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.
North Bend Rail Trail
Seventy-two miles on the old Baltimore & Ohio grade from Wolf Summit to Parkersburg, passing through more than ten tunnels and over dozens of bridges — the longest tunnel run of any rail-trail in the region and part of the coast-to-coast American Discovery Trail. Silver Run Tunnel comes with the state's best-known railroad ghost story.
Know before you go
- Bring lights — several tunnels are long, dark and curved
- Surface varies from crushed limestone to rougher ballast in sections
- North Bend State Park sits directly on the trail with lodging and camping
- 72 miles with 13 tunnels by the state’s inventory (a detailed fact sheet says ten), one of them 2,297 feet, and 36 bridges
- Open 6 a.m. to 10 p.m.
What you can do here
Seventy-two miles of Baltimore & Ohio grade from Wolf Summit to Parkersburg, with 13 tunnels, dozens of bridges and a stretch of the coast-to-coast American Discovery Trail running through it. Bring lights — several tunnels are long, dark and curved, one of them 2,297 feet. The trail is open 6 a.m. to 10 p.m.
Surface is the thing to plan for: crushed limestone in places, rougher ballast in others, across 72 miles. Tire volume is the difference between a good day and a rattled one. Lights are not optional given the tunnels, and North Bend State Park sits directly on the trail if you would rather split the distance over two days.
Rail grade means no cars and almost no gradient for 72 miles, which is what makes this a running surface at all. Footing changes underneath you, though, from crushed limestone to coarser ballast, so pick a section and learn it. Carry a light if your out-and-back takes in a tunnel — several are long and curved.
The trail is listed for horseback riding, but no designated equestrian sections or trailer parking are published. Old railroad grade is gentle ground; the tunnels — long, dark and curved, one of them 2,297 feet — are the question mark for a horse. Ask the state park which sections take horses and where a trailer can be left.
Railroad grade is the most accessible ground the state has: gentle, continuous and car-free for 72 miles. The limit here is surface rather than slope, since it runs from crushed limestone to rougher ballast, so scout a section before committing to it. North Bend State Park sits on the trail with lodging and is the practical starting point.
North Bend State Park sits directly on the trail with camping and lodging, which makes a multi-day trip across the 72 miles workable without shuttling a car. Being a state park, its campground books through the state park system rather than a federal one. Trail hours run 6 a.m. to 10 p.m., so plan your daily mileage inside them.
Guides, gear and lodging near North Bend Rail Trail
Place-level placement for operators within range of this trailhead, put-in or crag.
List your business hereNearby in the Mid-Ohio Valley
North Bend State Park
A 1,405-acre park on a horseshoe bend of the North Fork of the Hughes River, with a lodge, cabins, campgrounds, a 305-acre lake nearby and direct access to the North Bend Rail Trail.
Blennerhassett Island Historical State Park
An island in the Ohio River reached by sternwheeler from Parkersburg, holding a reconstructed 1800 Palladian mansion, horse-drawn wagon tours and quiet riverbank walking.
Ohio River Islands National Wildlife Refuge
Twenty-two islands and several mainland tracts scattered along nearly 400 river miles of the Ohio, protecting some of the last relatively undisturbed island habitat on the river — critical for freshwater mussels, migratory birds and river-bottom forest.
Mountwood Park
A county park outside Parkersburg with a 50-acre lake and one of the better mountain bike trail networks in the western half of the state, plus camping, disc golf and the site of the old Volcano oil town.
Hughes River
Three forks — North, South and Middle — draining a landscape of narrow ridges and small farms in Ritchie and Wirt counties, giving quiet Class I canoe water and good smallmouth fishing with almost no other boats.
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.