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.
Big Bear Lake Trail Center
Local knowledge
A long-established private trail center in Preston County with dozens of miles of cross-country singletrack and doubletrack around a lake, plus camping. One of the older mountain biking destinations in the state and a fixture of the regional race calendar.
A fixture of the regional race calendar and one of the oldest riding destinations in the state, which visitors almost never hear about.
More places like thisKnow before you go
- Day-use fee applies
- Traditional cross-country riding on rooty, rocky natural surface
What you can do here
Fifty-plus miles of cross-country singletrack and doubletrack loop the lake here, on the rooty, rocky natural surface that built the state's riding reputation. The place has been on the regional race calendar for years, so the trails ride as a connected system rather than a set of stray loops. A day-use fee applies.
Local organizations
Staying on site is the point — the camping sits inside the trail network, so an evening lap needs no drive. This is a private trail center rather than a state campground, so sites, rates and booking go through the center directly instead of the state park system. Ask what is open in the shoulder months.
The lake in the middle of the property is the whole of the water here; no stream or stocked run is part of what this site knows. Because the center is private and charges for day use, the rules on the water are the operator's to set. Call about access, boats and licensing before you load rods.
When snow holds in Preston County, the doubletrack that carries bikes in summer is what you ski. Nothing here is described as groomed, so plan on touring over whatever the last skiers and walkers left behind. Confirm that the gate and the day-use operation are running before making the drive out.
Runners get the same fifty-plus miles the bikes use, on rooty and rocky ground that punishes lazy footing. The doubletrack gives room to settle into a pace; the singletrack does not. Yield to riders on a network built around them, and expect the day-use fee to apply to you the same as anyone else.
Local organizations
Guides, gear and lodging near Big Bear Lake Trail Center
Place-level placement for operators within range of this trailhead, put-in or crag.
List your business hereNearby in the Mountaineer Country
Coopers Rock State Forest
A 12,747-acre state forest above the Cheat River Canyon.
Cheat Canyon
One of the classic big-water runs of the East: roughly 11 miles of Class IV–V through a remote gorge below Albright, with named rapids including Big Nasty, Coliseum and Pete Morgan.
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.
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.
Cathedral State Park
133 acres of virgin eastern hemlock, the last substantial stand of old-growth mixed forest remaining in West Virginia.
Valley Falls State Park
A series of ledge drops on the Tygart Valley River near Fairmont, popular with photographers, picnickers and — at the right levels — playboaters.
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.