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.
Lost River State Park
A 3,712-acre CCC-era park in Hardy County with cabins, stables and the Cranny Crow Overlook — a rock outcrop at 3,200 feet with a view said to reach into four states. Named for the Lost River, which sinks underground and re-emerges as the Cacapon.
Know before you go
- Cranny Crow is reachable by a 2-mile hike or a drive most of the way
- One of the few state parks with a working stable and guided rides
- The Lost River drops off sharply underground near Baker
What you can do here
Cranny Crow Overlook is the destination: a rock outcrop at 3,200 feet with a view said to reach into four states. You can hike two miles to it or drive most of the way, which makes it workable for mixed-ability groups. The rest of the park runs to 3,712 acres of CCC-era ground, so ask the office for a current trail map.
Local organizations
A working stable with guided rides sets this park apart from most in the system, and it means you can ride without trailering a horse in. Ride lengths, prices and the booking window are not published in the park record. Call the stable ahead — riding season runs roughly April through November and a working stable at a cabin park fills on weekends.
Local organizations
Horseback Riding across West Virginia →Cabins, a stable and 3,712 acres of CCC-era ground are what the record describes; it gives no campground details at all — no site count, no hookups, no loop names. Camping is listed for April through October. Contact the park office or the state park reservation system to find out what overnight options exist beyond the cabins before you plan around a tent site.
From a rock outcrop at 3,200 feet, Cranny Crow looks out over what is said to be four states, and you can drive most of the way up, which makes sunrise and sunset both practical. Below, the Lost River drops off sharply underground near Baker — a subject you have to go looking for. The park is CCC-era throughout.
Local organizations
A 3,712-acre park spanning valley floor to a 3,200-foot outcrop covers real elevation range, which usually means more than one bird community in a morning. Cranny Crow is a reasonable place to watch for movement along the ridge. No park checklist is published here, so ask at the office where people have been finding birds in May.
Local organizations
Birding across West Virginia →No bike-specific trail or mileage appears anywhere in this park's published record, though the activity is listed. What the ground offers is 3,712 acres of CCC-era park with a two-mile route up to Cranny Crow at 3,200 feet, which suggests sustained climbing rather than flow. Ask the park office which trails are open to bikes before you unload.
Local organizations
Guides, gear and lodging near Lost River State Park
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.