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.
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. Gravel, gentle and one of the best introductory backcountry rides or runs in the Highlands.
Know before you go
- Ride it downhill from Thomas and arrange a shuttle
- Douglas Falls, near the top end, is worth the short detour
- Surface is rough gravel — use tires wider than road
What you can do here
Ten miles of former railroad grade drop from Thomas down to Hendricks, with hemlock overhead and the Blackwater running below the bench. The grade is gentle the whole way, so the planning work is the shuttle rather than the riding. Douglas Falls, near the top end, is a short detour worth taking.
Local organizations
Rail Trails across West Virginia →The surface is rough gravel, coarser than the crusher run most rail-trails use, so run tires wider than anything you would put on a road bike. It is ten miles point to point from Thomas to Hendricks, losing elevation north to south. Most riders arrange a shuttle rather than climb the grade back.
Local organizations
A mountain bike is more machine than this grade demands, though the loose gravel does reward the extra tire volume. The line is one old railbed, ten miles long, dropping toward Hendricks past waterfalls and through hemlock rather than over technical features. Treat it as a fast cruise down the canyon, not a trail ride.
Local organizations
On foot the canyon opens up: hemlock stands, water coming off the side walls, and the river below the bench the whole way. Douglas Falls sits near the Thomas end and takes only a short walk off the main grade. Out-and-back from either end works better than trying to cover ten miles without a shuttle.
Local organizations
Runners get a consistent one-way descent over ten miles of railroad grade, no navigation and no climbing, with footing that stays rough gravel throughout. Shoes with some protection underfoot are worth it. Set a shuttle at the Hendricks end unless you intend to run the whole thing back uphill.
Snow turns the grade into a long, even ski with nothing to break the rhythm, running ten miles from Thomas toward Hendricks. Coverage over rough gravel depends entirely on recent weather, and the canyon holds it differently than the plateau above. Ask in Thomas how things are before you commit to a one-way shuttle.
Local organizations
Guides, gear and lodging near Blackwater Canyon Trail
Place-level placement for operators within range of this trailhead, put-in or crag.
List your business hereNearby in the 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.
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.
Seneca Rocks
A 900-foot fin of near-vertical Tuscarora quartzite standing above the North Fork of the South Branch — the most recognizable rock formation in the eastern United States and the only true summit in the East that can only be reached by technical climbing.
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.
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.
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.