Southern 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. Several towns passed ordinances permitting machines on public streets, so riders reach lodging, fuel and restaurants without trailering. West Virginia's reintroduced elk herd occupies reclaimed surface mines in the same counties.
What we'd do here
Signature places
- Hatfield-McCoy Trails, including the Rockhouse, Bearwallow, Devil Anse, Pinnacle Creek and Buffalo Mountain systems
- Trail towns where off-highway vehicles are street-legal, including Gilbert, Man and Matewan
- Twin Falls Resort State Park, a conventional lodge base for riders
- Panther State Forest, among the most remote and least-visited units in the state system
- Elk viewing on reclaimed mine land in Logan, Mingo and Boone counties
- Laurel Lake and R.D. Bailey Lake for quiet warm-water fishing
Where to base yourself
Gilbert
A Mingo County town that has reorganized its economy around the Hatfield-McCoy trail system.
Itineraries in this region
What this region does best
Trail towns where off-highway vehicles are street-legal, including Gilbert, Man and Matewan.
Where, in this region
1 place in the Southern Coalfields carry dirt biking.
Where, in this region
1 place in the Southern Coalfields carry off-roading & 4x4.
Where, in this region
2 places in the Southern Coalfields carry hunting.
Where, in this region
Laurel Lake and R.D. Bailey Lake for quiet warm-water fishing.
Where, in this region
Hatfield-McCoy Trails, including the Rockhouse, Bearwallow, Devil Anse, Pinnacle Creek and Buffalo Mountain systems.
Elk viewing on reclaimed mine land in Logan, Mingo and Boone counties.
2 places in the Southern Coalfields carry camping.
Where, in this region
Hatfield-McCoy Trails, including the Rockhouse, Bearwallow, Devil Anse, Pinnacle Creek and Buffalo Mountain systems.
Trail towns where off-highway vehicles are street-legal, including Gilbert, Man and Matewan.
Where, in this region
Laurel Lake and R.D. Bailey Lake for quiet warm-water fishing.
Where, in this region
2 places in the Southern Coalfields carry birding.
Where, in this region
Every place we cover here
4 named destinations in this region.
Hatfield-McCoy Trails
The largest off-highway trail system in the eastern United States — more than a thousand miles across former coal lands in southern West Virginia, split into named systems including Rockhouse, Bearwallow, Buffalo Mountain, Pinnacle Creek, Devil Anse, Pocahontas, Indian Ridge, Ivy Branch and Warrior.
Twin Falls Resort State Park
A quiet resort park in Wyoming County with a lodge, golf course and two waterfalls on Black Fork and Marsh Fork.
Panther State Forest
Deep in McDowell County, one of the most remote units in the system, with a small campground, a swimming pool and trails through steep hardwood in the heart of the southern coalfields.
Laurel Lake Wildlife Management Area
A quiet 12,854-acre WMA in Mingo County built around a 29-acre lake, with primitive camping, warm-water fishing and public hunting in the southern coalfields.
On Instagram
Local outfitters, lodging and shuttles
Regional placement for operators based in or serving the Southern Coalfields. Capped at three per page.
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Organizations working here · 0
Agencies, watershed groups and access organizations tied specifically to this region.
Statewide resources cover this region.
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.
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.