West Virginia’s Monongahela National Forest offers a wide variety of trails for day or multi-day hikes of varying levels of difficulty, including several trails built on former logging railroad corridors. The Cranberry Wilderness area, which contains the entire drainage of the North Fork of the Cranberry River and the Middle Fork of the Williams River, also features three such rail-trails: the Laurelly Branch Trail, Little Fork Trail and Rough Run Trail.

All three trails offer a rugged hiking experience different from traditional rail-trails; bicycles and motorized vehicles are banned, and equestrian use is discouraged.

Trail Manager Contact

Monongahela National Forest
200 Sycamore Street
Elkins, West Virginia
304-636-1800
http://www.fs.usda.gov/mnf

Gauley Ranger District
932 North Fork Cherry Road
Richwood, WV 26261
(304) 846-2695, Extension 0

Notes

This is a single-track and often steep, once a logging railroad.

Cranberry Wilderness Area- MNF

Cranberry Wilderness Area brochure- http://www.fs.usda.gov/Internet/FSE_DOCUMENTS/stelprdb5090665.pdf