Mountain Biking
Seneca State Forest Review
Dumore, West Virginia
Beautiful lake, varied trails and lots of climbing
7/14/04 - by Dana Farnsworth and Jeff Cobb, Outdoor Travels
Anticipation built as we changed into our biking clothes. After all, it had been almost a year since we had the pleasure of all three of us riding together. We had a big riding weekend at Snowshoe Resort planned. But before we headed up the mountain, we decided that our inaugural Thursday afternoon ride would be someplace different, someplace we hadn’t been before and someplace near Snowshoe Resort. In short, we were looking for a new place to review and experience for the sake of developing new Outdoor Travels content and for ourselves. Based on trail maps and recommendations found on the web, Seneca State Forest seemed to fit the bill.
The oldest of West Virginia's state forests, Seneca State Forest borders the beautiful Greenbrier River in Pocahontas County. The forest offers 11,684 acres of lush woodlands. The lake and forest are named after the Indian tribe which once roamed the area. Seneca’s large size and modest development make it a great place for solitary experiences.
The facilities we drove and rode by before hitting the single-track looked top notch, especially for a State Forest. Nice cabin rentals, a pretty lake and nice scenery are all features that would entice me to return – the riding however, probably wouldn’t.
After reviewing the recommendations on the trail map provided at the main office, we chose the six-mile Thorny Creek Trail for our kick-off-the-long-weekend-warm-up ride. We left our vehicles at the junction of Cabin and Loop Roads directly across from the exit point of Thorny Creek Trail. Thorny Creek Trail actually offers two loops depending on how far you want to ride. You can take the long way by riding up Loop Road, down Thorny Creek Trail past the lake and loop back around, or you can ride directly to the lake and hop on Thorny Creek Trail from there. Since this was our first ride of an extended weekend, we chose the shorter loop.
If you are searching for big obstacles and hair-raising descents like those found at Snowshoe or even Slaty Fork, this is not the ride for you. If, however, you are in search of manageable advanced beginner or easy intermediate riding, this might be heaven.
Ducking into the woods down a short drop and over a bridge set an early positive tone. The trail soon ducked into a field and disappeared, leaving us to wonder where the trail went. With a bit of “head straight and hope for the best” riding, the trail appeared again. The trail that followed was a mixture of quick descents and quick climbs – very enjoyable for intermediate and patient beginner-level riders. Grins and cheers ended with a rather steep and long climb to a clearing overlooking a pretty pastoral scene.
After getting our lungs back into our chests, and after our calves had stopped convulsing, we enjoyed the nice view. Unfortunately, this would be a signature climb for more or less the rest of the trail. All the fun that we had experienced going down, we were now paying for in a series of long climbs. It wasn’t quite the Pyrenees or l'Alpe d'Huez, but it was enough to get us huffing and puffing. Besides, none of us can be confused with Lance Armstrong…Or Basso or Ulrich for that matter!
An interesting note, although the map does not show it, the last third of the ride is pretty much undulating double track forest road. This change in trail combined with continuing arduous climbs pretty much made the last part of the ride boring.
Then again, it all depends what your expectations are, what your abilities are, and what kind of ride you are looking for. In fairness, the Thorny Creek Trail constitutes only a small portion of what Seneca has to offer. There are miles of solitary roads and trails to explore. In fact, explore may well be the key word at Seneca.
The trail we experienced would be best summed up as average to slightly below average (say a solid C grade) for the biker who has seen a lot, rides a lot and expects a lot. The first half was much better than the last half, in our opinion. But regardless of that, there were a few things we were positive about: The ODT guys got to hang out together (something we don’t get to do near enough of anymore); our quaint little “warm-up ride” had kicked our butts with the climbing; Jeff owed Dana an imaginary $20 for field bike repairs; and we were more than ready for a beer or two once the ride was over.
Mission accomplished.
The forest’s location in central Pocahontas County makes it ideal for exploring numerous other points of interest. Nearby attractions: Gaudineer Knob, the National Radio Astronomy Observatory, Cass Scenic Railroad, Pearl S. Buck Museum, Droop Mountain Battlefield, Snowshoe Resort, Beartown State Park, Elk River Touring Center, Tea Creek Wilderness Area, Cranberry Glades Wilderness Area, Watoga State Park, and the Greenbrier River Trail. For more information on things to do in Pocahontas County, log on to the local Convention and Visitor's Bureau website at www.pocahontascountywv.com.
Trail snapshot
Trail(s): 40 miles of double track forest road and single track. Surfaces vary from leaf to grass to dirt to rocks.
Difficulty: The trails we rode at SSF would fall between advanced beginner and intermediate. Pretty good bit of climbing. Some fun downhill. Good place to work on your endurance but not a lot to offer the mountain biker in search of obstacles or technical riding.
Outdoor Travels Rating:
2 bikes out of 5.
Thumbs up
- Solitude
- Beautiful Scenery
- Very well maintained facilities and trails
- First class lake
- Some nice sections of single track
Thumbs down
- A lot of climbing will test lung capacity and endurance
- A lot of boring double track forest roads
- Not real challenging for well-seasoned mountain bikers
Nuts & bolts
Location: Seneca State Forest is located on WV Rt. 28, four miles south of Dunmore. It is also accessible from WV Rt. 39, five miles east of Marlinton and then 10 miles north on WV Rt. 28.
Directions: From I-64, take the White Sulphur Springs exit. Follow Rt. 60 to Rt. 92 North. Travel Rt. 92 North to Rt. 39. Turn left on Rt. 39 West. Turn right on Rt. 28 North. Follow Rt. 28 to Seneca State Forest four miles south of Dunmore.
Traveling south on Rt. 219, turn left and take Rt. 66 East at Snowshoe Mountain. Turn right onto Rt. 28 South. Follow Rt. 28 South to the park entrance 4 miles south of Dunmore. Traveling north on Rt. 219, make a right and take Rt. 39 East at Marlinton. Turn left and take Rt. 28 North. Follow Rt. 28 to Seneca State Forest four miles south of Dunmore.
Facilities: 8 completely furnished rustic cabins featuring fireplaces, gas lights, woodburning cookstoves, gas refrigerator/freezers, water from hand-pumped wells and vault toilets. No running water or electricity. Housekeeping provided. Also, 10 secluded camping spots suitable for RV or tents. There are coin operated showers and a coin operated laundry, all located at the forest office. The campground is open from April 1-December 15. Contact the park at (304) 799-6213, email at senecasf@citlink.net, or call the WV Tourism Office at 1-800-CALL WVA.
Activities: mountain biking, hiking, horseback riding, hunting, fishing, canoeing, picnicking, and camping.
Admission: none.
Maps and stuff
Seneca video
Trail photos
Lots of great photos to give you a good idea of what riding here is like!
