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Print Friendly MapClosure Notice: The Harrison North Rail Trail is closed between the Veterans Memorial Bridge and the Shinnston Waste Water Plant in Shinnston due to storm damage. Please check with the county before heading out on the trail.
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 trail offers a scenic, albeit rough, route through dense woodlands with periodic water views.
Harrison County and the newly formed Harrison Rail Trails, Inc. are currently working on extending the trail north, south and west, with eventual plans calling for connections with the popular West Fork River Trail and North Bend Rail Trail, as well as the developing Harrison South Rail Trail.
A trailhead with unmarked parking is available in Clarksburg's North View neighborhood at the trail's southern terminus on N. 25th Street. Two miles north, a second trailhead with unmarked parking can be found where the trail crosses Fall Run (off Glen Falls Road).
The last time that I rode this trail in its entirety was back in 2014. Since then, it has been much improved! It is wide as a regular road all the way from Spelter to the North View neighborhood of Clarksburg. The first mile near Spelter is very nice surface. The first mile or so of North View is also nice. The middle section has a lot of large gravel and is very bumpy. I would recommend a mountain bike.
This trail goes from the North View section of Clarksburg to Spelter, WV. It is a part of the Parkersburg to Pittsburgh Trail. Soon enough there will be a continuous 180 trail from Parkersburg to the WV/PA line, north of Morgantown. Much of the trail is medium size gravel. I recommend a mountain bike or hiking boot.
I first rode this trail around 25 years ago and at the time thought it was the worst railtrail I had ever ridden and in my mind it occupied that spot from then on. I went back to see if the trail was any better after about 25 years since I had heard of improvements and there weren’t any recent TrailLink reviews. Sadly it wasn’t better and may be worse.
When I first rode it around 1996 much of the trail was being used by ATVs and in bad shape. Additionally the trail dead-ended at a wire fence near Spelter because of ground contamination. The gate is now gone and you can ride through to County Rt 19/33 now.
I started at the Clarksburg end and right away there is no formal parking for the trailhead. You just park along the road by an abandoned glass factory. There is new signage and at the beginning the trail is paved which it was not years ago. The pavement only lasts for 1/4 mile though and then turns to gravel. There are also some ditches and steel plates from apparent ditching work. This gravel is okay but not great.
After this the gravel changed to 1” size and was progressively harder to ride. The scenery would have been nice if I could have looked a bit but the trail was constantly challenging. At 3.5 miles the bottom fell out. At this point the trail turned to what can only be called an offroad track. The gravel was gone thankfully and the surface smooth, when it didn’t consist of huge mud holes and some tire tracks. This “trail” is obviously being used by vehicles of all types and I figured out why later. For the next 3 miles you constantly are trying to avoid this mud and water and hitting occasionally rocky areas. One section about a 100 ft long was filled with 4” gravel. The last half mile or so before Spelter is gravel again and halfway decent but not great.
As I stopped at the end for a break before going back I realized a huge issue with this trail - not a single gate was closed on it. You could drive it with the appropriate vehicle end-to-end. In fact, on the way back I passed an ATV and a pickup truck using it.
I wouldn’t recommend anyone go to ride this trail - it’s just not worth it when there are better options nearby such as the West Fork River Trail or the Mon River and Deckers Creek trails in Morgantown.
Went there and walked half of trail. Good walking trail really no challenges though. But the views and area is nice and clean. Worse part was all the small dogs that live off the trail. I had my dog with me so it was constant barking and coming after us.
Went there today for the first time. Trail was nice and clean. Nice scenery and pleasant walking. We had our Great Dane with us and it is perfect for dogs. The only issues we had was all the sewer drains and the smell. And the houses that are next to the trail have dogs and they wouldn't leave us alone.
Glad to see this trail open again and can't wait to see it connected to others, but there is still a lot of work to be done. If you are looking for a somewhat challenging ride involving dodging or riding through waterholes this trail provides it, but if you are looking to ride at a consistent or fast pace, currently this trail is not suitable for that. I rode this course on opening day for Rail Trails in April and again on Aug 11, hoping to see some improvement, but the only noticeable change was the removal of a bridge that was replaced with a culvert and fill in that needs some more work. I was able to ride over the fill in, but it may be difficult for many riders. In summing up, the ride was OK for me, but I wasn't looking to get covered with soot and dirt on my ride and I wouldn't take my daughter from one end to the other, as I don't think it would be enjoyable for her. Looking forward to more improvements and more consistent surface.
This trail has been down for quite a few years but has been reopened. There has been alot of work done recently and this trail is getting better and better. If you haven't been on it in a while it might be time to stop by and check it out. Thanks to all the people involved in cleaning it up for everyone to have the chance to enjoy it.
The trail has been cleared as of Jan 2016 of all contaniments by DEP.
Harrison Trail is being steadily improved.
Surface has been repaired, committee members are working daily to replace benches and repair drainage issues as well as remove brush.
I encourage a new visit to this trail and enjoy the scenic view of the river while you enjoy the trail.
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