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.
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. The grade never exceeds about one percent, making it the most approachable long-distance trail in the state — riders regularly do it end-to-end in two or three days, camping at primitive sites along the way.
Know before you go
- North-to-south from Cass is very slightly downhill
- Primitive campsites with privies sit every few miles along the corridor
- Shuttle services operate from Marlinton and Lewisburg
- Cell service is absent for long stretches
- Droop Mountain Tunnel, 402 feet, built 1900, sits at mile 30.9; Sharps Tunnel, 511 feet, 1899, at mile 65.2
- The surface is quarter-inch limestone crusher run, with some coarser sections remaining
- Clawson, at mile 61.2, is reached by five miles of unpaved mountain road
- The trail site counts 37 bridges and the state park page says 35 — both are official
What you can do here
Seventy-eight miles run from Cass to Caldwell on a Chesapeake and Ohio logging grade that never exceeds about one percent. Two tunnels punctuate it, Droop Mountain at mile 30.9 and Sharps at mile 65.2, and the river stays beside you the whole distance. Two or three days end to end is the common pace.
Local organizations
Rail Trails across West Virginia →Quarter-inch limestone crusher run covers most of the corridor, with coarser stretches still in place, which makes this gravel riding without the climbing that usually comes attached. Seventy-eight miles at roughly one percent, tilted downhill from Cass toward Caldwell. Shuttle services operate out of Marlinton and Lewisburg if you only want to ride one direction.
Local organizations
Car-free, firm-surfaced and effectively flat, this functions as long-run infrastructure rather than a trail run, with quarter-inch crusher run underfoot for most of its length. Pick a segment between road crossings and run it out and back. Cell service disappears for long stretches, so leave a plan with someone instead of relying on a phone.
Primitive campsites with privies sit every few miles along the corridor, which is what makes covering 78 miles in two or three days workable without hauling much. Clawson, at mile 61.2, is reached by five miles of unpaved mountain road if someone is meeting you with a vehicle. Expect no cell service at most sites.
The Greenbrier River is alongside the trail for all 78 miles, so access is a matter of choosing a mile and walking down the bank. A bike multiplies the number of pools you can reach in a day. Check state regulations for the stretch you fish beforehand, since long sections have no cell service to look anything up.
Local organizations
A grade that never exceeds about one percent over quarter-inch limestone crusher run is as close to firm and level as long-distance trail gets in this state. Some coarser sections remain, so the surface is not uniform end to end. Confirm parking, restrooms and trailhead conditions with the state park office before a trip.
Winter turns a near-level railbed into touring that needs no route-finding at all, since the river works as a handrail for all 78 miles. Snow depth is the only real variable, and nothing about the corridor changes it. Long stretches have no cell service, so ski out and back from a road crossing rather than committing to an unconfirmed shuttle.
Local organizations
Riding is listed for this corridor, but no separate bridle route or trailer parking is published for it. What the trail offers is 78 miles at about one percent, 35 bridges, two tunnels and primitive campsites every few miles, which is ground built for long slow days. Ask the state park office which sections are open to horses and where a trailer fits.
Local organizations
Horseback Riding across West Virginia →Guides, gear and lodging near Greenbrier River Trail
Place-level placement for operators within range of this trailhead, put-in or crag.
List your business hereNearby in the Greenbrier Valley
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.
Cranberry Wilderness
47,815 acres of second-growth northern hardwood and red spruce on the high plateau — the largest wilderness in West Virginia.
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.