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.
Terms of use
The agreement governing use of this site: what we publish, what we do not warrant, the limits of our liability, and the risks you assume when you go outdoors.
Last updated 25 August 2026
These Terms of Use ("Terms") are a binding agreement between you and Appalachian Heritage Media ("we", "us", "our"), the publisher of West Virginia Outside at westvirginiaoutside.com and its subdomains (the "Service"). Please read them carefully. They include a disclaimer of warranties (Section 11), a limitation of our liability (Section 12) and an indemnity you give us (Section 13).
1. Acceptance of these Terms
1.1 By accessing or using the Service you agree to these Terms and to our Privacy Policy, which is incorporated here by reference. If you do not agree, do not use the Service.
1.2 We may modify these Terms at any time. Material changes will be reflected in the "Last updated" date above and, where we consider it appropriate, by a notice on the Service. Your continued use after changes take effect constitutes acceptance of the revised Terms. If you do not accept them, stop using the Service.
2. Eligibility
2.1 The Service is intended for a general audience and is not directed to children under 13. If you are under 18, you may use the Service only with the involvement of a parent or legal guardian.
2.2 By using the Service you represent that you are able to form a binding contract and are not barred from doing so under applicable law.
3. The Service
3.1 The Service is an editorial publication about outdoor recreation in West Virginia. It provides general information about places, activities, trails, rivers, and the agencies and organizations that manage public land and water.
3.2 The Service is not a booking or reservation platform, a guiding or instructional service, a permitting authority, an emergency or rescue resource, or a substitute for the agency that manages any location described.
3.3 We are not affiliated with, endorsed by, or acting for the National Park Service, the United States Forest Service, the United States Army Corps of Engineers, the West Virginia Division of Natural Resources, West Virginia State Parks, or any other governmental body, except where a page expressly states otherwise. Where we describe an agency's rules, figures, fees or requirements, that agency's own current publication controls.
3.4 We may change, suspend or discontinue any part of the Service at any time without notice or liability.
4. Editorial standards and corrections
4.1 We publish independently. Editorial coverage, rankings and recommendations are determined by us and are not for sale, and no advertiser, sponsor or listed business has the right to review or approve editorial content before publication.
4.2 We attribute figures and factual claims to the source we drew them from. Conditions outdoors change without notice, and any statement on the Service may become inaccurate or out of date after publication.
4.3 We correct errors of fact when we become aware of them. To report one, write to hello@westvirginiaoutside.com.
5. No professional advice; assumption of risk
5.1 Nothing on the Service constitutes instruction, training, certification, guiding, or professional, medical, legal or safety advice. No description, difficulty rating, river classification, ranking or recommendation is a representation that any trail, route, run, climb, float, crag, cave or activity is safe, open, lawful or suitable for you or anyone in your party.
5.2 You acknowledge that the activities described on the Service — including hiking, backpacking, trail running, climbing, bouldering, via ferrata, canoeing, kayaking, rafting, tubing, swimming, boating, caving, horseback riding, cycling, off-highway vehicle riding, hunting, fishing, skiing and snowboarding — are inherently dangerous and carry risks that cannot be eliminated, including risks of property damage, serious bodily injury, permanent disability and death.
5.3 You voluntarily assume all such risks and accept sole responsibility for evaluating whether you and each member of your party have the skill, experience, physical condition, judgement, training, permits and equipment that an activity and the conditions then prevailing require, and for obtaining formal instruction, certification or a qualified guide where the activity calls for it.
5.4 You are solely responsible for verifying current conditions, closures, access, fees and legal requirements with the agency or operator responsible for the location before you travel.
6. Intellectual property
6.1 The Service and its contents — including text, photographs, illustrations, graphics, design, layout, code, and the selection, coordination and arrangement of data (collectively, the "Content") — are owned by us or our licensors and are protected by United States and international copyright, trademark and other intellectual property laws. Underlying facts and agency figures are not claimed as proprietary; our expression, selection and arrangement of them is.
6.2 "West Virginia Outside", "Appalachian Heritage Media", and associated logos and marks are our trademarks. Nothing in these Terms grants you a right to use them.
6.3 Subject to your compliance with these Terms, we grant you a limited, revocable, non-exclusive, non-transferable, non-sublicensable licence to access and display the Content for your personal, non-commercial use, and to quote a reasonable and limited excerpt with clear attribution and a link to the source page.
6.4 Except as permitted by Section 6.3 or by applicable law, you may not copy, reproduce, republish, distribute, publicly display, sell, licence, systematically download, scrape, index for redistribution, or create derivative works from the Content; nor may you use the Content to develop, train, fine-tune, benchmark or evaluate any machine-learning or artificial-intelligence model, or to build a competing or substitute product or service, in each case without our prior written permission.
6.5 All rights not expressly granted are reserved.
7. User submissions
7.1 "Submission" means any content you send us, including trip reports, photographs, corrections, comments, listing requests and other material.
7.2 You retain ownership of your Submission. By sending it, you grant us a non-exclusive, worldwide, royalty-free, perpetual, irrevocable, sublicensable licence to use, reproduce, adapt, edit for length and clarity, publish, distribute and display it on and in connection with the Service and its promotion, with attribution where practicable.
7.3 You represent and warrant that you own or control all rights in your Submission, that it does not infringe or misappropriate any third-party right, that it is not defamatory or unlawful, and that any identifiable person depicted has consented to its use.
7.4 We are under no obligation to publish, retain or return any Submission, and we may edit, decline or remove one at our discretion. Do not send confidential information; we accept no obligation of confidence in respect of Submissions.
8. Prohibited conduct
8.1 You agree not to: (a) use the Service in violation of any law or regulation; (b) harass, threaten, defame or impersonate any person; (c) misrepresent land ownership, access rights or permission, or encourage trespass; (d) interfere with, disrupt, probe or place an unreasonable load on the Service or its infrastructure; (e) attempt to gain unauthorised access to any system or data; (f) circumvent any access restriction or security measure; (g) use any robot, spider, scraper or automated means to access or collect Content, except a general-purpose search engine that observes our robots directives; or (h) remove, obscure or alter any copyright, trademark or other proprietary notice.
8.2 We may investigate suspected violations and may suspend or terminate access to the Service, in whole or in part, at our discretion.
9. Copyright complaints (DMCA)
9.1 We respect intellectual property rights and respond to notices of alleged infringement in accordance with the Digital Millennium Copyright Act, 17 U.S.C. § 512.
9.2 If you believe material on the Service infringes your copyright, send a written notice to our designated agent at hello@westvirginiaoutside.com containing: (a) a physical or electronic signature of the copyright owner or a person authorised to act for them; (b) identification of the copyrighted work claimed to be infringed; (c) identification of the material claimed to be infringing and information reasonably sufficient to locate it, such as the URL; (d) your name, address, telephone number and email address; (e) a statement that you have a good-faith belief that the use is not authorised by the copyright owner, its agent or the law; and (f) a statement that the information in the notice is accurate and, under penalty of perjury, that you are authorised to act on behalf of the owner.
9.3 A person who knowingly materially misrepresents that material is infringing may be liable for damages, including costs and legal fees, under 17 U.S.C. § 512(f).
9.4 Counter-notice. If material you posted was removed and you believe the removal was the result of mistake or misidentification, you may send a counter-notice to the same address containing: (a) your signature; (b) identification of the material and its location before removal; (c) a statement under penalty of perjury that you have a good-faith belief the material was removed as a result of mistake or misidentification; and (d) your name, address and telephone number, together with a statement that you consent to the jurisdiction of the federal court for the district in which you reside, or, if outside the United States, of any judicial district in which we may be found, and that you will accept service of process from the person who gave the original notice or their agent. We may restore the material as permitted by 17 U.S.C. § 512(g).
9.5 Repeat infringers. We terminate, in appropriate circumstances, the access of persons who are repeat infringers.
10. Third-party sites, listings and advertising
10.1 The Service links extensively to websites operated by agencies, nonprofit organizations, clubs and businesses. Those sites are not under our control. We do not endorse them and are not responsible for their content, availability, products, services, safety, or privacy or data practices. Your use of them is governed by their terms.
10.2 Directory inclusion is editorial and free of charge. Paid placements are identified as advertising or sponsorship. We do not verify the licensing, insurance, permits, certifications, safety record or suitability of any business listed or referenced, and any dealing between you and such a business is solely between you and them.
10.3 Where we participate in an affiliate or referral arrangement, we disclose it on the relevant page.
11. Disclaimer of warranties
11.1 THE SERVICE AND ALL CONTENT ARE PROVIDED "AS IS" AND "AS AVAILABLE", WITH ALL FAULTS AND WITHOUT WARRANTY OF ANY KIND, WHETHER EXPRESS, IMPLIED OR STATUTORY. TO THE FULLEST EXTENT PERMITTED BY LAW, WE DISCLAIM ALL WARRANTIES, INCLUDING THE IMPLIED WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABILITY, FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE, TITLE, NON-INFRINGEMENT, ACCURACY AND QUIET ENJOYMENT, AND ANY WARRANTY ARISING FROM COURSE OF DEALING OR USAGE OF TRADE.
11.2 WITHOUT LIMITING THE FOREGOING, WE DO NOT WARRANT THAT THE SERVICE WILL BE UNINTERRUPTED, SECURE OR ERROR-FREE, OR THAT ANY TRAIL LENGTH, ELEVATION, DIFFICULTY RATING, RIVER CLASSIFICATION, ACREAGE, FEE, OPERATING HOUR, GATE SCHEDULE, PERMIT REQUIREMENT OR REGULATION STATED ON THE SERVICE IS ACCURATE, COMPLETE OR CURRENT.
11.3 No advice or information obtained from us creates any warranty not expressly stated here.
12. Limitation of liability
12.1 TO THE FULLEST EXTENT PERMITTED BY LAW, NEITHER WE NOR OUR OWNERS, OFFICERS, EMPLOYEES, CONTRACTORS, CONTRIBUTORS, AGENTS OR LICENSORS WILL BE LIABLE FOR ANY INDIRECT, INCIDENTAL, SPECIAL, CONSEQUENTIAL, EXEMPLARY OR PUNITIVE DAMAGES, OR FOR ANY LOSS OF PROFITS, REVENUE, DATA OR GOODWILL, ARISING OUT OF OR RELATING TO THE SERVICE, WHETHER IN CONTRACT, TORT (INCLUDING NEGLIGENCE), STRICT LIABILITY OR OTHERWISE, AND WHETHER OR NOT WE HAVE BEEN ADVISED OF THE POSSIBILITY OF SUCH DAMAGES.
12.2 TO THE FULLEST EXTENT PERMITTED BY LAW, WE WILL NOT BE LIABLE FOR ANY LOSS, DAMAGE, INJURY, ILLNESS OR DEATH ARISING OUT OF OR RELATING TO (a) YOUR ACCESS TO, USE OF, OR INABILITY TO USE THE SERVICE; (b) ANY RELIANCE PLACED ON THE CONTENT; (c) ANY ACTIVITY YOU UNDERTAKE, WHETHER OR NOT DESCRIBED ON THE SERVICE; OR (d) ANY ACT OR OMISSION OF A THIRD PARTY, INCLUDING ANY AGENCY, OUTFITTER, GUIDE, LANDOWNER OR BUSINESS REFERENCED ON THE SERVICE.
12.3 TO THE FULLEST EXTENT PERMITTED BY LAW, OUR TOTAL AGGREGATE LIABILITY FOR ALL CLAIMS RELATING TO THE SERVICE WILL NOT EXCEED ONE HUNDRED UNITED STATES DOLLARS (US$100).
12.4 Some jurisdictions do not allow the exclusion of certain warranties or the limitation of certain damages, so parts of Sections 11 and 12 may not apply to you. Nothing in these Terms excludes or limits liability that cannot lawfully be excluded or limited, including liability for fraud or for death or personal injury caused by our negligence where such exclusion is prohibited. In those cases our liability is limited to the maximum extent permitted by law.
12.5 The limitations in this Section apply even if a limited remedy fails of its essential purpose, and they reflect a reasonable allocation of risk that forms part of the basis of the bargain between us.
13. Indemnification
13.1 You agree to defend, indemnify and hold harmless Appalachian Heritage Media and its owners, officers, employees, contractors, contributors, agents and licensors from and against any claim, demand, action, loss, liability, damage, cost or expense, including reasonable legal fees, arising out of or relating to your use of the Service, your Submissions, your breach of these Terms, or your violation of any law or third-party right.
14. Governing law, venue and time to bring a claim
14.1 These Terms and any dispute arising out of or relating to them or to the Service are governed by the laws of the State of West Virginia, without regard to its conflict-of-laws rules.
14.2 You and we agree to the exclusive jurisdiction and venue of the state and federal courts located in West Virginia, and each of us waives any objection to that venue and, to the fullest extent permitted by law, waives any right to a trial by jury.
14.3 To the fullest extent permitted by law, any claim arising out of or relating to the Service must be brought within one year after it arises, or it is permanently barred.
15. General
15.1 Severability. If any provision of these Terms is held unenforceable, it will be limited or severed to the minimum extent necessary and the remaining provisions will remain in full force.
15.2 No waiver. Our failure to enforce any provision is not a waiver of it.
15.3 Assignment. You may not assign these Terms without our written consent. We may assign them in connection with a merger, acquisition or sale of assets.
15.4 Force majeure. We are not liable for any failure or delay caused by circumstances beyond our reasonable control.
15.5 Entire agreement. These Terms and the Privacy Policy are the entire agreement between you and us concerning the Service and supersede any prior understanding on the subject.
15.6 Survival. Sections 5 through 15 survive any termination of your use of the Service.
16. Contact
16.1 Questions about these Terms, corrections, permission requests and copyright notices: hello@westvirginiaoutside.com. Appalachian Heritage Media, West Virginia, United States.
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.