Virginia Creeper Trail, Damascus, Virginia, United States July 31, 2026

Some railways retire. The Virginia Creeper Trail simply changed gears. Stretching 55 kilometres through southwest Virginia, this trail follows a former rail line once used to haul lumber and iron ore through the Appalachian Mountains. Its unusual name traces back to the steam locomotives that laboured up steep grades in the early 1900s.

© Eifel Kreutz/Getty Images

palette

Today in History

Jul 31, 2024Hoodoos, Sunset Point, Bryce Canyon National Park, Utah, USA
Jul 31, 2025Kalalau Beach on the Nā Pali Coast, Kauai, Hawaii, United States

More Desktop Wallpapers:

Nov 14, 2025Mother manatee and calf
Apr 27, 2026The glass dome of Galleria Vittorio Emanuele II, Milan, Italy
Sep 8, 2024Abbey of Saint-Martin-du-Canigou
Mar 24, 2026Königssee Lake, Bavaria, Germany
Feb 11, 2026Badwater Basin, Death Valley National Park, California, USA
Jul 2, 2025Spine-cheeked anemonefish
Apr 16, 2026Skagit Valley Tulip Fields, Washington, United States
Oct 7, 2024Bora Bora in French Polynesia
Aug 30, 2026Whale shark and golden trevally, West Papua, Indonesia
Oct 11, 2025Wood duck hen
Sep 11, 2023Sunrise at a vineyard in Bordeaux, France
Nov 4, 2023American bison
July 2, 2026Ceiling of the Temple of Esna, Egypt
Oct 21, 2026Nguyen Hoang Bridge, Hue, Vietnam
Nov 27, 2024Tombeau du Géant in Bouillon, Belgium
Dec 5, 2023Castles in the Bavarian Alps
Feb 7, 2026Salar de Uyuni salt flats in Bolivia
Apr 8, 2025Piazza Maggiore, Bologna, Italy
Mar 26, 2026Logan Creek Suspension Bridge, West Coast Trail, Canada
Jan 12, 2025Crescent-tail bigeye fish, Great Barrier Reef, Australia
Feb 18, 2024Sperm whale
Jul 30, 2025Ribadesella, Asturias, Spain
Apr 16, 2025Kachina Bridge, Natural Bridges National Monument, Utah, United States
Feb 3, 2025Ribblehead Viaduct, North Yorkshire, England
Jun 25, 2025St. Michaels Church Tower on Glastonbury Tor, Glastonbury, Somerset, England
Dec 28, 2024Green sea turtle, New Caledonia
July 23, 2026Pink dahlia flower
Oct 29, 2024Great horned owl
Mar 29, 2024South Stack Lighthouse, Holyhead, Wales, UK
Jul 22, 2025Badlands National Park, South Dakota, United States