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.
Watoga State Park
West Virginia's largest state park at over 10,100 acres, built largely by the Civilian Conservation Corps in the 1930s. An 11-acre lake, extensive trail network, cabins, an arboretum and direct connections to the Greenbrier River Trail and the adjoining Calvin Price State Forest.
Know before you go
- The park is a designated International Dark Sky Park
- Ann Bailey Lookout Tower gives the best view in the park
- Trail network connects into Calvin Price State Forest for real backcountry
- 10,100 acres, the largest state park in West Virginia
- The lake is 11 acres and electric trolling motors only — gasoline motors are prohibited
- Beaver Creek campground has 38 sites and Riverside 50, all on 50-amp electric
- Boat rentals run Memorial Day to Labor Day; weekend stays need a two-night minimum
- 5.5 miles of the Allegheny Trail run through the park, rated moderate to difficult
What you can do here
At over 10,100 acres this is the largest state park in West Virginia, and 5.5 miles of the Allegheny Trail run through it, rated moderate to difficult. The trail network also connects into the adjoining Calvin Price State Forest for real backcountry, and out to the Greenbrier River Trail for flat mileage. Ann Bailey Lookout Tower has the best view in the park.
Trails here
Local organizations
Two campgrounds: Beaver Creek has 38 sites and Riverside 50, all on 50-amp electric. Weekend stays require a two-night minimum, which is worth knowing before you plan a Saturday drive-up in season. Camping runs April through October, and the state park system handles booking. From either loop you are inside the largest state park in the state.
Small water restricted to electric trolling motors, with gasoline motors prohibited, means quiet close-range fishing rather than a boat-run reservoir. What it holds is not published — no species list, no stocking schedule. The Greenbrier River Trail connection puts river water within reach too. Work from current WVDNR regulations and ask the office about the lake.
Local organizations
More than 10,100 acres and an extensive trail network sit here, yet no bike-specific trail or mileage appears in the record. The Allegheny Trail miles here are rated moderate to difficult, and the Calvin Price connection is backcountry. The Greenbrier River Trail is the easy option. Confirm with the park office which trails are open to bikes.
Trails here
Local organizations
Ten thousand acres of CCC-era park with an arboretum, a lake and a trail network reaching into Calvin Price State Forest gives you edge, water and deep woods without moving the car far. May is the peak month statewide. No park checklist is published, so ask at the office and use the arboretum early before working the quieter trails.
No bridle-trail mileage and no stable appear in the park's published record, though the activity is listed. The ground is 1930s CCC construction across 10,100 acres, and old CCC grades are generally the kind of route that suits horses. Ask the park office which trails are open to horses in your season and whether you need to trailer in.
Trails here
Local organizations
Horseback Riding across West Virginia →Electric trolling motors only, with gasoline motors prohibited, keeps this small lake quiet enough for a first-time paddler. Boat rentals run Memorial Day to Labor Day, so outside that window you bring your own. A lake this size is a couple of unhurried hours, not a day trip.
Watoga is a designated International Dark Sky Park, which makes the night as much a subject as the day, and it has an arboretum for working through what grows here. Over 10,100 acres of 1930s CCC-built forest and a trail network running into Calvin Price State Forest give you range. Check moon phase before planning a night out.
Trails here
Dark sky status
Local organizations
Nature Observation across West Virginia →West Virginia State Parks runs an organized geocaching program alongside the Geocaching.com network, and the largest state park in the state — over 10,100 acres, with trails running into Calvin Price State Forest — gives it a lot of ground to hide things in. It is a decent excuse to walk to the corners most visitors skip, like Ann Bailey Lookout Tower.
Two features carry teaching weight here: the arboretum, and the park's designation as an International Dark Sky Park, which makes night sky programs possible in a way most of the East cannot manage. Add 10,100 acres of 1930s CCC construction as a subject in itself. Ask the park office what naturalist programming is scheduled for your dates.
Guides, gear and lodging near Watoga 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.
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.