We didn’t take a long hike at New River Gorge on Saturday, but the trails made up for that by being very steep.

Location: New River Gorge
Trail: Big Branch Trail
Distance: 1.5 miles
Elevation: 1256 – 1713

We hiked counter-clockwise, so for the first half of the trail we were gasping for breath and wondering why anyone wanted to hike this trail.

Then we started down, following the creek.

Seneca State Forest is NOT where Seneca Rocks are located. It in the south eastern part of the state, and is the oldest state forest (1925). It is a very rural state park, with rudimentary facilities (ie, the cabins have out houses), but that’s a good thing, because it’s undeveloped and beautiful and isolated.

Location: Seneca State Forest
Trail: Thorny Creek Trail (half)
Distance: 4.6 miles
Elevation: 2625 – 3213
Time: 2:20 (moving time)

There is also a lake.

ADDENDUM the First: We’ve now visited 78% of the WV state parks, forests, and wildlife management areas!

Kumbrabow is not a busy forest (nothing like Coopers Rock) and we didn’t see another person on the trails, which is how I like it.

But the thing is, it should be visited, because it is beautiful and a good place to feel like you’ve gotten away from the world. Because you have. Most of the roads are gravel (although in very good shape) so you have to slow down as you drive, enjoying the view around you.

Location: Kumbrabow State Forest
Trails: Meatbox Run, Raven Rocks, and Fire Trails
Distance: 3.9 miles
Elevation: 3077 – 3841 feet
Time: 2:06

I mostly left my camera in my backpack, and although I took some pictures with my phone, they were low light and mostly terrible.

The view from the overlook at Raven Rocks trail was gorgeous, but not very photogenic. Which happens sometimes.

If I am remembering correctly, Kumbrabow is a second generation forest, so there are plenty of fallen trees, decaying where they lay, and so very many of them are fascinating.

There are also plenty of trees that grew up around stumps, which decayed and disappeared, which make fascinating shapes, but every picture I took like that was fuzzy and out of focus. Sorry.

At the Meatbox Run picnic area, they’ve damned up the stream a little bit–Michael things to reduce erosion.

It was quite peaceful.

It was a beautiful day for a hike at Coopers Rock on Sunday, and once again we went early and avoided the crowds.

Location: Coopers Rock State Forest
Trails: Rhododendron, Mount Chateau, Ridge, Rock City, and “casual” trails
Distance: 4.8 miles
Elevation: 1366 – 2011
Time: 2:27 (moving time) 3:06 (including playing in the stream)

So, I’ve been disappointed the past couple hikes on Mont Chateau Trail that no one has created any more balanced rock art. Then I realized that I was nobody, so I made my own.

It was really lovely.

A lot less water this visit.

They’ve got the new signs up!

Alas, they haven’t done anything about this sign…

After visiting Grandview, we stopped at the bridge area on our way home.

Location: New River Gorge
Trails: Endless Wall (Diamond Point)
Distance: 2.4 miles
Elevation: 1781 – 1913

We found the oddest mushroom. I have no idea what it was, but it was most definitely green.

Saturday we visited one of the southern portions of New River Gorge: Grandview.

This is not a wilderness hike, although parts are rocky and along a cliff.

But it truly is a grand view, and well worth the visit.

Location: New River Gorge: Grandview
Trails: Grandview Rim & Castle Rock Trails
Distance: 4.1 miles
Elevation: 2360 – 2587

Stairs, for klutzes like me to get to the top!

Oh! Look! A sign for me to disregard!

Castle Rock Trail

Got up early to take a short hike at Coopers Rock before it got busy.

It was some lovely quiet.

Location: Coopers Rock State Forest
Trails: Underlook & Rattlesnake Trails
Distance: 1.4 miles
Elevation: 1991 – 2133 feet

Because it’s typically so crowded and loud, I often forget how much I like the overlook.

We took advantage of our location and took a short hike at Dolly Sods Wilderness. It was the opposite side of the area than we’d hiked last time, and it was much much busier than our last visit (as in, last time we saw one person, and he was on the road, not the trail).

One reason there were so many people is because there were fields and fields and fields of ripe wild blueberries. Amazing amounts of wild blueberries.

An added bonus to a beautiful hike.

Location: Dolly Sods Wilderness
Trails: Rocky Ridge, Blackbird Knob, Breathed Mountain Trails
Distance: 3.4 miles
Elevation: 3908 – 4175 feet

While waiting for people to show up for our hike at Canaan Valley State Park, we decided to check out the Canaan Wildlife Refuge.

I immediately decided that we had to take the small people on a hike there. The trail was flat, relatively straight, relatively even, went through woods and fields and several different kinds of plant life, and there was a huge field full of wild blueberries.

It. Was. Awesome.

Location: Canaan Wildlife Refuge
Trail: Beall Loop (partial)
Distance: 1.1 mile
Elevation: 3217-3307 feet

We took a gorgeous hike at Canaan Valley State Park (checked that one off the list!) and although it was muddy in spots (it has rained for seemingly two months straight) it wasn’t difficult to get around the mud (ie, no impassable rhododendron).

Location: Canaan Valley State Park
Trail: Middle Ridge State Park
Distance: 2.4 miles
Elevation: 3210-3501 feet

We spent Thursday through Saturday in the Blackwater Falls / Canaan area, and it was beautiful. Our hikes were shorter than normal, mostly because many of them had people not used to hiking. (Hikers ages ranged from 4 to 90, so, not so much with the long hikes.)

Along the Blackwater Canyon trail were old coke ovens, from Thomas’ industrial days, and then Douglas Falls, which were gorgeous, and well worth the scramble down to the water.

Location: Thomas, WV
Trails: Allegheny & Blackwater Canyon Trails
Distance: 3.8 miles
Elevation: 2743-2946 feet

Bonus: Wild black raspberries.

They were very delicious.

FINALLY we could get back out to Coopers Rock without having to hike in rain and storms.

The streams were running high, which meant I had to be careful traipsing through the water.

I was, and it was gorgeous.

Location: Coopers Rock State Forest
Trails: Rhododendron, Mont Chateau trails (plus splashing through a very cold stream)
Distance: 4.4 miles
Elevation: 874 feet

I believe that’s the most water I’ve seen coming through this stream.

And now a brief rant/whine.

I don’t dislike bicycles. In fact I have one and enjoy riding it.

However.

Some of my favorite trails at Coopers Rock are a muddy mess because of mountain bikers.

It’s been raining, so of course the trails are going to be wet in areas–especially where the trail is also part of a watershed run-off. I expect that.

The problem is that when people bike through these areas when it’s this wet, the entire trail becomes a churned up mess that is messy and ugly and not very fun to hike. There are sections of trail where the churned up mud is twice as wide as the trail, because of mountain bikers.

I don’t mind getting my feet wet (obviously), and I expect the trails to be muddy when it’s been raining as frequently as it has been. But I think it’s ridiculous that whole sections of trail are almost impassible unless you want to slog through a couple inches of mud.

As hikers, we have the ability to go off the trail, to try and avoid the nasty mess, but that’s not in the best interest of the forest.

Yes, the forest is open the everyone–that’s one of the many joys and benefits of living in WV. But I don’t see why bikers can’t use a little common courtesy and not tear up the trails when they are wet and muddy.

They’re ruining it for those of us who want to take our time and enjoy the scenery as we go past.

OK, done ranting.

Here’s some more gorgeous stream to close on.

Stonewall Resort State Park is probably the best maintained park we’ve visited.

Of course, after a month of rain, there’s not much they can do about all the high water and mud, though they did try.

Location: Stonewall Jackson Resort State Park
Trails: Hevener’s Orchard, Cairns, Lakeside Trails (this map is NOT up to date, last check)
Distance: 3.9 miles
Elevation: 719 feet

(SUPER fancy blazes!)

We dubbed this trail, the Canada trail.

Hmmmm….

Nope.

I can see why you might make that mistake, but still: wrong.

Points to anyone who knows WHAT is wrong, and why Michael and I giggled this entire section of trail.

Due to the issues we had at Cabwaylingo, we didn’t have as much time as we’d wanted for Chief Logan State Park.

Location: Chief Logan State Park
Trails: Cliffside, Waterfall (partial) Trails
Distance: 2.5 miles (including roads between trails)
Elevation: 248 feet

The park has an interesting history, as it was built upon old mine sites, and like several other parks/forests in the state, the remains of mining operations can be seen.

There is also a WV history museum that is free to visit, and which includes items from mine history and a Conestoga wagon. (Also, it is air conditioned, which was a nice break between trails.)

No pictures, sorry!