More Trails in West Virginia:

Overview

Kanawha State Forest is located approximately seven miles southwest of Charleston, West Virginia. The trail system consists of excellent singletrack, interspersed with dirt/gravel fireroads and gas well access roads.

The "main" trail at Kanawha is Davis Creek Trail, which follows Davis Creek (Naturally!) through the center of the Forest. Davis Creek trail is located in the "lowest" spot in the Forest, following the creek bed through the valley. Trails and Fireroads exist on the ridges on both sides of the valley, and there are numerous trails connecting the valley ands ridge trails. As you can imagine, they are often steep. The trick is to minimize the effort required to get to the ridges so you can enjoy the excellent singletrack back down into the valley. I have two suggestions:

1. Park at the entrance to the forest and follow Middle Ridge Road up the ridge and select trails from there. Middle Ridge Road intersects with many of the best trails in the Forest.
   
2. Follow the main paved road from the entrance all the way back until it turns to gravel and follow it the top of the hill. At the crest it will intersect with several old fire-roads. Start from here, and connect with your favorite trails. The downside to this is that you have to get back to the top at the end of your ride.

A third alternative is to access the Davis Creek trail at some point between the two locations described above, follow it down to the entrance to the park, and then follow Middle Ridge Road to access other trails. This allows you to warm up and have some fun before the long, gradual climb up Middle Ridge Road.

Directions

From Charleston, exit onto Route 119 South (Exit 58A), and follow the signs from the top of the hill.