Five-Star Trails: West Virginia's Monongahela National Forest: Your Guide to the Area's Most Beautiful Hikes

By Johnny Molloy

A whopping 900,000 acres, the mighty Monongahela National Forest is the heart and soul of West Virginia and a natural getaway for hikers and weekend backpackers. Five-Star Trails: West Virginia's Monongahela National Forest leads hikers to classics, such as High Falls and Senaca Rocks, as well as such lesser-known but equally scenic hikes as Canyon Rim and Laurel Creek.

The 2nd edition of Five-Star Trails: West Virginia's Monongahela National Forest has been completely revised. Veteran author Johnny Molloy used his decades of exploring West Virginia's largest national forest to choose only the best hikes, covering the mosaic of experiences to be had in the "Mon"--whether to rocky overlooks, deep into untamed wildernesses, to backcountry waterfalls, even to botanically rare and rich parcels--special places one and all.

To this end, Molloy has completely rewritten the book, rehiking hikes from the previous edition and adding more than a dozen new hikes for this edition. All the maps and elevation profiles have been professionally redone, and new photographs have been taken. Together, these new elements have been fashioned into a guide worthy of West Virginia's fabulous national forest that is the Monongahela.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Menasha Ridge Press
• Release date: Sep 19, 2016
• ISBN: 9781634040594

Johnny Molloy

Johnny Molloy is an outdoor writer and author of over 70 books. He is based in Johnson City, Tennessee.

Book preview

Overview Map Key

Dolly Sods Wilderness–Otter Creek Wilderness Area

1Raven Ridge Loop

2Blackbird Knob Vista

3Red Creek Falls via Fisher Spring Run

4Rohrbaugh Overlook

5Dunkenbarger Loop

6Boars Nest Loop

7Red Creek Plains

8Chimney Top

9Big Bend Loop

10 Seneca Rocks

11 Blackwater Canyon Vistas

12 Table Rock Overlook

13 Lower Otter Creek Wilderness

14 Otter Creek Wilderness Loop

Seneca Creek Backcountry–Laurel Fork Wilderness Area

15 Horton–Spring Ridge Loop

16 North Prong Loop

17 Upper Falls of Seneca Creek

18 Spruce Knob and Huckleberry Trail

19 Laurel Fork North Wilderness

20 Laurel Fork South Wilderness

21 Camp Five Run Loop

22 High Falls

23 Shavers Mountain via Johns Camp Run

24 East Fork Greenbrier Hike

Greater Cranberry Wilderness Area

25 Red Spruce Knob

26 Gauley Mountain Loop

27 Tea Creek Loop

28 Big Beechy Run Falls

29 Lick Branch Falls

30 Falls of Middle Fork

31 Black Mountain Circuit

32 High Rock

33 Blue Knob

34 Cowpasture Loop

35 Cranberry Glades Interpretive Boardwalk

36 Falls of Hills Creek

37 Summit Lake Loop

38 Laurel Creek Circuit

39 Lake Sherwood Loop

40 Blue Bend Loop

Five-Star Trails: West Virginia’s Monongahela National Forest

Copyright © 2017 by Johnny Molloy

All rights reserved

Published by Menasha Ridge Press

Printed in the United States of America

Distributed by Publishers Group West

Third edition, first printing

Cover design: Scott McGrew

Cartography: Scott McGrew, Tony Hertzel, and Johnny Molloy

Text design: Annie Long

Cover and interior photos: Johnny Molloy

Indexer: Ann Cassar

Frontispiece: Big Bend Loop in the Smoke Hole Canyon of the South Branch Potomac River (See Hike 9.)

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

Names: Molloy, Johnny, 1961- author.

Title: Five-star trails : West Virginia’s Monongahela National Forest : your guide to the area’s most beautiful hikes / Johnny Molloy.

Description: 2nd edition, Revised edition. | Birmingham, Alabama : Menasha Ridge Press, [2016] | Series: Five-star trails

Identifiers: LCCN 2016027904| ISBN 9781634040587 (paperback) | ISBN 9781634040594 (ebook)

Subjects: LCSH: Hiking—West Virginia—Monongahela National

Forest—Guidebooks. | Monongahela National Forest (W. Va.)—Guidebooks. Classification: LCC GV199.42.W42 M6655 2016 | DDC 796.5109754/5—dc23 LC record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2016027904

MENASHA RIDGE PRESS

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Visit menasharidge.com for a complete listing of our books and for ordering information. Contact us at our website, at facebook.com/menasharidge, or at twitter.com/menasharidge with questions or comments. To find out more about who we are and what we’re doing, visit blog.menasharidge.com.

Disclaimer This book is meant only as a guide to select trails in the Monongahela National Forest in West Virginia and does not guarantee hiker safety in any way—you hike at your own risk. Neither Menasha Ridge Press nor Johnny Molloy is liable for property loss or damage, personal injury, or death that may result from accessing or hiking the trails described in this guide. Be especially cautious when walking in potentially hazardous terrains with, for example, steep inclines or drop-offs. Do not attempt to explore terrain that may be beyond your abilities. Please read carefully the introduction to this book, as well as safety information from other sources. Familiarize yourself with current weather reports and maps of the area you plan to visit (in addition to the maps provided in this guidebook). Be aware of regulations, and always follow them. While every effort has been made to ensure the accuracy of the information in this guidebook, land and road conditions, phone numbers and websites, and other information is subject to change.

Contents

OVERVIEW MAP Inside Front Cover

MAP LEGEND Inside Back Cover

OVERVIEW MAP KEY

DEDICATION

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

PREFACE

RECOMMENDED HIKES

INTRODUCTION

Dolly Sods Wilderness–Otter Creek Wilderness Area

1Raven Ridge Loop

2Blackbird Knob Vista

3Red Creek Falls via Fisher Spring Run

4Rohrbaugh Overlook

5Dunkenbarger Loop

6Boars Nest Loop

7Red Creek Plains

8Chimney Top

9Big Bend Loop

10 Seneca Rocks

11 Blackwater Canyon Vistas

12 Table Rock Overlook

13 Lower Otter Creek Wilderness

14 Otter Creek Wilderness Loop

Seneca Creek Backcountry–Laurel Fork Wilderness Area

15 Horton–Spring Ridge Loop

16 North Prong Loop

17 Upper Falls of Seneca Creek

18 Spruce Knob and Huckleberry Trail

19 Laurel Fork North Wilderness

20 Laurel Fork South Wilderness

21 Camp Five Run Loop

22 High Falls

23 Shavers Mountain via Johns Camp Run

24 East Fork Greenbrier Hike

Greater Cranberry Wilderness Area

25 Red Spruce Knob

26 Gauley Mountain Loop

27 Tea Creek Loop

28 Big Beechy Run Falls

29 Lick Branch Falls

30 Falls of Middle Fork

31 Black Mountain Circuit

32 High Rock

33 Blue Knob

34 Cowpasture Loop

35 Cranberry Glades Interpretive Boardwalk

36 Falls of Hills Creek

37 Summit Lake Loop

38 Laurel Creek Circuit

39 Lake Sherwood Loop

40 Blue Bend Loop

APPENDIX: MONONGAHELA NATIONAL FOREST CONTACT INFORMATION

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Dedication

This book is for Keri Anne Molloy.

Acknowledgements

Thanks to Oboz for the great hiking shoes and to Kelty for the fine sleeping bags, tents, and camping equipment used all over the frontcountry and backcountry of the Monongahela National Forest. Thanks to my wife, Keri Anne, most of all for hiking and camping with me in this West Virginia paradise.

—Johnny Molloy

Preface

The Monongahela National Forest, located entirely within the Mountain State, is the heart and soul of wild, wonderful West Virginia. The numbers are as follows: more than 900,000 acres of land with elevations ranging from 900 to 4,862 feet, including Spruce Knob—the highest point in the state; 600 miles of cold-water fisheries, including 90% of the native brook-trout waters in the state; 130 miles of warm-water fisheries; more than 115,000 acres of designated wilderness; more than 75 tree species; and more than 700 miles of marked and maintained hiking trails.

Formed in 1920, the Mon is about more than numbers. It is a natural getaway for native mountaineers and outdoor enthusiasts from the Mid-Atlantic metropolises as well as visitors nationwide. And well it should be. Climbers can scale Seneca Rocks. Auto tourists can enjoy the vistas of the Highland Scenic Highway. Mountain bikers can pedal Canaan Mountain. Campers can spend the night at any of the fine campgrounds scattered throughout the national forest. Hikers can enjoy the Mon from the Dolly Sods up north to way down south near Blue Bend.

The first trails were made by American Indians who camped along the valleys of the major rivers here—the Cheat, the Tygart, the Greenbrier, and the Potomac. Later, these nomadic natives formed more permanent communities that were the genesis of tribes such as the Seneca. These tribes suffered the same fate as most North American Indians, as pioneers spread west over the Alleghenies and settled in the fertile valleys.

The high forests remained mostly untouched until after West Virginia became a state during the Civil War. Battles were fought to control passes through the rugged mountains on what later became national forest land. A notable clash was over Cheat Summit Fort, where Robert E. Lee himself failed to wrestle the stronghold from Union hands. And so the western part of the Old Dominion became the state of West Virginia.

TRAVERSING A MEADOW THROUGH LAUREL FORK SOUTH WILDERNESS (See Hike 20.)

America expanded and the need for wood grew. The spread of the railroad and high-speed band saws opened the mountains of West Virginia to removal of vast stands of virgin woodland. Within 30 years, much of the state was cut over. Then, because there was no vegetation to absorb the slow waters flowing from the mountains, floods submerged the landscape. This watery devastation of the lowlands, particularly the flood of 1907, led to the creation of the Monongahela National Forest. Federal management of these lands resulted in watershed protection among other things.

There was much work to do: replanting trees, cutting roads, and building fire towers and hiking trails. At first, the work was slow. Many mountaineers resented the presence of the feds in their backyard. Ironically, it was the Great Depression that sped the evolution of the forest. Many young men, unable to find a job, joined the Civilian Conservation Corps, which established work camps throughout the Monongahela. For nearly 10 years they made a mark on the forest. To this day, you can see their handiwork at campgrounds like Blue Bend.

The forest began to recover. Through wildlife management programs, native species of the Alleghenies began to thrive. White-tailed deer lingered on the edge of clearings; black bears furtively fed on fall’s acorns and other natural fare. Other smaller critters, from salamanders to falcons, called the wooded ridges and valleys home. Later, several wildernesses were established to protect unique large swaths of the national forest.

Today, visitors can return to a grand wild land once again to fish for secretive brook trout, to listen to the wind whistle through highland spruce woods, to identify colorful wildflowers, or to see the changing seasons from a magnificent rock vista.

To best enjoy the Mon you must take to your feet. This book details 40 of the Monongahela’s best hikes. These hikes head to overlooks, waterfalls, and wildernesses, as well as scenic cultural and historical sites, lakes, and rivers. There are ample rewarding treks, for the Monongahela National Forest is an incredibly attractive land, a place where mountains tower thousands of feet above fertile valleys, where crashing cataracts plunge into deep forests, where rock overlooks and wide meadows deliver resplendent vistas, and where brawling rivers cut deep gorges through majestic highlands.

It is where the Falls of Hills Creek makes its exceptional plunge into a rock cathedral. Along the way to the falls you traverse a rugged gorge. It is where hikers walk West Virginia’s master path—the Allegheny Trail—to an overlook of the Blackwater River Canyon. Other trails take you through biological wonderlands such as Cranberry Glades Botanical Area. There, West Virginia’s largest tundra wetland harbors rare plants while availing vistas of surrounding mountains.

Speaking of waterfalls, vertical variation and ample rain create an abundance of waterfalls in these parts. In addition to the cataracts already mentioned, there are a host of falls in the Seneca Creek Backcountry, along Red Creek and its tributaries in the Dolly Sods Wilderness, and on lower Otter Creek, deep in the Otter Creek Wilderness. Then add the waterfalls of the Cranberry Wilderness. Big Beechy Run Falls makes its wide drop, the Falls of Middle Fork form a big slide, and interestingly named Hell For Certain Falls dives off a ledge. It is an easy family hike to picturesque Lick Branch Falls. And there are still other, more modest falls. The cascades at the forks of Tea Creek enhance the excellent hiking destination that is the Tea Creek Backcountry. The spillers along the East Fork of the Greenbrier are a less-visited aquatic feature.

Other hikes take you to, and through, historic destinations. The Cowpasture Loop leads to a former federal prison camp without walls, where the isolation and harsh climate discouraged escape. The Camp Five Run takes you by cabins built by early Monongahela National Forest rangers. Those structures are now listed on the National Register of Historic Places. Other trails travel along logging grades from the 1800s and past former logger camps.

And what about hikes for solitude? Take the Laurel Creek Circuit along a mountain stream that ascends to a mountaintop before dropping to the lowlands to complete a loop. The hike up Johns Camp Run and onto Shavers Mountain presents hiking where you can commune with nature one on one. The Gauley Mountain Loop rambles remote reaches of the Monongahela National Forest, crossing over streams and mountain passes and through bottomland meadows where wildlife may be seen.

And there are still more possibilities included in this guide, places where you can not only hike but also combine trail trekking with other activities in the Monongahela National Forest. The trails of Lake Sherwood Recreation Area take you along a scenic impoundment and to the ridge dividing West Virginia and Virginia, where overlooks extend into both states. Upon returning to Lake Sherwood, you can camp, swim, fish, or picnic. Or walk the loop around Big Bend in Smoke Hole Canyon then overnight in their campground and paddle the South Branch Potomac River the next morning. Or hike up to Seneca Rocks, take in the wonderful views there, then rock climb or go bouldering in addition to camping at nearby Seneca Shadows Campground. Take the loop around Summit Lake then camp, fish, or paddle its mountain-rimmed shores.

Who can forget the views to be had on Monongahela hikes? Rohrbaugh Overlook and Blackbird Knob in the incomparable Dolly Sods Wilderness deliver a visual feast, as do panoramas from Chimney Top along North Fork Mountain near Petersburg, from atop Black Mountain, and in multiples from Spruce Knob and the Huckleberry Trail. And how can we leave out the vista from aptly named Table Rock?

Hikes in this book range from under 1 mile to more than 14 miles, creating opportunities for hikers of all ages and abilities. Therefore, the best hikes in the Monongahela National Forest can mean a ramble through the remote highland backcountry, a trek to a crashing cascade, or a quick escape to an eye-popping vista. It all depends on your disposition, company, and desires. So not only is the where to hike component covered, but so is what type of hike. As far as when: You can hike year-round in West Virginia (though snow may close access roads to higher destinations), but most people hike from early spring through late fall. However, the varied elevations within the Monongahela National Forest make winter hiking a viable and desirable option. The important thing is getting out there and enjoying the wonderful trails and terrain of this scenic slice of the Mountain State.

The variety of hikes contained reflects the variety of opportunities in the Monongahela National Forest. I sought to include hikes covering routes of multiple lengths, ranging from easy to difficult. Trail configurations are diverse as well—including out-and-back hikes, loops, and balloon loops. Hike settings vary from developed recreation areas to the wildernesses in the back of beyond.

The routes befit a range of athletic prowess and hiking experience. Simply scan the Table of Contents, randomly flip through the book, or utilize the hiking recommendations list included. Find your hike, get out there, and enjoy it. And bring a friend too. Enjoying nature in the company of another is a great way to enhance your relationship as well as escape from the smartphone, television, Internet, and other electronic chains that bind us to the daily grind.

One last thing—there is a reason I live in the shadow of the Appalachians. Having written outdoor guidebooks covering 26 states, I truly believe that these West Virginia highlands comprise the best part of the best country on God’s green earth.