Explore the best rated trails in Clarksburg, WV. Whether you're looking for an easy walking trail or a bike trail like the Sheepskin Rail-Trail and Greene River Trail. With more than 34 trails covering 298 miles you're bound to find a perfect trail for you. Click on any trail below to find trail descriptions, trail maps, photos, and reviews.
I'll break this review into two parts. First up is the section from Elkins to the Corridor H construction at mile marker 16. We parked behind the Elkins train station and the trail starts there on small side streets in Elkins and quickly crosses Rt 92 and follows a sidewalk and ramp up to a pedestrian/bike bridge over Rt 250. After a short, curving downhill it heads out of town. The trail is paved for almost 4 miles. After that it is largely double track that is easy to ride. This trail features nice wooded areas, open farmland, fields, mountain views and parallels Leading Creek for quite a ways. There are a few very short shared use road sections that are really nothing. At Montrose the trail goes single track for a ways and a quarter mile section is all grass but there is an adjacent road that you can ride. After that it starts a gradual 2% grade up the ridge and then crosses over at the county line and drops towards Porterwood. At the 16 mile marker there are concrete barricades for the Corridor H construction area that you can easily go around. We went a bit further but it was quite muddy from recent rain and there was some construction activity so we turned around. We did meet a fellow who pushed his bike up through the mud and he said it was about a quarter mile long. If it had been dry and a weekend we would have gone through. This section was quite enjoyable.
The other section I have ridden by parking in Parsons near the old railroad depot. The trail is paved to Hendricks and up to about Porterwood. Other than some root heaves along the Black Fork of Cheat this is an excellent trail. The river is always nearby and on the Porterwood side there are plenty of Civil War signs about the battle fought here.
There are plenty of amenities in Elkins and Parsons has a decent amount also so you should be covered. Go and enjoy the trail. As noted in another review the trail website and Facebook page are woefully out of date or inadequate. Take these reviews as a recommendation to go ride this trail.
I was able to go directly to the trail head in Shinston, WV by typing "City of Shinston Rails to Trails Trail Head" into Waze.
There is a nice, shaded parking lot with enough room for several vehicles. The trail starts right there between the highway and the parking lot. I unloaded and was on it within 5 minutes. I had noticed on TrailLink that it looked like I'd have to travel some city streets. This was so, because short sections of the original railroad bed ran through private property and wasn't accessible. I actually rode a short distance up a couple of streets and back before I noticed there were LARGE YELLOW PAW PRINTS painted on the street to guide you back to the trail.
There are short sections of paved trail mingled with longer sections of well packed gravel base for about the first 3.5 miles. After you reach Marion County (it's marked) the trail is paved nearly all the way to Monongah - with a few very short exceptions like where the pavement has deteriorated and had to be replaced with gravel. There are mile markers.
I rode the 10.5 miles to Monongah, then back to Shinston. It took me almost 2 hours but I stopped a few times to sight-see and grab a drink. The pavement was mostly pretty smooth but there were places where freezing and thawing had broken it and pushed 2 - 4 inch ridges across the trail, making me slow down.
Overall, it was a quiet, pretty, and peaceful ride and I regret not riding the last 5 or so miles of the trail. I'll be back to ride the entire trail from the Fairmont end soon.
Good surface. Rode it on a road bike with 700X32 tires, no problems. Pretty water falls and rock outcropings.
Started in Clarksburg and rode South 26 miles r/t. This trail could be great but the base is grass, mud and stones that are so large it is dangerous to ride .2 tunnels were nice but had to walk our bikes through them. Base is large ruts, large stones with water running through tunnels. Salem was asphalt and great! I do not recommend this trail until base is safer to ride on. is tricky.
Attempted this trail back in July and it was a HUGE mistake on my part. I’m sure that if I left earlier and had a higher-end MTB and more experience, I would have been fine. Unfortunately for my skill level and bike limitations the entire 1.5miles I traveled were an absolute nightmare and I would NOT attempt again without a Sherpa and a better bike. This is a single-track trail and what I would consider a black diamond level trail - NOT a beginner trail as other resources have pointed out. It’s very thick with growth, rocks, roots and tech.
Started in Hendricks - The climb is not bad at all, just long. Make sure you have good gravel tires or MTB and climb is very well worth the rewarding return trip back down with plenty of beautiful scenery. There are two large trees down about the halfway point but plenty of room to dismount and go around. Remember to take lots of water.
This 72-mile rail-trail is maintained by 1 Trail Superintendent with 2 seasonal workers, and 1 dedicated Volunteer. When there is a storm of the magnitude of July 2022, it is impossible to get all the trees cleared even in a week. As for the eastern end of the North Bend, there has been utility work that used the trail without proper restoration, followed by fiber optic construction that tore up $1.8 Million of work in Doddridge and Harrison Counties done a couple years ago. Drainage work is being attempted as soon as possible. Working with grants that require match funding means acquiring those funds (20% of the total costs). And once a receiving a grant, nothing can be done until a notice to proceed is received (2014 are now being given notice to proceed in my City).
Please realize that all the lovely trails we all love to ride require funds to be maintained (and volunteers to do the labor). Consider helping your trails.
This is a really nice, fully paved, trail with easy access. We went in at the Fort Pricketts Trail Head. There is plenty of parking there with a bicycle repair stand and a shelter at the parking lot. There's easy access to restrooms across the small access road at the Prickett's Fort State Park. The trail is actually connected to the parking lot so it's just unload, get on the bike and start riding.
One end of the trail actually meets up with the Mon River Rail Trail which runs all the way into Morgantown. The other end of the trail is a little less than 3 miles away at Morgantown Avenue in Fairmont. The Meredith Tunnel is located about 1/2 mile from the Morgantown Ave trail head. It only lacks 40 yards of being 1/4 mile long and on a hot summer day, it'll really cool you off fast.
Rode this trail in five segments over a course of a month with each segment starting from where I turned around at. Overall not bad but it seems like the parties responsible for maintaining the trail in Doddridge and Harrison county have failed. Wood and Ritchie Counties had a good base but the other two haven’t done much to clear the trails after storms. Large trees in several places across the trail. The two lane paths looks like car tracks and some spots is liking riding in someone’s yard. Jumped on the parallel road to bypass these. The roadbeds have larger stones put in low areas and makes riding on a disaster waiting to happen. Beware, these stones have been put in the tunnels also and creates for tricky navigation. Make sure you have a bright light when going through them.
Road the trail 5/2022. The gap by the rail storage yard had been limestone sufaced, so the entire trail 2 miiles to Dunbar is now surfaced.
In Dunbar there is a small historical museum and in the park they have rebuilt a coke oven with interupatation.
Recently mowed the surface was good. We saw lots of deer. Don't forget good Ice cream in Durbin. There is a good campground there as well that stables horse's. The steam excursion is worth it.
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