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Cacapon River
The Cacapon in the Eastern Panhandle. Clear, gentle, warm and beautiful, with smallmouth under every ledge and enough access points to make a half-day or three days out of it.
Full guide to Cacapon River →Recreational Kayaking
The majority of paddling in West Virginia takes place on flat or easy moving water rather than whitewater. Designated water trails on the Coal, Cheat, Elk, Guyandotte, Greenbrier, New and Upper Monongahela rivers provide mapped public access points, published mileages between them, and hazard information.
Most West Virginia paddling has nothing to do with whitewater. The best days here are slow, warm and shallow, on rivers where a local group has already figured out the access points for you.
The water trail network provides mapped put-ins, published mileages and maintained signage on rivers that were industrial working water a generation ago.
Our recommendations
Where we'd send you
Closest to a city
Coal River Water Trail
The Coal River Water Trail south of Charleston. Eighty-eight mapped miles, maintained access, and a river that a volunteer group dragged back into usable shape.
Full guide to Coal River Water Trail →For a long weekend
The Greenbrier River
Paddle downstream while the rail-trail runs alongside — which means shuttles are easy, bail-outs are easy, and you can camp along the corridor.
Full guide to Greenbrier River Trail →Practical note
By August most of these rivers are bony. Late summer often means dragging your boat across gravel bars for a hundred yards at a time. Checking river levels beforehand is worthwhile, and June generally holds better levels than August.
What to know before you go
- Water trail maps from local river groups are more current than any national app
- The Greenbrier and Cacapon are the two gentlest multi-day options
- Summer low water can mean dragging — call an outfitter for current conditions
Regions that do it best
Rail-trails, limestone caves, gentle river paddling
Greenbrier Valley
The Greenbrier Valley sits on Greenbrier limestone, producing karst topography: sinkholes, springs, sinking streams and extensive cave systems, several with more than forty miles of surveyed passage.
Water trails and forest trails near CharlestonMetro Valley
The Kanawha and Guyandotte valleys around Charleston and Huntington, containing the largest share of the state's population.
Ohio River islands and the North Bend Rail TrailMid-Ohio Valley
The Ohio River corridor and the counties inland from it.
Appalachian Trail, warm rivers, limestone streamsEastern Panhandle
The Appalachian Trail crosses the Potomac at Harpers Ferry and runs roughly 24 miles through this region.
Every place we cover for recreational kayaking
River · Potomac Highlands
The Trough
A six-mile gorge on the South Branch of the Potomac between Romney and Moorefield with no road access — reachable only by boat or by the Potomac Eagle excursion train that runs alongside it.
6 mi no road accessBald eagles reliable
National Park · Eastern Panhandle
Harpers Ferry National Historical Park
Where the Shenandoah meets the Potomac and three states meet at once, with the Appalachian Trail running straight through town and the Appalachian Trail Conservancy headquartered a block off Washington Street.
3 states visible~24 mi at in wv
River · Eastern Panhandle
Cacapon River
One of the finest gentle canoe rivers in the East — clear, shallow, warm and slow, winding through farmland and forest with reliable smallmouth fishing and easy multi-day trips.
Class I–II difficultySmallmouth fishery
River · Eastern Panhandle
Shenandoah & Potomac Rivers
The Shenandoah's Staircase rapids above Harpers Ferry give Class I–III whitewater in a resort-town setting, while the Potomac below the confluence spreads wide and slow for tubing and flatwater.
Class I–III staircaseWarm summer water
River · Mid-Ohio Valley
Hughes River
Three forks — North, South and Middle — draining a landscape of narrow ridges and small farms in Ritchie and Wirt counties, giving quiet Class I canoe water and good smallmouth fishing with almost no other boats.
3 forksClass I difficulty
River · Metro Valley
Coal River Water Trail
An organized water trail on the Big Coal, Little Coal and main-stem Coal rivers south of Charleston, with maintained access points, mapped mileages and signage — the product of sustained work by the Coal River Group to turn a working-class industrial river back into a recreation asset.
88 mi water trailClass I difficulty
Trips built around it
AdvertiseThis space is available
Guides and rentals for recreational kayaking
Reserved for a West Virginia operator serving this activity. Everything above and below it is unpaid editorial.
List your business hereQuestions people ask
What is a water trail?
A mapped river corridor with established, legal public access points, published mileages between them, and usually signage and hazard information — maintained by a local river or watershed organization.
Organizations, agencies and resources · 14
The groups doing the actual work — access, maintenance, licensing and data. Starred entries are worth following continuously.
West Virginia Rivers Coalition
Nonprofit
Statewide river protection, public lands, water quality, and paddling-related conservation and recreation.
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Cheat River Water Trail
Nonprofit
Paddling access points, river sections and recreation information along the Cheat.
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Friends of the Cacapon River
Nonprofit
River access, kayaking, fishing, cleanups, recreation and watershed protection on one of the East's finest gentle rivers.
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New River Conservancy
Nonprofit
Major New River conservation organization spanning North Carolina, Virginia and West Virginia. Now also developing the New River Water Trail, making it especially important for paddling and tourism.
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New River Water Trail
Nonprofit
Emerging 320+ mile multi-state paddling route with West Virginia access information.
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Coal River Group / Coal River Water Trail
Nonprofit
Paddling, river access, conservation and recreation along the Big Coal, Little Coal and main-stem Coal rivers — one of the most developed water trail networks in the state.
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Guyandotte Water Trail Alliance
Nonprofit
Guyandotte River paddling and water-trail development in southwestern West Virginia.
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American Whitewater
Nonprofit
Probably the most important technical river database for WV paddlers: river sections, classifications, flows, access and correlated gauges.
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West Virginia Wildwater Association (WVWA)
Nonprofit
Long-running WV paddling organization offering trips, clinics, conservation information and river-access resources.
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Wildwater Kayakers
Nonprofit
Charleston-based paddling community covering the New, Gauley, Elk and other rivers.
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American Canoe Association
Nonprofit
National paddlesports instruction, certification and safety standards, with regional West Virginia instruction.
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Elk River Water Trail
Nonprofit
Elk River paddling access developed alongside the Elk River Rail Trail.
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Active Southern West Virginia
Nonprofit
Free outdoor fitness, hiking, running, paddling and community recreation programming throughout southern West Virginia.
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Move United (Disabled Sports USA)
Nonprofit
Adaptive recreation resources and an affiliate directory for adaptive skiing, paddling and cycling programs.
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