Find the top rated walking trails in West Virginia, 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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| Trail Image | Trail Name | States | Length | Surface | Rating |
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Closure Notice: As of March 2023, portions of the northern end of the trail south of Wellsburg are closed due to the construction of a new bridge across the Ohio River that will include a shared-use...
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WV | 6.7 mi | Asphalt |
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The central point of the Caperton Trail is located in Morgantown, known as the home of West Virginia University, the inspiration for a Joni Mitchell song and the birthplace of Don Knotts. Morgantown...
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WV | 5.7 mi | Asphalt |
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Morgantown is known as the home of West Virginia University, the inspiration for a Joni Mitchell song and the birthplace of Don Knotts. But it’s also known for its extensive rail-trail system along...
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WV | 19.5 mi | Asphalt, Crushed Stone |
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Kanawha County’s Elk River Trail provides access to Coonskin Park, a large park originally built by local residents in the 1950s and now managed by the Kanawha County Parks and Recreation Commission....
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WV | 1.5 mi | Gravel |
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Running through Braxton, Clay and Kanawha counties, the trail meanders 57.2 miles along the Elk River. Portions of the trail are still under construction and when finished it will be 73.3 miles with...
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WV | 57.2 mi | Crushed Stone |
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Situated in the heart of West Virginia's pristine New River Gorge National River, the Glade Creek Trail (out-and-back only) has something for everyone. Once a narrow gauge railroad corridor used to...
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WV | 5.8 mi | Dirt, Gravel |
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Note: This developing route is not yet fully contiguous – it is just over 50% complete. Please refer to the Trail Map for more information on the existing sections of trail, as well as the online...
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DC, IA, ID, IL, IN, MD, MT, NE, OH, PA, WA, WV, WY | 3743.9 mi | Asphalt, Concrete, Crushed Stone |
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The Greenbrier River Trail is arguably West Virginia’s premier rail-trail, running for 78 miles past remote small towns and through lush forests along the banks of the longest undammed river in the...
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WV | 78 mi | Asphalt, Crushed Stone |
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The Hawks Nest Rail Trail is located primarily within Hawks Nest State Park near Ansted. The trail is nearly 2 miles long and runs on the south side of Mill Creek, beginning near the nature center....
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WV | 1.8 mi | Dirt, Gravel |
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This walking and biking path runs through the heart of West Virginia's state capital, Charleston. The trail sits right on the north bank of the Kanawha River, offering panoramic river views right from...
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WV | 5.8 mi | Asphalt |
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The Marion County Trail—better known as the MCTrail—runs for nearly 3 miles along Pricketts Creek through rural Marion County. The trail's main highlight is a 1,200-foot lighted tunnel (Meredith...
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WV | 2.5 mi | Asphalt |
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Three trails comprise the Mon River Rail-Trail System—the Mon River Trail, Caperton Trail, and Deckers Creek Trail, which radiate from Morgantown for 48 miles through former Allegheny Plateau...
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WV | 48.5 mi | Asphalt, Crushed Stone |
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Morgantown is known as the home of West Virginia University, the inspiration for a Joni Mitchell song and the birthplace of Don Knotts. But it’s also known for its extensive rail-trail system along...
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WV | 23.7 mi | Asphalt, Crushed Stone |
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The Monongahela National Forest’s Otter Creek Wilderness has many trails, mostly for hiking through the scenic landscape of rhododendron, timber and mosses. Biking is prohibited on the trails, but...
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WV | 11.8 mi | Dirt |
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The Panhandle Trail offers the most direct and scenic route for self-propelled travel between the Northern Panhandle of West Virginia and the suburbs of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. Although the trail...
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PA, WV | 29.2 mi | Asphalt, Crushed Stone |
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Many of the Mountain State’s rail-trails are known for their long grades up mountain valleys, but the West Fork River/Ralph S. Larue Trail is not one of them. The 14-mile trail follows the...
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WV | 14 mi | Asphalt, Crushed Stone |
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The White Oak Rail Trail runs for nearly 8 miles through the central West Virginia city of Oak Hill, connecting the communities of Summerlee and Carlisle at either end. Most of the trail is paved with...
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WV | 7.9 mi | Asphalt, Crushed Stone |
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The Allegheny Highlands Trail (AHT) follows the original route of the West Virginia Central and Pittsburgh Railway, built by Henry Gassaway Davis in 1884. For 26 miles, this exceptionally scenic trail...
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WV | 26 mi | Asphalt, Crushed Stone, Gravel |
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Nestled in a northern valley of West Virginia, the Barnum Rail-Trail follows the North Branch Potomac River through the superb scenery of the Upper Potomac region. If you plan to explore this...
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WV | 4.2 mi | Ballast, Dirt, Grass |
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The Blackwater Canyon Trail follows one of the most challenging and picturesque segments of the former West Virginia Central & Pittsburgh Railway. On its 10.7-mile run deep through the Monongahela...
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WV | 10.7 mi | Dirt, Gravel |
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The Carpendale Trail straddles the North Branch of the Potomac River between Carpendale in West Virginia and Cumberland in Maryland. The wooden bridge spanning 386 feet across the river is a...
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MD, WV | 0.8 mi | Crushed Stone |
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The Cheat Lake Trail is the result of a generous donation of land by Allegheny Energy (now FirstEnergy) near its Lake Lynn Power Station on scenic Cheat Lake. The area was once home to West Penn...
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WV | 4.5 mi | Crushed Stone |
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The Cranberry Tri-Rivers Rail-Trail, also called the Cranberry Rail-Trail, is named for the Cranberry, Cherry and Gauley rivers it travels along or across. The trail begins in downtown Richwood,...
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WV | 16 mi | Dirt, Gravel |
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Located in Blackwater Falls State Park in the Monongahela National Forest, the Davis Trail is an easy rail-trail that ambles up Canaan Mountain as it heads south towards Canaan Valley Resort State...
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WV | 2.6 mi | Dirt |
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The scenic East Fork Trail follows the East Fork of the Greenbrier River through hemlock stands and pine plantations and past many small waterfalls, extending 8 miles from the Island Campground in...
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WV | 8 mi | Dirt |
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The Glen Dale to Moundsville Rail-Trail runs for 3.4 paved miles between Glen Dale City Park and Moundsville Riverview Park. The trail parallels the Ohio River behind shopping plazas and...
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WV | 3.4 mi | Asphalt |
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This rail-with-trail bridge crosses the Potomac River near its confluence with the Shenandoah River, at Harpers Ferry, West Virginia. A cantilevered section of the bridge allows pedestrian access...
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MD, WV | 0.14 mi | Boardwalk |
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The Harrison North Rail Trail follows the West Fork River from North View in Clarksburg north, ending at a dead-end just south of the communities of Spelter and Meadowbrook. Recently repaired, the...
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WV | 7 mi | Cinder, Grass, Gravel |
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When complete, the Harrison South Rail Trail will extend south from Veteran's Memorial Park and the Louis A. Johnson VA Medical Center in Clarksburg to the rural community of Lost Creek. The trail,...
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WV | 5.6 mi | Crushed Stone, Grass |
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The Kaymoor Trail runs parallel to the New River between Fayetteville and Cunard in the National Park Service’s New River Gorge National River. Much of the stunning trail follows old roads and dormant...
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WV | 8.6 mi | Dirt, Gravel |
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Located in the gorgeous New River Gorge in rural West Virginia, the Keeney's Creek Trail is a gravel trail that doubles as a road for park service vehicles. Although built on top of an abandoned...
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WV | 6.6 mi | Gravel |
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Located in the Spruce Knob-Seneca Rocks National Recreation Area of the Monongahela National Forest—a hotspot for mountain biking and rock climbing—the Lumberjack Trail offers a scenic hike on an old...
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WV | 5.7 mi | Dirt |
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History beckons around every rocky bend and in every chilly tunnel on the North Bend Rail Trail, which follows an old railroad corridor through hill and hollow in northern West Virginia. Winding...
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WV | 72 mi | Asphalt, Boardwalk, Concrete, Crushed Stone, Gravel |
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Nestled in a remote mountain valley deep in the Appalachians, the Potts Valley Rail Trail skirts a wilderness area and farmland as it rolls through forests for 4.5 miles in the southern part of the...
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WV | 4.5 mi | Dirt, Grass |
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Five old railroad trestles serve as scenic attractions on this dirt trail in the New River Gorge National Park, although two of those trestles have been closed for safety concerns, splitting the trail...
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WV | 3.4 mi | Dirt, Gravel |
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As it weaves past long-abandoned mining towns, the Southside Trail (formerly the Brooklyn to Southside Junction Trail) in the New River Gorge National Park and Preserve tells the story of “King Coal”...
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WV | 6.9 mi | Ballast, Dirt, Gravel |
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The WV Route 9 Bike Path follows the busy thoroughfare from Martinsburg to the Charles Town/Ranson area. Note that the path runs through open space with little to no shade. While the southern portion...
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WV | 10 mi | Asphalt |
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The Wellsburg Yankee Trail is a short, paved rail-trail that spans the entire length of Wellsburg, a small city on the Ohio River in West Virginia’s Northern Panhandle. The community trail runs...
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WV | 2.2 mi | Asphalt |
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The West Fork Trail snakes its way through remote mountain valleys for 22 miles in the Monongahela National Forest. The soothing gurgle of the river complements the trail’s serene environment of thick...
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WV | 22 mi | Ballast, Crushed Stone, Gravel |
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The Wheeling Heritage Trails are known locally as two trails—the Ohio River Trail and the Wheeling Creek Trail—that run along the old railbeds of two railroads that served the transportation network...
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WV | 16.5 mi | Asphalt |
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The East Wetzel Rail-trail is a 1.5 mile pathway that runs through the town of Hundred in West Virginia. The trail provides connectivity to various local destinations including the high school, the...
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WV | 1.5 mi | Asphalt, Dirt, Sand |
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The Lewis McManus Memorial Honor Trail, also known as the Beckley Rail Trail, travels from Mabscott, through the heart of Beckley, north to the Beckley Crossing Shopping Mall. It follows the route of...
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WV | 4.1 mi | Asphalt, Crushed Stone |
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The Narrow Gauge Trail in Babcock State Park follows the gentle grade of what was the Manns Creek Railway, which connected Clifftop to Sewell, until it closed in 1956. The trail is breathtaking, but...
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WV | 3 mi | Dirt, Gravel |
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The West Virginia Northern Rail Trail is a 10-mile trail project occupying the former West Virginia Northern railroad bed between Kingwood and Tunnelton in Preston County. The short-line railroad...
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WV | 2 mi | Crushed Stone, Gravel |
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The Lewisburg and Ronceverte Trail (commonly known as the L&R Trail) will one day connect these two historic towns set amid the Allegheny Mountains of southern West Virginia. The beautiful natural...
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WV | 0.4 mi | Asphalt |
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In West Virginia’s Monongahela National Forest, the Dolly Sods Wilderness features sweeping vistas, spruce and aspen groves, beautiful meadows, beaver dams and rolling creeks. The area is also home to...
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WV | 3.6 mi | Dirt |
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The Little Kanawha Connector Trail stretches west to east across Parkersburg, a city located at the confluence of the Ohio and Little Kanawha rivers in West Virginia. The trail is a combination of...
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WV | 1.5 mi | Asphalt |
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In West Virginia’s Monongahela National Forest, the Dolly Sods Wilderness features sweeping vistas, spruce and aspen groves, beautiful meadows, beaver dams and rolling creeks. The area is also home to...
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WV | 4.3 mi | Ballast, Dirt, Gravel |
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This short paved path runs between an active railroad and Simpson Creek in the City of Bridgeport. Connecting Bridgeport City Park (250 City Park Dr) with Bridgeport's public recreational area that...
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WV | 0.8 mi | Asphalt |
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West Virginia’s Monongahela National Forest offers a wide variety of trails for day or multi-day hikes of varying levels of difficulty, including several trails built on former logging railroad...
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WV | 2 mi | Dirt |
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The County Line Trail is a short, less-traveled alternative to the neighboring 21.7-mile West Fork Trail. The County Line Trail travels 4 miles along the border of Randolph and Pocahontas counties,...
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WV | 4 mi | Dirt |
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The Elizabeth J. “Binky” Poundstone Memorial River Trail is nestled into the City of Buckhannon, tucked along the Buckhannon River in the foothills of the Allegheny Mountains. A short portion of the...
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WV | 1.9 mi | Asphalt |
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The Monongahela National Forest’s Otter Creek Wilderness has many trails, mostly for hiking through the scenic landscape of rhododendron, timber and mosses. Biking is prohibited on the trails, but...
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WV | 4.1 mi | Dirt |
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The Joel McCann Memorial Trail is part of what will one day be a 16-mile rail-trail from Barrackville to Mannington following the former Baltimore & Ohio (B&O) Railroad. Currently, a 1-mile section of...
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WV | 1.1 mi | Crushed Stone |
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WV | 9.6 mi | Dirt |
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West Virginia's Monongahela National Forest offers a wide variety of trails for day or multi-day hikes of varying levels of difficulty, including several trails built on former logging railroad...
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WV | 3.5 mi | Dirt |
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The Limerock Trail is pure West Virginia: From Forest Service Road 18, the 4-mile rail-trail passes through rhododendron forests and along rocky cliffs and rushing streams. You begin with the sound of...
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WV | 4 mi | Dirt |
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West Virginia's Monongahela National Forest offers a wide variety of trails for day or multi-day hikes of varying levels of difficulty, including several trails built on former logging railroad...
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WV | 3.5 mi | Dirt |
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The Monongahela National Forest’s Otter Creek Wilderness has many trails, mostly for hiking through the scenic landscape of rhododendron, timber and mosses. Biking is prohibited on the trails, but...
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WV | 4.2 mi | Dirt |
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The Monongahela National Forest’s Otter Creek Wilderness has many trails, mostly for hiking through the scenic landscape of rhododendron, timber and mosses. Biking is prohibited on the trails, but...
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WV | 3.2 mi | Dirt |
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The Railroad Grade Trail is a rural hiking trail built on a former logging railroad corridor in the Monongahela National Forest near Blackwater Falls State Park and Canaan Valley Resort State Park....
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WV | 3.2 mi | Dirt |
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In West Virginia’s Monongahela National Forest, the Dolly Sods Wilderness features sweeping vistas, spruce and aspen groves, beautiful meadows, beaver dams and rolling creeks. The area is also home to...
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WV | 6.4 mi | Ballast, Dirt |
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In West Virginia’s Monongahela National Forest, the Dolly Sods Wilderness features sweeping vistas, spruce and aspen groves, beautiful meadows, beaver dams and rolling creeks. The area is also home to...
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WV | 1.9 mi | Dirt |
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West Virginia's Monongahela National Forest offers a wide variety of trails for day or multi-day hikes of varying levels of difficulty, including several trails built on former logging railroad...
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WV | 3 mi | Dirt |
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Located in the Seneca Rocks National Recreation Area of the Monongahela National Forest—a hotspot for mountain biking and rock climbing—the Seneca Creek Trail is a scenic feast of streams, meadows,...
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WV | 5 mi | Dirt |
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West Virginia’s Monongahela National Forest offers a wide variety of trails for day or multi-day hikes of varying levels of difficulty, including several trails built on former logging railroad...
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WV | 4.5 mi | Dirt |
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The South Prong Trail is a remote, rugged rail-trail that offers a moderate, though sometimes quite hilly, hike. There are two very distinct sections of this trail—one section is boggy, while the...
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WV | 5.5 mi | Dirt |
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The Southern Railroad trail occupies part of the former bed of the Harrisville Southern Railroad. The short line railroad was built to link Harrisville to the B&O line at Cornwallis, a total distance...
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WV | 0.8 mi | Dirt |
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The Stone Camp Run Trail follows an old railroad corridor through a deep hollow on Middle Mountain in the Monongahela National Forest's Laurel Fork North Wilderness. The scenic trail crosses the...
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WV | 1.5 mi | Dirt |
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The Tea Creek Area Trails system consists of 12 trails totaling 44 miles, many of which follow old logging railroad corridors. The trails are found in the Marlinton Ranger District within Monongahela...
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WV | 44 mi | Dirt, Grass, Gravel |
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Located in the heart of West Virginia, the Whitmeadow Ridge Trail is also in the center of the Monongahela National Forest. Otherwise known as the Whitmeadow Hunters Access Trail (notice the bullet...
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WV | 5 mi | Dirt |
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Widney Park Rail-Trail is located in the quiet West Virginia community of Durbin. The old railroad town has a charming Main Street with welcoming shops and restaurants and the rail-trail is located...
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WV | 0.8 mi | Crushed Stone |
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