Explore the best rated trails in Petersburg, WV, whether you're looking for an easy walking trail or a bike trail like the West Virginia Northern Rail-Trail and Rocky Point Trail . With more than 35 trails covering 4319 miles you're bound to find a perfect trail for you. Click on any trail below to find trail descriptions, trail maps, photos, and reviews.
Some lovely scenery and wildlife, especially wetland species. Definitely a wilder feel than many. There are several issues.
The first is the trail surface. While impediments like downed trees are obviously taken care of, the trail surface itself doesn’t look to have been renewed since the trail was first built. The surface varies from fine gravel to thick gravel to mud to grass. Grass is the dominant surface. There are places where horse hoof and ATV tire prints have hardened into speed reduction bumps, which are jarring. Don’t assume you will be able to maintain a speed similar to other rail trails. Having completed the trail from Glady to Durbin, we ended up riding the gravel road back to our vehicle in Glady - more climbing, but a good trade off. For reference, we’re running 2.0” (50mm) and 2.35” tires on rigid steel framed bikes.
The second issue is lack of amenities. There are no obvious campsites, no pit toilets, no wells. This undeveloped aspect will likely appeal to some even if the trail surface doesn’t. Probably due to the undeveloped nature of the trail, and the fact that we rode on weekdays, we saw no other trail users this trip.
The last issue is connectivity. Currently, combining this trail with the nearby Greenbrier River Trail means a road ride of at least 16 miles. Bridge the gap with trail and make improvements to the West Fork and you’d have a trail system of approximately 118 miles long, which would bring many more riders to the area.
We parked at lock 38 by Shepardstown. Trail is well maintained and gorgeous. Many bikers, runners and walkers out.Note it is a trash free park.
Whether a multi-day ride from DC 180 miles to Cumberland or individual day rides along the tow path next to the C&O canal, this trail is awesome. And now that much of it has been resurfaced to be crushed granite rather than just dirt, muddy rides will no longer be a problem after and during rains. One of the top 10 bucket list rides in the US, easily.
We took the Amtrak bike train to DC. Had to switch trains in Philly. Between Harrisburg and Philly we had to remove the front wheel and hang the bike. From Philly to DC they were stored in the baggage car and didn't require tire removal. The ride through DC was fantastic and much easier than we expected. The trail got a little confusing to get out of town but once we did we found the trail in much better condition then we expected. We stayed along the way in a hotel and a lock house. My favorite part was the area around the pawpaw tunnel but the trail was in very poor condition in spots. At one point when I tried to go my rear wheel would just spin and the bike wouldn't move. Very mucky and muddy. I'm sure it all depends on the amount of rain they had recently. It completed the ride from Pittsburgh to DC for me. I had ridden the GAP trail about 6 years prior. The only reason I didn't give it a five star rating is because of the mud in some areas. Overall it was great.
We parked at West Newton both days. On the first day we rode north to Boston and on the second day south to just past Whitsett. The trail is very flat (maybe 3 feet per mile elevation change) and well maintained. We encountered minimal road crossings, plenty of scenery and probably as a whole the friendliest people we've ever encountered on a bike trail. We'll be back!
For a baseline, our home trails are Pine Creek and Buffalo Valley and our favorite trail is the Northwest Lancaster.
My husband and I took our road bikes on this and found it to be quiet, very well-maintained and scenic. It follows the creek nearly the entire way out of town and is about 90% shaded. The only caveat: if you're not in decent shape or don't like climbing, figure out some way to be dropped off near Kingwood or Reedville and only ride back into Morgantown. It's a low-grade climb (not hard, really), but unrelenting. I'd say 11 out of the 19.5 miles are uphill if you start at the downtown ("Wharf District") trailhead. To put it another way, it took us an hour less time to get back to Morgantown than it did to leave it. But it's still a great trail and VERY few people were on it .
This trail map does not show how to navigate out of Pittsburgh… specifically the first few miles with a notable gap across Smithfield Street!
The trail is great starting at Cumberland. Pretty smooth and scenic. Not very far in there were quite a few detours as the trail was damaged in many places. I wish there had been more amenities along the trail. The last 40 miles into DC were surprisingly bad, with muddy rough conditions and detours. The trip was memorable and challenging and we were proud to raise money for theplummerhome.org for homeless veterans.
Day1: DC to Williamsport. Day 2: Williamsport to Cumberland. This was an amazing ride with beautiful fall scenery. Trail was well maintained and easy to navigate. It was mostly hard parked gravel with lots of historical sites and great views. Paw Paw tunnel was open. The trail thru tunnel is uneven and wet. Met some great people along the trail. I’ll definitely ride the trail again in the summer.
I’m looking forward to seeing this trail continue to its potential at 10 miles. It was a nice walk from the Trailhead park. It’s not quite peak leaf season yet…but the leaves are turning.
We rode a 10 mile section of trail north of the Williamsport visitors center. Sunny day, high 60’s. It was the day after a 30 minute rain storm. Trees were in full bloom. Why 2 stars when it could be a 5? The trail needs a good layer of hard packed stone. Any rain will turn many spots into mud, as we encountered. The trail rides along the Potomac River. You could just about see otherwise the trail is under cover. To make it a 5, make sure the trail has dried out and the leaves have not bloomed or the have already dropped. It would sure be a 5.
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