Explore the best rated trails in Petersburg, WV, whether you're looking for an easy walking trail or a bike trail like the West Virginia Northern Rail-Trail and Rocky Point Trail . With more than 35 trails covering 4317 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.
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.
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.
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.
My husband and I took our road bikes on this and found it to be quiet, very well-maintained and scenic. It follows the creek nearly the entire way out of town and is about 90% shaded. The only caveat: if you're not in decent shape or don't like climbing, figure out some way to be dropped off near Kingwood or Reedville and only ride back into Morgantown. It's a low-grade climb (not hard, really), but unrelenting. I'd say 11 out of the 19.5 miles are uphill if you start at the downtown ("Wharf District") trailhead. To put it another way, it took us an hour less time to get back to Morgantown than it did to leave it. But it's still a great trail and VERY few people were on it .
On Thursday, 8/24/23, Connellsville PA (and surrounding area) was hit hard by a storm. They were without power for more than 2 days. Businesses were closed etc. HUGE CLEANUP on the trail and even BIGGER THANK YOU TO THE CREW who cleaned it up!!! We had plans to ride the GAP (Connellsville to Ohio Pyle and back) on Friday 8/25. We saw that the electricity was out in town but still thought we would chance it and take the ride. Well....the tree damage was so extensive on the trail, we made it 5 miles with lifting our bikes, climbing over and under trees when we decided to turn back. We had hope that "maybe this is it" each time we lifted our bikes. But another 100 yards (or less) and another huge obstacle. It truly was a mess-the trail took an extensive hit and all we could think about were the poor volunteers who would face this scene with chain saws in hand! THANK YOU TO THEM and ALL RTT Volunteers and donors. We returned to the trail on 9/4. It was cleaned up and wide open. Yes, there are some new ruts and bumps caused by the fallen trees but those volunteers worked a miracle in a short time frame. THANK YOU from a regular user of the GAP and trails across the US.
We did the Barnum Rail Trail on Labor Day, September 4, 2023. It’s rough, in places, but the scenery and pristine nature make it worth it. Idyllic, actually. I wish the trail was longer than 4 plus miles.
If you are a history buff, esp. of the civil war, this trail is a must, and I highly recommend making Antietam Battlefield part of your trail ride. The surface is bumpy in spots, but overall, a very enjoyable ride and something to be experienced, esp. seeing Washington DC magically appear at the end of a long journey from Cumberland, MD to DC. Favorite spots were the boardwalks bordering the Potomac River and Harper's Ferry, be sure to stop at HF see the surrounding start of the Shenandoah Valley and Harper's Ferry from the bridge connecting the trail to HF.
We stayed in Confluence and rode 30 miles each day from this trail head, which captured beautiful scenery. This trail is stunning, alongside the river the whole time. Ohiopyle was perfect for a coffee or lunch stop! Stayed at Paddlers Lane retreat which was a perfect oasis of calm and tranquility.
We spent 4 days, Pittsburgh to Cumberland. Each day was a little different as far as scenery. The trail was in great condition. My favorite was the last day, it had the eastern continental divide and the Mason Dixon line. Crisscrossing the railroad plus the best views that day. Also mostly downhill! Be sure to have good front lights as the last day you go through some tunnels and a few were almost pitch black and too short to get yours eyes adjusted.
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