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Coopers Rock State Forest
Coopers Rock State Forest. A large connected network with everything from smooth doubletrack to technical singletrack, fifteen minutes from Morgantown.
Full guide to Coopers Rock State Forest →Trail Running
West Virginia Mountain Trail Runners is the statewide organization — races, group runs, trail resources and stewardship projects. The state's ultra scene is disproportionately large for its population, built on rocky, rooty, steep and technical terrain that rewards patience over speed.
Trail pace here typically runs a minute or two per mile slower than road pace. The footing is rocky and rooty and the climbs are sustained, so times are not comparable to flatter terrain.
The state's ultra scene is disproportionately large for its population, built on terrain that rewards patience over speed.
Our recommendations
Where we'd send you
For long steady miles
Greenbrier River Trail
The Greenbrier River Trail. Flat, car-free, endlessly long — the state's default long-run and back-to-back weekend surface.
Full guide to Greenbrier River Trail →For the hard day
Dolly Sods Wilderness
Dolly Sods. Rock, bog, stream crossings and no shade at 4,000 feet. Navigation tools are required and pace is difficult to predict.
Full guide to Dolly Sods Wilderness →Practical note
Autumn is prime running season and prime hunting season simultaneously. Wear blaze orange on any public land outside state parks, and put orange on the dog as well.
What to know before you go
- Expect slower splits than road-equivalent effort — the footing is technical
- WVMTR's race calendar is the fastest way into the community
- Active Southern West Virginia runs free group programming in the southern counties
Regions that do it best
Highest terrain, ski areas, wilderness backpacking
Potomac Highlands
All terrain in West Virginia above 4,000 feet lies in this region, including Spruce Knob at 4,863 feet.
Sandstone climbing, big whitewater, a national parkNew River Gorge
The New River has cut a gorge roughly 1,000 feet deep through Nuttall sandstone, protected since 2020 as New River Gorge National Park and Preserve.
Cheat River whitewater and rail-trail networkMountaineer Country
The northern counties around Morgantown.
Every place we cover for trail running
Trail · New River Gorge
Endless Wall Trail
A 2.4-mile point-to-point trail along the gorge rim through hemlock and rhododendron, crossing Fern Creek on a footbridge and reaching Diamond Point, an exposed rock outcrop with a view up the gorge to the bridge.
2.4 mi point to pointDiamond Point the overlook
Trail · New River Gorge
Long Point Trail
About 3.2 miles round trip on mostly level old roadbed to a rock promontory below the rim, which provides the most-photographed view of the New River Gorge Bridge.
3.2 mi round tripFlat most of the way
Trail · New River Gorge
Kaymoor Miners Trail
A steep descent from the gorge rim to the ruins of the Kaymoor One coal mine and processing plant, including 821 wooden steps down the former haulage incline.
821 steps2 mi round trip
Trail · New River Gorge
Arrowhead Trails
Purpose-built flow and cross-country mountain bike singletrack inside the national park near Fayetteville, built by the Boy Scouts and open to the public — a deliberate contrast to West Virginia's traditionally rugged riding, with bermed corners, rollers and progressive difficulty.
12+ mi singletrackFlow style
Wilderness · Potomac Highlands
Dolly Sods Wilderness
A 17,371-acre federally designated wilderness on a plateau largely above 4,000 feet, containing wind-flagged red spruce, heath barrens, sphagnum bog and exposed rock.
17,371 ac wilderness4,000+ ft plateau
National Forest · Potomac Highlands
Seneca Creek Backcountry
A network of trails below Spruce Knob following Seneca Creek through spruce and northern hardwood to a series of waterfalls, the largest around 20 feet.
Native brookies fishery~20 ft seneca falls
State Park · Potomac Highlands
Blackwater Falls State Park
A 57-foot falls where the Blackwater River drops into an eight-mile canyon, its water stained amber by hemlock and spruce tannins.
57 ft falls8 mi canyon
Trail · Potomac Highlands
North Fork Mountain Trail
A 24-mile ridge trail along one of the driest mountains in the eastern United States, running through pine and oak with repeated Tuscarora quartzite outcrops looking down into Germany Valley and across at Seneca Rocks.
24 mi lengthDry no water on ridge
Trail · Potomac Highlands
Blackwater Canyon Trail
Ten miles of former railroad grade from Thomas down the Blackwater Canyon to Hendricks, dropping through hemlock and past waterfalls with the river below.
10 mi lengthDownhill north to south
State Forest · Mountaineer Country
Coopers Rock State Forest
A 12,747-acre state forest above the Cheat River Canyon.
12,747 ac forest1,200 ft above the cheat
Trail · Mountaineer Country
Mon River Rail-Trail System
About 48 miles of connected crushed-limestone rail-trail through Morgantown: the Caperton Trail along the riverfront downtown, the Mon River Trail running north to the Pennsylvania line and south toward Prickett's Fort, and the Deckers Creek Trail climbing 19 miles east to Reedsville.
48+ mi connected19 mi deckers creek trail
Trail · Mountaineer Country
Mountaineer Trail Network Recreation Area
Purpose-built modern singletrack in Preston County, the anchor project of a regional effort to link northern West Virginia into a single mountain bike destination.
Growing mileagePurpose-built design
Trail · Mountaineer Country
Big Bear Lake Trail Center
A long-established private trail center in Preston County with dozens of miles of cross-country singletrack and doubletrack around a lake, plus camping.
Local knowledge
50+ mi trailsLake on site
State Park · Mountain Lakes
Holly River State Park
West Virginia's second-largest state park at 8,101 acres, in a narrow valley of hemlock and hardwood with waterfalls, cabins and a rugged trail network.
8,101 ac park2nd largest state park
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
State Park · Eastern Panhandle
Cacapon Resort State Park
6,000 acres on Cacapon Mountain near Berkeley Springs, with a lodge, a Robert Trent Jones golf course, a lake beach and a trail system climbing to the 2,300-foot ridge.
6,000 ac park2,300 ft cacapon mountain
Trail · Mid-Ohio Valley
Mountwood Park
A county park outside Parkersburg with a 50-acre lake and one of the better mountain bike trail networks in the western half of the state, plus camping, disc golf and the site of the old Volcano oil town.
2,600 ac park50 ac lake
State Forest · Metro Valley
Kanawha State Forest
9,300 acres of steep, wooded hollow just fifteen minutes from downtown Charleston, with more than 25 miles of trails, a well-known mountain bike network, a swimming pool, campground and some of the best spring warbler birding in the state.
9,300 ac forest25+ mi trails
State Park · New River Gorge
Little Beaver State Park
A park just off I-64 near Beckley with an 18-acre lake, a seasonal campground, an extensive trail network used for running and mountain biking, and easy access from the interstate.
562 ac park18 ac lake
Trail · Potomac Highlands
Canaan Mountain Backcountry
The plateau between Davis and Canaan Valley, from 3,100 to 4,145 feet, built around the eight-mile Plantation Trail with a dozen short connectors hanging off it.
Local knowledge
8.0 mi plantation trail4,145 ft high point
Trail · Greenbrier Valley
Tea Creek Trail System
Forty-four miles of interlocking trail off the Highland Scenic Highway, and the best-known mixed hiking and mountain-biking network on the Marlinton district of the Monongahela National Forest.
44 mi trail systemRt 150 access
Trail · Greenbrier Valley
Allegheny Trail
West Virginia's long-distance footpath, running the length of the state's mountain backbone from Virginia to Pennsylvania.
VA to PA route5.5 mi in watoga
Trail · New River Gorge
Bluestone Turnpike Trail
Eight and a half miles along the Bluestone River between Pipestem Resort State Park and Bluestone State Park, following the line of an old turnpike through the gorge.
Local knowledge
8.5 mi lengthTwo parks end to end
AdvertiseThis space is available
Guides and rentals for trail running
Reserved for a West Virginia operator serving this activity. The listings above and below it are unpaid.
List your business hereQuestions people ask
Are there trail races in West Virginia?
Yes — West Virginia Mountain Trail Runners maintains a statewide calendar of trail races and group runs, and RunSignUp lists most West Virginia trail events.
Organizations, agencies and resources · 7
Groups that handle access, maintenance, licensing and conditions data for this activity. Starred entries publish updates worth following.
AllTrails — West Virginia
The largest consumer trail database, with West Virginia hiking, snowshoeing and horseback-compatible trail listings and user photos.
Visit
Mountaineer Trail Network
Biking
Building a connected purpose-built singletrack network across north-central West Virginia.
West Virginia Mountain Trail Runners (WVMTR)
Running
Statewide trail-running organization with races, group runs, trail resources and stewardship projects.
Visit Active Southern West Virginia
Running
Free outdoor fitness, hiking, running, paddling and community recreation programming throughout southern West Virginia.
Visit Strava
Running
Useful for identifying popular running, cycling and trail routes through segment and heatmap data.
Visit Trail Run Project
Running
Crowd-sourced trail running route database with West Virginia listings and elevation profiles.
Visit RunSignUp — West Virginia
Running
West Virginia trail-race and road-race discovery and registration.
Visit Related activities
Every organization we link to: local tourism offices, the state and federal agencies that manage the land, the nonprofits and clubs that keep access open, and the universities doing the research.
West Virginia has roughly 1.5 million acres of public land and a handful of places that carry almost all of the attention. The consequence is that a great deal of very good ground sits nearly empty, usually for one of three reasons: nobody has heard of it, the road in is gated or rough, or it is undeveloped and has nothing to advertise. Those are the places below — of them across regions.