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.
OAK HILL, W.Va. —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 … 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
Officials in Beckley, West Virginia, on Saturday will open a new hiking trail to provide access to the Ruin at Alfred Beckley Mill The mill fell out of use in the early 1900s as railroad commerce supplanted the need for local milling, and for many years the site was forgotten by all-but-a-handful of historians. The … Read more
Hikers up for a challenge are invited to join in a free 9.5-mile trek at Pipestem Resort State Park on May 27, part of the state park system’s 100-mile hiking challenge. Led by the volunteer team of Mark and Donna Barton of Princeton, West Virginia, the hike will be steady-paced and not an interpretive walk, according … Read more
Rangers with the Harpers Ferry National Historical Park will lead a particularly strenuous hike to Split Rock on the Loudoun Heights Trail May 8, 2017, according to archaeologist and interpretive ranger Andrew Lee. The six-mile round-trip hike is approximately five-hours long and very strenuous in its ascent and descent to the summit of the Blue … Read more
Beginning April 24, a ranger will guide Monday evening hikes to the secluded Long Point overlook at Summersville Lake in south-central West Virginia, offering visitors a chance to encounter a singular clifftop ecosystem with a naturalist in tow. The moderate, two-hour hike to and from cliffs along the largest lake in West Virginia is ideally suited … Read more
A walk on the Long Point, the focus of a two-hour guided hike scheduled for April 8 near Summersville, W.Va. According to Levi Moore of Active Southern West Virginia, the Long Point Trail is a must-do in south-central West Virginia, though not as well known as the similarly named Long Point trail 20 miles to … Read more
