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Four of us drove from Raleigh NC to ride on 12-14 Sept 2021. On Sunday afternoon we rode Mile Marker 3 to MM15 out and back from Caldwell; this trail-head is very close to I64. We then drove 45 miles to Marlinton, and stayed at the Locust Hill B&B. This cabin is rustic with a Fantastic Porch and Awesome views for enjoying coffee and beer. The cabin is only 1/2 mile from trail! We rode out n back MM56 to MM36 toward Caldwell on Monday and out n back MM56 to MM68 toward Cass on Teus. Most of the time these trail sections followed the beautiful, clear Green Brier River! The trail was in GREAT Condition - no ruts, no rumble strips on this trail! Using Marlinton as our 2-night stay location allowed for convenient out n back riding without the use of a shuttle. Next time I plan to ride all the way down-river in one day! I plan to convert my 4-bike rack to a 3-bike rack for easier loading/unloading of bikes. One rider will begin with us, but only ride out for his desired distance and then back to the truck. He will then drive and pick us up at MM 3!
Great trail, as described with more words by others.
Just one thing: When you head down from Thomas and you get to the sewage plant, make sure you hook a right at the end of the fence that surrounds the plant. It's easy to miss the actual entry into the trail. If you miss the entrance, you ride through some river-bottom neighborhoods and get peoples dogs excited.
It's definitely mountainbike territory once you get past the forest service gate. Pretty coarse gravel and the occasional branches across the path. Also, a few small washouts that are well marked.
And while it's a 'rail trail', the grade is a bit steeper than you will find on many other rail trails. During the coal hauling days, they would add 6 locomotives to the train just to get the empty hopper cars up the hill. Nothing wrong with it, just something you need to anticipate for the way back up.
We started our ride at the Douglass road crossing where there is a sizeable parking area and headed north. The first section is in fairly decent shape with a crushed gravel base. There is a washout fairly soon after starting but easily rideable with mountain bikes. Several historic markers along the way. Soon you reach a nicely decked bridge over the North Fork of the Blackwater River and pass a sewage treatment plant. From here on the trail is a shared use gravel road. It is in decent shape into Thomas. If you continue north the gravel becomes coarser and many large puddles appear. Fortunately the puddles have solid bottoms so you can ride right through if so inclined. The trail ends at Rt 219 where you can backtrack. There are a few access points into Thomas where you can find food and drink. We stopped at the TipTop and were not disappointed.
After a ride on part of the Blackwater Canyon railtrail yesterday my buddy and I decided to check out this trail. Traillink has exactly one sentence mentioning that this segment exists and that's it though it does appear on the map. This segment along with the Blackwater Canyon trail and the as of now unimproved Davis Branch between Thomas and Davis are all supposed to eventually be part of the AHT - I suspect that is several years away if it happens.
As for the segment which is called the "Corridor H railtrail" on some other biking sites it was decent enough. It is easy to find. After turning on Rt 93 from Rt 219 go a short distance and take the first left shortly before the road turns to 4 lanes. There's a decent parking area and the trail is easily seen with bike signs. This is a fairly flat trail that has a little bit of rise and fall. You start right along the higway but soon pull away enough to not really notice it. Surface is fine gravel most of the time with some a bit coarser. There is one spot by what appears to be a beaver dam with some ruts washed out but we were able to ride it. There is a short paved section at the end and then the trail ends at a road going to a coal prep plant. Be aware that this trail has almost no shade so it can get a bit hot but up this high there is usually a breeze. 3 stars only because it's disconnected from anything but once connected to the town of Davis I would probably bump it up to 4.
I rode this trail out of North Bend State Park North to Pennsboro. It was about 11 miles each way. The next day I rode to Petroleum from North Bend State Park. The area is very nice. I saw a lot of deer on my morning ride south to Petroleum. Petroleum had a nice rest stop with bike work stand, restroom and shelter. It happened to be on a road and in someone's front yard. I went thru the "haunted" tunnel. fairly long, one could not see. Either bring a light or walk. I walked and I still went into a wall.
Cairo was in sad shape. The town needs revitalization. Services will be spotty.
Pennsboro has services but it was a Sunday and almost everything was closed. Horse droppings was prevalent going east. It would be a mess on a wet day. Went thru 4 tunnels, it was nice to break the trail monotony.
The trail is in generally in poor quality. Maintenance is done by putting down 1-2 inch gray stone rock as fill. Too bad the people responsible for the trail do not see how other trails across the country are kept. The Pumpkinvine trail in Indiana accepts donations online. There is a fiberoptic underground line being put in along the trail. I hope royalties help with trail maintenance. A town like Cairo could use some business from trail users. A better trail would bring people.
North Bend State Park is a very nice campground. It is very convenient to the Trail. It has showers and flush toilets.
We rode 6 miles in from west end, 5 miles each way from park connector - did not hit any trail closures. They are working on fibre optic, but we able to get around the minor digging where they are pushing the cable.
Tunnels were dark and covered in slick mud - we ended up walking the three east from the park connector.
This is no place for skinny road tires - gonna need fat ones for the mud, dirt, and gravel/ballast.
Riverbend campground is ideal spot to camp and have direct trail access.
Rode 2 miles from the Shinnston terminus. Trail was in excellent condition to that point. They are presently digging up the trail to lay down a sewer line toward Shinnston. About 3 inches of fine gravel sits on the trail north and is currently un-bikeable.
I have ridden the WFRT prior to this construction and found it to be minimally traveled, and in good to excellent shape. Here is hoping they restore it to at least that, if not lay an asphalt base.
This is a great trail for anyone and everyone. It follows Elk River, it's peaceful, scenic, quiet, lots of wildlife to see and plants to identify.
The National Park Rangers told me in Aug 2021 that it is closed until further notice, at least a year. An old mine was not closed properly and filled with water and a landside was swept over the trail. There did not seem to be a parking lot from the north end, Wolf Creek end by the New River Gorge Bridge. No more than a gravel area for a few cars at the most. If there was no room to park your car you would have to exit on a one way loop road that would take 45 minutes to get back on the highway. They are working on it so maybe next year?
Well maintained, shaded, beautiful scenery and beautiful waterfalls around mile marker 12.
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