Find the top rated birding trails in West Virginia, 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.
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Easy for beginners. Nice scenery. Very fun (and a tunnel, to!)
If you choose a fall Saturday to go for a bike ride, expect a crowd on this trail. We found lots of pedestrians and few bikes until getting well north of Star City. Not sure if this is the norm or just that WVU was playing out of town and a pandemic is going on. The trail is fairly wide with asphalt in good condition making for a smooth ride. We rode from Deckers Creek north to connect to the Mon River Trail. We passed a couple riverfront parks, one with an amphitheater, and saw a riverside Ti Chi class in a pavilion. The only downer on this part of the trail is passing a water treatment plant with a multitude of gnats (this was early November too). Star City is a great rest spot - real restroom, bike repair stand, and playground too. We saw several parking areas at the riverfront parks. We parked a couple miles away on the Deckers Creek Trail at Marilla Park in Sabraton. This trail is perfect if you just want a short ride or if you want a long ride too as it connects to other trails to the north, south and east. Definitely will visit this trail again.
If you come with realistic expectations, you will love this trail. If you expect perfectly groomed trail with multiple towns and cell phone service all of the time, I'd suggest you try something a little tamer. This trail is for those who crave solitude and beauty and don't mind if they have to pay a small price for it. I actually found the track to be pretty good, yes there are some bumps and puddles here and there but more the exception than the rule. Rode the trail from Cass to Caldwell as part of a longer trip and really enjoyed it despite some rain on the 2nd day. I really liked the Cass to Marlinton section as well as the last 10 miles or so into Caldwell. Overall this is a great experience well worth your time.
Rode this on 10/5/20 with friends. Mountain bike a must. Trail in poor condition. Numerous fallen trees, long grass, and muddy patches on this short old elevated rail track through the woods. With a little maintenance this could be spectacular.
We rode the trail in three days. Marlinton to Cass and back day one. Renick to Marlinton and back day two, Caldwell to Renick and back day three. The trail was in good shape, we averaged 10 mph. Plenty of wildlife and raw nature. We stayed at the Greenbier State Park cabins. I highly recommend.
I rode this trail on a gravel bike with bikepacking bags and light weight camping equipment. I started at Cass, WV and did 77 miles the first day, then camped down at the first site on the trail near Caldwell, WV. I then retraced my path back to Cass on the second day. I researched this trail for several months prior to riding so I could get an understanding of trail conditions, features and amenities. This trail is highly impressive in its infrastructure and cleanliness! Starting Cass, with the understanding that The Green Bank National Radio Astronomy Observatory is right over the mountain, you should be aware this is a blackout zone for cellular networks but GPS is still active. The trail hosts an impressive number of campsites, many with facilities and pumps offering potable water. Being a multi-use trail, one should expect hikers, cyclists, joggers and horseback riders. There are several small towns along the way like Marlinton, Seebert and Renick and you’re treated to the grandeur of the Monongahela National Forest, the Watoga State Park and Calvin State Forest. You get two great tunnels and a ton of bridges from truss to girder to flat-deck. Being a railtrail, the surface is mostly level and packed with crushed limestone. Sometimes you get a little double track with a grassy center but mostly smooth sailing. A few puddles here and there, but paying attention to the weather prior to your trip can alleviate some suffering and/or misery. Overall, this was a fantastic trip that exceeded my expectations! I highly recommend this journey but will stress that basic planning and simple preparation are key to enjoying all this phenomenal trail has to offer!
This trail is great for all ages and stages of bikers. Beautiful setting and the tunnel is pretty cool. Not very long so doable for the kids.
Been riding the Parkersburg end of the North Bend trail, just wanted to update fellow riders of utility work on the trail. Trail was great until about the mile 6 marker then it was a mess and we had to walk our bikes around the equipment and get on the hardtop road and we finally turned around and rode back until we found the trail on the other side of the construction area.
We parked by the river on Douglas Road and rode to Hendricks. The ride is beautiful with many cool features to see. Douglas Falls was a bit chilly on 9/12 but we could not resist taking a brief swim.
Ride back up from Hendricks is a bit of an uphill push, but still a nice ride. If you have younger riders you might want to consider being dropped off in Thomas and picked up in Hendricks. Or perhaps starting in Hendricks and knocking off the uphill ride to Thomas and then saving the sweet downhill ride for the way back.
Great Trail!
I did the whole Mon River part of this trail system for the first time last weekend, and I hope my experience is helpful to others: The Sheepskin Trail, Mon River-North, Caperton, Mon River-South and MC trails are all contiguous, and can be thought of as one, mostly crushed limestone, trail. I started out on the Sheepskin Trial in Point Marion, PA, where I found easy parking and a stunning, huge outside wall mural of stained glass. Cyclists coming from the north may find it convenient to start here. I continued south as the trail turned into the MR-N, which can only be thought of as scenic if you appreciate waste water treatment plants, coal powered electric generating stations, and locks and dams. The Caperton section is a varied, mostly urban route that runs past the WVU campus and offers opportunities for food and drink right on the trail. Found MR-S the most scenic of the three and also enjoyed the quick little ride through the pretty state park and lighted tunnel into nearby Fairmont on the MC Trail before I turned around and headed back. Almost no port-o-johns, picnic tables or water anywhere along the trail. Few benches, several of which are in poor shape. Downed trees blocked much of the trail in several areas and had been cleared only enough for a bike to pass, not removed from the trail. The MR-S was often grassy and sometimes narrowed to a foot path. Seems like maybe this trail system could use some more volunteers! Haven't done the Deckers-Creek yet.
One word describes this ride - WOW!!!
Beautiful scenery, and rode about 6 miles without turning a pedal.
First, I have to start with a disclaimer. Highlandtrails.org website clearly states “this section is quite steep and is not maintained for recreational use”.
I rode this on a hybrid with 700x38 tires and had no problems. Sure, wider tires would have been nicer, but maybe the suspension fork and seatpost saved me?
Trail is singletrack hard packed cinders with pea sized gravel. It will shake everything on your bike and give your arms a great massage. Trail never felt soft or mushy. Had one small washout about a foot wide and maybe 6” deep. Easy to walk across, and they had it marked with reflector posts so we knew something was there.
Started our ride behind the post office in Thomas. Don’t let the puddles scare you away. It’s not all like this. Trail starts as a 10 ft wide gravel driveway with potholes that goes to the sewage treatment plant. We missed the right turn across the bridge after the plant, so we ended up on Douglas Rd. Rode the paved road down the hill and across the river. Slight left turn onto the gravel road with the Douglas Falls sign. More potholes and have to watch for cars coming at you on the one lane road. Be careful crossing the bridge. I walked it. Went through a small parking area at the falls and finally got to the yellow gate. That’s where the fun starts. Beautiful Douglas Falls on the left. Partially obscured by trees. Next 6 miles was all down hill with some gorgeous views. Passed 3 waterfalls coming down the canyonside and under or over the trail and into the river. Great view of the canyon from the spot with the railing. I don’t think I turned a pedal until we got to the yellow gate north of Hendricks. What a ride!!! Had about 2 miles on a gravel road to the beautiful trailhead in Hendricks. Our driver had picked up sandwiches in Parsons, so we sat in the pavilion and enjoyed lunch.
Part of me wishes it was fixed up so more folks could enjoy it, but part of me says leave it wild and wonderful. Be sure to check out this gem if you are in the area....Bikin-Mike - 09/01/20
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