Cheat Lake Trail

West Virginia

14 Reviews

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Cheat Lake Trail Facts

States: West Virginia
Counties: Monongalia
Length: 4.43 miles
Trail end points: Morgan Run Rd. (Morgantown) and Cheat Lake (Greystone)
Trail surfaces: Crushed Stone
Trail category: Rail-Trail
ID: 6017382

Cheat Lake Trail Description

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 Beach, a cluster of vacation cottages available for rent by company employees in the 1920s, and now hosts a 4.43-mile trail.

About the Route

While the rental properties are no more, the original appeal of dense woodlands and scenic lake views remains. The Cheat Lake Trail courses through this landscape along a former rail corridor, offering ample opportunities to view local flora and fauna. Perhaps the best spot is at the trail’s southern end near Greystone, where a nature viewing area is dedicated for this purpose.

Farther north, a fishing platform, boat dock, playground, and picnic tables can be found in the Cheat Lake Trail’s adjacent park.

Trail users should note that the southern end of the trail dead ends, and it is necessary to turn around there.

Parking and Trail Access

The Cheat Lake Trail runs between Morgan Run Rd. (Morgantown), where parking is available, and Cheat Lake (Greystone).

Parking is also available at Cheat Lake Park, which does not have an official address. Please see TrailLink Map for all parking options and detailed directions.

Cheat Lake Trail Reviews

Cheat Lake Trail

Enjoyed the trail very much. Very pleasant scenery with the lake. We parked at the north end of the trail near the Lake Lynn Dam and Hydro Power Plant. As noted in previous comments, there is a steep hill with stairs to get between the parking and the trail. I counted the steps. There are 96 steps, with landings every 11 steps, which is about twice as much as estimates from previous comments. For me, I was really tired after carrying our bicycles up the steps at the end of our ride. I will definitely try to find my way to the other parking if we come back, despite other comments indicating that other parking seems hard to get to.

nice and flat

Based on other reviews, i decided to go to main parking lot where the playground is located to try to prevent blocked entrances or stairways. Getting to that main parking lot was not the best drive. It was kinda creepy and there was only 1 other car beside me. But once I got to the trail, it was fine. Very quiet given there was only 2 of us out there at the time. From the beginning of the trail, left side is 3.5 miles and right side is the other.9 miles. Back and forth it is 9 miles Views were great.

South Trail is closed

Disappointed to find out the south portion of the trail is closed for renovations. Parked at the Lake Lynn side and walked about 1.5 miles before turning around. The trail is crushed limestone/gravel so it’s easily navigable in most shoes. Hopefully the rest of the trail reopens.

Disappointed

Went here on 8-2-2020 and regretted it immediately when we saw that in order to access the trail we had to traverse a very steep and rocky hill or take the 50ish stairs. If there were alternative parking areas there was no information saying as much. Since we had driven so far, we risked the hill (by steep, I mean unreasonable to walk especially with a bike) only to find that there was a padlocked gate blocking the trail after approx one mile. Beware of high volumes of pedestrian traffic. Doubt I would ever return.

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