Hiking WV: Coopers Rock State Forest: Raven Rock

The weather was too nice not to go hiking, so we went to Coopers Rock, which is the park I visited so many times as a child, but weirdly, rarely hiked. We’d wander beneath the overlook and climb rocks, but didn’t much hike any of the trails.

Raven Rock is a nice climb to look out down the mountain, however, there are a couple reasons it’s far less popular than the main overlook. 1) It’s a relatively steep walk up unpleasantly rocky terrain. 2) Power transmission lines. 3) To the north you can see power plant stacks and steam. The latter two are the bigger irritation to me, not that my ankle was well-pleased with the rocky terrain.

Location: Coopers Rock State Forest
Trails: Raven Rock Trail & McCollum Trail
Distance: 2.9 miles
Elevation: 743 feet

This is what the Raven Rock trail looks like pretty much the entire way.

My ankle is displeased with me, because walking on ground like this is a lot more uncomfortable and difficult than you’d think–you have to watch the ground, and even so, smaller rocks slide out from under your feet.

All of which is why we took the McCollum trail back as soon as it branched off.

And the reason it looks like an old road, is because that’s what it is. This is how they got all the equipment for the power lines up the hill. So perhaps this is Mother Nature’s revenge.

Looking east, over the Cheat Canyon.

Looking west:

Looking North. You can see the overlook to the right, and in the background the Longview and Fort Martin power plants.

The power lines and towers kinda ruin the view to the south. (Looking south west here.)

Ferns are quite tenacious.

We were trying to remember where this rock fell from. No place obvious.

GPS Map of Raven Rock hike