West Virginia outdoor regions
Elevation across West Virginia ranges from about 240 feet on the Potomac at Harpers Ferry to 4,863 feet at Spruce Knob. Terrain, climate, snowfall and recreation vary accordingly. Each region page lists its destinations, activities, basecamp towns and local organizations.
New River Gorge
The New River has cut a gorge roughly 1,000 feet deep through Nuttall sandstone, protected since 2020 as New River Gorge National Park and Preserve. The cliff bands hold more than 1,600 established climbing routes, the largest concentration of sandstone climbing in the eastern United States.
Fayette, Raleigh, Nicholas, Summers, Mercer
Off-road trail towns and reclaimed mine countrySouthern Coalfields
The five southernmost counties, where deep mining shaped the settlement pattern and, more recently, the recreation economy. The Hatfield-McCoy Trails were built across former coal lands beginning in 2000 and now exceed 1,000 miles, making this the largest off-highway vehicle destination in the eastern United States.
Logan, Mingo, McDowell, Wyoming, Boone
Rail-trails, limestone caves, gentle river paddlingGreenbrier Valley
The Greenbrier Valley sits on Greenbrier limestone, producing karst topography: sinkholes, springs, sinking streams and extensive cave systems, several with more than forty miles of surveyed passage. On the surface, the Greenbrier River Trail runs 78 miles along an abandoned Chesapeake and Ohio logging grade with a gradient under one percent.
Greenbrier, Monroe, Pocahontas, Summers
Highest terrain, ski areas, wilderness backpackingPotomac Highlands
All terrain in West Virginia above 4,000 feet lies in this region, including Spruce Knob at 4,863 feet. Relict boreal communities persist here from the last glaciation: red spruce forest, sphagnum bog and heath barrens more typical of eastern Canada.
Tucker, Randolph, Pendleton, Grant, Hardy, Pocahontas, Hampshire, Mineral
Reservoirs, trout water, developing rail-trailMountain Lakes
The geographic center of the state and its least-visited region. Three Army Corps of Engineers reservoirs, at Sutton, Burnsville and Stonewall Jackson, provide the flatwater the region is named for.
Braxton, Webster, Nicholas, Clay, Calhoun, Gilmer, Lewis, Upshur
Appalachian Trail, warm rivers, limestone streamsEastern Panhandle
The Appalachian Trail crosses the Potomac at Harpers Ferry and runs roughly 24 miles through this region. Elevations are lower, temperatures warmer and rainfall lower than the rest of the state.
Jefferson, Berkeley, Morgan, Hampshire, Hardy
Cheat River whitewater and rail-trail networkMountaineer Country
The northern counties around Morgantown. The Cheat River was severely degraded by acid mine drainage through the twentieth century and has recovered substantially since the 1990s through remediation work led by Friends of the Cheat; the Cheat Canyon is now a well-known Class IV to V spring run and the Cheat Narrows carries easier water.
Monongalia, Preston, Marion, Taylor, Harrison, Barbour
Ohio River islands and the North Bend Rail TrailMid-Ohio Valley
The Ohio River corridor and the counties inland from it. Terrain is lower and less steep than the rest of the state.
Wood, Pleasants, Ritchie, Doddridge, Tyler, Wirt, Jackson, Roane
Water trails and forest trails near CharlestonMetro Valley
The Kanawha and Guyandotte valleys around Charleston and Huntington, containing the largest share of the state's population. Recreation here is concentrated on restored urban and suburban rivers and on close-in public land.
Kanawha, Putnam, Cabell, Wayne, Lincoln, Mason