trails west virginia kentucky southern

Babcock State Park - This is a very nice park, located near the New River Gorge Bridge. If you are looking for a easy hike with great views, than Skyline Trail is your choice. It is 3 to four miles, and accesses about 2 to 3 rock overlooks for some very impressive views. It is mostly level, as it follows the ridge line and occasionally passes through some Rhodedendren thickets.  The only downside to this trail is that you must walk back the way you came.
     Island In The Sky is also a nice trail that is only about a half a mile long. It starts near the Grist Mill and climbs steeply to a rock face with a 360 view. You can then follow the road back to where you came from.
     But if you like to work for your view, than Manns Creek Gorge Trail is for you. It starts at the campground and winds its way down to Manns Creek. It passes a small waterfall on the creek (about 3 to 4 feet) and then the trail starts to ascend. You cross a bridge over a breathtaking run with miniture cascades as the water falls down towards the creek. If you are feeling adventureous, than you can try to climb down the hill a bit following the run and you will find a 12 to 15 foot waterfall (this is just an estimate). After this brouhaha, you climb back to the trail and continue hiking all the way to the top where there is a rock outcrop with an outstanding view of Manns Creek 1000 to 1100 feet below. This may sound like a huge climb, but it is gradual and is not very hard. The trail ends at Camp Washington Carver and you can either take the trail back, or take the road. Total mileage is around four miles.
Beech Fork State Park - If you are looking for a hiking park, then this probably isn't your best choice. The most popular trail that is both biked and hiked is the Lost Trail. It starts near the bridge that crosses the lake goes into the woods a bit, and makes a figure eight. Although you often see people on this trail, there is nothing really worth hiking for at all here.
The best trail to hike here is The Overlook Trail. It is approximately one mile, and is accessed from the campground side of the lake off of State Route 10. The trail is a full loop, winding to the top of the ridge, descending a bit, until there is a rather small pile of rocks with a little bit of a view of the recreation complex. It's not the best view in the world, but it is the best looking trail in the park that I have been on.
Bluestone Lake State Park - This park is located off of WV-20 just south of Hinton, WV. I only hiked on trail in this park because this day I had actually gone hiking with my older brother. We did the Overlook Trail, which is 1 mile total to the top and back down to the road. It climbs up a hill, following a couple of switchbacks until it intersects the Big Pine Trail. If you follow the Big Pine Trail further up the hill, you will get to a power line clearing and I suppose there is a bit of a view, but power line clearings aren't exactly my kind of view. Now if you go right at the intersection and follow an unmarked trail you will eventually get to a small clearing with a view of the lake which is pictured above. If you are in the mood for a short hike, then I definately recommend this trail.
Cabwaylingo State Forest - This park is located in southern Wayne County off of State Route 152. There are two trails here that are worth hiking, especially when combined together. These trails are the Martin Ridge and Sleepy Hollow. Martin Ridge is accessed from a picnic area across the road from the swimming pool. There is a steep climb, running into a ravine every now and then, which makes for a very slick climb if it had rained recently. Finally, the trail gets to a major curve, and crosses the hollow and this is where is starts to level off. the path widens a bit, and it follows the ridge until you get a gravel road. At this point, you follow the road to the right for about a half a mile until you get to a fork in the road. There are no signs indicating which way to go, and after failing once, I finally found the right direction. Anyhow, you take a left, and walk for a little over a quarter of a mile and there will be a sign for the Sleepy Hollow to the left. This trail is much more interesting than Martin Ridge for a variety of reasons. The fauna changes and Hemlocks proceed to dominate. As you proceed down the cliffs to Sweetwater Branch, large cliff overhangs will dot the landscape (however none of these offer a good view). You proceed almost all the way to the bottom and there will be a 270 degree turn to the left for a path that leads to a 10 foot waterfall. In the spring the waterfall is very full, and it is quite refreshing. However in the drier months, it becomes just a trickle, but I suppose it is still nice to look at.
Other trails I have tried there are Indian Trail and Copley Trail. Indian Trail is a little over a mile and leads to the top of the hill, near the fire tower, which is locked up and is not accessible. The gnats here are almost unbearable and they really make the hike miserable, even when you use bug spray.
Copley Trail starts near the swimming pool and is maybe 2 miles in length. It climbs a steep hill until it gets to the ridge. This trail was previously overgrown but has now been blazed well. At the top of the ridge is a large rock formation with minimal views. The neatest thing about this trail is the so-called Copley Cave. It was a rock overhang where a family cut out sandstone blocks and mortered them up to form a cave to live in. I'm not sure when they lived there or any other details, but my guess is probably in the 20's and possibly 30's. (From what I understand, Wayne county was still using horses as transportation during the 30's due to the lack of roads). It eventually starts it's decent and passes a run with cascades and miniture waterfalls. Eventually it leads to the cabins where you walk the road back to the swimming area.
Camp Creek State Park/Forest - This park is located right off of I-77, so natrually it is easy to get to. I have only been to this park once, and it was in August, and it was suprisingly very wet when I went. I hiked two trails combined together, the Deer Crossing Trail, and the Bear Wallow Trail. The Deer Crossing Trail starts off not too far from the park office. You park your car, and then you walk past a gate on a gravel road. At about a quarter of a mile, you come to a neat looking waterfall. The trail then continues on , crosses a small run, and then runs along the other side of Camp Creek. Soon, I got to the intersection, and took Bear Wallow trail. Now there is a warning, most of these trails are for hiker/equestrian use, but it seems to me that only horses use it. It was the muddiest and nastiest trail I had ever been on. My shoes were soaked and caked with mud by the time I had finished. Anyhow, you continue and then you have to cross a larger creek, which requires you to either get wet, or to take your shoes off, I opted for the latter. Then the trail comes to another creek, and this one was larger. After crossing this, the trail conditions get much better. It climbs a steep hill, and then you come out onto a road. You can take a right and go to Neely Knob, or go left and head back. By this time, I was tired, so I went back. It pretty much follows the road all the way back to near the trailhead. The total mileage was around 5 miles.
Carnifex Ferry Battlefield State Park - This park is located near Summersville and is quite quaint. It was early November and quite dreary and I took the Patterson Trail, which is about 2 miles. It starts off on the old ferry road and descends slightly into the woods crossing a small brook. It crosses State Route 23 and finds the Old Roadbed. It passes the Patterson House and crosses the main park road. You come to the a trail intersection and follow the trail to the right. You the come to the Copperhead Overlook, a nice view of the Gualey River. About a 1/4 a mile later you get to the Pillow Rapids Overlook. It is then about a half a mile later until you get the Main Overlook. All three are great overlooks of the gorge below. It then runs back into the road.
Chief Logan State Park - There aren't any trails here of particular interest. The ones I've done are Buffalo Trail, Wilderness Trail, Guyandotte Beauty Trail, Woodpecker Trail, Cliffside Trail, Waterfall Trail, and Coal Mine Trail. The noted trails I would say are the Guyandotte Beauty Trail and the Waterfall Trail. The Waterfall Trail isn't what you think. It's just a tiny waterfall, and the trail isn't probably over a half a mile. The Guyandotte Beauty Trail is known for the endangered wildflower, the Guyandotte Beauty. It's very steep, and highlights of this trail are an old closed up coal mine. The Cliffside Trail doesn't provide any views, nor do you feel like you are on a cliff. The Coal Mine Trail is steep and passes an old coal silo. It connects to the Wilderness Trail, but the last time I was on that trail it was in dire need of maintaining. And the Woodpecker and Backbone Trail are two trails that kind of paralell roads in the park.
Droop Mountain Battle Field State Park - This park is a good hiking place if you are looking to only do 2 or 3 miles and are looking for some nice views. I suggest taking the Overlook Trail. It is .5 miles and the highlight of course is the overlook, which is spectacular. At this point there the Big Spring Trail, which is .3 miles that leads to a spring, but is not worth it, since the spring is a pipe sticking out of a rock spurting water. Eventually, the Overlook Trail ends and I took the Old Soldier Trail to the Cranberry Bogs Trail, which was maybe about a half a mile. The bogs aren't anything to write home about, but it was still peaceful and scerene. The trail ends near the Stone Trail Shelter, and you can follow the road to the Lookout Tower, where there are signs that explain the battle at Droop Mountain, and also affording great views of the valley below. I then found The Musket Trail and followed it back to the parking lot.
Greenbrier State Forest - When I was here, I tried to do the Kate's Mountain Loop Trail, but it didn't exactly work out. I do not recommend this, because they are doing work on the Holsapple Trail and there are roads that go every which way, and all the trees seemed to be marked red. The Rocky Ridge Trail is a trail worth climbing. This is a very steep trail, that passes the Shooting range, and pretty much climbs up about 900 feet until it gets to the top of Kate's Mountain. At the top, you can take a left and follow the road. You will see some rocks on top of the ridge to the right, and it is worth it to scramble up there for a very nice view. If you continue down the road, you'll get to a clearing and there is a view of the Greenbrier River Valley below. By the time I got here though, clouds had formed and it had started to sprinkle, so my view was mostly of mist and clouds. So I am not sure how nice this view is.
Holly River State Park - I've only really been on two trails in this park, and it wasn't very spectacular. I took Tramontane Trail up the mountain, and let me tell you, this trail is very steep. It passed through some small fields of wildflowers. Eventually the trail reaches the top and it follows the ridge to the Patrol Cabin. Here I took the Oak Ridge Trail because it was supposed to have an overlook, but I never found it. But there were some neat narrow ridges, lined with deep plush moss that gave the area almost an errie atmosphere. It then steeply starts down the mountain until it reaches the campground. Total mileage about 5 miles.
Kanawha State Forest -   This is a nice forest not too far away from Charleston. Overlook Rock Trail which is about 1.5 miles, would have to be the best. It starts off steep, and climbs probably around 500 feet. Then it will descend until you reach a rock outcrop with an overlook. It's not the best in the world, but it's still better than nothing.
     Hemlock Falls Trail is absolutely not what it says, there is no waterfall there at all.
     Polly Hollow is a nice trail that follows a road for a bit than climbs steeply until you meet a bunch of rocks with a quasi-overlook, but it's still nice to sit down and rest here. It will meet Wildcat Ridge Trail. This trail starts off at a picnic area, and climbs steeply until it hits the ridge and meets up with Polly Hollow. It will then continue to follow the ridge until it meets Boundary Road. There is also a turn off for Beech Glen, and this trail is kind of nice. It is not too steep, and it passes some interesting looking rock overhangs (with no views). The only bad part of this trail is that it crosses the stream about 5 times, and it can easily get confusing. It eventually runs into Polly Hollow Rd, and you can follow this to the main park road.
     Another I've been on is the Davis Creek Trail. I mountain biked this one, and I found it kind of fun. It's about 3 miles and it follows Davis Creek, for where it gets it's name.
     In September of 2004, I did the Rocky Ridge to Pigeon Roost trails. Rocky Ridge is located at the southern end of the park right when the main road turns to gravel. It climbs a hill, levels off, then it hits a very steep climb until you get to a rock outcrop, that doesn't provide really any view, however, I would venture to say that there is a view in the wintertime. After this, you follow a small ridge riddled with large boulders, then you begin to climb again, then you level off, and then you climb one more time before the trail turns left, and follows steeply downhill. Eventually, you run into Pigeon Roost. It is not very spectacular, it just goes downhill until it hits the road. However, the trail is bistected, and the smaller part of the trail goes up to the top of the ridge, but I did not go that way. Total mileage was probably 2.5 miles.
     Another trail I have done is the White Hollow Trail. It starts off across the road from the Dunlop Hollow Picnic area. It ascends the mountain, climbs to the top and passes some rock formations. It descends and ends up intersecting the Davis Creek Trail north of the Stables for a total of 2 miles.
     If you are feeling adventurous, then you can attempt to get to the Davis Creek overlook. Long ago, it used to be called the Lookout Trail, but now there is nothing there to mark that it ever existed. You start out at the stables and walk the road through the area past the bridge on the left. Somewhere after leaving the area there should be a trail that runs right up the hill to the right, but I did not find this road/trail. However, if you obtain a park map, you can navigate the know roads and eventually reach the overlook that is marked on the map (the map can be obtained from Kanwha's website located below). This overlook is quite spectacular with the exception of a power line getting in the way of an unobstructed view.
Laurel Lake Wildlife Management Area - They have two trails that connect right to one another, I believe it was called Lakeside Trail. It follows the shoreline of the lake and is not very spectacular. It ends near the dam and you must return the same way you came. Now I have seen some feature on a topo map about Turkey Rock in the park, so I tried to drive to it, but the road goes from paved, to unpaved, to a huge swamp. I suppose I could have walked the road, but I'm not totally sure if it's on private property or not according to the topo map.
Monongahela National Forest - This forest is located in Eastern West Virginia and runs from the northern border all the way to I -64. I've done The High Falls Trail. In order to get to this trail, you have to take a gravel road for a couple of miles. It is about five miles, and if you want to get away, this is a good trail for it. It starts out in an old pasture and slowly climbs until it leaves the pasture and heads into the woods. It then ascends Shavers Mountain with one view on the way up where a bunch of trees have fallen. It eventually starts to descend to the other side through a partial hemlock forest. Eventually it gets to the bottom near some old railroad tracks. Now neither me nor my fiance could find this waterfall, but I later discovered that I should have followed the tracks to the right and then descended to the river below. Now the trail says to run right down to the river as soon as you hit the railroad tracks. But we did this and there was nothing there, no remnants of the trail or anything, and the trail is very well maintained. The way back we just followed the same trail.
     Another trail I've done is the Black Mountain Trail. This trail paralells State Route 150. It starts at a roadside overlook, descends a bit and follows some old railroad tracks and if you look closely, you can see them. The forest is second growth, so it isn't very thick. Eventually you start to ascend and you end up at the other roadside overlook. You then can cross the road and take the other trail back but I do not recommend this. It gets to a huge pile of rocks that are nearly impossible to navigate without killing yourself. Eventually I gave up and just climbed the hill and took the road back.
     Flatrock Run is my favorite among my Monongahela hikes. It starts off near Dolly Sods and is very tough to find. You see a sign for the trail but it only leads to a horse pasture. I then asked some kids outside how to find the trail and he pointed us between his garage and his house past his barn and over a rope fence, so yes, you have to go through private property to get there. It follows an old roaded next to their pasture for maybe a half a mile. Eventually it climbs into the woods and meets up with Flatrock Run. You continue up and pass many falls and cascades. Now there are two ways to continue, and I'm not sure which one I did. On the way up I crossed the run and hit a very steep part of the trail. It then meets an old railroad grade and some very steep switchbacks. The trail is then full of ferns; these things are all over the place. There also is that stickler plant that I never learned the name of. So if you are like me and insist on wearing shorts when you hike, just make sure to wear long socks. Eventually, the hardwood trees start to yield to hemlocks. It continues up and there is a watercrossing where I filled up my water bottle. I'm not sure if this was safe or not, but I didn't exactly care byt this moment. The trail continues on and the hemlocks then give way to red spruces as the trail climbs up. The trail then gives a last hurrah of an incline and you start to come out of the woods. You pass by some bogs and ferns and other low height plant life begin to dominate. I then got on the Roaring Plains Trail. This trail winds around this barren and rocky ground and there is a little offshoot path to a huge rock cairn at 4710, over 2200 feet from where we (my fiance and I) started. When we got to the top it started to rain, so we didn't explore the top very much. From what we did, it is very rocky and easy to turn your ankle on. And it was cold. We hiked this trail in mid June, and it must have been in the upper 50's up there. And of course, with no trees, there are some spectacular views. The only problem was, it was very cloudy and I didn't see any of it. On a sidenote, the very top of this area is Mount Porte Crayon, and it is being looked at for a ski resort. If it is sold, it will definately ruin this peaceful place. Anyways we went back down the way we came, although there are other ways to get back, just longer. Now on the way back, we got off track and ended up on a trail that was absolutely full of holes. It was like a bunch of 100 pound rocks with some grass cover and some thin soil. Anyhow, after tripping like crazy, we decided that this was not the way we came up. But, on the bright side, there were some down trees that did provide a nice view, and it was at this point that we were convinced that we went the wrong way. We then got back on track and went down the mountain but we eventually got to a nice waterfall, probably up to 20 feet high with a small bridge across it, but this wasn't the way we came up. But we continued on this way and we eventually ended up back near the pasture. I have been over some makeshift maps on some other sites, and I can't seem to figure out how I got up there the first time. It was probably a total of 12 miles, and took almost 8 hours, but most of the time was spent actually on the downhill because my fiance's feet were killing her, and I swear, she waddled all the way down the mountain!
     And finally, I have done a short half-mile boardwalk trail at Cranberry Glades. It is an interpretive trail, and there are fun little signs to read along the way. It is an interesting area, a high altitude bog like area that is very much barren of trees so it gives you mountain views. That trees that are there are mostly Pine and Hemlock
New River Gorge National River - In this National Park I did one trail, the Long Point Trail which is 3.2 miles round trip coming back the same way you went up. It starts off in a field then goes into a forest. About a half a mile into it, there is an alternate trail that will lead to the Kaymoor Miner's trailhead on the right. You continue through the mixed forest of hemlocks and deciduous trees and then the trail starts to decend a little more than a mile into it until you walk out onto a rock point covered in small pine trees until you get to Long Point, and it is a very nice view of the Gorge and of the New River Gorge Bridge, Then you return the way you came. However I discovered on the way back I discovered a Kaymoor Trail connector. You follow the alternate route I spoke of earlier, climing down to near Butcher Branch, and there is a faint trail that leads to the left. You follow it through thickets of Rhodedendron and other brush, then you come to a rock face. If you scramble down it, and then go back to the branch, you will be greeted by a waterfall, however the water levels were low when I was there and it wasn't that spectacular (an actual fall of about 5 feet however it probably cascades about 50 feet). Well, at the very bottom of those falls is the Kaymoor Trail. Now I actually didn't climb all the way down, but I'm sure with enough determination, one came make the climb down and like the two trails.
Panther State Forest - This park is located in the extreme southeastern part of the state, actually a bit south of Virginia. I have only done one trail here, but it was beautiful. Crane Branch Trail starts off near the campground and climbs, quite steeply, to the top of the mountain. It passes by Buzzard's Roost Overlook, and there is a picture of this on the home page of this website. But that picture doesn't do justice to this overlook. As you can see, there is a deck built there, and there are also benches built along the way. But if this is an indication of populated place, then it is wrong, because I don't think anybody but McDowell county residents even know about this forest. After the overlook, the trail then winds down the mountain back to the main park road. (On a side note, the Buzzard's Roost Overlook is where I proposed to my fiance). Total mileage is maybe 2, there wasn't anything to tell me how far I went, but apparently there is a better map, but the forest worker couldn't seem to locate it.
Pipestem Resort State Park - This park is located north of Bluefield and is quite nice. The Canyon Rim Trail is a steep trail that starts near the tram and goes down to Heritage Point, located 2200 feet that gives view of the Bluestone River and the Mountain Creek Lodge 700 feet below. If you are looking for a loop then you can climb halfway back up the trail to the intersection, passing an old homesite, and then you can intersect with River Trail. You follow this to the right for about a half a mile until you meet the County Line Trail. This trail is fairly level that crosses into Mercer County, obviously. It eventually approaches Indian Branch, and there is an overlook of a beautiful waterfall of about 40 feet. After this, there isn't much. It eventually climbs back up to the horse barn near the Nature Center. Near this a great overlook where I saw an old couple having a little dinner complete with a tablecloth and a candle. Anways, from here you can follow the road all the way back to the Canyon Rim Center.
Another small trail located in the park is the Pipestem Knob Tower Trail which is only about a half a mile total in length for an up and back climb. It is a paved trail that follows some easy switchbacks as it winds up the tower. Once you get to the tower, you have to climb about 3 flights of stairs to get the top, but the view is very worth it, and you can see for yourself in the picture at the top of the page. I also was at this park with my brother, so I didn't get as much hiking done as I usually would have, but it was still fun.
Twin Falls State Resort Park - This park is very pristine and beautiful. Despite being a resort park, you never see many other people on the trails. I've only been on two trails here, but both are nice. Cliffside Trail is about 3 miles and can be accessed from the campground area. It follows the top of the ridge, and it can be muddy at times. Then towards the end of the ridge it loops and passes Canada Cliff and Buzzard Cliff, both that afford great views of Southeastern West Virginia. As the name implies, Buzzards tend to show up at this cliff and these are truly errie birds.
Falls Trail is about a mile and passes the two falls of the park. The first waterfall is about 15 feet, and is pretty nice, while the second when I passed it was barely a trickle, and was probably only 8 feet, but it was still a very nice trail. Part of this was paved and part was dirt.
Watoga State Park - This park is located about 30 some miles North of Lewisburg and is absolutely awesome. I've only done three trails, that when mixed together are about 5 miles, and it is well worth it. You start out on Jesse's Cove Trail. This trail follows the Greenbrier river and is very nice. I sat down on some rocks on the bank and had breakfast and was greeted by a large snake, that I have yet to identify. The Greenbrier River is very clear and where the trail passes it, it is very calm. Well, you continue to follow the river until you get to the mouth of Rock Run, and the trail goes up. It is not terribly steep, since it follows the run. You cross the run about three times throughout the trail, and at times, it can be easy to get lost. Eventually you cross the run a final time, or what's left of it, since it now looks more like a puddle. You continue to climb until you come to the Jarvis/Workman Cabin, which is an old cabin that was at one time renovated, but has since fallen into disrepair. But there are some signs that tell you about it and it is kind of interesting. The trail then continues up until you reach the Ann Baily Trail. Here you make a left, and you follow the old road trail. Some interesting things you pass on the way is a field of these purple wildflowers, and an old cemetary containing less than ten graves. Eventually you'll see a clearing up ahead and the Ann Baily Lookout Tower which affords spectacular views of the Greenbrier River Valley, and the far off Cranberry Wilderness. This was one of the best views I had ever seen in West Virginia. Well you then follow Arrowhead Trail, which is short, only about 1 mile, and steep, since it climbs down about 1,000 feet.