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 68 trails covering 4335 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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We loved this trail. My family and friends are 100% amateur bike riders. We parked at the south end at Caldwell and shuttled up with Chuck at All Sports to Cass. We hit the trail at 830 am and biked 47.3 miles the first day. It took us until about 6 that evening to reach camp. But that was with lots of stops including the grocery store in Marlinton and water and ice cream at Jack Horner Corner in Seabert. Which is an awesome store with bike parts accessories rentals beer pizza food etc. super nice place.
We camped at a designated spot in hammocks. The bathrooms where nicer than expected. All the water wells had water that I recommend you use. The trail was clean and mowed recently. No over hanging brush or tall grass. There were lots of places to get in the river. The calls are well cared for and have fire pits. It even appeared that the forest guys leave the fallen trees cut into firewood blocks trail side. We finished up the remain miles on day two and ended around 3pm. It was me (36) my wife (40) my friend (39) and our kids. 14 13 and 12. The kids had a blast and let the pack both days.
I’m super impressed With this trail system and we plan to
Make this trip annually. I would suggest if your a amateur rider to do it in 3 days. So you can relax and enjoy camp
More.
I would recommend this trail to anyone who wants a well maintained trail with a slight incline. Thanks to the volunteers.
Went in at Fenwick post office, backpacked 13 miles to the tunnel. No signage there. Hiked about a mile back to a wonderful campsite by the river and spent the night.. very peaceful and quiet. Did encounter ATVs and even one pickup truck south of the tunnel. Weather very dry, all springs dried up, only one muddy spot on trail near Fenwick. Section from Fenwick to Holcomb is not mowed. Due to high bridge and brush you cannot access the Cranberry River from the trail.
I am a section cyclist who over time has completed all sections of the 77 mile Trail. The Trail has no bad sections. Traillink’s Greenbrier River Trail description and reviews give complete and accurate information on the Trail. I will not repeat. I share three observations.
First, if you have time to do only one section, this is the one. It is in the Northern Section between Clover Lick southward to Sharp’s Tunnel and bridge. This Trail section has the most scenic and remote mountains. It is a ‘gorge’ with the mountains sloping down to each side of the River with a mountain sharing the Trail on one side. No roads or houses for 5 miles. Two of the greatest landmarks on the trail are in this section. They are Sharp’s Tunnel and the adjacent curved bridge over the Greenbrier River. Hey, it’s the reason they are shown on the cover of the State Parks’ brochure.
Second, the fastest trip to Clover Lick, Cass and the Northern trailheads is from the East side of the River. From Marlinton the trip uses some combination of WV routes: 39, 28, 92, 66 depending on the trailhead. Note: The Clawson/Thorny Creek trailhead is on the end of a painful and s-l-o-w drive on a rough steep gravel road for 5 miles which takes 15 minutes. I have a front wheel drive minivan, but I made it out. Instead, I recommend access to this fine Trail portion by taking the Trail from Marlinton or Clover Lick.
The Northern trailheads can also be reached from Marlinton on the West side of the River using US 219 to County Road 1 immediately north of Marlinton. Know that this route is scenic but slower as it is a rural, paved and one lane shared road in many places.
Finally, the Greenbrier River Trail State Park reviews can be found on two web sites. You found one. The other is Trip Advisor which is free. You have to query ‘West Virginia’ and run through the menus to find the Trail listing. In Sept. 2019 there were 120 reviews. Trip Advisor rates the Trail as # 11 of 169 Outdoor Activities in WV. I have cross posted this review.
We parked at Star City parking lot and headed to connect to Deckers Creek Trail. I was glad they had marked the bumps on the asphalt portion with orange. Once we were out of town we started the 1000 foot climb which was gradual. Once we were on the cinder part of the trail we really warmed up to this trail. While you do hear traffic, you are surrounded by beautiful woods and rock formations. You do pass some industry but I really enjoyed the woods, rocks, and creek. Be mindful of some of the bridges as there can be an inch or two rise. It took us about 3 hours to go to end of trail (about 23 miles) when normally we go 10 miles an hour. There are no bathrooms until about mile marker 13.
The Allegheny Highlands Trail (AHT) isn't perfect but I think that's why I enjoyed this trail so much. There are certain parts where the trail goes from single track gravel to grass where you can tell where the path once was. This is not a road bike trail, I ride a hybrid bike and had no issues with this trail. There was Corridor H work which if the trail was closed between mile 15-17 I don't know if there would be a viable detour. I was able to ride the entire trail from downtown Elkins to Hendrincks and I loved every mile.
The extension into downtown Elkins is complete (Sept 2019), you can get on right behind the Visitor's Center. This adds about a mile and a half to the length of the trail and I highly reccomend it. There are trail heads every few miles. These trail heads only offer information as there are no amenities along the trail unless you stop at Elkins or Parsons. The scenery goes from farmland to residential to quiet streams and dense canopy. I rode the day after Labor Day and there were only less than a dozen other people (all very nice) on the entire trail.
If the AHT was closed at miles 15-17 I would have rated the AHT much lower since I don't think there was a viable on road section near the closure. Approach the AHT with an open mind and you will enjoy every minute of your ride!
I love walking on the Panhandle Trail and have been doing so for well over a decade. I usually start where the trail intersects with Scotch Hill Road and walk to Sturgeon and beyond. Unfortunately, the rains this year have washed away much, and in some places all, of the crushed stone between Scotch Hill Road and Sturgeon, so now I start at Sturgeon and walk to McDonald and beyond. It would be great if the aforementioned section could be fixed.
Rode from NE trailhead, finding the first mile plus nearly impossible to bike. Treacherous descent / ascent through area of former trestle (pushed / pulled bike, cannot imagine riding it). Many downed trees and branches at intervals the entire length. Although we pulled smaller ones that we could manage, off the trail, significant more remain, most will require tools. Good signage, including reflective markers through the first section where the trail is nearly indiscernible; mileage designations would be helpful. Recommend riding from SW trailhead 3 miles to trestle site, then turn around and ride back. Those 3 miles scenic, with the trail elevated through woodlands. No mountain views while trees in leaf. Consider that elevation rises from NE to SW.
Great trial for running and biking. Scenic. Love it. It never gets old.
The first few miles north of Elkins is paved and offers a nice ride with nice views. The trail then turns into what I can best describe as mostly as two cow paths with a minimum of crushed rock and plenty of grass. Makes it difficult to enjoy the countryside views when needing to concentrate of navigating the terrain.
Also blew a tire driving there on West Va state roads as hit a pothole. As the mechanic that fixed my tire commented "we don't have potholes in WV, we have craters!" Suggest anyone thinking of driving state/local roads in this state avoid them unless driving a dump truck or larger vehicle.
My husband surprised me with a trip to this trail for my birthday! We started at the south end and did the first 11 miles (in and back out) and then rode the northern section from Cass down to Marlinton on the 2nd day and the 3rd day went from Marlinton to Beard. It was honestly the best surface on a Rail Trail that I’ve seen... The terrain is pretty well flat (I think it descends 740 feet over 78 miles) and is an easy ride for any level of rider. Not a lot of places to stop to get water, snacks or food so carry all that with you. We didn’t get to finish all the trail but will be going back. My favorite part was from Marlinton to Beard though.
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