Explore the best rated trails in Coal City, WV, whether you're looking for an easy walking trail or a bike trail like the Lewis McManus Memorial Honor Trail and Meadow River Rail Trail . With more than 16 trails covering 207 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.
Loved this ride! Started at Nalen and rode up to the big tressel for a 16 mile out and back total. Such great scenery of the Meadow River which is full of smallies! A few places to go down to the water. That river is beautiful and ranges from flat shallow spots to giant boulders cascading water! I wish there was more openings to view the riverbed! The forest was deep, dark, cool, and shady. Saw deer and turkeys for wildlife. It is one of the top trails we have done this summer! Well done WV!
The trail head is at a large gravel parking lot to the right of the post office with a bulletin board depicting the trail route. The trail is double track, suitable for most bikes but not for three wheelers as the tracks are narrow with a berm in the middle. Crushed and packed stone with occasional sketchy spots. Would love to see the trail graded flat with more rolled stone to create a wider lane to accommodate handicap users.
We spent three days riding this trail. It was an absolutely beautiful ride with lots of bridges and two tunnels. It's mostly flat with plenty of shade on a hot summer day. Lots of photo opportunities.
My friend and fellow bike adventurer David and I spent three days riding the entire trail twice. West Virginia is truly scenic and this trail also doesn't disappoint. Many trails claim they are adjacent to water but often meander far away. This trail is next to the scenic Greenbrier River almost the entire 77 miles and the tree canopy was protective on our hot, sunny days. We lodged in Marlinton (TwoTire AirB&B) a town with all necessary services. Day one we rode north to Cass, an historic town with a nice cafe, museum, gift shop and an excursion steam locomotive. The up and back ride was 51 miles. Day two we rode south to Rorer (26 miles) and back for our 52 mile day. We stopped at the really nice general store on the trail in Seebert (10 miles south of Marlinton) and bought sandwiches to take to our lunch stop...this is the only food service on this stretch of the trail. On day three we drove to Spring Creek so we could ride south to the trails end near Caldwell. Spring Creek has very limited and remotely located parking so I'd recommend other parking areas if you follow a similar itinerary. There is no food service on this stretch. we planned to ride into Caldwell and over to Lewisburg but this turned out to be a bad idea. The trail ends at mile marker 3.1. The narrow and hilly country road into Caldwell has no shoulder and had traffic on our Sunday stop. We determined it was too dangerous to cycle but we needed lunch...solution...call Dominoes and have a pizza delivered to the trailhead.
Phone service is limited but we found that stops like Cass, Seebert and Caldwell had service.
The trail is mostly a two track path and is fairly well maintained. The best bike for this trail would be a gravel or touring style bike with 36c or larger tires. I wouldn't recommend a road bike and while we saw one hand cycle and one recumbent, they were struggling a bit.
I did the trail from end to end in two days pulling a BOB trailer with no problem staying overnight at one of the campsites near Cass. It’s an easy trail to ride with wildlife around each bend. I saw every kind of animal WV has to offer including two bears. The campsites are well spaced and well thought out. Water is available but I wouldn’t pass one by without topping off. This is a great trail for an introduction to bike packing. Cell service is sketchy at best so be prepared.
Great signageWell maintained trails Stay at the Inn at Foster Falls for the full experience
Just have to give all the park rangers and volunteers a shout out for making this trail a beautiful trail again after Hurricane Helene. We parked at Ivanhoe and rode to Cliffview. Flush toilets and a gift shop at Cliffview. The trail is better than I remember it being before. You could clearly see the devastation and how hard they must have worked to bring this trail back! Thank you!
I took my gravel bike on this trail and won’t do it again. There’s large stones and branches. I had to carry my bike over several downed trees and several big wash outs. A beautiful ride next to the creek for sure. A great place to hike I’d say. Please don’t think of this as a rail to trail flat ride, it is not.
Accessed trail at Booker Falls. Great ride with beautiful views of the New River. Saw several deer and interesting to see the damage from the hurricane.
Easy to get to just south of Whitesville, WV; cross Clear Fork at Vest Road for nice parking at the trailhead. Raleigh County did a good job; the bed looks to have larger aggregate underneath a smooth but already hard-packed crushed stone the whole way. Very gentle slope the complete way.
Sights to see are many bridges, farms, tall hills besides the trail, and I even disturbed a flock of wild turkeys, that, yes, contrary to WKRP, they can fly (but very slowly). The waterfall was dry, due to our drought, but should be good again after the snows.
We biked the gorgeous Meadow River Trail, starting in Nallen. The trail is very remote, scenic, and well-maintained. It’s a long gradual uphill climb, near a road for about 2 1/2 miles, then upriver through completely undeveloped area for another 6+ miles. The trail officially ends after a trestle that crosses the Meadow River at around 9 miles. We went an additional 3 miles on slightly rough, but not difficult, old railroad grade with a variable surface of fine gravel and dirt. We finally had to stop at an old unrepaired railroad trestle and private property signs. The route downhill was lovely and easy. Total trip was 24 miles. Things to note: Parking at the Nallen trailhead was easy and felt safe. There are no bathrooms or water, so plan accordingly. space parking in Nallen was easy and felt safe. There are no bathrooms or water, so plan accordingly. Craft
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