Preston County: Trails, River and History

Preston County offers a wide range of reasons to visit: extensive hiking trails, guided whitewater trips, historic sites and an annual festival. A stay here can focus on anything from nature and outdoor activities to regional culture. The places and experiences below offer specific ideas to help you plan.

Hiking Trails and Natural Areas

Coopers Rock State Forest offers nearly 50 miles of trails and spans county lines; part of it is in Preston County. The trails make the forest a particular highlight for anyone who wants to set aside time for hiking during their trip. The remains of the Henry Clay Furnace connect the natural experience with a historic destination: the ruins are a place to hike and bike. This brings outdoor activity in the forest and a glimpse into the area's history together, though they need not be the same experience.

Cranesville Swamp Nature Preserve also spans county lines. It has five hiking trails, including a 1,500-foot boardwalk. These specific trail features offer a different kind of orientation than Coopers Rock's extensive trail network: here, a set number of trails and a clearly defined boardwalk are part of the natural area. If you enjoy including different kinds of landscapes in your trip, you can consider these two areas as distinct nature destinations.

River Activities and Trail Sections

The Upper Cheat River Water Trail currently has nine existing access points. Guided trips are also available near Albright on the Cheat River's Class V whitewater section. These details describe different aspects of a river experience: access points along the Water Trail and guided trips on a whitewater section. If you plan your trip around the activities you want to focus on, you can take this distinction into account.

The WV Northern Rail-Trail has two differently described sections in Kingwood and Tunnelton. The open section in Kingwood starts at Kingwood Trailhead Park. In Tunnelton, an open, disconnected southern section is about one mile long. Restrooms at the Masontown Trailhead of the Deckers Creek Rail-Trail are located in a 1907 Elkins Coal and Coke Building.

History, Museums and Local Tradition

Arthurdale is the nation's first New Deal subsistence homestead project. Those interested in the history of this era will find a distinct historical point of interest in Arthurdale. Museums offer further glimpses into life in earlier times: the Aurora Area Historical Society Museum preserves a collection of historic buildings and artifacts that tells the story of early life in Appalachia. The Aurora General Store Museum displays authentic items from the 19th and early 20th centuries. The Szilagyi Center is housed in Rowlesburg's historic 1910 school building. Together, these sites offer different ways to explore history—from a New Deal homestead to early Appalachian life and objects from two centuries.

Another cultural trip idea is the Preston County Buckwheat Festival, held annually in Kingwood, West Virginia. Buckwheat cakes and sausage are among the offerings. If the festival is important to your trip, check the dates ahead of time. This lets you plan a visit to Kingwood around the festival without treating it as interchangeable with the nature and history attractions described as available year-round.

When choosing where to stay, you can start by deciding whether you want to focus your trip mainly on hiking trails, river activities or culture.

Discover more destinations: Kingwood, Tunnelton, Terra Alta, Randolph County, Pendleton County, Boone County, Wood, Mercer County.

For the broader travel overview: West Virginia.