Highlands region for Virginia Tourism.
A town-owned site in Washington County is under consideration for future development, Hunter said. A plan for the property will be determined once a feasibility study is completed.
The Washington County Board of Supervisors, Washington County Industrial Development Authority and Wellspring Foundation have committed to supporting this project. Additional funding is pending.
“Local leadership has been instrumental in diversifying tourism in Damascus,” said Hunter. “The town has been innovative and has done a tremendous job organizing and coordinating efforts. I am proud to continue collaborating with local stakeholders to promote and grow tourism in Southwest Virginia.”