Find the top rated birding trails in Morgantown, whether you're looking for an easy short birding trail or a long birding trail, you'll find what you're looking for. Click on a birding trail below to find trail descriptions, trail maps, photos, and reviews.
Had a great time. Went from Shinnston to almost Monongah. Very beautiful and pretty easy ride. There is 2 parking lots at the beginning of the trail in Shinnston. There is a sign where you turn in to them.
I rode the GAP /CO this past Labor Day weekend- best bike trip ever. 120 miles from Pittsburgh to Meyersdale (120 miles). Almost flat- never any sense of climbing, smooth trail on a road bike with 32mm tires and fenders. The ride from Meyersdale to Cumberland was easy- downhill the last 30 miles or so. Thanks to all the groups that put the trail together- what an asset to the region.
Rented bikes from Cumberland Connection (they were AWESOME!). We didn't get on the trail till 4:30 and made it to Gunter Hotel in Frostburg by sunset at 6:29. It is a lot of uphill walking from the trail to downtown Frostburg. Ask for room with new beds at Gunter and make sure and go to the mens bathroom to see the 'jail cell'. Ate at Shift which was amazing! We were on the trail by 8:40am, lunch at Rockwood (Rockwood Mills-the dessert were amazing!) by 12:30 and made it to Confluence by 3:30 for our shuttle pick up . We stopped many, many times for pictures! I hardly wanted to blink because this was such an amazing, beautiful experience!
I am rating this based on my experience only. Riding mountain bikes..started at the end of the trail, around mile 70 went about 8 miles in and turned around.
The trail started out very muddy and then after that we were riding mostly on grass, although the ground was hard as if it was previously paved so it wasnt an impossible pedal. Not very scenic in the parts I saw, riding mostly alongside a highway and near homes.
I would not recommend this trail
We biked this in early October. Parked in Monongah at the lot next to City Hall. The trail is nicely paved except for less than three miles at the southern end in Shinnston. DO NOT try to park at the Mary Lou Retton park shown at the North end of the map. The loop shown on the map is a rural residential area with very narrow roads and you have to go down a short, steep dirt hill to get to the real trail. I've uploaded pictures of the trail's sign, which shows several parking areas along the trail.
Great trail for multi-day ride with motels or camping, or single day rides. I had to find parking locations in order to ride several days, with Round trip rides of 40-60 miles/day (20-30 each way). A few confusing spots and a couple steep spots. Quite confusing in Pittsburgh, where markings are absent, and trail goes through the city streets, but lovely to arrive at Point State Park fountain. Cedar Creek Park especially lovely area, with camping (but gates lock at sundown so don't park late). Great long ride down gentle hill from Deal, MD (highest point on trail) to Cumberland. Long uphill ride back up 26 miles from Cumberland back to Deal. Beautiful trail.
This is our local rail trail, so we use it because it is convenient for biking with the family. We have covered from North Bend State Park to the Eastern Terminus near Wolf Summit on hybrid bikes and a trailer for our two small children.
The Good: The section between Ellenboro and North Bend State Park is beautiful! Surface is good, very scenic, a joyous experience! From Central Station to Smithburg has been re-surfaced this year, and is also very nice. Central Station Tunnel is now well surfaced and passable. Tunnels in general are really cool! The kids get a kick out of them. I like the fact that there is little concern with road traffic, especially with the children in tow.
The Bad: While the section b/w Ellenboro and North Bend State Park is great, it is also frequented by horses. With horses comes manure...that is sometimes impossible to dodge. Trail surface around Central Station is in progress (uneven, industrial gravel, etc). Trail surface east of Smithburg is fair until you get past the Long Run Tunnell, and then things get iffy quickly. The surface between Long Run Rd and West Salem is non-existent in places, there is a large slip between miles 61-63. The trail through that section has a slight uphill grade, which we definitely felt while pulling a trailer and a tag-along bike through tall grass and mud. The trail surface is also horrible in places, muddy, lots of rocks and debris, etc from East Salem to the Eastern terminus in Wolf Summit. Plan accordingly.
We will keep riding this trail because it is local. It's a great opportunity to get our nephews out and to explore, have adventures, etc. There is an opportunity for some school projects down the road based on our adventures. However, we also look forward to getting somewhere with some asphalt or finer crushed rock as pulling our kids in the trailer is difficult on the current surfaces of certain areas.
Great trail for leisurely runs, walks, and biking. Alot of puddles and run off of the crushed stone in some areas after rain though.
Tom Crotty and I rode the GAP 25-27 Aug 2017 from Pittsburgh (mile 150) to Cumberland (mile 0). I drove in and Tom flew in from Raleigh, NC. Approx. miles: Day1-60, Day2-45, Day3-45. We used a B&B in Connelsville and a B&B in Rockwood. The climb up to the Eastern Continental Divide during Day1, Day2, and half of Day3 was so gradual, it never worked us hard! Mile 150-128 were paved. The fine-crushed gravel trail was in excellent shape! The wild flowers were blooming and the rivers, that the GAP follows for about 80%, were flowing nicely. We stopped @ every major bridge crossing to soak in the beauty of the GAP! Because we rode in summer on Friday-Sunday, we had no trouble finding good food and ice for our water bottles. Warning - The celebratory beers for each end-of-day can only be purchased @ an eating establishment? About 730pm on Day3, we enjoyed a relaxing ride on AmTrak back to Pittsburg (it only made 1 stop @ Connelsville) - I easily biked back to 1st Ave Parking Lot where I had parked my truck. My bro, Al, and I rode 190miles of the KATY trail 3 days Aug 2016, and we had a great time; but the GAP impressed me as much or more. In my opinion, the GAP has more admirable beauty - more often! Although my goal is to ride 1-2 new rails-trails each year, Tom and I have discussed the possibility of returning in the Fall, just to ride the 2-days from Connelsville to Cumberland; I think those 2 days were the most impressive! Every Biker should set the GAP on their dream-trail list!
My goal is to ride 10 miles in all 50 states, we have now done 42 states and this is one of the most enjoyable trails that we've done. Great trail!!
We were staying at the Ogelbay Resort in WV and took a ride on the Wheeling Heritage Trail which follows a portion of the Ohio River. The trail is ok but if your looking for a scenic trail along a river don't bother. The trail is paved and in decent shape but you see more of the gritty side of old industrial Wheeling than you see of the river. We're from the Pittsburgh area and in my experience the trails here are far superior.
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