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.
Almost Heaven Swings
What makes a Monongahela wilderness hard to reach
Four federally designated wildernesses; none is hard to reach because of distance. The obstacles are specific: a forest road gated most of the year, a scenic highway that is not plowed, a valley bottom that beavers flood, unbridged stream crossings. Sort by those and the order comes out differently than sorting by mileage.
Some rules apply everywhere. Groups over ten are prohibited in every Monongahela wilderness. Trails in Dolly Sods and Cranberry are unblazed and junctions unsigned, so the difficulty does not end when you park.
The ranking below is about reaching a boundary, not about the walking past it. On that second measure the order roughly inverts.
Dolly Sods: the road goes to the trailheads
Dolly Sods Wilderness covers 17,371 acres on a plateau largely above 4,000 feet: wind-flagged red spruce, heath barrens, sphagnum bog, exposed rock. The original spruce was logged and the remaining duff burned to bedrock in the early twentieth century, which is why so much of the plateau is still open ground.
It is the easiest of the four to drive to, and the least forgiving once there. There are 47 miles of trail: Red Creek 6.4 miles, Blackbird Knob 4.7, Rohrbaugh 3.6. Trails are unblazed, junctions unsigned, navigation required. Red Creek runs tannin-brown and crossings can be impassable after rain. There is no potable water anywhere in the wilderness.
Other constraints shape a trip. The area was a live-fire artillery training range during World War II, and unexploded ordnance warnings are still posted at trailheads. Camping is prohibited within 300 feet of Forest Roads 19 and 75, except at Red Creek Campground, and only on durable surfaces, since the bogs recover slowly. Bear Rocks at sunrise is the classic photograph, which means arriving in the dark on faint trails, in weather that changes fast enough to make hypothermia a risk in any month.
Cranberry: six ways in, and a winter that closes half of them
At 47,815 acres, Cranberry Wilderness is the largest in West Virginia: second-growth northern hardwood and red spruce on the high plateau, with the Cranberry and Williams rivers cutting through. More than 70 miles of trail are maintained, unblazed by design, junctions unsigned. Carry a map, a compass and the skills to use them.
Six trailheads serve it. Big Beechy, North South-East and Forks of Cranberry sit off the Highland Scenic Highway; North South-West is by Cranberry Campground; Three Forks and County Line are on Forest Road 86. Route 150 is not plowed in winter, which closes the highway trailheads for months.
Middle Fork Trail at 9 miles and North Fork Trail at 7.5 are the two longest lines through the interior. Groups are capped at ten and trails are maintained for foot travel only. Black bear density here is among the highest in the state, and canisters or proper hangs are strongly advised. Anglers get the easiest deal: the Cranberry River road corridor puts you near the fishing without a long walk.
Laurel Fork: two units, one valley, wet boots
Laurel Fork is two adjacent units, North and South, totaling 11,839 acres along Laurel Fork itself, with 18.5 miles of trail. The valley is beaver-worked, with meadows, spruce, and native and wild trout. Visitation stays very low even on holiday weekends.
Forest Road 14 is the way in, reached by US 33 and Middle Mountain from the north or WV 28 east of Bartow from the south. One road from two directions is simpler than six trailheads, but it is a single point of failure, and nothing is published here about its condition. Ask the Monongahela National Forest district office covering Laurel Fork before you rely on it.
Most trails follow old railroad grades, so the walking is gentler than the Sods. The catch is water: the valley-bottom trails cross the stream repeatedly, and beaver activity regularly floods sections of them. Expect to wade, and expect the line on the map to be underwater. Stock animals are prohibited at Laurel Fork Campground.
Roaring Plains West: the gate decides your trip
Roaring Plains West is 6,792 acres of high plateau immediately south of Dolly Sods, running from 3,000 feet on the southern edge to over 4,700 feet at the top of Mount Porte Crayon. The bog, heath and wind-flagged spruce match its famous neighbor's. The visitor numbers do not, and the reason is Forest Road 70.
FR 70 is gated, open only during the autumn hunting season. For most of the year the approach is on foot from Forest Road 19 or Bonner Mountain Road. From Petersburg the driving line is WV 28/55 to Jordan Run Road, a mile to FR 19, six miles to FR 75, then a mile to FR 70.
The Forest Service publishes no total trail mileage here, and Flatrock Run Trail 519 is the main named route. An unquantified trail network behind a seasonal gate is why this one sits last. Ask the Cheat-Potomac district what is signed before you plan a loop from a map. Groups over ten are prohibited, and so is removing plants, stone or moss.
The order, from drive-up to walk-in
Dolly Sods first: Forest Roads 19 and 75 reach its trailheads, there is a campground on the road corridor, and no gate stands in the way. Cranberry second, with six trailheads in summer but a months-long closure once Route 150 stops being plowed. Laurel Fork third, since one forest road serves it from two directions and the real work starts at the first flooded crossing.
Roaring Plains West last: a gate that opens only for the autumn hunting season is a harder obstacle than snow or beavers, and it is the one area here whose trail network is unquantified.
What is not published, and who to ask
The gaps are specific. No total trail mileage for Roaring Plains West. No gate dates beyond the autumn hunting season. No plow or reopening dates for Route 150. No road-condition information for Forest Roads 14 or 86, and no water sources listed for any of the four beyond the flat statement that Dolly Sods has none.
Ask the Cheat-Potomac district about Roaring Plains West signage and the FR 70 gate. For Cranberry and Laurel Fork, put trail, road and closure questions to the Monongahela National Forest district that covers each.
Reach people planning this trip
Placement alongside guides for outfitters, guides, shops and lodging.
List your business hereQuestions
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