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

Some railways retire. The Virginia Creeper Trail in the United States simply changed gears. Stretching 34.3 miles 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

Rock House in Hocking Hills State Park, Ohio
‘Night shining’ clouds
31 Jul 2024Hoodoos, Sunset Point, Bryce Canyon National Park, Utah, USA
31 Jul 2025Kalalau Beach on the Nā Pali Coast, Kauai, Hawaii, United States

More Desktop Wallpapers:

24 Oct 2025Night view of the RMS Queen Mary, Long Beach, California, United States
24 Jun 2025Delicate Arch, Arches National Park, Utah, United States
19 May 2025Mount Hamilton, San Francisco Bay Area, California, United States
27 Jul 2025Barracudas at Shark Reef, Ras Mohammed National Park, Sinai Peninsula, Egypt
23 Dec 2023Festivus
11 Dec 2025International Mountain Day
10 Sep 2024Vasco da Gama Bridge, Lisbon, Portugal
14 May 2024Carlsbad Caverns National Park
Aug 31, 2023Saguaro cacti, Ironwood Forest National Monument, Arizona
2 Oct 2023World Architecture Day
20 Dec 2025Christmas star lanterns, Germany
Where the rainbow ends
20 Apr 2024Grand Prismatic Spring, Yellowstone National Park, Wyoming, USA
Prehistoric trails
9 May 2026Skradinski Buk Waterfall, Krka National Park, Croatia
Two hungry baby beavers
22 Jul 2025Badlands National Park, South Dakota, United States
16 Jan 2026Leopard at Etosha National Park, Namibia
Portable portals into our imagination
30 Dec 2024Mount Field National Park, Tasmania, Australia
Shining city on the hill
29 Oct 2024Great horned owl
2 Feb 2026Groundhog Day
Go with the flow
A sea of humanity
Night outside the museum
12 Feb 2025Celebrating Charles Darwin
11 Jul 2025World Population Day
A braided river
28 Feb 2024Bamburgh Castle, Northumberland, England