Find the top rated walking trails in Salem, whether you're looking for an easy short walking trail or a long walking trail, you'll find what you're looking for. Click on a walking trail below to find trail descriptions, trail maps, photos, and reviews.
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My friend and fellow bike adventurer David and I spent three days riding the entire trail twice. West Virginia is truly scenic and this trail also doesn't disappoint. Many trails claim they are adjacent to water but often meander far away. This trail is next to the scenic Greenbrier River almost the entire 77 miles and the tree canopy was protective on our hot, sunny days. We lodged in Marlinton (TwoTire AirB&B) a town with all necessary services. Day one we rode north to Cass, an historic town with a nice cafe, museum, gift shop and an excursion steam locomotive. The up and back ride was 51 miles. Day two we rode south to Rorer (26 miles) and back for our 52 mile day. We stopped at the really nice general store on the trail in Seebert (10 miles south of Marlinton) and bought sandwiches to take to our lunch stop...this is the only food service on this stretch of the trail. On day three we drove to Spring Creek so we could ride south to the trails end near Caldwell. Spring Creek has very limited and remotely located parking so I'd recommend other parking areas if you follow a similar itinerary. There is no food service on this stretch. we planned to ride into Caldwell and over to Lewisburg but this turned out to be a bad idea. The trail ends at mile marker 3.1. The narrow and hilly country road into Caldwell has no shoulder and had traffic on our Sunday stop. We determined it was too dangerous to cycle but we needed lunch...solution...call Dominoes and have a pizza delivered to the trailhead.
Phone service is limited but we found that stops like Cass, Seebert and Caldwell had service.
The trail is mostly a two track path and is fairly well maintained. The best bike for this trail would be a gravel or touring style bike with 36c or larger tires. I wouldn't recommend a road bike and while we saw one hand cycle and one recumbent, they were struggling a bit.
Rode this trail every day for a week during a stay in 2022. It's quite level with only a few curves. Not terribly crowded. Much of it goes through residential areas, although it does narrow a bit as it skirts downtown and the local hospital. It was great for wildlife; we saw deer on almost every ride. Scenery is not dramatic, but certainly pleasant, making for a good experience.
Great signageWell maintained trails Stay at the Inn at Foster Falls for the full experience
We rode 20 miles (10 miles each direction), starting at the Bennington St parking lot. Note that there are no facilities right at that lovely parking area, but there is restroom at Golden Park, just to the east. It was an enjoyable ride! I’d do it again! All along the Roanoke River. Multiple river crossings, usually with a 90 degree turn at each end of the bridge. We went by several City parks, and stopped at an ice cream and burger place on the east end of Wasena Park for ice cream on the way back. There is a well marked detour around Wasena Park for construction. There are several places along the trail where other trails intersect. The signage was great to keep us on track. The only place we got confused was just past Black Dog Salvage (we were heading west) and after crossing the river on Memorial Ave, it took us a minute, and a slight detour, to realize that the trail goes left at Wasena Ave, and loops around to go under Memorial Ave. The signs are there, but not quite big enough to get our attention at the right moment. We turned around at Tidy Services. TrailLink shows the trail ending at Bridge Street. We rode over 3 more miles on paved and marked trail.
It's a 4 mainly because of the creosote / diesel odors as we went around the rail yard. The trail itself is super. all paved. very little root bumps. well maintained.
Just have to give all the park rangers and volunteers a shout out for making this trail a beautiful trail again after Hurricane Helene. We parked at Ivanhoe and rode to Cliffview. Flush toilets and a gift shop at Cliffview. The trail is better than I remember it being before. You could clearly see the devastation and how hard they must have worked to bring this trail back! Thank you!
Good for walks, runs, and bike rides. Pretty sunny, with a few shaded sections. Usually not crowded!
Not too strenuous but still a fun place to get outside and connect with nature!
We love the Jackson River Trail and ride it several times a year - yesterday was the first for this year. The trail extension was delayed by a terrible mudslide, but has now been beautifully completed two+ miles north into Bath County. I wish Bath County would complete the trail all the way into Hot Springs! It would rival the Creeper Trail for sure. This trail is the best maintained trail we've ridden. There had been inches of rain the day before but there were no puddles, no debris - the trail was completely clear. The Parks and Recreation guys of Covington keep it nicely mowed and the restrooms are amazingly clean. We highly recommend this rail trail. And if you want a great place to eat afterward, try Trani's Grille! Great food!
My wife and I rode this trail 4/15/2025. Great surface, very scenic and NOT busy during the week. Signage was great as we're trailheads
More hills than expected. We rode from parking lot at Fisher Street to the sports complex and there was a lot of street/sidewalk riding. Glad I had my ebike.
The rest of the right of way is planned to become a rail trail. The future Craig Botetourt Scenic Trail will be 26 miles from New Castle to Eagle Rock.
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