A road trip in West Virginia’s Monongahela National Forest

Smoke Hole Canyon is a rugged slice of wilderness cradled by the Cave and North Fork mountains. Threaded by the South Fork of the Potomac River, the precipitous gorge offers wild expanses still untouched by roads or trails, accessible only on the water. According to local lore, there are two theories behind the canyon’s evocative name: one suggests that the cave-pocked canyon was used by Native Americans to smoke meat. Another suggests that the moniker comes from smoldering stills stashed away in the region’s rugged riverside bluffs by industrious moonshiners.

Either way, the gorge is a haven for anglers, hikers, and backpackers. The canyon’s waterways are stocked with rainbow and golden trout and the 24-mile North Fork Mountain Trail skirts the gorge’s western edge. For an overnight getaway, the Big Bend Campground offers campsites spread along a horseshoe curve in the South Branch of the Potomac River.

A celestial stretch of roadway between Marlinton and Richwood, the Highland Scenic Highway treats travelers to unsurpassed views of the Allegheny Highlands, and serves as a portal to an abundance of outdoor offerings. Cobbled together from Route 150 and Route 39/55, the 43-mile scenic route tops out on Black Mountain at more than 4,550 feet. Highlights along the highway include the 47,815-acre Cranberry Wilderness, a former black bear sanctuary laced with trails and trout streams, and the Cranberry Glades Botanical Area, a 750-acre National Natural Landmark preserving sphagnum bogs, ruffed grouse, and carnivorous pitcher plants.

The panoramic byway is dotted with four scenic overlooks, perfect for picnicking and snapping photos. For multi-day adventures, a handful of campgrounds are spread along the highway: Near Richwood, the Summit Lake Campground features wooded sites with access to a 43-acre lake; and the Day Run and Tea Creek campgrounds are ideal for anglers pursuing seasonally stocked trout on the Williams River (camping is also permitted at primitive sites along the river).

Paralleling the Greenbrier River for 78 miles, from Caldwell to the Cass Scenic Railroad State Park, the Greenbrier River Trail is a microcosm of West Virginia’s history. The multi-use trail traces the former route of the Greenbrier Division of the Chesapeake and Ohio Railway, a freight and passenger line first operational in the early 1900s, catering primarily to the Greenbrier Valley’s timber industry. However, by the 1970s, freight loads on the line had diminished significantly, and in 1979, the tracks were removed and the historic thoroughfare was donated to the state.

Reimagined as a rail-trail (the longest in West Virginia) for hikers, cyclists, cross-country skiers, and equestrians, the gently graded crushed gravel pathway rambles over 35 bridges, stringing together state parks, historic towns, and forests. For multi-day excursions, there are 15 different camping areas scattered along the trail, rentable cabins in Watoga State Park and the Seneca State Forest, and inns and bed and breakfasts in Burnsides, Caldwell, Marlinton, and Seebert.

Providing a firsthand glimpse of the region’s rich railroading history, Cass Scenic Railroad State Park preserves a stretch of railroad. Completed in 1901 to serve the West Virginia Pulp and Paper Company—and operational for more than a half century—the rail line was used until 1960 when the Cass mill shuttered for good. Just a year later, the historic company town and rail line became a part of West Virginia’s state park system. Today, the park features an extensive collection of historic Shay locomotives, and offers scenic train rides along the forested slopes of the 4,842-foot Bald Knob.

Just outside the town of Green Bank, along Route 28 (the Potomac Highland Trail), an unexpected sight rises from the leafy canopy of the Monongahela National Forest: the massive Robert C. Byrd Green Bank Telescope. The largest steerable telescope on the planet, the 17 million-pound telescope is part of the Green Bank Observatory. A hub for radio astronomy research since the 1950s, the observatory is used to study galactic wonders such as black holes and gas clouds—and to search the cosmos for signs of intelligent life.

To protect the observatory’s highly sensitive equipment, along with technology housed at Naval facilities in Sugar Grove, the Federal Communications Commission established a 13,000-acre National Radio Quiet Zone in the region in 1958. The designation also means the use of electronic equipment—such as microwaves and WiFi routers—is banned within a 2-mile radius of the facility, including in the town of Green Bank. While smartphones must be turned off, visitors can tour the observatory along an extensive network of walking trails, and delve into the facility’s past and present research initiatives at the Green Bank Science Center.