Explore the best rated trails in Morgantown, WV. Whether you're looking for an easy walking trail or a bike trail like the Indian Creek Valley Bike Trail and Five Star Trail. With more than 41 trails covering 4268 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.
Checked out the Kingwood trailhead last weekend and was pleasantly surprised to find a paved parking area with a nice pavilion and some kid's activity items. Trail is packed with a fine gravel that is decent. We first walked the spur into town near the Municipal Building and then walked the main spur to near the old town of Snider. This section was fine although it is in a somewhat residential area to start. Afterwards we drove to Snider and saw that the trail was finished to there. At the next road crossing to the south it was still unfinished. This is a good start but there's still a long ways to go.
Like a long slow roller coaster ride
WOW!!!…no boring flat straight rail trail here….this trail has it all:
- curves….and more curves
- varying grades….typical easy RR grade but some felt like maybe 3% to me…see the elevation pic…I wonder if there is even a flat spot?
- Tunnels…3 of them!
- Viaducts
- A short section of trail-with-rail
- Spur trails
- A connection to the Panhandle Trail
- Lots of shade
- Historical signs….lots of them….with wonderful pictures…nice to learn some history and get out of the saddle for a few minutes…THANK YOU!
- A campsite at Boggs
- And even a SuperFund Cleanup Site near the end in Coraopolis
- And best of all, it looks like a crew of volunteers that are always working on the trail surface
A great ride through varying terrain and scenery and learned some history along the way. Can’t ask for much more than that. Thank you…bikin-Mike…Sep 2022
See Elavation Pic
Low MM0 Coraopolis
High MM12 Rt 22
Low MM13.5
High MM15
Low MM17 McDonald Viaduct
High MM19.25 Peacock Cut
Low MM23 Cecil
High MM25 National Tunnel
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.
This is a must ride trail. Gravel path is well maintained, better than many asphalt trails I've been on in fact. Trees, rivers, waterfalls, butterflies, bridges 100ft+ above the canopy, if you enjoy nature, you can't miss 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.
This is the best trail I have rode. Putts burgh to Cumberland md with many bridges and tunnels along the way. Great “patch towns” along the way. Connie to to cno canal and goes to dc
Aug 2022. Bicycled from Parsons to Elkins (22 miles) and back. The views were great and there were many changes along the way: small town, forest, rural homes, creek-side, farm-side, and historic downtown. More than half is shaded by trees. The path is mostly off-road dedicated trail, with a few segments on lightly-used rural roads. The trail surface is mostly dry, solid dirt with a thin layer of fine gravel; we found it easy. The grade is flat in the southern half and sloped north of Montrose, though never difficult because it's railroad grade. There are no amenities between Elkins and Parsons, so bring water.
Although there is an official two-mile trail closure between Montrose and Parsons due to Corridor H freeway construction, we went around the barriers and rode through with no issues other than a bumpy ride over coarse gravel.
It's hard to get accurate status for this trail. The Facebook pages are old, and the official web site is stale: It says there is construction from Gilman to Kerans, but in reality, that segment is now fully open.
Definitely worth your time!
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.
Rode from Pittsburgh to Cumberland. Great bridges and tunnels. Slight uphill until the continental divided. Then hold on for a few miles. Connects to cno which I did not do yet.
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.
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