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.
Cass Scenic Railroad State Park
A preserved company logging town and a working fleet of Shay geared steam locomotives that climb the original grades to Whittaker Station and on to Bald Knob — at 4,842 feet the second-highest point in West Virginia, reachable by train. The northern terminus of the Greenbrier River Trail is here.
Know before you go
- The Bald Knob run is 4.5 hours round trip — book ahead
- Restored company houses are rentable as lodging
- Dress warmer than the valley suggests; Bald Knob is often 15 degrees colder
What you can do here
Shay locomotives working the original grades are the subject, and a company town founded in 1901 frames them. Bald Knob at 4,842 feet gives a high vantage that elsewhere in this state costs a long climb. Bring layers, since the summit often runs 15 degrees colder than the valley, and book the run ahead.
Local organizations
Outdoor Photography across West Virginia →The northern end of the Greenbrier River Trail is here, which makes the park a natural start or finish for a trip on it. Restored company houses rent as lodging if you want to sleep at the trailhead. Check with the state park system on mileage, shuttles and where services sit south of Cass.
Local organizations
Rail Trails across West Virginia →The railroad is what this park publishes, not trails. Whittaker Station and Bald Knob are reached by train rather than on foot, and Bald Knob stands at 4,842 feet. Ask the park office which trails are open and where they start before you build a walking day around a train schedule.
Local organizations
Restored company houses are rentable as lodging, and that is the accommodation this park is known for. If you want a campsite instead, confirm what is available and book through the state park system. Either way pack warm layers: Bald Knob runs about 15 degrees colder than the valley, and the run there is 4.5 hours round trip.
Guides, gear and lodging near Cass Scenic Railroad State Park
Place-level placement for operators within range of this trailhead, put-in or crag.
List your business hereNearby in the Greenbrier Valley
Greenbrier River Trail
Seventy-eight miles from Cass to Caldwell on a former Chesapeake & Ohio logging grade, crossing 35 bridges by the state park's count and passing through 2 tunnels, following the Greenbrier River the entire way.
Watoga State Park
West Virginia's largest state park at over 10,100 acres, built largely by the Civilian Conservation Corps in the 1930s.
Beartown State Park
A half-mile boardwalk through a formation of large Droop Sandstone blocks separated by deep crevasses, some of which hold ice into early summer.
Cranberry Glades Botanical Area
The largest area of bogs in West Virginia — sphagnum and cranberry peat bogs holding plant communities left behind after the last glaciation, more typical of Canada than the mid-Atlantic, including carnivorous sundews and pitcher plants.
Falls of Hills Creek
Three waterfalls in three-quarters of a mile, dropping 25, 45 and 63 feet — the last is the second-highest waterfall in West Virginia.
Highland Scenic Highway
A 43-mile National Scenic Byway climbing over 4,500 feet across the Allegheny plateau between Richwood and US 219, with four major overlooks and access to Cranberry Glades, the Falls of Hills Creek and the Cranberry Wilderness.
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.