Hiking in West Virginia, including backpacking and geocaching, offers countless benefits for outdoor enthusiasts and new residents drawn to the Mountain State by the remote-work revolution. With miles of scenic trails winding through lush forests, rolling hills, and dramatic mountain landscapes, West Virginia is a hiker’s paradise for all experience levels. Popular spots like the Appalachian Trail, Dolly Sods Wilderness, and Monongahela National Forest provide unforgettable backpacking adventures and peaceful escapes into nature. Geocaching adds an extra layer of fun, turning hikes into exciting treasure hunts for families and explorers alike. As more remote workers relocate from major U.S. cities to enjoy a better work-life balance, hiking in West Virginia offers fresh air, physical fitness, and stress relief right outside their door, making it easy to stay active and connected to the state’s wild and beautiful outdoors.
A little-known, practically inaccessible ghost town in the mountains of southern West Virginia may soon be open to those willing to hike there — once the National Park Service opens a new recreational trail. Little remains today of Dun Glen, perched 700 feet above the New River, perhaps the most unapproachable of many former coal-mining … Read more
In 2014, without much fanfare, the National Park Service opened a new access point for two of the most remote trails within the New River Gorge National Park and Preserve. So far, only the most die-hard hikers seem to have noticed. The Kates Plateau Trail and Polls Plateau Trail were once practically rumors. They appeared … Read more
If you’re a Canadian, chances are that tamaracks are nothing new. But if you’re a West Virginian, you’ve probably never seen one. That’s because the tree’s southern natural extent is in the Mountain State’s most lofty northern reach — in an obscure corner of the state in the Cranesville Swamp. Here in a ‘frost pocket” … Read more
I had the opportunity to walk the one-mile loop trail at Walter Nature Park near Winfield, West Virginia, in Putnam County, a delightful path and wanders through forest and young woodlands in the hills above the Kanawha River. If you’re looking for a good family trail in western West Virginia, this gets my vote. The … Read more
I could hardly have chosen a more sweltering afternoon on which to hike the Alice Knight Memorial Trail — a 1.1-mile loop that follows the upper course of Coonskin Fork, a tributary of the Elk River for which Coonskin Park is named. Temperatures were hovering in the mid-90s, remarkable in September even in the lush, … Read more
Climbers and hikers are welcome to begin exploring a 300-acre park under construction near the New River Gorge that includes more than two miles of cliff for climbing and bouldering. Needleseye Boulder Park, at Oak Hill, West Virginia, is now welcoming adventurers, though its trails and other facilities are not yet in place, says city … Read more
Hikers, bikers, and runners in growing numbers are venturing onto woodland trails in the new Piney Creek Trail System near Beckley, West Virginia, according to developers. The system’s Grey Flats trails area, adjacent to Beckey’s YMCA soccer complex, is being used by as many as 100 people daily, weather permitting, according to Gary Morefield, project … Read more
Officials say a moonrise walk that attracted a record number of hikers to the New River Gorge in southern West Virginia last week could indicate that attitudes toward recreation locally are changing. Eighty-nine participants turned out for a two-mile walk on the Endless Wall Trail, surprising officials who are accustomed to leading groups of several … Read more
Construction on the Long Point Trail—one of the most popular trails in the national park system in southern West Virginia—has been scheduled to close parts of the 1.6-mile route on mid-week days through September. Once complete, the trail to a rocky overlook of the New River Gorge will include improved parking, interpretive signage, raised wooden … Read more
The National Park Service has scheduled a four-hour hike Saturday, June 10, to the legendary Red Ash Island cemetery on the New River and to nearby ghost towns amid the forests of the New River Gorge. Departing from the trail-head for the Southside Trail at Brooklyn (map) at 1 p.m., the hike will visit the ruins … Read more
