Dolly Sods Backpacking Loop
Heath barrens, sphagnum bog, wind-flagged spruce and tannin-dark creeks on a plateau above 4,000 feet. Trails are unblazed and stream crossings unbridged, so this is a navigation trip rather than a signed loop.
Day by day
Onto the plateau
- 9:00 amStart at Blackbird Knob or Red Creek trailhead. Sign the register.
- 11:00 amFirst Red Creek crossing. Scout upstream and downstream before committing.
- 2:00 pmReach the open barrens. Pick a durable campsite on bare rock or forest duff, well back from the bog.
- 7:30 pmSunset from the high heath. Wind picks up after dark, so pitch accordingly.
North to Bear Rocks
- 8:00 amNorth via Rocky Ridge or Breathed Mountain. Slow going over rock and root.
- 12:00 pmBear Rocks Preserve, on the plateau edge, with the Allegheny Front dropping 3,000 feet east.
- 3:00 pmLoop back on Raven Ridge. Blueberry and huckleberry ripen along here in late summer.
- 6:00 pmSecond night in the barrens or drop into the spruce for shelter if weather is moving in.
Out, or extend
- 8:30 amOut over Blackbird Knob to the trailhead.
- 11:00 amWith a shuttle, extend south through Rohrbaugh Plains and Fisher Spring Run instead.
- 1:00 pmLunch in Davis or Thomas on the way home.
Before you go
Book ahead
- Nothing to reserve; dispersed camping needs no permit
- A room in Davis or Thomas for the night before, which saves a pre-dawn drive
What to bring
- Map, compass and the skills to use them. Junctions are unsigned and trails fade in the open barrens
- Waterproof footwear you accept will get wet; Red Creek crossings are knee-deep at normal flow
- A full insulating layer and shell in any month. The plateau runs far colder and windier than the valleys
- Water filter. Streams are plentiful but tannin-stained
After heavy rain the Red Creek crossings can be impassable. Otter Creek Wilderness, an hour southwest, offers similar terrain with lower water risk.
Outfitters and lodging on this route
Itinerary pages carry the highest booking intent on the site. Placement is sold per route.
List your business hereWhere you'll be
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.
Bear Rocks Preserve
The northern edge of the Dolly Sods plateau, owned by The Nature Conservancy: bare Pottsville sandstone slabs, one-sided spruce sculpted by prevailing wind, and blueberry heath dropping east into the Allegheny Front with a 3,000-foot view over the Potomac Highlands.
Spruce Knob
At 4,863 feet, the highest point in West Virginia and the high point of the entire Allegheny range.
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.