Explore the best rated trails in West Virginia, whether you're looking an easy walking trail or a bike trail like the Greenbrier River Trail and Mon River Trail South. With more than 67 trails covering 4334 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.
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I rode the NB trail July 5 and July 6. July 5 I rode r/t from Ellensboro to just a few miles west of Cairo. The trail was a beautiful fantastic ride. If I had stopped I would have said as good or better than any trail I have rode in OH & PA. The tunnels & landscapes were spectacular. The trail was well-maintained crushed limestone 90%. I was so pleased with my ride I rode into North Bend State Park up to the cabin area and talked to some people staying in the cabins. The cabins look fantastic as does it’s other facilities and I was ready to plan a trip to bring some people back down to ride this trail and stay in the state park. July 6, I rode r/t from Ellenboro with plans to ride east of toll gate. The trail was too much grass, some mud and a few very small areas of aggregate too large for a bike trail. I stopped at the Pennsboro depot which was very nice. I spoke to the volunteer manning the depot. He informed me the North Bend state park director is in charge of the trail and only has two part-time employees to maintain the trail. It’s really a shame W V state park system doesn’t have the resources to properly construct or maintain this trail. NB Trail would be one of my favorite trails if it had the proper construction maintenance. I could really see Cairo becoming a fantastic stop if it just had the bicyclists to frequent the attractions, stores, and restaurants. Based on the other reviews I’ve read it looks like I’m planning my next multi day bike trip at the Greenbrier Trail, PA GAP trail or TBD.
We've been coming to a campground near Hico for decades, meeting up with 2 - 4 dozen friends, staying for 4 - 8 days, and adventuring by day, visiting with old friends by evening. Rafting with a profesional company or another one day. We have had white knuckle heart-in-throat drives down to the canoe/kayak put-ins plenty of times, and we always say "NEVER AGAIN" but we did it again today. Thought we would take the bikes down to the river endpoint and see if we could ride uphill 4.7% for 1.8 miles. We got to the bottom and went around the loop and went right back up, rejoicing as we emerged from under the Midland Trail on Hawk's Nest Rd that we had not met even one oncoming vehicle as we went down nor as we came up. (There is 90% of the time not room for two cars to pass each other, and it's steep and very sharp turns here and there, and there is a lot of sheer rock or dirt wall on one side and sheer drop on the other.)
After we calmed down over a split order of biscuits & gravy at the Ansted Tudor's Biscuit World, we drove back to upper trailhead, on Hawk's nest Rd just south of where it passes under Midland Trail, and there *is* parking. We parked and walked a bit. It's lovely, and I hope we can return when there is less foliage and better views of the creek.
We are mid-sixties, more fit than many (which is not saying a lot) and not mountain bikers, just commuters. We might have made a quarter mile going up on our bikes.
I rode the trail from Happy Valley to Pennsboro (about 39 miles) and then back to North Bend State Park to camp (10 miles). Then I rode back to Happy Valley. (About 30 miles)
Pros: Awesome scenery along the route. Tunnels galore. Quiet and peaceful. The people I met in the towns seemed very welcoming. There is also the ability to camp along the trail so it can be inexpensive if you can forego a shower.
Cons: The trail is very rough in spots and sometimes it was hard to discern where the "track" was. There were muddy and wet spots but with all the rain I can't say that that was the trail's fault. The main thing I'd say is that some sections are really smooth much like the GAP and others are worse than the C & O.
Know what to expect and plan accordingly. Wide tires are very helpful (I rode on 2.2 29ers). A suspension seatpost and/or stem would probably be enough to take the edge off. I don't think a suspension mountain bike is necessary but it might be the best for comfort. The trail itself isn't hard. There were no scary descents or tough climbs. I really enjoyed the challenge and I hope to see this trail develop more and more over the years.
My family and I rode the whole length of the trail June 7-8, 2019. We started in Parkersburg from the trail head at Happy Valley rd. About 10 miles in it was grassy and muddy. Some parts of the trail was nice with hard packed gravel but the honestly the majority of the trail was nothing but grass and mud. We were all very disappointed in this trail because it has potential and it was fun to ride through the tunnels and take a tour of the railroad station at Pennsboro. The Long Run tunnel was terrible with 3” of water at each end and very large gravel in the tunnel. Such a disappointment.
The first few miles is paved,then crushed stone.Was a little soft when we rode,but there was a lot of rain the days before.Uphill most of the way. A good challenge.River you could see most of the way. Was up pretty high for awhile then leveled out bit.We rode about 22 miles,there & back.The trail is right in the back of Spring Hills Hotel,so we just rode right out from there.
The Hazel Ruby Mcquaid Park is under construction,so we parked by the jeep dealer there is some parking next to it. We went left & followed the river.Packed stone after awhile,got alittle muddy,if heavy rains, could get messey.We rode 10 miles one way & 10 back. They say trail is 6 miles,maybe connects to another trail because we could have kept going. Was a couple of small water falls. We enjoyed the trail.
I have ran this trail several times due to it being fairly close to home.
I have biked this trail too, but did not enjoy it as much as running it.
This is a very nice, paved, mile marked trail.
The first 4 miles or so do have a couple decent hills that are a challenge.
The other challenge are the amount of road crossings. The reason that the bike ride was less enjoyable. Hard to get a steady stride going.
And a warning, for both runners and bikers, the cars on the roads DO NOT STOP for you to cross.
I've made a point of stopping and checking for cars approaching.
This is the only negative aspect of this trail.
You may get to see some wildlife and I enjoy seeing the very large cargo plane flying overhead. Very cool.
So as always, if in the area and looking to get a couple miles in, give this trail a run.
The trail had uncut grass and thorny blackberry bushes, making it difficult for our family. Not even a mile into the south end (Durbin), we had to navigate a rock slide. At roughly mile 8, we had a downed tree to go over that had probably been there only a few days. We planned to camp, and luckily we spotted some around the Iron Bridge area (about mile 10). Several campsites span that section on the parallel Forest Road 44. On day 2, we chose to ride the forest road instead - up to the Wildell access point, then back down to our car in Durbin. Very hilly and fun forest road!
There are areas on the North end of this trail where you have impassable rhododendrons to your right, a muddy, treacherously narrow dirt trail, with a dangerous drop-off to the left. My wife slipped at one spot. This trail needs some serious work, and I do not recommend it.
The southern half of the trail is not nearly so bad, but it can get quite wet. Be prepared to slog through mud.
We rode this trail in May 2019 from Happy Valley to Pennsboro. This trail is designated a WV State Park and it is in dismal shape which is too bad because it really has great potential. We rode after a rainy few days so I would expect puddles and mud but this was beyond puddles. Much of the trail is a made up of two single tracks thru grass or gravel so soft that your tires sink. Other sections someone has put down #2 gravel that only a Mtn bike could traverse. For the most part the scenery was nice and we saw several deer. We rode this over the course of a few days hoping each section would be in better shape than the previous...nope. I would NOT recommend this trail.
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