Trails
Trail Improvement in the Blackwater Canyon
Friends of Blackwater works to protect and promote natural beauty, diverse creatures, unique heritage, and the outdoor recreation economy in the Mid-Atlantic Allegheny Highlands -- home to the magnificent, 10,000-acre Blackwater Canyon – West Virginia’s “Scenic Crown Jewel.” Our professional staff and grass-roots citizen advocacy are a strong force for responsible conservation and sustainable progress in the Highlands.
The Monongahela National Forest… Canaan Valley National Wildlife Refuge… Blackwater Falls State Park… these public lands contain the most beautiful natural areas in West Virginia and the Allegheny Highlands.
Biking, hiking, and paddling are great ways to explore the region. FOB works with land managers and civic groups to promote and maintain these trails. Our goal is to develop an area-wide network of trails, linking towns and local attractions together.
The Blackwater Loop Trail
The Blackwater Loop Trail will allow visitors of Blackwater Falls State Park to access more restricted areas. One of these restricted areas is Pendleton Falls, which is located along Pendleton Creek below the dam at Pendleton Lake.
Blackwater Rail Trail Botanical Restoration Project
Friends of Blackwater was awarded a grant from the National Forest Foundation to begin the Blackwater Rail Trail Botanical Restoration project. Today, non-native “invasive species” like autumn olive, stilt weed, multiflora rose, garlic mustard, Tartarian honeysuckle, and Japanese barberry are choking out native plants like milkweed, an essential host for migrating Monarch butterflies. This project will remove many of the worst invasive species — those that present the most harm to native plants and animals — and replant the area with beneficial native species, many of which will be grown from seeds collected from existing native plant populations!
