Explore the best rated trails in Davis, WV, whether you're looking for an easy walking trail or a bike trail like the Sheepskin Rail-Trail and West Virginia Northern Rail-Trail . With more than 43 trails covering 4393 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.
Read here: https://shinnstonnews.com/harrison-county-commission-reverses-course-on-rail-trails-electric-vehicles-ordinance/
Unless they've reversed the ruling, Harrison County (Shinnston end of trail) banned all e-bikes from their rail trails in February 2024.
Unless you know otherwise, start your ride in Marion County at Worthington. You can ride nearly all of the trail by looping back toward Shinnston on the trail and turning around at the Harrison County line and going back north. You'll probably lose about 2 - 3 miles of the rail trail but it might keep you from being fined or worse, going to jail.
I've been checking some of the local urban trails and this walk was next on the list. Some of the urban trails seem to push the concept of a rail trail but at least this trail does parallel an active railroad (the Cowen Subdivision). The trail is entirely paved and consists of two large loops that go around various balls fields. It does parallel the Buckhannon River a good bit and Buckhannon Riverwalk was the only name I saw listed anywhere. There is a spur that crosses the railroad and parallels it for a ways. It's a pleasant walk but unless you're in the area I wouldn't go out of my way for it.
After going out and back on the MC Trail (only a five mile round trip but totally worth it!), I connected to the Mon River Trail.
Starting at Pricketts Fort, I only went about six miles or so to just beyond the dam before heading back to the trailhead.
That twelve mile ride on a cloudy, late October Saturday afternoon were plenty enough to get awesome views of the Monongahela River, its dam, homes (some stately; some not so much), and dazzling fall color. Plenty of photo ops await!
The trail is hard packed dirt, covered in a layer of golden leaves, and despite rain earlier in the day, it was still smooth, fast, and navigable. I would say it was almost as smooth as asphalt.
I would suspect that because of the continued threat of rain, I pretty much had the trail to myself. My shoes and bike got mud splattered, but it was worth it. The Mon River Trail (South) is worthy of your time, and worthy of its status as a Rails-to-Trails Hall of Famer!
I have never enjoyed a 2.5 mile trail more!
On a late October Saturday afternoon I was absolutely enthralled with this trail. I started at the Pricketts Fort trailhead and was immediately in awe of the spectacular autumnal colors: red, orange, yellow and gold!
The tunnel was fun and interesting, but the highlight was what Mother Nature created with the colorful trees, glistening Prickett creek. and the chirping birds.
The asphalt trail is in perfect condition and is easy to ride. I actually saw a couple of preschoolers enjoying it on their bikes with their families.
Be sure to do this in conjunction with the Mon River Trail to enhance your experience on these Hall of Fame trails!
The trail is great starting at Cumberland. Pretty smooth and scenic. Not very far in there were quite a few detours as the trail was damaged in many places. I wish there had been more amenities along the trail. The last 40 miles into DC were surprisingly bad, with muddy rough conditions and detours. The trip was memorable and challenging and we were proud to raise money for theplummerhome.org for homeless veterans.
Day1: DC to Williamsport. Day 2: Williamsport to Cumberland. This was an amazing ride with beautiful fall scenery. Trail was well maintained and easy to navigate. It was mostly hard parked gravel with lots of historical sites and great views. Paw Paw tunnel was open. The trail thru tunnel is uneven and wet. Met some great people along the trail. I’ll definitely ride the trail again in the summer.
We took the Amtrak bike train to DC. Had to switch trains in Philly. Between Harrisburg and Philly we had to remove the front wheel and hang the bike. From Philly to DC they were stored in the baggage car and didn't require tire removal. The ride through DC was fantastic and much easier than we expected. The trail got a little confusing to get out of town but once we did we found the trail in much better condition then we expected. We stayed along the way in a hotel and a lock house. My favorite part was the area around the pawpaw tunnel but the trail was in very poor condition in spots. At one point when I tried to go my rear wheel would just spin and the bike wouldn't move. Very mucky and muddy. I'm sure it all depends on the amount of rain they had recently. It completed the ride from Pittsburgh to DC for me. I had ridden the GAP trail about 6 years prior. The only reason I didn't give it a five star rating is because of the mud in some areas. Overall it was great.
I’m looking forward to seeing this trail continue to its potential at 10 miles. It was a nice walk from the Trailhead park. It’s not quite peak leaf season yet…but the leaves are turning.
The Harrison South has had a bunch of improvements over the last several years. Mile markers (Mile 1 is near the VA Park, Mile 11 is near the Lost Creek Trailhead). The trail is much wider closer to the VA Park. A new shelter was just built near the VA Park Trailhead. Closer to Lost Creek, the trail is very grassy and is often single track. A bridge is out between mile 4 and 5 as of October 2023.
We rode a 10 mile section of trail north of the Williamsport visitors center. Sunny day, high 60’s. It was the day after a 30 minute rain storm. Trees were in full bloom. Why 2 stars when it could be a 5? The trail needs a good layer of hard packed stone. Any rain will turn many spots into mud, as we encountered. The trail rides along the Potomac River. You could just about see otherwise the trail is under cover. To make it a 5, make sure the trail has dried out and the leaves have not bloomed or the have already dropped. It would sure be a 5.
We parked at West Newton both days. On the first day we rode north to Boston and on the second day south to just past Whitsett. The trail is very flat (maybe 3 feet per mile elevation change) and well maintained. We encountered minimal road crossings, plenty of scenery and probably as a whole the friendliest people we've ever encountered on a bike trail. We'll be back!
For a baseline, our home trails are Pine Creek and Buffalo Valley and our favorite trail is the Northwest Lancaster.
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