Find the top rated trails in South Charleston, whether you're looking an easy walking path or a long bike trail, you'll find what you're looking for. Click on a trail below to find trail descriptions, trail maps, photos, and reviews.
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The Gallia County Hike & Bike Trail follows an old railroad right-of-way between Bidwell and Gallipolis, at the Ohio River. Though are plans to develop a total of 28 miles (to include Vinton County...
The Lewis McManus Memorial Honor Trail, also known as the Beckley Rail Trail, travels from Mabscott, through the heart of Beckley, north to the Beckley Crossing Shopping Mall. It follows the route of...
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Note: Portions of the Rend Trail are closed due to a bridge repair. The trail is closed 1.27 miles in from the Minden trailhead or 1.96 miles in from the Thurmond trailhead. According to the trail's...
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The White Oak Rail Trail runs for nearly 8 miles through the central West Virginia city of Oak Hill, connecting the communities of Summerlee and Carlisle at either end. Most of the trail is paved with...
Located in the gorgeous New River Gorge in rural West Virginia, the Keeneys Creek Trail is a gravel trail that doubles as a road for park service vehicles. Although built on top of an abandoned...
Kanawha County’s Elk River Trail provides access to Coonskin Park, a large park originally built by local residents in the 1950s and now managed by the Kanawha County Parks and Recreation Commission....
The Gallia County Hike & Bike Trail follows an old railroad right-of-way between Bidwell and Gallipolis, at the Ohio River. Though are plans to develop a total of 28 miles (to include Vinton County...
The Hawks Nest Rail Trail is located primarily within Hawks Nest State Park near Ansted. The trail is nearly 2 miles long and runs on the south side of Mill Creek, beginning near the nature center....
Note: Portions of the Rend Trail are closed due to a bridge repair. The trail is closed 1.27 miles in from the Minden trailhead or 1.96 miles in from the Thurmond trailhead. According to the trail's...
The White Oak Rail Trail runs for nearly 8 miles through the central West Virginia city of Oak Hill, connecting the communities of Summerlee and Carlisle at either end. Most of the trail is paved with...
Located in the gorgeous New River Gorge in rural West Virginia, the Keeneys Creek Trail is a gravel trail that doubles as a road for park service vehicles. Although built on top of an abandoned...
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The Narrow Gauge Trail in Babcock State Park follows the gentle grade of what was the Manns Creek Railway, which connected Clifftop to Sewell, until it closed in 1956. The trail is breathtaking, but...
The Kaymoor Trail runs parallel to the New River between Fayetteville and Cunard in the National Park Service’s New River Gorge National River. Much of the stunning trail follows old roads and dormant...
The Lewis McManus Memorial Honor Trail, also known as the Beckley Rail Trail, travels from Mabscott, through the heart of Beckley, north to the Beckley Crossing Shopping Mall. It follows the route of...
As it weaves past long-abandoned mining towns such as Red Ash and Rush Run, the Brooklyn to Southside Junction Trail tells the unique story of "King Coal" and Appalachia. Once an important...
As it weaves past long-abandoned mining towns such as Red Ash and Rush Run, the Brooklyn to Southside Junction Trail tells the unique story of "King Coal" and Appalachia. Once an important...
The Hawks Nest Rail Trail is located primarily within Hawks Nest State Park near Ansted. The trail is nearly 2 miles long and runs on the south side of Mill Creek, beginning near the nature center....
Note: Portions of the Rend Trail are closed due to a bridge repair. The trail is closed 1.27 miles in from the Minden trailhead or 1.96 miles in from the Thurmond trailhead. According to the trail's...
Kanawha County’s Elk River Trail provides access to Coonskin Park, a large park originally built by local residents in the 1950s and now managed by the Kanawha County Parks and Recreation Commission....
The Kaymoor Trail runs parallel to the New River between Fayetteville and Cunard in the National Park Service’s New River Gorge National River. Much of the stunning trail follows old roads and dormant...
The Gallia County Hike & Bike Trail follows an old railroad right-of-way between Bidwell and Gallipolis, at the Ohio River. Though are plans to develop a total of 28 miles (to include Vinton County...
The White Oak Rail Trail runs for nearly 8 miles through the central West Virginia city of Oak Hill, connecting the communities of Summerlee and Carlisle at either end. Most of the trail is paved with...
The Narrow Gauge Trail in Babcock State Park follows the gentle grade of what was the Manns Creek Railway, which connected Clifftop to Sewell, until it closed in 1956. The trail is breathtaking, but...
Located in the gorgeous New River Gorge in rural West Virginia, the Keeneys Creek Trail is a gravel trail that doubles as a road for park service vehicles. Although built on top of an abandoned...
The Lewis McManus Memorial Honor Trail, also known as the Beckley Rail Trail, travels from Mabscott, through the heart of Beckley, north to the Beckley Crossing Shopping Mall. It follows the route of...
Beautiful hike with gorgeous scenery . Easy flat hike perfect for all ages with awesome access to incredible waterfalls .
Went there with a friend on a perfect fall day & enjoyed it. A bicyclist came upon us fast from behind & nearly ran us over. So be careful.
Goes through Oak Hill residential and partly country. Nice to see the town and you can take side roads into town. Also some nice local parks including Collins Park that has a disc golf course and playing fields.
Easy down hill trail for bicycles. The best part is that on hot days you can go swimming and sliding in the creek next to the trail. There is a safe 15 foot water jump at the falls half way down, but make sure you check the water depth yourself. It was 10 feet deep when we went in June. Farther down, you can go into a coal mine - we went 30 feet before turning back.
We walked it, but consider it suitable for a good bike. I see now where it could serve as an emergency exit from the residential street at one end, as another review mentioned.
It was a really nice scenic walk on a nice fall day.
I hiked the Narrow Gauge trail Oct. 9 and enjoyed the scenery as well as the traces of old railroad ties and the rushing waters of the creek. As I left the trail to go back to my cabin, I missed the sound of the water. Compared to the Wilderness and Triple Creek trails at Babcock State Part, the Narrow Gauge Trail was interesting.
Perfect trail for an easy hike. Well maintained with a gentle grade, it parallels Mill Creek, which features several enticing shallow pools for cooling off. The waterfall dries up when there hasn't been rain but is lovely when running.
It's nice trail, but parking at Adair park is not a good way to access the trail. You must go down a large hill (paint creek) and cross Robert C Byrd to go up a gravel trail to gain access to the trail. I do not see this as ideal for families on bikes or anyone using roller skates or inlines.
May 2016 - Wanted to give this trail a try because it is fairly close to home. Was disappointed in the fact it is only 4.1 miles long starting at the Hastings Park. The trail is paved and recently had the edges mowed. You do cross several busy roads so I wouldn't recommend for families with small kids. We rode to the end at Holzer Hospital and turned around and rode back to town, was able to get 13 miles in fairly easy. I would give it a 3.5-4 stars
I did it May 7 after having done the Cliffside Trail at Hawk's Nest, which was more challenging as a path thru the woods with some climbing. Then rather than accessing the trail from Anstead, I went behind the tennis courts at the lodge and took the GSYP trail down the side of the mountain the tram runs, which are very, very steep stairs. The Rail trail is a mellow walk, nearly level, with great views of Mill Creek the whole way up. Kayakers were on the creek to watch, and you saw some locals. After taking in the view from the bridge over Mill Creek at the top, I headed back down, the climbed back up GSYP to the lodge. I don't recommend this. The stairs are uneven and nearly vertical. Spring for the half tram ride to the top. Lovely walk.
For biking I prefer beginning from the south end. The initial portion on this end follows an old surface mine access road and mine bench. Most of the trail appears to be an old connecting road between the old surface mine and the Kaymor deep mine. The degree of difficulty varies along the trail. The scenery can be spectacular. On one trip in the spring we discovered a cherry tree with delicious, ripe cherries. On an autumn trip on Bridge Day, I found a pear tree bearing fruit. The size of both trees lead me to believe they resulted from miners discarding cherry pits and pear cores from their lunches. We always go at least as far as the Kaymor mine and back. Your chances of finding the fresh fruit are slim, but the ride and the history are well worth it.
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