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.
Otter Creek Wilderness
About 20,000 acres of dense second-growth forest in a bowl between Shavers Mountain and McGowan Mountain, drained by Otter Creek. Wetter, greener and more enclosed than Dolly Sods — where Dolly Sods is open and exposed, Otter Creek is deep woods, moss, rhododendron tunnels and repeated unbridged crossings.
Know before you go
- Otter Creek crossings can be impassable in high water — have a plan B
- Expect wet feet all day; this is not a dry-boot trip
- Less visited than Dolly Sods for the same amount of effort
- Trails are unmarked, with the occasional rock cairn — carry map and compass
- From 1,800 feet at the mouth of Otter Creek to 3,900 feet on McGowan Mountain
What you can do here
Twenty thousand-odd acres of dense second-growth in a bowl between Shavers and McGowan mountains, with 45 miles of trail and repeated unbridged crossings of Otter Creek. Trails are unmarked apart from the occasional cairn, so carry map and compass. Plan a bailout, because high water can make the crossings impassable. Elevation runs from 1,800 feet at the creek mouth to 3,900 on McGowan.
Trails here
Local organizations
Wet feet are the price of admission — the crossings are unbridged and there are many of them, so this is not a dry-boot day. Unmarked trail with occasional cairns raises the navigation demand well above a state park walk. What you get is deep woods, moss and rhododendron tunnels rather than open views.
Trails here
Local organizations
Otter Creek drains the whole bowl, and since you will be crossing it repeatedly anyway, wading and fishing amount to the same trip. March through November. Reaching the less-pressured water means walking unmarked trail with map and compass, and high water shuts the crossings down — check flows before committing to a long day upstream.
Local organizations
Wilderness rules govern here: backcountry camping with distance requirements from trails and water, no facilities, everything packed out. Across 20,698 acres and 45 miles of trail, and with less traffic than Dolly Sods draws, finding a site is not the hard part. Camp well above the creek — levels move with rain, and the crossings are your way out.
Local organizations
Primitive & Dispersed Camping across West Virginia →Wet, enclosed second-growth between two mountains is different habitat from the open barrens a few ridges east, and what you hear follows the trees. Elevation climbs from 1,800 feet at the creek mouth to 3,900 on McGowan Mountain, so you pass through more than one forest band. May is the peak. Navigation is on you; the trails are unmarked.
Local organizations
Birding across West Virginia →Nearly 21,000 acres that see less use than Dolly Sods for the same effort, which counts for more in hunting season than any other time of year. Access is entirely on foot over unmarked trail with unbridged crossings, so getting an animal out is a genuine planning problem. September through February; confirm current WVDNR seasons and any wilderness-specific rules.
Local organizations
Hunting across West Virginia →Guides, gear and lodging near Otter Creek Wilderness
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.